HOW YOU CAN HELP SAVE THE POLAR BEAR

BY ADOPTING a polar bear with WWF — for as little as £3 a month — you can help these majestic animals and their adorably cute cubs directly. Schools, families and friends could get together to lend their support.

Polar bears hunt their main prey, seals, on the sea ice, but as it recedes the seals go with it, meaning polar bears must find alternative sources of food on land and are increasingly drawn to rummage through dustbins in towns and villages.

WWF works with communities across the Arctic to try to prevent polar bears coming into conflict with humans by providing equipment and training for bear patrols which warn of a bear’s presence so it can be turned away. Because of these patrols, most bears don’t return, which is crucial for their safety and that of the local community, especially children on their way to school.

Donations go towards helping the polar bears on the Svalbard archipelago in the Norwegian Arctic, where scientists fit a small number of bears with radio collars so they can be tracked by satellite in order to better understand how they are responding to climate change and decreasing sea ice.

You can even follow the bears yourself by logging on to arcticwwf.org/species/polar-bear/tracker.

WWF will keep you informed on the bears’ progress with its adoption updates so you can see what’s involved in protecting this fascinating species.