The Last Polar Bear

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a carnivorous bear and a marine mammal, that is generally found in the Arctic region. Its body characteristics are adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals— especially ringed seals and bearded seals, which make up most of its diet.

Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. Their white fur is thick, with black skin underneath, and covers even their feet for warmth and traction on ice. A thick layer of blubber beneath their fur provides buoyancy and insulation.

However, polar bears are facing several threats with climate change playing havoc. Rising temperatures have led to decreased snowfall and meltdown of the polar icecaps, leaving the polar bear not enough areas to hunt.

Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt and store energy for the summer and autumn, when food can be scarce. Sea ice now melts much earlier than usual, forcing polar bears to go for long periods without food. This affects their health, leading to lower reproduction rates as well.

Another major threat is drilling for oil in Arctic regions. Oil spills can seriously endanger ecosystems and animal life there, not just by poisoning and contaminating the environment and the polar bear directly, but also indirectly through their prey.

Seismic blasts are used to drill for oil, and this can frighten polar bears to a great extent, forcing even mother bears to abandon their cubs.

Conservation efforts are on, but are they enough? If strict measures are not employed to preserve their habitat, the polar bears are in grave danger of becoming extinct.

---

It was raining. Rain, not snow, thought the solitary bear that stood beneath an overhanging rock, staring out. The ground was no longer covered in snow like earlier. There were patches of green everywhere, and the hard, bare brown earth was visible in several places.

Maybe I should have stayed on the other side of the sea, thought the she-bear ruefully. But what could she have done? The slab of ice she had been standing on had broken off, setting her adrift in the Chukchi Sea.

The strong current carried her away before she could get back to the shore. She had swum back to land, but she was too weak to swim against the current. Her weak and emaciated body had given her the strength enough just to swim to the land closest to her.

Her stomach rumbled with hunger, and she wandered about a bit, hoping to find food. No seals anywhere. The ringed- seals had been her staple food, but even those were not to be seen now, not even in the waters. Who’s eaten all of them, thought the polar bear. Why can’t I find one?

Her white fur was no longer pure white, as it had been earlier, when at least thin sheets of ice had covered the land. It was more of a greenish brown now, with algae growing in it. She looked thin, and weak. No more fat and round like the pictures of polar bears in school textbooks.

She was too tired to hunt, but she had to. If she did not eat, it would get worse. But what could she eat? There were no seals about, much less on land than in water. She remembered the time she had caught the walrus for her cubs.

Oh, what a catch that had been! The feast had put her in good humour, and her cubs had enjoyed the meal. She smacked her mouth as she savoured the memory. But that reminded of her cubs too, and that made her sad.

And not just sad, but guilty. She had been in the cave one day, with her young ones, when a deafening noise had frightened her out of her wits. And it went on and on, the ground vibrating under her. The ice was quite loose already, with warmer temperatures, and the cave started to come crashing down.

Instinct taught her to run— to abandon her cubs and run. She continued running for a long time, to get away from the terrible noise. It was a long time before she felt safe, and she calmed down. But she never went back for her kids.

As she had come running out, she remembered sensing the roof of her den caving in right behind her. Her cubs were dead. She knew it. She did not want to go back to see them lying dead.

She had thought then, that she could have more cubs. There were plenty of other polar bears around, surely? She could become a mother again. But her days brought her only misfortune after misfortune, hunger and danger. She could find no other polar bears for company. Life had become so uncertain.

She kept walking now, hoping to find a stretch of ice, some prey, anything. Anything that could help her survive. The land there was different, and she could sense unnatural smells in the air and on the ground.

She lay down for a while every half an hour, for she did not have much stamina left. But she did not like the place. It seemed to make her sick. She could feel something slick and liquid-like, yet thick, spreading on her fur, and it made her uncomfortable and restless. But first I should find some food, she thought.

As she kept going, she found that there was ice in the region ahead. Speeding up, she ran forward as quickly as she could. Her nose caught the smell of something else this time— food! There must be a hole nearby, she reasoned.

Soon enough, she found a seal breathing hole in the ice! A seal might come up here to catch some breath, she thought, as she silently lay in wait. And then she would catch it, and drag it out, and kill it, and….

Hours passed but no seal came. She was tired of waiting, tired of being hungry, tired of hunting. For one last time, she glanced into the breathing hole that showed the cold waters of the Tundra beneath. There was a slight, sudden movement. Something at last, she thought, and dipped her forepaw into the water to catch it. It seemed to slip away from her grip, but she managed to get it out.

A fish! The bear sniffed at it. She was disappointed. And the fish looked strange. It seemed to be half dead already, with a shiny, glistening layer on it. The polar bear didn’t know it was oil, but she definitely didn’t like its smell.

She wouldn’t eat it, she decided. Maybe if I walk further, I can get a real seal-breathing hole.
But now she could feel the vibrations again in the ground, and she was more cautious. The humans! The humans again!

Slowly they came in sight. Not one, not ten, but at least a hundred. What were they doing? They were shouting to each other, and several huge objects she had never seen before were seen in the Tundra.

I must get away from here, before they spot me, she thought. She turned around, intending to go back. I’ll have to eat grass now, she thought, as she walked on. But it was too late. Someone had spotted her, and they were now chasing her.

The she-bear ran. It was difficult, but she had to escape. However, her tormentors fell behind and she reached the first breathing hole she had found. She slumped down, tired, hungry and sad. She stared listlessly at the dead fish that was still lying there.

She reached for it, and started eating it, oil and all. It made her feel worse, but she had eaten it for some energy. Her head was swimming with several thoughts. Maybe now she could swim across the current. Maybe now she would find her way to a region with more ice.

Maybe now she could get the strength to hunt. As the poison from the contaminated fish, the oil, started working in her body, she sank into a dark, never-ending sleep, never to wake again.