When you think of the effects climate change is having on the Arctic and its wildlife, it’s often polar bears that come to mind.

But, a shocking new segment of Netflix’s Our Planet has highlighted the gruesome fate of walruses forced increasingly onto shore as sea ice dwindles.

The David Attenborough-narrated series shows a shocking look at walruses who have become confused by a combination of shrinking ice cover and their own poor eyesight, causing them to scale cliffs and often plummet to their deaths when they attempt to return to sea.

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A shocking new segment of Netflix’s Our Planet has highlighted the gruesome fate of walruses forced increasingly onto shore as sea ice dwindles. The walruses have been climbing high onto cliffs and falling to their deaths

In the disturbing clip, walruses can be seen perched precariously on the edge of the rocky cliffs, unaware of just how high up they are.

All they know, Attenborough says, is that they need to join the other walruses and find food.

‘A walrus’ eyesight out of water is poor,’ Attenborough says.

‘But they can sense the others down below. As they get hungry, they need to return to the sea.

‘In their desperation to do so, hundreds fall from heights they should never have scaled.’

Walruses are among the top Arctic species feeling the effects of climate change as they rely heavily on sea ice to rest between hunts.

As the ice shrinks, more and more are coming onto shore, WWF explains.

In addition to unfamiliar and dangerous terrain, ’on land, they’re highly susceptible to disturbance from humans, aircraft or predators such as polar bears, which can spook them and cause crushing stampedes,’ according to WWF.

These massive marine mammals also give birth on sea ice, and turn to the ice edges to mate.

Sea ice also provides crucial shelter from storms and predators, according to an NOAA report.

The David Attenborough-narrated series shows a shocking look at walruses who have become confused by a combination of shrinking ice cover and their own poor eyesight, causing them to scale cliffs and often plummet to their deaths when they attempt to return to sea

In the disturbing clip, walruses can be seen perched precariously on the edge of the rocky cliffs, unaware of just how high up they are. They then fall below, amid bodies and other living walruses

While the loss of sea ice may not drive them to extinction, scientists say it will have devastating impacts on their population.

‘It is certain that land-based sites alone will not support the same number of walruses that the mixed seasonal use of sea ice and land has permitted in the past,’ scientists wrote in a 2015 study.

‘Additionally, documented declines in the northern Bering Sea among dominant clam populations that are critical prey for walruses, associated with reductions in sea ice declines, provide cause for concern; such ecosystem changes are clearly important for walruses and other animals.’