21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Polar bear looking for food

Taken on Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It was late in the day and the sun was low in the sky. We came across this backlit bear on the shoreline possibly looking for food. Due to global warming the glacial and pack ice is diminishing and this impacts on the numbers of seals found (the usual food for the bears), so they have to look elsewhere.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2022
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Spitzbergen, Norway
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Copyright: © Lynn Pascoe