Choose the best answer to complete the passage
Scientists have counted up to 80 polar bears at a time in or near Kaktovik; many look healthy and plump, especially in the early fall, when their (21)______ overlaps with the Inupiat village’s whaling season. But the bears that come here are climate (22)______, on land because the sea ice they rely on for hunting seals is disappearing.
The Arctic is warming twice (23)______ the rest of the planet, and the ice cover is retreating at a pace that even the climate scientists who (24)______ the decline find startling. Much of 2016 was warmer than normal, and the freeze-up came late. In November, the extent of Arctic sea ice was lower than (25)______ recorded for that month.
(21) ....................
