Polar bears turn cannibal

[CHIMO]

Two polar bears have starved to death and two others were found dead this year in the region where scientists previously discovered unprecedented cannibalism within the population.

Scientists were stunned to discover that two mother polar bears had been stalked, killed and eaten near their Beaufort Sea dens, and that much larger male bears cannibalized a young male during the spring of 2004.

Now, four more dead polar bears have been found in the Alaskan and Canadian regions of the Beaufort Sea, and researchers are getting very worried.

What was initially thought to be a curious event could indicate a radical shift in the behaviour of polar bears as they battle dangerous drops in nutrition levels, said the lead author of a report into the 2004 deaths.

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