A large polar bear rests on wet, dark coastal rocks, looking back over its shoulder toward a churning, dark blue sea filled with white icebergs and breaking waves.

Oceans

Exile of the Ice

Resting heavily upon the jagged, dark granite of the subarctic shoreline, an apex polar bear (Ursus maritimus) casts a somber gaze backward at a rapidly shifting marine environment.

David S. McMeans · Sony Alpha I · Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS telephoto

Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada

Image

Exile of the Ice

Resting heavily upon the jagged, dark granite of the subarctic shoreline, an apex polar bear (Ursus maritimus) casts a somber gaze backward at a rapidly shifting marine environment. As global temperatures alter the seasonal freeze cycles of Hudson Bay, these maritime giants are increasingly forced onto solid ground, patiently awaiting the return of the winter sea ice required to hunt their primary prey. Surrounded by churning, frigid waters and the ghostly silhouettes of drifting ice chunks, this majestic carnivore exhibits a quiet resilience, a living symbol of an ecosystem locked in a delicate balance between survival and a rapidly changing climate.

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