Oregon zookeeper's claim

Vecchio explained the primary threat to polar bears in the wild is global warming. The sea ice is arriving later each season and melting sooner, which means the bears must swim farther every year to find food.

Are There Long-Term Trends in The Start Of Freeze-Up And Melt Of Arctic Sea Ice?

The finding in this data is that there is no clear evidence of a delay in the start of the later summer/early fall freeze up or [an earlier] start of the late winter/early spring melt despite the well below average areal sea ice coverage.