By Alex Jones
HEART-BREAKING photographs show two polar bear cubs fighting over some plastic they found in a remote part of Alaska.
The upsetting images show the cubs battling it out over the plastic pollution as they get increasingly hungry and desperate waiting for the arrival of this winterâs sea ice, allowing them out on to the ice to hunt seals.
The striking shots include a cub getting its nose stuck inside the gallon milk jug, the two furry siblings playing tug of war with a scrap of litter, and another showing the infant bear gnawing on the plastic packaging.
The distressing images show the very real effect that plastic pollution and climate change are having on local wildlife, according to photographer Danny Sullivan (58) from Los Angeles, USA. He captured his stark sequence whilst shooting in Katovik, Alaska, USA, earlier this year.
âThe shots were taken in early October, in previous years that whole area would have been five foot under by then,â said Sullivan.
âThey wouldnât have had a chance to get to the plastic, it wouldâve been buried. It was a good five degrees warmer than it should have been so the ice was actually starting to form at the end of the month, rather than the start. It shortens the window for the polar bearsâ hunting season so itâs sure to have a knock on effect soon enough.
âThatâs not really the point though â the plastic shouldnât have been there in the first place. What was a plastic gallon jug doing out here in far-flung Alaska? It just goes to show that what weâre doing is having an effect everywhere. Plastic floats. This couldâve come from anywhere and now thereâs every chance one of these young bears has ingested it.â
Sullivan, who was assisting his wife Shayne McGuire on one of her photographic tours of the far north, was unable to intervene and remove the plastic, as doing so wouldâve put his life at risk.
âI was watching the cubs nurse with their mum when one suddenly went running off,â he said.
âI followed him and so did its brother. Before you know it theyâre sitting there playing with the plastic and thereâs nothing we can do. If we tried to stop them then mumma bear is going to have her say, and believe you me, she isnât going to take any prisoners when it comes to protecting her cubs. We try and clean up when we see trash and plastic but itâs not always possible â you canât put yourself in jeopardy.
âPolar bears love to investigate and explore new things and they usually do that with their mouths â I donât know whether they swallowed any plastic but it wouldnât surprise me at all.
âItâs sad and itâs not the only time weâve seen litter in the most secluded, beautiful spots that are really in the middle of nowhere. This is what weâve done to the planet and although we have the power to change it, hemp-derived bottles and other plastic substitutions arenât mainstream yet and the corporations arenât doing enough. We really are on a path to destroy our planet.
âI really hope people see these photos and think âwowâ, we really have to start changing the way we operate. Plastic rubbish has no place anywhere, but certainly not in wildlife hubs in Alaska.â
For more of Danny Sullivanâs work, please visit his Instagram account @sullyimages
