Polar bears are often used as the face of climate change and the melting of the Arctic. They have long been cast as one of the first large, familiar species to possibly go extinct because of a changing climate. As the spring and summer sea ice continues to retreat further and for longer periods of time, bears are losing access to their main source of food--ringed seals--and are starting to starve.
Polar bears are the largest land predators in the world. Confined to arctic climes, they are huge, powerful swimmers, and deadly hunters. In addition to being the second-best bear, they risk going extinct from global warming's environmental changes. Thanks to an offering by a luxury cruise line, customers can take a cruise through the newly navigable arctic, and try to see polar bears struggling to stay alive on what remains of Arctic ice.
Two hundred yards from the Churchill Airport in Manitoba, Canada, John Gunter pulls the van to the side of the road. 'There’s one,' he says, pointing across the snow-speckled tundra to a small white smudge, purportedly ambling along a line of willows. I squint my eyes and think I see it, but to be honest I’m not totally sure. Aren’t polar bears supposed to be… bigger?
