'Devastating': Polar bear cubs pictured playing with plastic on remote Arctic island

A heart-wrenching image of two baby polar bears chewing on plastic in the Artic recently surfaced on the internet. The picture, taken by Arctic expedition leader Jens Wikström, feature pair of two-year-old siblings playing tug-of-war with a bin liner. The harrowing photograph highlight the growing severity of plastic pollution as the cubs possibly swallowed chunks of the plastic bag while playing. 

Jens captured the shocking scene at Lifdefjorden, Svalbard, Norway. According to Daily Mail, Jens, who has sailed for nine years, said that he was appalled by the pollution. He said that he watched the horrifying scene from approximately 98 feet away, while the polar bear cubs played with the black plastic bag for about 15 minutes. 

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‘Devastating’ sight 

While calling the sight ‘devastating’, Jens shared the image on Facebook. He said that the cubs went to the shoreline, dug up the snow and found the regular plastic bag. Jens added that the pair started to rip it apart like a toy and ate a good chunk of it. Further, Jens said that on the remote islands of Arctic, he has seen young curious bears and Arctic foxes eating the plastic that often drifts ashore with he currents from the Arctic Ocean Northeast of Svalbard or with the Gulf Stream that come up from Europe. 

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In the caption of the social media post, Jens said, “This photo was taken in Lifdefjorden, located on the northern coastline of Svalbard. Sights like this are devastating. On the remote islands of the Arctic, young curious bears, Arctic foxes, and other predators end up eating the plastic pollution that often drifts ashore with the currents from the Arctic Ocean Northeast of Svalbard or with the Gulf Stream that come up from Europe”. 

According to a population survey from 2017, only about 250 polar bears roam the coastal region around Svalbard. Despite climate change, environmentalists believe that the polar bears in the area are coping well. However, dangers of plastic pollution still is a major concern as microplastics are already affecting the food chain of fish and seals, so plastic is getting into the polar bear’s diet which can eventually affect the milk of the mother as well. 

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