Tune in to the polar bear cam

Polar bears call the icy tundra of the world's northern regions home. But you don't have to freeze your butt off on a frosty trip to the Arctic for a glimpse of these mighty mammals.

You can get a day-in-the-life view through the polar bear web cam.

The cam is online thanks to Polar Bear International, which dedicates its site to educating the public about polar bears and the challenges they face due to global warming. PBI partnered with National Geographic, the Tundra Buggy Adventure, and WildlifeHD to set up a web cam to watch the bears' annual gathering at Gordon Point near Churchill, Manitoba.

This year's cam will be live through November 28. On any given day you could witness the bears enduring snowstorms, sleeping, huddling their cubs, or enjoying a good ol' play fight to pass the time until the ice freezes and they can begin their hunt for food.

The ice however, is a problem, and scientists fear this could lead to the Bears' ultimate demise. Polar bears have become the poster child of global warming as research points to the melting ice as a contributing factor to a decline in the bear population due to starvation.

To help the bears, PBI offers ways to reduce your carbon emissions, plus donations to PBI go to funding research efforts. The site's extensive gift store also offers great holiday shopping ideas with 100 percent of the proceeds going back into organization.