‘Soul-crushing’ footage has emerged of a starving wild polar bear scouring a desolate landscape for food.
In heartbreaking scenes, which brought the cameraman who captured them to tears, the emaciated creature can be seen scavenging for sustenance, stumbling over terrain devoid of ice.
In heartbreaking scenes, which brought the cameraman who captured them to tears, the emaciated creature can be seen scavenging for sustenance, stumbling over terrain devoid of ice. The clip was recorded by photographer Paul Nicklen, who is part of conservation group Sea Legacy
Disturbing footage of a starving wild polar bear scouring a desolate landscape for food has taken the internet by storm. Rummaging in a rubbish bin for a life-saving morsel he comes up empty, before slumping to the ground waiting for death
The clip was recorded by photographer Paul Nicklen, who is part of conservation group Sea Legacy who says he captured the creature’s lingering agony because he didn’t want its death to be in vain
It is illegal to feed wild polar bears in Canada, but even if he had been able to, he would only have been delaying the inevitable. About the moment, Mr Nicklin said: ‘We stood there crying, filming with tears rolling down our cheeks’
The former biologist who has now turned his hand to wildlife photography has seen over 3,000 bears in the wild, but this particular encounter will no doubt linger in his memory
The photographer shared the haunting moment with his Instagram followers, attracting over one million views at the time of publication. The bear is likely to have died ‘within hours or days of this moment’, he added on the photo sharing site
By raising awareness of the death of this particular polar bear, Mr Nicklen hopes to bring home the reality of global warming for the entire species
Polar bear numbers are expected to collapse by a third in as little as 35 years as ice melts in the Arctic, a 2016 study found. The drop in numbers will reduce the world population of the bears from around 26,000 to 17,000
Polar bear numbers are expected to collapse by a third in as little as 35 years as ice melts in the Arctic, a 2016 study found. The drop in numbers will reduce the world population of the bears from around 26,000 to 17,000
As home to the Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island has been particularly hard hit by the warming climate. The cap is around the size of Delaware or four times the size of Greater London, and is the last piece of an ice sheet that once blanketed North America
The ice cap in the Canadian Arctic, which is around the size of Delaware or or four times the size of Greater London, is the last piece of ice sheet that once blanketed much of North America.
Although the ice cap is still 500 meters (1,600 feet) thick, it’s melting at a rapid pace driven by increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that have elevated Arctic temperatures
In March, scientists announced that, under a ‘business-as-usual’ greenhouse gas emissions scenario, the last remnant of the North American ice sheet is set to melt in about 300 years
‘The simple truth is this — if the Earth continues to warm, we will lose bears and entire polar ecosystems. This large male bear was not old, and he certainly died within hours or days of this moment.
The footage was taken on Baffin Island, in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world, but has been heavily effected by the ravages of global warming and dwindling ice
It is thought the bear was hurt while hunting a walrus and the injury had led to a struggle to find food.
Miss Langenberger, who is based in Germany, posted the image of the ‘horribly thin’ injured bear on Facebook month, where it was shared more than 41,000 times.
The photo was taken in Norway’s Svalbard region, a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean where tourists often go to see polar bears in their natural habitat.
Miss Langenberger claims the picture is also evidence of the retreating sea ice, which she thinks is affected by global warming.
This is not the first time that starving polar bears have made the headlines. In September 2015, nature photographer Kerstin Langenberger captured on camera an emaciated female polar bear dragging an injured leg
There have been increasing reports in recent years of polar bears spending more and more time on land, raiding bird nests and even eating dolphins in their search for alternative sources of food