On the brink: Polar bears tip-toe on edge of a melting Arctic iceberg

Standing on top of the world: Polar bears tread carefully on an Arctic iceberg cliff in photographer’s stunning gallery of wildlife images

  • Poignant photo shows two polar bears dice with death in their dwindling natural habitat as ice caps melt 
  • Endangered bears – a mother and her young cub – are just feet from a huge fissure as they tip-toe over ice
  • Paul Goldstein’s incredible gallery also features Arctic fox sticking out its tongue and a silverback gorilla 

Tip-toeing on the edge of a melting Arctic iceberg cliff, two polar bears dice with death in their dwindling natural habitat.

The endangered bears – a mother and her young cub – are just feet from a huge fissure caused by the melting of polar ice caps due to global warming.

The stunning photo, which serves as a stark reminder of the devastating effects of climate change, is among a renowned wildlife photographer’s best pictures this year.

Paul Goldstein’s incredible gallery features an Arctic fox sticking out its tongue, a snoozing silverback gorilla and a lioness carrying her cub in her mouth.


One the brink of extinction: Tip-toeing on the edge of a melting Arctic iceberg cliff, two polar bears dice with death in their dwindling natural habitat. The endangered bears – a mother and her young cub – are just feet from a huge fissure caused by the melting of polar ice caps due to global warming. Meanwhile, a silverback gorilla takes a time-out to have a rest in Uganda

Cheeky boy! An Arctic fox sticks out his tongue in Spitsbergen, northern Norway. The stunning photo is among a renowned wildlife photographer’s best pictures this year. Paul Goldstein’s incredible gallery features animals from all over the world

All friends here: A group of giraffes keenly watch a cheetah at the Olare Conservancy in Kenya. Paul, who is also a guide, said: ‘Guiding photographers and wildlife fans is almost always a joy even though the animals seldom oblige. However, if this job was easy it would not produce the narcotic-like thrill.’

In the jaguar’s lair: This incredible close-up shows a jaguar up a tree in Pantanal in Brazil. Paul added: ‘There is no such thing as a perfect photograph, sometimes I get close but it can always be bettered, but this is why it is so intoxicating’

Cats really do hate water: This incredible image captures a lion shaking off rain in the Olare Conservancy in Kenya. Paul said: ‘The people I guide spend a lot of money, often in poorer parts of the world, so the moments and images being elusive has a financial implication too as they keep coming back for more and many benefit from the tourist coin.’

Eye eye of the storm: Wildebeest in storm in Naboisho Conservancy in Kenya. Talking about his gallery, Paul said: ‘Polar bears, penguins, cats of all descriptions and even starlings all make up this pictorial lexicon’

Fantastic Mr Fox: An Arctic fox in Baffin Island, Canada. It comes as scientists warn the largest sheet of ice in the world, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which contains half the world’s freshwater, could melt if rising temperatures persist

Having a blast: Desert elephants in Northern Namibia. Paul said: ‘People often ask where do you want to go now? It is a simple answer, I have found the necessary Edens in the Arctic, Antarctic and particularly the Mara Conservancies’

Hoping around: Adelie penguins Antarctica. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet, known as the EAIS, is around 60 times bigger than Britain and measures some 27 million km³. Scientists have discovered that even if the 2°C (3.6°F) target set by the Paris Climate Agreement is achieved, sea levels could be set to rise up to 13 feet (4 metres)


The amazing gallery even featured one photo taken in Britain, this left image of Starlings in Suffolk, in the south of England. The right image shows two giraffes in Olare Conservancy in Kenya, one of Paul’s favourite spots

Chillaxing: Paul’s stunning gallery features a second image of the same Jaguar in Pantanal in Brazil. This wider shot shows his chosen bed, a tree, deep in the woods

Motherly love: A lioness and cub in Mara North Conservancy. The Mara Triangle is the north-western part of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, and is managed by the not-for-profit organisation The Mara Conservancy

 

 

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