This Shocking Photograph Reveals The Reality Of Climate Change, Destroying out Home

Paul Nicklen on Instagram: “Last summer I traveled with a group of friends to Svalbard, Norway in search of polar bears. We went to my favorite spot where I have…” “Last summer I traveled with a group of friends to Svalbard, Norway in search of polar bears. We went to my favorite spot where I have always been able to…” \ INSTAGRAM.COM ·

• paulnicklenLast summer I traveled with a group of friends to Svalbard, Norway in search of polar bears. We went to my favorite spot where I have always been able to find bears roaming around on sea ice throughout the summer. On this occasion, however, we didn't find any sea ice and we never found any bears alive. We did find two dead bears in this location and other groups found more dead bears. These bears were so skinny, they appeared to have died of starvation, as in the absence of sea ice, they were not able to hunt seals. In all of my years of growing up in the Arctic and later, working as a biologist, I had never found a dead polar bear. It is now becoming much more common. Through@sea_legacy and @natgeo we will continue to shine a light on our changing planet to convince the unconvinced. Please follow me on @paulnicklen to learn more about the effects of climate change. #polarbear #nature #wildlife#arctic #seaice @thephotosociety

This Shocking Photograph Reveals The Reality Of Climate Change

September 13, 2015 | by Danielle Andrew

photo credit: Starving female polar bear. Kerstin Langenberger Photography

This shocking and saddening image was taken by photographer Kerstin Langenberger in Svalbard, and posted to her Facebook page.

Langenberger went on to say that although local scientists claim Svalbard's bear population is stable, she regularly sees skinny or starving females:

“I see the glaciers calving, retreating dozens to hundreds of meters every year. I see the pack ice disappearing in record speed. Yes, I have seen bears in good shape – but I have also seen dead and starving polar bears. Bears walking on the shores, looking for food, bears trying to hunt reindeer, eating birds' eggs, moss and seaweed. And I realized that the fat bears are nearly exclusively males which stay on the pack ice all year long. The females, on the other hand, which den on land to give birth to their young, are often slim. With the pack ice retreating further and further north every year, they tend to be stuck on land where there's not much food.”

Polar bears are currently considered vulnerable on the IUCN red list. IUCN explains that the bears are considered vulnerable because it’s believed there has been a population reduction of more than 30% in the last three generations (45 years). This is mainly due to loss of habitat as a result of melting sea ice.

And the future doesn't look bright. The IUCN has this to say: “Global climate change posses a substantial threat to the habitat of polar bears. Recent modeling of the trends for sea ice extent, thickness and timing of coverage predicts dramatic reductions in sea ice coverage over the next 50-100 years.”

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/one-image-captures-shocking-potential-future-polar-bears

Moms Clean Air Force shared a link.

This Shocking Photograph Reveals The Reality Of Climate Change

This shocking and saddening image was taken by photographer Kerstin Langenberger in Svalbard, and posted to her Facebook page. Langenberger...

IFLSCIENCE.COM