2017/12/11

「這就是滅絕!」地球暖化北極熊首當其衝 攝影師含淚直擊饑餓垂死慘狀

鏡週刊
「科學家常說北極熊快滅絕了,我想讓人們看到什麼叫做『滅絕』。北極熊正死於飢餓,而這就是牠們餓死的畫面。」

自然攝影家Paul Nicklen最近在社群網路上發表一段北極熊瀕臨死亡,拖著身軀在荒地上覓食的影片,經過媒體轉載,引發了極大回響。

這段影片是Nicklen與保育團體Sea Legacy今年夏天一同前往加拿大位於北極圈內的巴芬島探勘時,第一手目擊並且拍下的。畫面中的公熊瘦到幾乎剩皮包骨,白色的毛皮凌亂不堪,兩隻後腳似乎是因為肌肉萎縮而無法使力,不時呈現跪地拖行的姿態。好不容易找到一個北極原住民用來裝垃圾的鐵痛,卻找不到可供北極熊果腹的東西。飢餓的白熊最後疲累倒臥在地,眼神無奈得令人心碎。

My entire @Sea_Legacy team was pushing through their tears and emotions while documenting this dying polar bear. It’s a soul-crushing scene that still haunts me, but I know we need to share both the beautiful and the heartbreaking if we are going to break down the walls of apathy. This is what starvation looks like. The muscles atrophy. No energy. It’s a slow, painful death. When scientists say polar bears will be extinct in the next 100 years, I think of the global population of 25,000 bears dying in this manner. There is no band aid solution. There was no saving this individual bear. People think that we can put platforms in the ocean or we can feed the odd starving bear. The simple truth is this—if the Earth continues to warm, we will lose bears and entire polar ecosystems. This large male bear was not old, and he certainly died within hours or days of this moment. But there are solutions. We must reduce our carbon footprint, eat the right food, stop cutting down our forests, and begin putting the Earth—our home—first. Please join us at @sea_legacy as we search for and implement solutions for the oceans and the animals that rely on them—including us humans. Thank you your support in keeping my @sea_legacy team in the field. With @CristinaMittermeier #turningthetide with @Sea_Legacy #bethechange #nature #naturelovers This video is exclusively managed by Caters News. To license or use in a commercial player please contact info@catersnews.com or call +44 121 616 1100 / +1 646 380 1615”

Paul Nicklen(@paulnicklen)分享的貼文 於 2017 年 12月 月 5 8:52上午 PST 張貼
拍下這段畫面的Nicklen說:「我們站在那裡哭──一邊拍攝,一邊流淚。

Nickelen隨後在自己的社群網站PO上這段影片,並描述了他的觀察和感受:「當科學家告訴我們北極熊會在100年內滅亡,我想到的是地球上現有2萬5千隻北極熊都會像這樣死去…肌肉萎縮。全身無力。緩慢、痛苦的死去。…這頭熊年紀並不大,我判斷他大概只剩下幾小時,最多幾天可活。

這段畫面被轉貼到Youtube之後,不少網友都表示不忍卒睹,看了無比心痛,多數人都認為這是人類排放溫室造成的後果,不過也有少數人認為這是物競天擇,自然淘汰。

有網友詢問拍攝者Nickelen,當時為何不放下攝影機,趕緊找食物餵給這隻飢餓的北極熊?對此Nickelen表示,他當然想過要救熊,但當時他並沒有配備麻醉槍,身旁也沒有幾百公斤的海豹肉可供餵食。

事實上根據加拿大法律,餵食北極熊是違法行為,「單救這一隻熊是沒有意義的。有人以為我們可以在海上放置平台,或是餵養飢餓的熊群,但真正的現實是──如果地球持續暖化,我們不只會失去熊,還會失去整個極圈生態系。

隨著氣候變遷引發關注,北極熊近年來已成為暖化最具代表性的受害者。由於北極熊仰賴海豹作為食物,極地冰層因為溫度升高而不斷融化縮減,迫使北極熊被限制在陸地上找尋食物,每每因此活活餓死。

根據衛星影像資料,在北極圈19個有北極熊棲息的地區,一年中冰層覆蓋海面的日數正在不斷銳減,平均每10年就減少7-19天。

資料來源:The Guardian, National Geographic