cares about himself.htline" is next. good night, everybody. tonight on "nightline" -- inside theng arctic circle where the elusive polar bear is for al. >> the world should be interested. environment disappears beneath their feet these powerful killers are moving inland toward human is that the most frightened you've ever been in your >> yes. >> our amy robach on a journey to the edge of therth. with the americans who call it >> firearms just in case? >> and the scientists racing to save this vulnerable species. this special edition of vanishing ice. the last american polar bears be right back.

>> this is a special editi of "nightline." vanishing ice. american polar >> on the pure white ice they are almost enduring symbol of the in reason years the polar bear has come to embody something else. a creature caugh changing world disappearing under its feet. there are less than 25,000 polar bears left in the andever encounter them. but each year dozens descendn this isolated we're going on a journey to the edge of the earth to understand what is pushing these elusive beasts closerople. going to flyover the arctic circle to.

this is day three of travel. we have our fingers crossed because we're hopeful that we're going t get up there >> we'll check our latitude on the gps. they're extremely rugged as you'll see. an extremely remote area. >> so remote we lose contact with air traffic control. >>ion. definitely a first for me but this is spectacular. dicey cant get up here? >> you have to be confident. especially as remote as we are. from this vantage point, r co-pilot says evidenceing plan set visible. >> the glaciers are receding. the facts are getting warmer isundisputed in this

cle. >> approaching bart he island, we get a preview on the stoney islands below. a white bear. >> southwest barter island.illage of kaktovik alaska population 239. a stark a striking landscape but not quite thenow blaeted mountains you might expect in the a change that haseached into all corners of life here. it's not long before we see w we came for. we left the shore three minutes ago. andalready, polarwater. incredible. what are we? 50 feet fromthem? we're pretty darn close. one, two, four polar bears. a mother with hertriplets. thesebears, a drab shade of br the signspending so much time on muddy land. >> wow!

>> so with each other. >> our captain says these here because they are waiting for the s ice to return.rozen surface of the arctic ocear feeding on seals. >> they know they have a long wait. >> until the freeze up they scavenge on theremainse whales the must hunt to survive here. how long will the bears li out here until mid-november. an when the forming out in the ocean, when that starts happening, the seals go on the ice. soolar bears get their se on the ice. if that ice is not there, they get nothing. >> the bears used to spend just three weeks on land. but today they are stranded for nearly three months bec staying melted longer. scientists say it is due to global warming. in this part of the world, the sea ice is declining at the rate of 9% a decade. a dramatic number for polar bear

conservationists. scientist dr. todd atwood tranquillize the bears, collecting samples.ying how climate change is affecting these bears. >> friction i think. traction. those beautiful claws. >> minutes with each bear tha capture. we variety of samples, body measurements so we can see how physical stature might be changing throughtime. probably right on the cusp of being an adult. and we gave him seven cc's, which is the standard dosage for a bear of this size. i think the most surprising thing for me complexity o their behaviors. we've seen them d some dramatic changes in the ecosystem. we're seeing use habitats to the extent that we didn't expect. to certain food items that we didn't expect switc. we can see hair samples and

relate it to how the environment has changed. if the changes are causing an increase in stress levels. currently, they are a vulnerable species meaning they have a high risk of endangerment in the wild. >> polar bears is the signs of their passing. here behind me are some very, very fresh bear tracks. most places of the world, bears incredibly find. >> it was documented in the ghosts of the arctic. but inkaktovik the sheer number of bears has sparked a tourist boom. >> what makes it worth it to me is simply seeing a beautiful white bear walking along the beach, who is basically here only i froz ice that would have frozen years ago. >> here we are, unbelievably close to these bears. >> they're cute. he's looking right at us.

