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近几年我们经常从资讯上看到饿得皮包骨头的北极熊，因为气候变暖、海冰消融，靠浮冰捕食海豹为生的北极熊长期找不到食物，甚至沦落到去垃圾堆里翻找东西吃。然而更可悲的是，如今科学家的新研究发现，北极熊很可能撑不过这个世纪了。 图片Climate change is starving polar bears into extinction, according to research published Monday that predicts the apex carnivores could all but disappear within the span of a human lifetime. In some regions they are already caught in a vicious downward spiral, with shrinking sea ice cutting short the time bears have for hunting seals, scientists reported in Nature Climate Change. 周一发布的一项研究称，气候变化正在饿死北极熊并迫使它们灭绝。该研究预测，北极熊这一食物链顶端的食肉动物可能会在百年内几近灭绝。科学家在《自然气候变化》上发表的报告称，在部分地区，由于海冰消融缩短了北极熊捕食海豹的时间，北极熊已经陷入数量螺旋式下降的恶性循环。 all but: 几乎，差一点 Their dwindling body weight undermines their chances of surviving Arctic winters without food, the scientists added. 科学家补充道，因为体重不断下降，北极熊在没有食物的情况下熬过北极冬天的几率降低了。 "The bears face an ever longer fasting period before the ice refreezes and they can head back out to feed," Steven Amstrup, who conceived the study and is chief scientist of Polar Bears International, told AFP. | 
