WINNIPEG - Manitoba conservation officers are finding more polar bear dens in an area along the Hudson Bay coast near the Ontario boundary.
Daryll Hedman says they were surprised at the high number of dens, which could equal the number of dens in better-known areas further north.
Hedman says it may be a sign that the polar bear population in the area is healthy, at least for the time being.
But he says the ice-free period in the area is getting longer as the climate changes.
That means it is getting harder for female polar bears to hunt seals and gain enough weight to give birth.
Manitoba is launching a three-year study of polar bear dens in an area east of the Nelson River.
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