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Although the world's largest land carnivore is capable of devouring nearly anything it encounters — from whales to lemmings — it cannot survive indefinitely without seals. To hunt seals, polar bears depend on sea-ice. But as climate change keeps the Arctic ice-free for increasingly longer periods, the predators are struggling to find enough prey, and data shows that a single year of prolonged warmth could spell disaster for entire sub-populations of the species. Now, an international team of experts is urging wildlife managers to devise game plans for dealing with the inevitable: a mass polar bear starvation event.

Trail Blazers' rookie Damian Lillard isn't the only local hoops star to make a splash this season. Oregon Zoo marine life keepers say Eddie the sea otter can dunk with the best of them and just might have the highest shooting percentage in town.

Look out, Lily: A 12-ounce newcomer is eyeing your title as the Oregon Zoo's most adorable baby. Or at least he will be, once he opens his eyes. Tilly, one of the zoo's two North American river otters, gave birth to a male pup Jan. 28 — the first river otter to be born at the Oregon Zoo. The new arrival weighed just over 4 ounces at birth and has already tripled that due to his mother's naturally high-fat milk. Keepers have yet to decide on a name for the pup, though it is likely he will be named after a local river or waterway.

Coaxing endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits into "breeding like rabbits" has never been simple. But a recent breakthrough at the Oregon Zoo suggests the secret to rabbit chemistry lies in the right matchmaking service. Now, the mate-compatibility research may prove beneficial for another unlucky-in-love endangered species: the giant panda.

"The panda is the world ambassador for all endangered species," said Meghan Martin, the Oregon Zoo research associate who led the study. "If our research with pandas shows similar findings to what we've seen in pygmy rabbits, it will be a very big deal for the zoo breeding world."