A starving polar bear slammed its paw into the ice as a pod of orcas circled dangerously close. The hungry titan spotted the dark fins rising from the freezing water, and for a moment, it seemed ready to attack.
In the Arctic, two predators occupy the top of the food chain in separate domains. On the ice, the polar bear relies on strength and endurance. In the water, the killer whale uses speed and coordinated hunting strategies. For thousands of years, their territories rarely overlapped, but the shrinking of sea ice is bringing them into closer contact and changing the dynamics of Arctic predation.Resea…