In the Arctic Ocean, wildlife photographer Kerstin Langenberger captured a photo of a withering polar bear along the shores of Svalbard, Norway.
"I am a critically minded person, and I observe. I see the summers being so pleasant (and warm) as never before. I see the glaciers calving, retreating dozens to hundreds of metres every year," she wrote. "I see the pack ice disappearing in record speed. Yes, I have seen bears in good shape - but I have also seen dead and starving polar bears."
"I realized that the fat bears are nearly exclusively males which stay on the pack ice all year long, she added. "The females, on the other hand, which den on land to give birth to their young, are often slim."
The Dodo reports this photo shows the future of polar bears - threatened by the effects of climate change.
As these wild animals hunt for seals on sea ice, the rising of temperature continues to melt the ice - making these bears settle for less-abundant food sources on land such as snow geese, reindeers, and caribou.
"There is simply not enough to eat on land to support so many large bears," biologist Ian Stirling told National Post.
There are about 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears all over the world, and 3,000 of them live in Svalbard.
"Climate change is happening big deal here in the Arctic. And it is our decision to trying to change this," Langenberger wrote on her Facebook page. "Let's do something about the biggest threat of our time. Maybe we cannot save this bear here. But every little action we do to change our ways is a step in the right direction. We just have to get started and keep on going!"
While experts say the polar bear population is "stable", this photo questions the actual condition of the species.