>> we're safe in the water. >> we're safe right here in the water. >> i'm glad i'm safely in this boat. >> on land itferent story, as bruce knows all well. >> then this happ. i was stack beside him a good three seconds. >> and you didn't even know. was that the most frightened you've ever been in your life? >> yes. >> i would think so. >> the opportunity to see them on land is too tempting. so as night falls, we set out in an suv. we are here right by what is called the bone pit. that's where whale carcasses have been left for years and years and years. and the polar bears come at dusk and feed what's left of the bones. our guide tells us we can get a few shots but we have to be ready to make a quick escape.

we were told we could get out of the vehicle as long as we heard him say get in and we run. no more, i need one more shot. he said you run straight back to the car. you don't know where they're comim and they move very quickly so we would have to move very quickly as well. though these bears are cute they can be deadly. in 2013 a wildlife photographer captured the sheer power of a polar bear attack from inside a glass case. >> one of the most powerful animals on the planet. one of the most intimidating animals on the one of the few animals. >> the males weigh 1,500 pounds and stand order nine feet tall. they can charge at 25 bite force is an astounding 1,200 pounds per square inch thoeflt they

need to kill. standing so close to these powerful creatures is awe-inspiring. but our guide says it is a bitter sweet opportunity. when i first came here the packed ice was on shore all summer. now it is 150 miles away. >> and that has a huge impact on the polar bears. >> that's why we have a lot here. this beautiful population the last ten years. we've been hunting whales about 10,000 years. they're coming because their habitat is gone. the world should be interested in this. >> while we're at the bone pile -- >> right there. >> we become concerned that they're interested in us. >> there's a mama polar bear with her two cubs walking not

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you see it over there. it's open. it melts more and the waterflows out. >> years and years ago, the here and they said it wouldn't blow over. there are stakes in the now they're melting and not holding the structure up anymore. >> it shows he the perma frost is melting. >> the coastline isn't permanent either. the coastline has chipped away at beaches, threatening towns and habitats. >> you love this land. how does it feel to see the changes are happening? >> well i think the rest world should look at this and say, it will happen m other people in other areas. marine life and marine animals, wildlife. >> dr. james wilder studies the polar bear population in the buford sea near barter island. he said these bears have been coming to these shores for

thousands of years. but climate change has changed their behavior. >> polar bears are up earlier. they used to show up in the beginning of september. now we see them in late july, august. and staying for longer. and that seems to be correlated with the avail ice. if sea ice melts earlier, then bears will come to shore sooner. if it forms later in the fall then they at the coast for longer periods of time. >> we're used to ice out there hunting. >> for the people of kaktovek the way of life is at risk as well. >> this is the main road. >> she is a witness to the changes brought by rising temperatures. >> for all the tours. they're a nuisance. they can smell the good food anywhere. they had broken down our door to our cellar. >> for centuries, residents

stored the whales they hunted in the permafrost. a natural underground freezer. >> most of the ice filled up with water. and it is hard to keep them going. >> you used to have natural ice cellars. >> yeah. >> that have now melted? >> they washed out. erosion got all of their all gone. >> and now you have containers. relying on the earth is something they need to do. even though there's a grocery store here that doesn't mean groceries are accessible for every one. $21. for a bottle of lotion. $34 for conditioner. it's tough. the prices are a lot higher. >> how challenging is it to keep your store stocked here on bart he island? >> the tourists we're slowly getting it. >> it costs so much to get

everything. >> yeah. my prices are crazy sometimes. >> another issue is safety. while the locals know what to do about bears -- most people have firearms just in case? we try to do it. >> they don't understand that they're wild zmams their demeanor can change just like that. >> right. you all live among them. with them. you understand. >> kit get crazy when they start coming in. especially when they finish up there. they'll start coming into the town looking for scraps. >> they're hungry. >> it is such a problem te ever a bear patrol stepping streets. this bear going through the garbage. another peering into a window. >> i used to lock up the bar there. >> she told us how she locks the

bears out at the end of her that's why i do it. >> so it's about 3:30 in the morning, i looked out my window and i saw them to check them out. a warning. >> this is the time of night the polar bears are out so we'll stay close to this door. it's unbelievable. i've seen pictures. i never thought i would see it in person. and there it is. in the sky. and it's surreal, actually. just as beautiful as i thought it would be. >> when we take off from batter island we're he in awe of what we've seen. the fragility of this arctic world that may be melting away.

from kaktovik alaska. >> our thanks to amy and her team for extraordinary story.

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and finally take a look at this incredible stunt. two dare devils jumping from a mountain about 13,000 feet up. then flying into the cabin of a plane in mid air over the swiss alps. the duo known as the soul flyers say they completed more than 100 practice flights in preparation for this stunt. thank you for watching abc news. as always we're online at abc 7 news.com and on our "nightline" facebook page. thank you for watching and good night.