Scientists: Hungry Polar Bears Eating Food Waste to Survive

Scientists from the U.S. and Canada say Arctic warming is reducing the food supply for polar bears. The animals are forced 【小题1】(search) for food at waste sites. That is causing problems for 【小题2】the bears and humans.

With the usual food running low, the bears are coming off the ice and onto land. They get【小题3】(close) to areas where humans place waste, including bones from whale hunts and used food packages.

The bears often end up 【小题4】(eat) the food packaging when trying to get to the food inside. Since their bodies cannot break down the material, the bears can develop blockages that can result 【小题5】 sickness and even death. In 【小题6】(add), people living close to the area 【小题7】(occasional) shoot the bears because they fear the animals might hurt people.

Up to now the bears 【小题8】(find) at garbage collection places in Russia and in the American state of Alaska. The problem will only get worse for the bears as more humans move into their territory. One area where the bears live is Nunavut, Canada. The human population there【小题9】(expect) to increase by over 50 percent by 2043.

As more humans move in, the waste becomes more of a problem because it is hard to manage in frozen lands. The ground is frozen,【小题10】means the garbage cannot be buried. It is costly to send the waste out on trucks.

Have you ever seen a honeybee in the winter? Most people in temperate (温和的) climates 【小题1】 (probable) have not. When temperatures in the winter drop below 10℃, honeybees, without blankets, fires, 【小题2】 adjustable thermostats (恒温器), return to 【小题3】 (they) hives, forming a winter cluster for warmth — sort of like a giant three-month slumber party in the winter.

The fate of the hive 【小题4】 (depend) on how sufficiently the winter population has prepared for the cold. 【小题5】 (keep) warm and survive, the honeybee swarm (蜂群) must have a strong population of winter-ready bees, plentiful stores of honey to eat, and a secure hive. A successful winter cluster is made up of a generation of bees, 【小题6】 have a longer lifespan (寿命) to last the whole winter.

The social world of honeybees is normally divided into three 【小题7】 (variety): workers, drones, and queens. 【小题8】, the male drones die off in the winter, 【小题9】 (leave) only the female workers and the queen. To maintain a survivable heat, the all-female swarm of bees crowds together tightly to form the winter cluster, with the queen at the warmest place, the 【小题10】 (centre) section of the group, and the workers shaking around.

If you want to save your seaside snack from a hungry seagull (海鸥) this summer, just try staring it down. A University of Exeter study found that the gulls are less likely 【小题1】(work) up courage to steal someone’s food if the person is looking at them directly.

Researcher Madeleine Goumas bought a bag chips at 【小题2】(variety) seaside places, held it at arm’s length and 【小题3】(time) how long gulls took to steal 【小题4】 food if she was looking away, and when she was looking straight at them. Most gulls would not approach if they were being stared at, and those who did took an average 21 seconds 【小题5】 (long) to try their luck when they were being watched.

Gulls are often seen 【小题6】 aggressive and willing to take food from humans, Goumas told the BBC, so it was 【小题7】 (interest) to find that most gulls wouldn’t even come near during our tests. She says the gulls 【小题8】 (main) swoop in from behind, so the best way to save your chips is to eat with your back to a wall and with your eyes open for gulls.