 does not mean all the bears are starving to death. It means the females are having a harder time having cubs, the cubs are having a harder time becoming adults, and some bears have just moved elsewhere in search of better conditions. As a result, this population has declined from about 1,200 bears in the 1980s to just over 600 today, almost 50 percent. Churchill is also home to about 900 people, but grows by thousands during tourist season.