Polar bears displaced by melting ice create a tourist boom in an Alaskan town

Polar bear.
(Image credit: iStock.)

Each fall, the small Alaskan village of Kaktovik experiences a tourism boom — and lately, it's coming due to climate change. Polar bears trek to the tiny town as rising temperatures melt the sea ice on which they live, and tourists with cameras follow, ABC News reports.

Scientists estimate that the presence of sea ice declines at a rate of 9 percent every decade. As the ice melts, it takes polar bear territory and hunting grounds with it. Alaskan locals told ABC News that hungry polar bears descend on the town to feed on the leftover carcasses from annual whale hunts.

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Elianna Spitzer

Elianna Spitzer is a rising junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Politics and American Studies. She is also a news editor and writer at The Brandeis Hoot. When she is not covering campus news, Elianna can be found arguing legal cases with her mock trial team.q