Tag Archives: conflict

In the field with a Russian Polar Bear Patrol

25 January, 2016From the field, Polar bearsconflict, indigenous peopleuser

Polar bear patrol member in Russia. © M.Deminov / WWF Russia

While the world celebrated New Year’s Eve, a polar bear patrol was busy keeping polar bears and people safe in the village of Ryrkaypiy, in northeastern Russia.
Ryrkaypiy is the site of a large walrus haulout, or group resting on land. Each year, some walrus carcasses are left behind, and these attract polar bears to town. When possible, community members transport the carcasses away from town, to reduce conflicts between polar bears and people. This year, a couple carcasses near a boiler building on the edge of town brought bears too close for comfort.
Patrol members use snowmobiles, flares, and even long sticks to frighten bears away.

Patrol members Valera Kalyarahtyn and Maxim Deminov shared their notes:
December 28 – a strong blizzard
6:30 – A call from the boiler building, next to which a few walrus carcasses are attracting bears. Valera drove off one bear with the snowmobile. I came across a couple of young bears. Scared away by the snowmobile, they fled towards Cape Kozhevnikova.
12:00 – Two bears were interested in the walrus remains, and we drove them away. Quiet evening.
December 29 – blizzards
12:00: We drove two bears towards the pier on Cape Kozhevnikova. Quiet night and day.
December 30 – Another blizzard.
Quiet morning.
12:30: Another three bears found the walruses near the boiler building. We drove them away on the snowmobiles without flares.
Calm evening.
December 31
6:30: Call from the boiler building. Valera drove a bear away with flares.
8:30: Valera drove three bears away from the boiler.
12:30: All calm.
22:00: The bears waited until dark to come to the boiler. After that, they headed for the village Christmas tree. We drove them away.
January 1
4:00: Two young bears came to the outskirts of the village. Valera scared them away.
6:00: One older bear expelled from the village.
Quiet morning. We patrolled Kozhevnikova and Veber, but didn’t meet any bears.
January 2
7:00 – Three bears on the shore near the boiler room were scared away by the snowmobile, no flares required. Quiet afternoon.
19:00 – An older bear visited building 1 (last house on the shore), and was expelled.
WWF helped found Ryrkaypiy’s patrol in 2006. Today, the model has been successfully replicated in Greenland, Canada, and the United States.
Learn more about WWF’s work to reduce polar bear / human conflict.

5 Arctic success stories in 2015

16 December, 2015Generalclimate, conflict, oil and gas, polar bears, successuser

There’s no doubt that recent years have been challenging for Arctic wildlife and people. We’re coming to the end of the warmest year on record, with no sign of a cool-down in 2016. Furthermore, the years 2011 to 2015 have been the warmest five-year period on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
It’s a trend that hits the Arctic particularly hard. The region is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the world, and the resulting loss of sea ice and permafrost means loss of habitat and livelihoods across the Arctic.

NOAA

But there is good news. Communities and governments in the Arctic and beyond are finding innovative ways to cope with rapid change. And just last week, the world’s leaders finalized a global agreement that lays a foundation for long-term efforts to fight climate change.
Here are five success stories from 2015 that bode well for the Arctic’s future:

5. Arctic offshore drilling kept clear of Norway’s ice

Bearded seal on ice, Spitsbergen, Norway
© Wim van Passel / WWF-Canon

In June, Norway’s Parliament rejected a dangerous offshore drilling proposal from its own Ministry of Climate and Environment. The proposal, strongly opposed by WWF and scientific institutions, would have moved the northern limit for offshore drilling in the Barents Sea to the edge of the sea ice – far beyond the recommended limit set by scientific advisers to the Ministry.

4. Russia banned driftnet fishing

The Russian government announced a ban in July on a destructive fishing practice widely used to catch sockeye salmon in Russia’s Far East. The ban will benefit the communities and Indigenous peoples in the region, where driftnetting has damaged and diverted salmon stocks. The traditional coastal salmon fishery is worth up to $1.6 billion US per year in Kamchatka.

3. Arctic Nations made a plan for polar bears

Our favourite moment: When we had an extremely inquisitive polar bear swimming around the boat while anchored at Bylot Island. That was a very special moment that had all aboard spellbound.

The five polar bear range states – Canada, the United States, Denmark (Greenland), Russia and Norway – committed in 2013 to making the first ever conservation action plan for polar bears. This September, they followed through. The 10-year plan commits countries to tackling issues like direct threats from shipping and oil and gas, and conflict.

