About a week or so ago, an article appeared in the news and was rapidly shared around other networks and social media. It concerned a 16-year old polar bear found in Svalbard, an Arctic island archipelago. The bear, it seemed, had starved to death, despite being seen in perfect health only a few months before by Norwegian researchers.
The prevailing idea was that this bear had been driven far from its native hunting grounds by the loss of sea ice, so finding food had become far more difficult. Unfortunately, its desperate search was unsuccessful. Now this bear was a bit special, being an adult at the peak of its strength, and found by a research team whose photo of its tragic final pose went instantly viral. But as global warming intensifies, so the annual reduction in ice cover at the Arctic worsens every year, meaning the fate of this polar bear will soon be much more common.
As their habitats decrease in scope of course, the bears are forced to travel further to hunt food, often bringing them into human populations where to prevent loss of life they have to be either chased off, sedated and moved, or worst-case scenario, killed.
It’s a tragic situation all-round really, this king of the Arctic, an animal recognised around the world, may soon only be found in zoos. As such, the polar bear has now become an iconic symbol of the twin battles to stop climate change, and prevent the exploitation of the Arctic for its underground resources.
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