The greatest threat to the polar bears’ survival is global warming. Polar bears depend on hunting for food out on the sea ice, higher temperatures due to climate change causes the Arctic sea ice to melt and diminish more rapidly and earlier for each year, leaving polar bears with less hunting grounds, and a shorter hunting period. As the sea ice disappears, so does the polar bears’ ability to hunt for seals, their main food source, and the hope of eating enough to build up fat reserves for winter. In open water, polar bears don’t stand a chance against the fast seals.

When the ice melts the biodiversity under the ice also changes, where lots of krill and small fish live. When krill and small fish disappear, seals starve and die, and the polar bears’ main source of food with it. Ocean plastic pollution is an increasing problem and a major threat to the wildlife in the Arctic region, affecting the polar bear, its prey and habitat.

About ten years ago, most polar bear populations were considered healthy, and in some cases they also increased, after the dramatic decrease because of unlimited hunting in the 18th and the main part of the 20th century. Researchers now fear that the number of polar bears could fall by two thirds by 2050 due to climate change.

The Perfect World Foundation’s attempts to support and help polar bears are almost exclusively about stopping global warming. In addition to arranging two expeditions to Svalbard with the aim to document and spread awareness about the results of arctic research projects, the foundation organized a climate conference and a fundraiser ’The Polar Bear Ball’ together with Sir David Attenborough in 2018.

Since the advent of what is now known as industrialism about 100 years ago, the level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased dramatically in the atmosphere from 280 ppm (parts per million) to today’s level of 415 ppm, which incidentally is the highest level in over 800,000 years. To reduce climate change, we must bring CO2 emissions under control and end use of fossil fuels.

To combat global warming due to the increased amount of atmospheric CO2, The Perfect World Foundation has launched the tree planting initiative ‘The Attenborough Forest’, with tree planting projects around the world. Trees absorb CO2 and therefore reduce the global warming effect. The organization’s goal is to plant one million trees, and at the same time work hard on development of new climate-smart technologies, in order to save polar bears and other life on Earth… including human life.

Find out and learn as much as you can about the polar bears’ acute situation, and how climate change affect them… all of us. Then share your what you have learnt with friends and family, in conversations, on social media – knowledge is power, and awareness is the foundation for change.

Buy a Follow your heart… t-shirt or a Teddy Polar Bear to support our campaign, or Plant Trees to offset your carbon footprint and fight climate change.

With us you can also Volunteer Travel and get the chance work with researchers of various fields, and experience wildlife conservation projects around the world. Donations and sponsoring partnerships are crucial for us to continue our work to save the polar bears.