全球變暖北極熊餓死 瘦成"毛毯"

A polar bear carcass found on the Arctic island of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, has shocked experts who say climate change may be to blame for the animal's death.
在挪威最北端北極圈Svalbard羣島，人們發現了一隻北極熊的屍體，研究人員認爲它的死因是氣候變化所造成的。

The starved polar bear in Norway was said to be in good health in April when the Norwegian Polar Institute examined and tagged it. However, the animal was reduced to skin and bones by the time a group of explorers happened upon its body in July.
四月份挪威極地研究所在幫它檢查做標記時，這隻北極熊的健康狀況還很不錯。但是，當一隊探險者7月偶然發現它時，早已瘦成了皮包骨。

"From his lying position in death the bear appears to simply have starved and died where he dropped," polar bear expert Dr. Ian Stirling, an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta, told The Guardian. "He had no external suggestion of any remaining fat, having been reduced to little more than skin and bone."
“從它的臥姿來看，這隻北極熊餓得倒了下來，最後死在了這裏。”阿爾伯塔大學的兼職教授，同時也是北極熊專家的伊恩·斯特林博士告訴《衛報》記者，“外部跡象顯示它的身體已沒有任何脂肪，只剩下一具皮包骨。”

Stirling believes the bear starved to death as a result of a lack of sea ice, which the animals use as a platform for hunting seals. That may also explain why the 16-year-old male bear was found about 155 miles north of where it was seen in April.
斯特林博士堅信這隻熊餓死是由於海冰的融化造成的，北極熊靠這些海冰來捕食海豹。這也解釋了爲什麼這隻16歲的雄性北極熊死在了離4月的所在地155英里的地方。

Arctic sea ice reached a record low in 2012, according a report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that pointed to continued signs of climate change.
2012年，北極的海冰達到了歷史最低，根據美國國家海洋和大氣管理局這周發佈的報告顯示，氣候變化還將繼續。

The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies polar bears as vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species.
國際自然保護聯盟近日已經將北極熊作爲珍稀動物納入《瀕危物種紅色名錄》當中。