2. Greenland’s first polar bear patrol launched

Sea ice loss is driving polar bears ashore in larger numbers. In the Greenlandic community of Ittoqqortoormiit, encountering a polar bear on the way to school or work is a real, and frightening, possibility. A community polar bear patrol launched this August to scare bears away from town, keeping both bears and people safe.

1. Shell Abandoned Drilling in America’s Arctic Ocean

Beluga pod in the Chukchi Sea © Laura Morse (NOAA)

After years of searching for oil in the cold and turbulent waters of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, Shell abandoned its plans to drill for the “foreseeable future.” The announcement followed weeks of unsuccessful summer exploration for oil and gas.
Along with partners and thousands of supporters from around the world, WWF has called to conserve this special place in the Arctic from offshore oil and gas development for today and years to come.

Want to support more great Arctic successes in 2016?
Find your local office here and make a donation.

Avoiding Problems With Polar Bears in the Russian Arctic

14 August, 2015From the field, Polar bearsconflict, indigenous people, polar bearsuser

The head of the local administration of the native settlement Varnek (Vaigach Island). Photo: Margarita Petrenuk

As part of a multi-country project to reduce conflict situations between people and polar bears, WWF representatives have undertaken an expedition to Vaygach Island off the northwest coast of Russia.
The island is visited by many polar bears over the course of the year, and there are some small settlements there also, mostly inhabited by Indigenous Nenets people.
WWF staff together with researchers visited the Fyodorov polar station at the Bolvansky Nos cape, the village of Varnek, and local fishermen’s fishing areas on the western coast of Vaigach Island.

The expedition participants gave instructions to polar station workers and local residents on how to behave when encountering polar bears, spoke on ways to frighten off polar bears, and gave them items for scaring away the animals.

#5ArcticActions – Help people and polar bears coexist safely

4 December, 2014Polar bearsaction, conflict, polar bearsuser

This week, Arctic governments are meeting in Norway to talk about Arctic biodiversity. But they need to do more than talk. They’ve invested in reams of excellent research on life in the Arctic – now they need to act! They’ll make commitments this April, when the United States begins its chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Will they commit to Arctic action? This week, we look at #5ArcticActions nations can take to protect Arctic life:

WWF’s Femke Koopmans is a specialist in human/polar bear conflict.
On December 4, 2013, representatives of all five polar bear range states pledged to take major steps to safeguard polar bears. Their declaration at the International Polar Bear Forum included a promise to reduce conflict between people and polar bears. A year later, there’s still a great deal of work to be done.
Why do we need to address conflict between people and polar bears now?
Human-polar bear conflicts is increasing in many parts of the Arctic as the bears lose their sea ice habitat. It’s not just a conservation concern (that is, bears getting killed in conflict), but also a social issue. People living and working in the Arctic share their communities with polar bears, which means that they risk losing sled dogs or stored food, getting injured or even being killed when interacting with bears. It is very important to prevent this from happening and to provide them with resources to interact with bears safely.
Why do Arctic states need to improve on conflict issues?
The Arctic states are responsible for what happens in their Arctic backyard. This includes the safety of its inhabitants; both people and wildlife. There are initiatives at local and international scale to prevent human-polar bear conflicts, but strong support at the national level is needed to support local conflict projects, and to share knowledge between communities. Countries should also ensure that international strategies on human-polar bear conflict are implemented on the national level.

How one community in Russia’s Arctic is keeping bears and people safe

What action can Arctic states take in the next year?
If there’s no national strategy to reduce human/polar bear conflict, develop one – and ensure there’s sufficient funding.
Arctic states can also get better at sharing information on conflict with each other. There’s a new database of polar bear /human interaction – the more data countries can draw from, the better they can prevent and mitigate conflict. Countries should commit to adding their conflict information to the database.
Is there anything the public can do?
If you’re visiting the Arctic, learn about polar bear behaviour and how to prevent conflict.
If you’re outside the Arctic, support a move to renewable energy. Human-polar bear conflict is one of the many results of climate change. Changes in sea ice mean polar bears spend more on shore – and interact with people more often.

