You may be surprised to learn that polar bears don't necessarily mind mild temperatures. It's not the temperature that directly affects their existence when it comes to climate change but rather their entire seasonal life cycle. A polar bear's existence revolves around sea ice. Sea ice is the polar bear's literal hunting platform for their primary food source: seals. They require the calorie-rich fat of seals. While polar bears are excellent swimmers and can swim for long distances, they're no match in the water to a seal. BUT, on ice or land, the bear is on more even footing. Seals have to come up for air and the bears can sniff out their breathing holes. Seal mothers also have to give birth on the sea ice and make their birthing dens on the ridges of sea ice (yes polar bears eat many baby seal pups in the circle of life).
As temperatures warm faster in the arctic than the rest of the globe, the cycle of sea ice is disrupted throughout the arctic and subarctic.
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