Photographer captures heartbreaking image of Arctic polar bear which ‘starved to death as a result of climate change’

Desdemona Despair

[cf. Desdemona’s collection of polar bear stories.]

By Simon Tomlinson
18 February 2016

(Daily Mail) – A photographer has captured a heartbreaking image of a dead polar bear which he claims starved to death as a result of climate change.

Sebastian Copeland was trekking in the Canadian Arctic when he came across the animal’s emaciated corpse surrounded in molted fur on a patch of rocky ground.

Mr Copeland believes it serves as a graphic illustration of the plight facing polar bears as the sea ice retreats, making it harder to hunt seals and forcing them further inland for food.

Writing in his book Arctica: The Vanishing North, the adventurer said: ‘For the state of the ice in general, we’re headed into uncharted territory. There’s no doubt about it.

‘The frozen remains of this young bear point to starvation. 

‘The faster retreat of the sea ice, a bear’s favoured spot for seal hunting, leads to longer fasting periods and the demise of more animals from starvation.’ 

Mr Copeland, who has photographed the Arctic for the last ten years, says he wants to document the devastating effects of global warming on glacial environments. [more]

Photographer captures heartbreaking image of an Arctic polar bear which ‘starved to death as a result of climate change’