In pictures: Happy International Polar Bear Day!

Posted by Angela Glienicke - 27th February 2019

Image for In pictures: Happy International Polar Bear Day! — Two polar bears on the ice in Hudson Bay.

Organized by Polar Bears International the polar bears’ special day aims to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change and reduced sea ice on the polar bears’ population. Polar bears require sea ice to survive as a platform to reach their prey of ringed and bearded seals, to travel and find mates. With melting sea ice polar bears that roughly need 12,000 calories per day face starvation.

The pictures from our archive show the beauty as well as the challenges these magnificent creatures face.

A close up of a polar bear on the ice in Hudson Bay, Canada.

A polar bear walks on the ice in Hudson Bay, Canada

Two polar bears are seen on the ice in Hudson Bay, Canada

Young Polar Bears playing on the left overs of a whale. Northern Alaska.

Polar bears are stranded on Cross Island outside Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
As the Arctic sea ice minimum retreats, over 700 miles from the shore, bears must either head north or swim south to land, as the ice breaks up, reducing the amount of time they can spend hunting on the sea ice.

A stranded polar bear crosses from the barrier islands outside Kaktovik to feed at dusk.

Stranded polar bears are photographed at Barter Island, Alaska.

A polar bear mother is jumping on sea ice and her young is swimming, north of Svalbard.

And adult This bear is a member of the Barents Sea / Svalbard population which is doing comparatively well. Though other polar bear populations in the Arctic are becoming severely affected by the loss of sea ice in the Arctic.

Three polar bears are photographed on the ice in Hudson Bay, Canada.

Around 75,000 people participated in the Climate March in Brussels to ask politicians to adopt an ambitious climate policy. December 2018

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