Ian Stirling , an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta who has studied polar bears for four decades . Stirling works as an ecotourism guide in Svalbard and has seen the sharp decline in summer ice cover , as well as an increase in sightings of skinny bears coming onshore .
In his post accompanying the photo on Instagram , Nicklen wrote that this was just one of several dead bears he observed in that location in 2014 .
" We did find two dead bears in this location and other groups found more dead bears . These bears were so skinny , they appeared to have died of starvation , as in the absence of sea ice , they were not able to hunt seals . In all of my years of growing up in the Arctic and later , working as a biologist , I had never found a dead polar bear . It is now becoming much more common ," he wrote .
This rapid decline in polar bear populations will have / is currently having severe knock-on effects . The food chain begins with algae and other tiny organisms that live on and within the sea ice . Arctic cod feed on them . Seals eat Arctic cod . And polar bears prey on seals . It ' s critical to protect this ecosystem that many animals depend on .
How we would Protect the Ecosystem :
1 ) Create a network of protected areas across the Arctic Ocean , including an Arctic Sanctuary in the uninhabited waters around the North Pole .