bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), ringed seal (Pusa hispida), harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), and hooded seal (Crystophora cristata), as well as the polar bear to an icebreaker vessel in a ...

This is a harp seal with a cub. Polar bears increasingly exchange ringed seal with harp seal and hooded seal in their diet and therefore become exposed to higher concentrations of contaminants.

A polar bear’s diet consists mainly of seals. They feed on bearded, harp, hooded, and harbor seals, but the ringed seal is their most common prey. Polar bears use a method called “still ...