Devastating Photographs of Hungry Polar Bears Making a Meal Out of Plastic Bags Washed Ashore by the Ocean Shake Everyone Who Sees Them
Two polar bear cubs were photographed dragging and chewing on a plastic bag washed ashore in Svalbard, a grim reminder of how far human waste can travel.
The images were captured by Jens Wikström while he was leading an expedition in Norway, and he watched the bears for about 15 minutes from his boat. What should have been a moment in untouched wilderness instead became another ugly example of plastic waste reaching wildlife.
The photos are hard to shake, and the rest of the story is just as unsettling.
The polar bears are hungry and need food to survive...
Enough with the plastic pollution in the world!
Wikström told the Daily Mail that sights like this are heartbreaking, and it’s no secret that we have a significant amount of pollution. However, he was processing in real time what befalls our ecosystem when we fail to manage our waste, as it ends up in the stomachs of these animals.
Plastic pollution has been one of the most harmful issues facing planet Earth over the last few years, and unfortunately, it continues to persist. What's more devastating is that plastic is increasingly found even in the most remote places on Earth.
That’s the part nobody wants to see up close.
Oh, no!
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic particles and objects in the Earth's ecosystem, which negatively affects wildlife and its habitat, including humans. Plastic contamination can impact land, rivers, and seas.
Wikström also mentioned that he has seen young, inquisitive bears and Arctic foxes consuming the plastics that frequently wash ashore on these remote islands in the Arctic. Unfortunately, scenes like these are not unique but have become more common in recent years.
Plastic pollution is real, and sadly, these poor animals are now resorting to eating it out of hunger. It's truly heartbreaking...
It’s the kind of dedication you see when photographer Gilardini endured 117 hours in brutal cold to shoot polar bears.
The pattern is getting harder to ignore.
Poor hungry polar bears...
Click below to watch the devastating scene:
Polar bears are the Earth’s largest carnivorous land mammals. They are classified as marine mammals since they spend a significant part of their lives on the ocean ice of the Arctic Ocean.
Polar bears rely on the sea for their food and habitat, and they are the only bear species recognized as marine mammals.
And this is exactly why the images hit so hard.
Heartbreaking too, see the starving bear footage that shows climate change’s brutal impact.
Share this article:
