An isolated population of polar bears in southeast Greenland has learned to hunt on freshwater glacier ice. That means they may be able to survive longer as climate change makes sea ice scarce.

The bears have evolved to live without sea ice, which is crucial for most polar bears to survive. Instead, they use freshwater glacier ice. CNN values your feedback ...

A polar bear on a glacier in southeast Greenland. Kristin Laidre/University of Washington. View 2 Images 1 / 2. A polar bear sits atop an iceberg in southern Greenland.

Most populations don’t have access to glacier fronts, and besides, glaciers “are in retreat essentially everywhere in Greenland,” John Whiteman, the chief research scientist at Polar Bears ...

A southeast Greenland polar bear hunts on glacier or freshwater ice at 61 degrees north in September 2016. (Thomas W. Johansen / NASA Oceans Melting Greenland) ...

A female bear and two 1-year-old cubs walk over snow-covered freshwater glacier ice in Southeast Greenland. Kristin Laidre. Polar bears normally need sea ice to hunt seals, but an isolated group ...

Most polar bears make use of sea ice to hunt, but this is a limited option for the southeast Greenland bears. The region only sees sea ice between February and May.

The world-wide population of polar bears now stands at about 26,000, with 19 distinct population groups spread in Arctic regions of Canada, Russia, Alaska, Greenland and Norway, according to the ...

An adult female polar bear, left, and two 1-year-old cubs walk over snow-covered freshwater glacier ice in Southeast Greenland in March 2015. (Kristin Laidre/University of Washington) ...

A polar bear family group, consisting of an adult female (left) and two cubs, crosses glacier ice in Southeast Greenland in September 2016. NASA OMG ...