Scientists attached cameras to a group of polar bears, and the footage has left researchers both amazed and deeply alarmed.
The groundbreaking study, published in Nature Communications, captured over 115 hours of intimate, on-the-ground footage from the polar bears' point of view.
It reveals a species pushed to its limits by the rapid loss of sea ice, their traditional hunting ground for calorie-rich prey like ringed seals.
From chewing on bird carcasses and berries to scavenging for marine animals like beluga whales, the footage chronicles how polar bears are now struggling to adapt on land.
“We were amazed by the video footage,” said Anthony Pagano, a wildlife biologist with the US Geological Survey and lead author of the study. “The video footage really highlighted how intelligent these animals are by using different behavior strategies to survive their time on land while without access to their primary prey.”
Unfortunately, the tactics aren’t working. Scientists initially theorized that polar bears might adapt by resting more or by supplementing their diet with whatever was available on land - seabirds, berries, or even garbage.
But the study found that regardless of their approach, nearly all of the tracked bears lost weight during the ice-free period. One bear even dropped close to 80 pounds.
“Increased land use... likely means we’ll see increases in starvation,” Pagano added in a statement.
The Hudson Bay region now experiences ice-free conditions for three weeks longer than it did in 1979.
With their hunting grounds vanishing, polar bears are swimming longer distances and taking greater risks.
"These are possibly acts of desperation," said Andrew Derocher, a polar bear expert from the University of Alberta. “Hungry and skinny bears take more risks than fat bears.”
Footage also showed the animals engaging in play-fighting and chewing on antlers - perhaps signs of stress or attempts to stay mentally stimulated. Yet, the lack of meaningful nutrition is impossible to ignore.
"This study really brings home the message that there’s no salvation from terrestrial feeding to help polar bears through the ice-free period," Derocher warned.
Once thriving apex predators of the Arctic, polar bears now face existential threats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them as “vulnerable,” estimating there are around 26,000 left worldwide. The Hudson Bay population alone has dropped 30% since 1987.
Photographer Paul Nicklen captured the world’s attention in 2017 with heartbreaking footage of an emaciated polar bear struggling to survive on Somerset Island.
"If this starving polar bear doesn't convince you that climate change is a problem, nothing will," read one viral tweet about the video.
Pagano’s earlier efforts to track bears using GoPro cameras ran into technical challenges, but he persisted with custom wildlife cameras, ultimately offering an unprecedented glimpse into what was once only theorized.
“This highlights the feast-or-famine lifestyle of these animals,” he told The Atlantic in 2018, adding that the breakup of ice floe is causing polar bears to miss opportunities to have their share of a calorie-rich diet.
Drastic action is needed. According to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, “The key to saving sea ice for polar bears and getting the climate back to functioning the way it should is to get away from using fossil fuels for energy all together," adding: "We need all options on the table and all hands on deck."
Whether through reversing global warming or somehow relocating populations to year-round icy habitats, the consensus is clear: without urgent intervention, one of Earth’s most majestic species could vanish within our lifetime.