You need only to watch a single Sir David Attenborough wildlife documentary to know that nature isn’t fair.
But when renowned wildlife photographers, Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, documented a severely malnourished polar bear during a SeaLegacy exhibition roughly nine years ago, it hit home hard – very hard.
The uncomfortable images and footage captured in August 2017 weren’t just another cruel example of the circle of life, but an image of one of Earth’s most magnificent creatures, reduced to a skeletal shadow of its former self. And depending on whom you asked, it was all our fault.
Cristina herself did explain in an Instagram post (above) that the cause of the bear’s state was impossible to tell. However, comparisons with climate change were inevitable.
Polar bears have long been used to raise awareness of melting glaciers, due to the impact to their habitat. And indeed, the image has been shared, once again, by @pawnewsnetwork with the headline: “The heartbreaking polar bear photo that changed how millions see climate change.”
In a world where questions are being raised regarding the impact of AI on the environment, images such as this are hugely important in raising awareness about the potential wider impact on our planet's species.
When photography can sometimes seem less relevant than it ever has done, instances like this are a stark reminder of the staying power of great imagery.
Even in this age of video, I still believe that a single frame carries more weight. There’s no lead up to the decisive moment, no lingering afterwards, it’s simply there, for the viewer to see whether they like it or not.
What Cristina and Paul captured that day is some of the most visceral, evocative and heartwrenching wildlife imaging I’ve ever seen. As soon as I was assigned this article, I could see an image of the polar bear in my mind’s eye before I even clicked on the link.
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