image U.S. Fish & Wildlife service

Did you know that polar bears in the Arctic Circle rely on Arctic Sea Ice for their survival? The sea ice must be present for polar bears to eat, as it helps them effectively hunt seals.

Because the ice is melting, polar bears have a hard time finding food. This causes many polar bears to starve, and some desperately hungry polar bears have been known to cannabalize other polar bears for food.

Many other polar bears have drowned because the lack of ice forces them to swim very long distances between large pieces of ice. As the ice melts, longer and longer swims are required, and drownings increase.

The polar bear is facing severe hardship because of the quickly receding artic ice.

The polar bear's situation is so dire that even the environmentally conservative Bush administration has proposed listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.