Bear scare

19 August, 2014From the field, Polar bearsconflict, polar bearsuser

WWF staff take measurements and genetic samples from a dead polar bear cub found on the beach during a community visit in the Russian Arctic. Photo: Tatiana Baeva / WWF-Russia

In many parts of the Arctic, polar bears and people live in close proximity. WWF staff take measurements and genetic samples from a polar bear cub that had apparently died of natural causes near a village. The bear was found on the beach during a community visit in the Russian Arctic. Photo: Tatiana Baeva / WWF-Russia

This August, eight polar bears came searching for food in four Russian Arctic villages. WWF set out to keep both local people and bears safe.
By Tatiana Baeva, WWF-Russia
“Just imagine: you wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom to take a shower, and see a polar bear staring at you through the window! It is important for WWF that neither people nor bears suffer from such encounters”, explains Victor Nikiforov, head of WWF-Russia’s Bear Patrol project.
As Victor explains, the solution is to show to bears that human settlements are dangerous. To do that, local WWF Bear Patrols scare the bears away by waving large sticks and hitting them with rubber bullets. Don’t worry – rubber bullets don’t hurt the bears. To them, they are a small nuisance, like being hit by a pea. But they understand that the place is strange and unsafe and prefer to leave.
Experts from WWF, together with the local administration, visited four Arctic villages. By the time WWF arrived, the polar bears had already peacefully left the villages on their own. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes such visits results in tragic events. The team offered tips on how to deal with approaching polar bears.
It is best to avoid the encounter altogether. But what to do if the worst happens and the bear is already close to you?
“Always, when there’s a chance of meeting a polar bear, have a long, thick stick with you. If a bear approaches you and it is too late to hide, the stick will help save your life. At first, the bear may pretend to attack you without actually doing so. This is called a “false attack [or bluff charge]”. When that happens, don’t wait for the real attack. Position the stick so that it hangs over the bear, but don’t strike. Usually, this scares the bear away and it leaves”, explains Victor.
WWF and the local administration will publish a brochure for local communities with tips on avoiding and scaring away polar bears.
WWF supplied all the four villages with rubber bullets, just in time. Shortly after the team left, polar bears again approached one of the settlements. This time, both bears and people remained safe – the Polar Bear Patrol quickly and safely drove the bears away.

An Arctic “melting pot”

21 July, 2014From the field, Polar bearsconflict, polar bears, students on iceuser

WWF is part of a “Students on Ice” expedition from Arctic Canada to Greenland, both sponsoring students, and helping give the students useful skills. WWF staff member Sue Novotny is on board, and is sending blogs about the expedition.
Komaktaviq Fjord, Labrador. Torngat Mountains National Park
Here on the Labrador coast we are seeing and hearing of the mixing of nature that’s beginning to occur with climate change. fur
First we see signs of polar bears – they’re not showing themselves today but the evidence is everywhere. Within a half hour hike, we come across a napping spot here, some fresh scat there, and a tuft of fur.
In the Torngat Mountains, where the bears far outnumber people, visitors are strongly advised to hire one of the local Inuit bear guards. The guards know the region inside and out, and are experienced in spotting bears, reading their behaviour, and scaring them away long before they can approach a person. Each time we set foot on land, the guards precede us, scouting the hills.
It’s a place that is changing rapidly, says one of the guards from the Torngat base. Armed with a rifle, rubber bullets and a bear banger, he accompanies hikers out on the land all summer long. He’s seeing black bears, moose and more southern birds in greater numbers, ever further north. They’ve also observed polar bears catching fish in much the same way grizzlies do.

With the g guard uards keeping lookout, we picked our way to the top of a deceptively steep mountain. Happily, neither black bears nor polar bears seem interested in tangling with our group of 130 people.From our vantage point on top of the mountain, we could see for who knows how many kilometres in every direction – but no bears in sight.

Where polar bears in town are a ho-hum experience

16 July, 2014From the field, Polar bearsconflict, polar bears, students on iceuser

Tatega, Pond Inlet student sponsored by WWF

Tatega, or Tat, is one of two WWF scholarship winners on the 2014 Students on Ice Arctic expedition currently making its way toward Greenland by boat. He is a high school student in the northern Canadian community of Pond Inlet, deep in the Arctic, fringing the Last Ice Area.
He’s currently far to the south of his home, in Torngat Mountains National Park, Labrador. Signs of polar bears are everywhere here. We’ve found countless piles of scat, a lemming warren torn apart by a hungry bear, and the skeletons of seals dragged onto the beach.
Today, we encountered two polar bears in the fuzzy flesh – luckily, from the safe distance of our ship. It was the first bear viewing for most students, but Tat is no stranger to these Arctic icons.
“[We see them] really often [in Pond Inlet]. When we go on the ice, we often see one at the floe edge .”
Do they ever come into town?
“Yeah, in summertime, but not very often.”
What happens?
“When polar bears try to come into town, the people in town make it run away. The town talks about it on the radio and someone scares it away. It happens once in a while.”

