Why it may be time to stop using the polar bear as a symbol of the climate crisis

Using the polar bear as a symbol of the climate crisis can undermine conservation efforts by fuelling mistrust with some communities in the Arctic, say scientists. Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

Alone in the Arctic, surrounded by disappearing sea ice … few fables of the climate crisis are better known than the plight of the polar bear. The marine mammals are heavily dependent on sea ice for hunting, and as the Arctic warms, scientists warn they will become extinct across much of the region.

Long term declines have already been recorded in three of the 19 polar bear subpopulations found across the Arctic, including those in the western part of Hudson Bay in Canada – among the most southerly populations – whose numbers dropped from an estimated 842 to 618 between 2016 and 2021.