As the Earth warms and Arctic predation decreases, polar bears begin to hunt whales, something they had never done before. The man-made climate crisis is having a serious impact on the ecological food chain.
SBS’s ongoing report, today (9th), will be presented by climate and environment reporter Jang Se-man.
<기자>
On the coast of the Arctic Ocean in northeastern Canada, a polar bear stands in the middle of the ocean looking for food.
The target is a white whale, a beluga. Polar bears, which have hunted seals on the ice for a long time, are not good at hunting whales.
I keep throwing myself into the water until the tide goes out, but it’s in vain every time.
It was noticed 10 years ago that polar bears started hunting belugas, which were not in their food chain.
[플랠트/캐나다 야생 가이드 : 북극곰의 벨루가 사냥을 처음 본 게 2016년이었다. 아주 복잡한 심경이었다. 곰과 벨루가 모두 사투를 벌였다.]
As the Arctic ice disappeared due to global warming, seals that used to rest on the ice disappeared, and polar bears that lost their prey had no choice but to change their way of survival.
[무어/미국 해양포유류위원장 : 현재 북극 지역 얼음은 부피상으로 75%가 사라졌다. 그게 가장 큰 변화이고 기후 변화와 관련된 여파이다.]
This is not just a story about rapid climate change, the subsequent disruption of the food chain in wild ecology, and the history of distant countries such as the Arctic.
The black-tailed seagulls that visit Hongdo Island in Korea during the spring breeding season have also been receiving abnormal signals for about 10 years.
The breeding season has been brought forward by more than ten days.
It is believed that the reason for this is that anchovies, which are their prey, have changed their migratory route due to an increase in sea temperature.
[권영수/국립공원연구원 연구위원 : (홍도) 주변에 수온이 현재 계속 올라가고 있습니다. 그것에 맞춰서 번식 시작 시기가 빨라지는 게 아닌가 생각이 되고요.]
The problem is that the impact of this food chain disruption on the ecosystem could be a future we have never experienced.
[강호정/연세대 건설환경공학과 교수 : (멸종위기종이 늘어날수록) 농업 생산성이나 질병이나 혹은 우리가 자연에서 얻는 자연 자원들이 장기적으로 감소하는 피해 때문에 결국 사람들한테 직접적인 영향을 미칠 수 있다(고 봅니다.)]
Danger signals of climate change sent by wild ecosystems.
If we do not respond to this signal in time, we cannot be sure that we will be able to pass on a perfect Earth to the next generation.
(Video provided by: SBS documentary ‘Whale and I’, video commentary: Han Il-sang and Kim Hak-mo, video editing: Kim Byeong-jik)
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