In an attempt to counter the adage “out of sight out of mind”, a new project hopes to tweak the global conscience by putting a furry face to the campaign to stop climate change and save the polar bears.
As of Monday, anyone from around the world can tune into a live Webcam of polar bear cub, Siku, to see him grow up in the Scandinavian Wildlife Park.
The Siku Cam or Polar Bear Cam joins a number of other live video feeds available on explore.org that include the likes of pandas, Beluga Whales, and tropical fish, which all form part of the Pearls of the Planet project.
Explore.org showcases philanthropic media, in an effort to “champion the selfless acts of others, create a portal into the soul of humanity and inspire lifelong learning”.
Following the launch of the panda cam last month, director of Explore, Charlie Annenberg Weingarten, was quoted by Mashable saying: “My belief is that if you see the natural world you live in, you will fall in love with it and want to become a better custodian for it. We're hoping these cameras can bring people together in a global place. Hopefully these animals will do the heavy lifting for humanity.”
Polar ambassador
Siku is named after the Eskimo/Inuit word for “sea ice”, which is symbolic of the polar bears' complete dependence on sea ice for survival.
The project organisers hope Siku will be an ambassador for his wild cousins. The cub was born in the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Denmark and is being hand-raised, because his mother wasn't producing milk.
The aim of the campaign is to get people to reduce their carbon footprint, in order to reduce global warming and prevent the degradation of the polar bears' natural habitat.
At the end of last year, Explore broadcasted the Arctic migration of the polar bears. A reported quarter of a million hours of video was watched on the site globally.
The Polar Bear Cam is accompanied by an educational campaign to encourage greener lifestyle habits, and to educate the public on the plight of the polar bears. Visitors to the site can also donate to the cause or symbolically adopt a polar bear, with all funds going towards Polar Bears International's research, stewardship, and education efforts.
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