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Summer is short in the Arctic Circle and by early October, the sea ice is beginning to return.
北極圈內(nèi)的夏季很短暫，到了十月初，海冰又開始出現(xiàn)了。
Sea water starts to freeze at around minus two degree Celsius.
當(dāng)水溫降至攝氏零下二度時(shí)，海水就開始凍結(jié)。
But it will be some time before the ice is thick enough for polar bears to return to their hunting platform.
不過還要再過一段時(shí)間，冰層厚度才足以使北極熊能夠重返捕獵平臺(tái)。
For the bears, this is the toughest time of the year.
對(duì)北極熊來說，這是一年中最困難的時(shí)期。
Without the sea ice, it's almost impossible for them to catch seals.
沒有了海冰，它們想捉到海豹幾乎是不可能的。
In autumn, the bears living around Canada's Hudson bay lie in the shores in large numbers waiting for the sea to freeze.
秋天里，加拿大哈德遜灣沿岸的北極熊在岸邊大量聚集，等待海面結(jié)冰。
These are the southern most polar bears on the planet and they deal with longer and hotter summers than any others.
這些是地球上分布最靠南的北極熊，它們比其它同類要忍受更長也更熱的夏季。
Many of these bears will not have eaten for the last five months.
這些熊當(dāng)中很多都已經(jīng)有五個(gè)月沒吃東西了。
Each year, their hunting ground is melting earlier and taking longer to refreeze as winter approaches.
每年，它們的捕獵場(chǎng)都融化得更早，而當(dāng)冬季再次來臨時(shí)凍結(jié)得又更晚。
With the shorter hunting season out on the ice, polar bears have less time to fatten up.
由于能在冰上捕食的時(shí)期較短，這些北極熊積攢脂肪的時(shí)間更少了。
Some bears will scavenge for scraps and even eat seaweed.
有些北極熊會(huì)撿食殘羹剩飯，甚至進(jìn)食海藻。
But with such meager pickings, for many, autumn is simply waiting game.
但因?yàn)槭澄锶绱素毞?，很多北極熊秋天里能做的只有等待。
Polar bear is extraordinarily well adapted to deal with its long periods of famine.
北極熊面對(duì)長時(shí)期的饑餓適應(yīng)能力極好。
They slow their metabolism right down and by staying inactive, they conserve their energy, awaiting the return of the ice.
它們能大幅降低新陳代謝速度，而通過盡量不動(dòng)，它們能節(jié)省體能消耗靜待冰層的形成。
As winter approaches, the sea of northwest Greenland is beginning to freeze.
隨著冬季臨近，格陵蘭島西北的海面開始凍結(jié)。
At first, a soupy mixture of ice crystals and cold water, known as frazil ice, starts developing.
一開始時(shí)，初生冰的形成就是粥狀的冰晶和冷水的混合物。
