One Photo Shows Grim Scenario For The Future Of Polar Bears
Polar bears in Svalbard are undoubtedly magnificent creatures, and many people who travel to the Arctic rave about seeing the large white bears in their natural habitat. However, a new picture (posted below) snapped by wildlife photographer Kerstin Langenberger tells a much different story.
According to The Dodo, polar bears in the region are struggling to find food. This, of course, is happening in different parts of the world, thanks to global warming.
Climate changes are being blamed for the melting of sea ice, which is where polar bears usually hunt for seals. Since the sea ice is being depleted because of warmer temperatures, so are the food options. The report indicates that these marine mammals are being forced to feed on “snow geese and caribou,” both of which are considered “less abundant food sources.”
Not to mention, there are more polar bears living in the area than a couple of snow geese and caribou can feed adequately.
This is a polar bear http://t.co/d3XVs9hq3l pic.twitter.com/q81A7wWWTV
— HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) September 9, 2015
Kerstin Langenberger posted the above photo to her Facebook page back in August. She also wrote a couple of paragraphs about what she witnessed on her recent visit to the Norwegian archipelago.
“Only few times I have seen beautifully fat mothers with beautifully fat young. 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,” wrote Langenberger.
As Langenberger points out, there seems to be some debate as to the stability of these polar bears. While some experts insist that the population in Svalbard (about 3,000 of the world’s 20,000+) is actually growing, photos like the one above suggest just the opposite.
“How can a population be doing good if most bear will score a body index of 2-3 out of 5? Only once I have seen a bear getting a big fat ‘5,’ but several times I have seen dead bears and bears like this one: a mere ‘1’ on the scale, doomed to death. I do not have scientific data to proof my observations, but I have eyes to see – and a brain to draw conclusions,” Langenberger also wrote, urging people to do whatever they can to change the future for these animals.
Polar bears are considered a “threatened species,” and were added to the Endangered Species Act in 2008.
[Photo by Alexandra Beier / Getty Images News]
