#Regram #RG @nytimes: In the Fall, polar bears are everywhere around Kaktovik, an Arctic village home to 260 people. They doze on sand spits, roughhouse in the shallows, pad down the beach and attract hundreds of tourists. At night, the bears sneak into town, staying until the #polarbear patrol chases them off. On the surface, these animals might not look like members of a species facing possible extinction. Many seem healthy and plump — especially in the early fall, when their presence overlaps with the Inupiat village’s whaling season. But the bears in Kaktovik are #climaterefugees, on land because the sea ice they need to hunt seals is receding. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and the ice cover is retreating at a pace that startles even those who predicted the decline. Now, bears like this one are going into the winter skinnier, smaller and in poorer condition. In Kaktovik, at least for now, whales are providing alternative source of food. But dead whale is not a polar bear’s preferred cuisine. @joshhaner took this photo while on #nytassignment in Alaska. Visit the link in our profile to read more.