evidence: The bears can’t thrive on land, a concerning discovery as sea ice continues to disappear at a rapid pace, a new study says. For the polar bears of Manitoba, Canada, the sea ice that envelops western Hudson Bay for most of the year is the ideal hunting ground for a feast of blubber-rich seals. But then come the dog days of summer, when the ice melts and the bears are forced onto land. There, life is no picnic for these giant creatures. [...] Polar bears live in 19 regions across the Arctic, from Canada to Greenland to Russia. While some populations live on permanent ice, others inhabit seasonal ice. Climate change has caused ice loss to some degree in all the regions, leading to drastic population declines. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists polar bears as vulnerable to extinction.