THE idea that 'growing numbers of poIar bears are scavenging in human settlements as rising sea temperatures destroy the ice floes on which they live and breed' (Mail) is discredited global warming propaganda.

Polar bears have wandered in and around Churchill in Manitoba, Canada, and other settlements for more than 200 years because these places are built on their migration routes.

There are specific geographical reasons why the bears approach the shores of Hudson Bay in the Churchill area at this time of year. They don't eat during the summer, only when they go out on the ice in the autumn, and the first part of Hudson Bay that freezes every year is the bit near Churchill. The bears eat carrion but, unless someone in Churchill was stupid enough to put out raw meat, they wouldn't eat most things they came across - they wouldn't recognise it as food.

When I was in Churchill at the end of October, Hudson Bay was starting to freeze. My naturalist guide, who has been studying polar bears there for 30 years, told me the ice had been forming thicker and earlier and lasting longer in the past five years. Global warming fantasists claim the bears would starve if the ice disappeared, but the naturalist cited bears who have relocated to other non-­sea-ice areas, where they've adapted their behaviour and diet to suit local conditions.

He also denied the claim that 'the once healthy bear population has dropped from 1,200 to 900 in the national park around the town'. He said numbers have actually increased by 20 per cent in the past few years.

SAM WELLER, Basingstoke, Hants.