Polar bears are apex predators. But that certainly doesn’t protect them from one of the most formidable threats out there-global warming. With temperatures rising every year, more polar ice, the thing that the bears thrive on, is melting away faster, thanks to global warming. Since there is less sea ice each year and a record amount lost last year, the seals that these bears depend on for food, are leaving the area, thereby making it much harder for the bears to find food.
photo: Popsci
In order to get through a long summer, these creatures must eat forty seals before they go into semi-hibernation. As a result, polar bears are having to swim farther, sometimes hundreds of miles with no food or sleep, in search of their next meal. Which isn’t always a successful mission. And their survival depends on it. In fact, it is estimated that in thirty years, 2/3 of all polar bears could be gone. Nat Geo followed one of these majestic creatures, called Ice Bear, to track his success and measure his chance for survival.
