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Far fewer polar bears cubs are surviving off Alaska’s northern coast, a US report has concluded. The study of polar bears in the south Beaufort Sea also found that adult males weigh less and have smaller skulls than those captured and measured two decades ago. A fewer cubs and smaller males are consistent with other observations that suggest changes in sea ice may be adversely affecting polar bears, the study said. It warns the decline in cub survival and the smaller adult males are the same conditions that preceded a decline in the polar bears of western Hudson Bay, Canada, where the population dropped 22 per cent in 17 years.