A new government survey shows the bear population in a crucial part of northern Canada is far larger than many scientists thought, and might be growing.

The number of bears along the western shore of Hudson Bay, believed to be among the most threatened bear sub-populations, totals at least 1,013, according to the results of an aerial survey released Wednesday by the Government of Nunavut.

That's 66 percent higher than estimates by other researchers who forecasted the numbers would fall because of warming temperatures that melt ice faster.

(READ the full story from the Toronto Globe and Mail)