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Robbed by humans of the ice they need for their survival, these hungry and exhausted polar bears are in grave danger of starvation.

The destructive threat of global warming is so serious that some species could be wiped out by the end of this century.

A leading expert has told the Mirror that unless significant action is taken “all the bears will eventually be gone”.

Our images show the desolate kings of the Arctic precariously stranded on the western shore of Hudson Bay in Canada as climate change continues to wreak havoc.

These bears should have left the town of Churchill, on average, three weeks ago to head out on shimmering ice for seal-rich seas.

(Image: James Breeden)

After months of relying on their fat reserves and struggling to forage on land, they face starvation having not been able to feed on their prey.

Global warming has reduced the ice coverage on the bay. Not only do they have less ice on which to hunt, but they have less time for hunting – all because of our reckless abuse of the planet.

Last week we saw bears repeatedly fall through what by then should have been solid ice as they tried to reach areas that provide them with food.

It is only in the past few days that the endangered animals have been able to make their way out to open waters as the ice finally became strong enough to hold their weight.

(Image: James Breeden)

It is a myth the bears chase prey through the sea. In fact the predators kill ringed seals by grabbing them as they surface or rest near the sea ice’s edge. A 31st bear needs almost 5lb of blubber per day.

It is why their dependence on the ice for travelling, hunting, mating, resting, and often their maternal dens, makes them highly vulnerable to the changing climate.

Expert Dr Steve Amstrup has now issued a dire warning, saying: “This is not something we can solve by just turning out the lights when we leave the room or turning our thermostats down. We’re way, way beyond that.

“We are truly in a climate crisis right now. We’re talking about species’ disappearance, the impacts of which are felt all around the globe.” The chief scientist at conservation organisation Polar Bears International added: “The loss of sea ice is critical.

“The 13 to 14% a decade decline really constitutes a crisis.

“Over the last 40 years some bears, some populations like this one and one in Alaska, are being significantly affected by sea ice loss. And if we allow the sea ice loss to continue, all the bears will eventually be gone.”

(Image: James Breeden)

In a message ahead of next month’s general election , the American said: “The most important thing we need to do is to stop the rise in CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.

“There are lots of things that people can do individually, but to really make a significant difference, we need policy leadership. So residents in the UK need to vote for people who care about our future – support politicians who take climate change seriously, otherwise nothing else really matters.

“Secondly, support businesses that are trying to maintain a sustainability model, trying to do what they can to preserve a sustainable future.” Scientists say various steps must be taken to reduce carbon dioxide in the air.

They include planting more trees, managing forests better, finding alternatives to petrol-fuelled cars, less air travel, more energy-efficient homes and less food being wrapped in plastic.

Polar bears, the world’s largest land-based carnivore, will not survive without sea ice. It is what they have evolved to hunt seals on.

(Image: James Breeden)

The bear’s huge front paws help it swim between ice flows and, unlike other bears, its pads are blanketed with fur, giving it better grip on snow and ice. And they are camouflaged.

The species is perfectly designed for life in the Arctic – or at least it was. Studies show the environment the polar bear evolved to master is melting under its massive paws, forcing the predators to forage on land where they have difficulty finding prey.

Nowhere is the impact of climate change on sea ice habitat more sig-nificant than in Canada. The country is home to roughly 16,000 of the world’s estimated 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears living in the wild.

Recent science suggests polar bears are at serious risk because of sea ice retreat, which is happening earlier in the year and lasting longer.

(Image: James Breeden)

The Arctic is warming three times as fast as the global average – rising 2.3C since the 1970s while the worldwide increase is around 0.7C.

The sea ice extent in September, the month of each year’s minimum extent, has declined 13.4% per decade from 1979. Future global warming is projected to be highest in the Arctic.

Experts believe that further thinning and retreat of sea ice will be so bad that a nearly ice-free Arctic in the summer is likely before mid-century. While the bears’ struggle provides compelling evidence of climate change, people are at risk too.

Dr Amstrup said: “We have to recognise that humans aren’t just observers of ecology. We are participants in that.

“So when you say how important should the environment be? It’s our environment. It’s not just the environment for the polar bear or the elephant.

“We are part of it, and, in most cases, we are driving it.

(Image: James Breeden)

“If we don’t have a healthy eco-system, we don’t have solid agricultural crops to feed ourselves, we don’t have clean water or clean air.”

The town of Churchill, a former Cold War military outpost where test rockets once arched over the Hudson Bay, is home to 800 people. They sometimes share the streets with bears hunting for food. These animals could easily kill a human.

Stories of tourists coming face to face with a bear are not uncommon.

Vehicles here are left unlocked in case anyone needs shelter quickly.

Persistent offenders end up detained in the town’s “Polar Bear Jail” before they are deported by helicopter to a safe area far from residents.

Each year more than 12,000 tourists descend on the Manitoba town for bear season. They take to custom made “tundra buggies” to see the animals in the wild but with each passing year they are coming earlier and leaving later.

Hotelier Angela Fong, 52, who owns the Iceberg Inn, said: “The sooner we come together to stop global warming and sea ice loss, the better the health of the bears will be. Every one of us has a responsibility to the planet.

“If we continue to live as we do polar bears will eventually be gone.”

Angela added: “Until we all come together across the world, we will not solve global warming.

“To see the polar bears die out because of us would be unforgivable.”