JumpyBear

Help Peter the Polar Bear jump between the melting ice! Jumpy Bear!

Sea ice in the Arctic (ice that is effectively frozen sea water floating on top of the sea) always melts in the Arctic summer. In 2012 however, it melted more than it ever has done before and the long-term trend is for increasing melting of sea ice in in the Arctic Summer. Polar bears like Peter depend on the ice to be able to find their favourite food - seals! They prefer ringed or bearded seals, but they will eat smaller seals and even walruses. They only eat the fat of the seals, but one seal can provide enough energy for a polar bear to survive for eight days.

With the ice melting more quickly nowadays as a result of climate change and because of changes in ocean currents in the Arctic, polar bears are finding it more and more difficult to find seals in the summer time. When the sea ice melts, the polar bears are forced onto land and the seals don't live on land, which means that more and more bears are going hungry and have to eat land-based prey like geese and bird eggs and the occasional caribou, but these don't have anything like the energy value of a good chunk of seal blubber!

In this game, you need to help Peter cross the ice in the hunt for food! There's a slight problem. Although real polar bears can swim a long way - sometimes up to 100 miles - Peter is too tired out from all the jumping to swim so you'll have to make sure he lands on a block of ice. You'll have to carefully use the jump button and watch the power bar to jump between the icebergs.

At the 'Young Peoples Trust For The Environment' we want to encourage young people's understanding of the environment and of the need for sustainability. JumpyBear is a game for everyone that aims to educate on the plight that Polar Bears in the Arctic face as a result of climate change.

You can find out more about our charity at our website: https://ypte.org.uk