The Controversy

[justamindset]

(Before I begin, if I posted this in the wrong thread, or if this isn't allowed, I'm so sorry!)

Hello, my name is Ember, and I'm wanting to talk about this polar bear video I saw of a starving polar bear. I'm not one to cry easily, but this... this tore at my heart. Here's a picture of the poor baby:



I want to know what you think of this, and if you think this is caused by global warming.

Please don't spam, and ALWAYS be respectful of other people, their opinions and their posts.
Let's get this conversation rolling!

[Cruxich]

The polar bear is more than likely just suffering from disease or starving due to other reasons and not global warming. Polar bears are apex predators, and it's not uncommon for them to die from starvation.
But still there is a very high chance that in the future polar bears will actually be looking like this due to global warming, so people should be taking it as a precaution and future warning.

[Wildheart281]

Polar bears always starve in summer, when their is no ice for them to hunt off of. However, one bear reportedly climbed on cliffs and eat seabird eggs, which probably decimated the population...

[Axolotl_On_A_Plain]

This polar bear isn't just losing some weight as they do in summer. This bear died shortly after it was videoed stuggling. Polar bear numbers have been declining, they are one of many species facing problems because of global warming.
Here is a link about this topic from people who have researched polar bears: https://polarbearsinternational.org/cli ... ge/status/

[Grimace]

It was limping pretty bad, so it's likely it got injured and was starving due to that.

[ruthless]

Why melting ice is a problem?

Polar bears hunt by waiting for seals and other organisms to breathe at openings in ice. While some of the ice does melt in the summer, we're seeing less ice than the previous years. Polar bears are very territorial, and don't hunt together. Where there is less ice, there are less hunting opportunities for some individuals.

Starvation isn't the only problem due to melting ice. Even though polar bears are great swimmers, there has been reports of polar bears drowning while attempting to travel long distances to land, mostly seen in offspring.

It was limping pretty bad, so it's likely it got injured and was starving due to that.

Since our muscles are a large source of protein, the body will quickly wear them away after there is no fat left to burn. The bear was most likely limping from muscle deterioration, not injury.

Polar bears always starve in summer, when their is no ice for them to hunt off of. However, one bear reportedly climbed on cliffs and eat seabird eggs, which probably decimated the population...

I read that polar bears need an average of 4.4 pounds of fat per day to obtain enough energy to survive, so eggs wouldn't be enough to sustain the animal for long.

[Wildheart281]

Yeah, eggs are not enough for a bear. But i saw it in "The Hunt", which was made by the same peeps who made Planet Earth and Blue Planet, so i say its a trustworthy source