0 SHARES Share Tweet

Early in 2002, a WWF ( World Wildlife Fund ) report predicted that effect from the climate change could have deadly consequences on the life of polar bears.

The very existence of these big white beautiful bears depends on the sea ice where they find concentrations of seals.

A polar bear watches her cubs on the Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. The bay is famous for polar bears, but their population is in decline.

PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM MURPHY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

But in the last decade as a result of warming temperatures and rising seas, the Arctic ice is shrinking constantly and these lovely animals that live only in Arctic regions are often the first to feel the impact of global warming that could eventually lead to polar bear endangerment or extinction.The polar bears are facing with a danger of starvation because lack of sea ice is making it more difficult for them to find food.

A red fox rubs noses with a polar bear on the Hudson Bay in Manitoba.

JOHANSEN KRAUSE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Award winning photographer Paul Nicklen together with filmmakers from the conservation group Sea Legacy came across a heartbreaking and one of the most gut-wrenching sights on Baffin Island: a starving polar bear clinging to life on iceless land.

The video shows a polar bear on its deathbed, its white hair limply covering its thin, bony frame. One of the bear’s back legs drags behind it as it walks, likely due to muscle atrophy. Looking for food, the polar bear slowly rummages through a nearby trashcan used seasonally by Inuit fishers. It finds nothing and resignedly collapses back down onto the ground.

Photographer Paul Nicklen has a big experience with bears, he has seen over 3000 of them during his wildlife photographer adventures, but he still admits that this was one of the most emotional sights he’s ever seen.

“We stood there crying—filming with tears rolling down our cheeks,” he said.

You may ask why he didn’t intervene?

“Of course, that crossed my mind,” said Nicklen. “But it’s not like I walk around with a tranquilizer gun or 400 pounds of seal meat.”

And even if he did, said Nicklen, he only would have been prolonging the bear’s misery. Plus, feeding wild polar bears is illegal in Canada.

Thanks to a camera trap, a polar bear unwittingly makes a self-portrait in Svalbard.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL NICKLEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

some facts:

TYPE: Mammals

DIET: Carnivores

AVERAGE LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: 25 to 30 years

SIZE: Head and body, 7.25 to 8 ft; tail, 3 to 5 in

WEIGHT: 900 to 1,600 lbs

POPULATION TREND: Unknown

IUCN RED LIST STATUS: Vulnerable

source: link

FOLLOW PAUL NICKLEN

Leave your vote 3 points Upvote Downvote Total votes: 3 Upvotes: 3 Upvotes percentage: 100.000000% Downvotes: 0 Downvotes percentage: 0.000000%

Sharing is caring!

(Visited 27 times, 1 visits today)