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Collection: Polar Bears in Svalbard and Melting Sea Ice

Polar Bears in Svalbard and Melting Sea Ice
The Polar Bear or Ursus maritimus is facing a range of challenges as air temperatures in the Arctic Region are rising 2 – 2.5 times faster than the global average. There are thought to be between 22,000-27,000 Polar Bears in 20 separate populations across the World. In the arctic, where perennial sea ice is disappearing at a rate of nearly 9% per decade, the Polar Bears who rely on it for hunting, shelter and breeding are being put at huge risk as their habitat is destroyed.

Polar bear testing melting sea ice, Svalbard More than any other animal, the polar bear, Ursus maritimus, is recognized as the symbol of the Arctic. With white fur and a sub-skin blubber providing insulation, the polar bear has adapted to live in severe cold condit...

By Peter Prokosch

Polar bear on sea ice, its prime habitat, Svalbard More than any other animal, the polar bear, Ursus maritimus, is recognized as the symbol of the Arctic. With white fur and a sub-skin blubber providing insulation, the polar bear has adapted to live in severe cold condit...

By Peter Prokosch

By Peter Prokosch

Polar bears on pack ice north of Svalbard with seal kill More than any other animal, the polar bear, Ursus maritimus, is recognized as the symbol of the Arctic. With white fur and a sub-skin blubber providing insulation, the polar bear has adapted to live in severe cold condit...

By Peter Prokosch

Polar bears feeding on sea ice, Svalbard More than any other animal, the polar bear, Ursus maritimus, is recognized as the symbol of the Arctic. With white fur and a sub-skin blubber providing insulation, the polar bear has adapted to live in severe cold condit...

By Peter Prokosch

polar bear looking for whale cadaver under water, Svalbard More than any other animal, the polar bear, Ursus maritimus, is recognized as the symbol of the Arctic. With white fur and a sub-skin blubber providing insulation, the polar bear has adapted to live in severe cold condit...

By Peter Prokosch

Mother Polar Bear and cub, Svalbard, Norway Polar Bears feed mostly on seals and often follow the retreating ice in Summer in order to stay near to the edge of the ice-pack, where they are most likely to find food. They eat very little in Summer months while they ...

By Peter Prokosch

Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus), Svalbard, Norway Where seals are not available or sea ice is absent, Polar Bears will retreat to land and eat other marine mammals, reindeer, rodents, sea birds, ducks, fish and berries or scavenge on carcasses or garbage from humans.

By Peter Prokosch

Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) observing the ice, Norway Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska recently tracked a female bear who swam 685km for nine days in order to reach the ice floe, where she would find food. She lost her exhausted cub along the way, who was...

By Peter Prokosch

Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus), Svalbard, Norway In May 2008 the Polar Bear was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in the U.S. The most recognised threat to Polar Bears is ecological change as a result of global warming.

By Peter Prokosch

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus), Svalbard, Norway In May 2008 the Polar Bear was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in the U.S. The most recognised threat to Polar Bears is ecological change as a result of global warming. Polar Bears live ac...

By Peter Prokosch

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) perched beside the ice, Svalbard, Norway With the difficulty to find food comes the difficulty to conceive. Between 1981 and 1998 it was observed that the average weight and number of Polar Bear cubs born dropped by 15%.

By Peter Prokosch

Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) feeding on a seal, Svalbard, Norway Where seals are not available or sea ice is absent, Polar Bears will retreat to land and eat other marine mammals, reindeer, rodents, sea birds, ducks, fish and berries or scavenge on carcasses or garbage from humans.

By Peter Prokosch

Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus), Svalbard, Norway Polar Bears live across Northern Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Norway, numbering around 22,000 bears. They depend on sea-ice to hunt and breed. As sea ice recedes further and further from the coastline, Polar Bea...

By Peter Prokosch

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