Nadav Neuhaus

A dead seal lies next to a breathing hole seconds after being killed by an Inuit hunter in Resolute Bay, Canada, on Tuesday, June 12, 2007. The Inuit hunt seals for food, and the community uses every part of the seals, either eating the meat or using the hides to make warm clothes. They often stand next to the breathing hole of the seal without moving for 30 minutes or more to capture the animal with a hooked stick when it rises to the surface to breathe. The traditional way of life in the Resolute Bay Inuit community is being threatened by rising temperatures. The dangers of global warming, which have been extensively documented by scientists, are appearing first, with rapid, drastic effects, in the Arctic regions where Inuit people make their home. Inuit communities, such as those living on Resolute Bay, have witnessed a wide variety of changes in their environment. The ice is melting sooner, depleting the seal population and leaving them unable to hunt the animals for as long. Other changes include seeing species of birds and insects (such as cockroaches and mosquitoes) which they have never encountered before. The Inuit actually lack words in their local languages to describe the creatures they have begun to see.h...