When bears come to town

8 November, 2013From the field, Polar bearschurchill, conflict, polar bears, species trackeruser

A polar bear approaches a tundra buggy in Churchill, Manitoba. © Geoff York / WWF

The temperatures and winds are dropping nicely this morning. New slush ice is quickly forming again along the shores of the Bay as I sip my coffee and quickly check my email (yes- even in the far north and miles from any town, we have internet!).
One email is an update from our research partners at the University of Alberta. WWF has funded polar bear research through UAB for many years in Canada. Our conservation partners and members allow us to add critical funds that help make larger research projects whole or that add potential for graduate student involvement- training the polar bear researchers and mangers of tomorrow.
For those of you who follow our Polar bear Tracker site, the data from the West Hudson Bay comes from this partnership. The bears we are tracking in this region are almost all hanging out around Churchill now. While this is natural for the bears, and great for bear viewing, it poses unique issues for the town of Churchill. Issues shared by communities across the Arctic.
Polar bears gather around Churchill. Explore our polar bear tracker:

As many of you will have read or heard by now, we had an unfortunate polar bear incident in the town of Churchill just last week. A woman walking home early in the morning hours was surprised, attacked, and injured by a bear that had wandered undetected into town. Fortunately for her, a local Métis elder and lifetime resident heard her calls for help and came to her aid with only an aluminum snow shovel in hand. His actions saved her life, but he was severely wounded in the process. Other residents and Manitoba Conservation officers quickly responded and the bear had to be put down. Both injured people are recovering well in hospital. This marked the third human injury this year and the first since 2008. Given that, for much of the summer and fall, bears and people here are equal in number- the safety record in Churchill is still impressive.
Manitoba makes a significant investment of time and resources with their world class Polar Bear Alert program. Up here, the Provincial government pays full time professional conservation officers to patrol town during the season bears are onshore. They also operate a temporary holding facility that allows them a rare option to hold bears whose curiosity and lack of fear have led them to trouble within what’s called Zone 1- the core area of Churchill proper. Bears can be held here for up to 30 days before being released back to the wild and hopefully a little bit wiser.
Other communities are approaching this challenge with ingenuity but often lacking adequate resources. WWF is working with governments and select communities to pilot education, outreach, and deterrence programs. We are looking to share techniques used from other species to reduce conflict and to share best practices across regions through workshops and direct support of the Polar Bear Range States Conflict Working Group. From grants to start local patrol programs, to sponsoring field “classrooms” on electric fence construction, to supporting the development of a global database to track incidents- WWF is leading efforts to make sure communities and polar bears can be safe as we head into a less certain future.
Learn more about WWF’s work on human / polar bear conflict.

Good fences make good polar bear neighbours

9 August, 2013From the field, Polar bearsconflict, laptev sea, polar bearsuser

Polar bears approach an electric fence near the Hamlet of Arviat, Nunavut, Canada. © Hamlet of Arviat

There’s an electric fence in WWF’s Ottawa office, and a motion detector’s siren blares at the first unlucky staffer to walk through the kitchen. We’re not under siege or playing jokes on each other (well, maybe a little). This setup is being tested for a more serious purpose — keeping researchers safe in polar bear country.
Next week, A WWF-led research team, a Canon photographer, and crew will travel to Siberia’s Arctic coast on the Laptev Sea, to help solve a scientific mystery. Are the Laptev’s polar bears and walruses related to populations to the east and west? The answer to this mystery may have implications for the management of the entire region.
Arctic beaches are the most practical place for our research camp, but they’re also a polar bear pathway. Coexisting with these large predators is risky, and we’ll be sleeping in tents, not buildings.
So what’s in our safety bag?

Experience: Several of the team are used to working in bear country and will make sure the campsite is well situated and plans are in place if bears come near.
Eyes and ears: The best bet in bear country is to stay alert for potential trouble and take early action. That’s why we’ll take turns on watch, day and night.
4 small motion/heat detectors: To alert sleeping campers, or scare curious animals away from our gear. Because its range is limited, it’s most suitable for small spaces.
Trip wire: A small physical barrier around the perimeter of our camp, which sets off an audible alarm if broken.
Electric fence: The final physical barrier. It’s not connected to an alarm, but it will give a quick, strong, but harmless shock if a bear makes it past the other devices and gets too close to our sleeping tents.
Ideally, we would also have individual canisters of bear spray (pepper spray), but it’s just not available in remote Russia and challenging to ship.

If all goes well, we will spot and scare the bears away before they get close enough to trigger the alarm.

Download the polar bear alarm (and set it as a ringtone…?)
Although we’ll be sharing space with polar bears for just two weeks, many people in the Arctic have adapted to living with the bears year-round. Learn how communities coexist with their polar bear neighbours here.