The summer ice pack is crucial for polar bear to hunt their primary meal: seals. Since polar bears aren't accomplished swimmers, standing on the ice allows them to trap seals at the frigid water's surface. Females with less access to the dwindling ice must resort to fewer nourishing food sources, such as snow geese, caribou, and even moss. "Only a few times I have seen beautifully fat mothers with beautifully fat young," Langenberger continues. "Many times I have seen horribly thin bears, and those were exclusively females - like this one here. A mere skeleton, hurt on her front leg, possibly by a desperate attempt to hunt a walrus while she was stuck on land." She raises her anecdotal concerns amid a debate about polar bears' long-term livelihood. While some scientists and studies claim global warming-induced ice melt is imminently threatening the Arctic species, others point to population growth as a sign that all is well. Still, on the Svalgard Islands, where Langenberger's photo was taken, there seems to be little denial that the polar bear's cupboards are disconcertingly bare. In August, Canadian biologist Ian Stirling told the National Post , “(T)here is simply not enough to eat on land to support so many large bears.”