Ecosystems

Polar bears and their missing homes

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What do you think about the picture?  Polar bear doing yoga? This is not a picture for fun, but indeed, it’s a heart-breaking one that tells a big story.

The seawater surrounding the bear was once a piece of huge iceberg and the homeland for polar bears. But since the recent century, the Earth’s temperature has increased 0.8%, declaring the age of global warming. Humans are the main cause of global warming. We produce excessive CO2 that traps the heat inside the atmosphere.

We cause global warming but we’re not the only species that have to bear the consequences. Hotter temperatures melt the ice. Polar bears have evolved for a life on the sea ice, which they rely on for reaching their seal prey. But the arctic sea ice is rapidly diminishing due to a warming earth, affecting the entire arctic ecosystem. For polar bears, sea ice losses doesn’t only mean higher sea level (that can increase the risk of drowning!), but also means the reduced access to food, lower cub survival rates, and the loss of their homeland! Polar bears are now forced to swim longer distances due to decreasing sea ices.

Humans have led this problem. And we are the ones who have to fix it. Time to conserve polar bears is becoming stringent. This means all of us – individuals, communities, businesses, and states – must work together and act now.

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