By RACHAEL HARPER

WHAT does the future hold for the polar bear?

Polar bears – what beautiful creatures they are – spend their days roaming around their glistening kingdom. To cubs it must seem like paradise, one big adventure waiting to be explored.

Mum watches over them as they play fight in the dim Arctic rays.

Their last meal was weeks ago. They are waiting. Waiting until the ice freezes and they can go and hunt for food.

For as long as I can remember the polar bear has been the iconic symbol for climate change.

Everyone knows that their species are threatened by global warming but then why oh why don’t we start acting?

There is this growing question of whether more needs to be done to stop global warming – yes. We all want to believe things aren’t so bad but you only have to look at the flooding, the hurricanes and the heat waves to know that there is catastrophic change, not only for the bears but for us as well. By burning fossil fuels such as oil and coal, the human race is helping to continually heat up the planet and we need to stop before it’s too late.

Our destruction is causing the bears’ natural habitat, the Arctic Sea, to melt, meaning less ground for hunting and consequently less food. The bears rely on the sea ice to survive as without it, catching their seal prey proves difficult. There has also been found to be lower cub survival rates, increased drowning and cannibalism, which all ultimately lead to a declined population. If greenhouse gas levels continue to rise, we will not only lose these magnificent creatures but many other species too, which may eventually include all life as we know it on earth.

There is still time to save these animals but action needs to be taken soon to drastically reduce the damage. Everyone needs to work together because at the end of the day, we are the cause and so we should be the ones to fix it.

The future of the polar bear is uncertain but if we carry on the way we are, they could become extinct in the next 50 years.

They are certainly skating on thin ice...