Polar bears could soon be extinct and humans are turning a blind eye to their suffering. According to a new study published last week, polar bears are starving at a faster rate than scientists realized, thanks in part to global warming.

Global warming has stripped polar bears of large portions of their hunting grounds. Rapidly melting ice caps — fueled by years of abnormally warm temperatures — make it nearly impossible for polar bears to find enough food to sustain themselves. Sans any real change to mitigate the effects of global warming, the world's largest land carnivore will starve themselves to extinction.

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Bears rely on thick and long sheets of ice to be successful predators. That's because these animals feed almost exclusively on the fat of ringed and bearded seals living in the arctic. To survive, polar bears must eat one adult seal every 10 to 12 days during their spring hunting season — which is roughly 12,325 calories per day.

Global warming makes feeding incredibly difficult. Earth's average temperature has risen roughly two degrees since the 19th century.

According to NASA, 16 of the 17 warmest years on record have happened since 2001. In fact, 2016 was the warmest year on record since 1880.

The Arctic is all too familiar with global warming's devastating effects. As of August 2017, Arctic sea surface temperatures were 39 degrees hotter than average.

The Arctic tundra continued to experience longer and more expansive green seasons. And sea ice continued disappearing at a rate of 14 percent every ten years.

This is a problem for our majestic arctic sea dwellers. The reason? Polar bears hunt seals from the ice. Without a vast area of thick ice to hunt on, it's much harder for bears to sneak up on their prey — and far easier for seals to escape into the water.

Data shows that polar bear populations are suffering from the rising temperatures. A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) followed nine polar bears in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska during the last three spring seasons. Since seal pups are typically in high demand during spring, the bears should be gaining weight in preparation for the warmer, summer months when food is not available.

Tragically, scientists discovered that bears haven't been nearly as successful in putting on mass during the past few years.

According to the USGS study, more than half of the bears observed actually lost weight during their peak hunting season — with some losing up to 5.5 pounds per day. One bear lost a whopping 51 pounds in less than 10 days.

This is far from the first study to draw such a conclusion. Scientists in Ontario studied roughly 900 polar bears between 1984 and 2009. Over that time period, the average weight of a female polar bear fell by 31 pounds. For males, the drop was an astonishing 99 pounds.

The latest study only confirmed what scientists already knew: Polar bears are literally starving to death.

We have only ourselves to blame. Humans release millions of tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere each year — with the United States and China being the world's top polluters.

These emissions trap heat, and make the earth warmer. By the end of 2017, global carbon emissions from fossil fuels alone rose two percent — to a record 37 billion metric tons.

Indeed, global warming is a man-made problem that only humans can correct.

Polar bears will continue to starve — and move closer towards extinction — without serious action to combat global warming. Polar bears are already listed as a vulnerable species, with between 22,000 and 31,000 bears living right now. At this rate, scientists predict that population will decline by more than two-thirds by 2050.

The battle to protect wildlife is lost when we, as a people, can't rally enough support to protect some of the world's largest and most advanced species. Polar bears are depending on our voice and our action. Let's hope we're up for the challenge.