In a single year, one polar bear can leave roughly 300 kilograms of prey for other animals to dine on. Altogether, the carnivores provide 7.6 million kilograms of carrion for scavengers throughout the Arctic, researchers estimate.
The findings, reported October 28 in Oikos, highlight the crucial role these apex predators play in feeding a vast array of species and hints at the way that food web might be shaken as climate change warms the Arctic, endangering polar bear populations.
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