Tag Archives: polar bears

Polar Bears and the Numbers Game

1 April, 2016Polar bearspolar bearsuser

Polar bear mother and cub, Kara Sea © Alexandr Chichaev / WWF-Russia

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global authority on wildlife conservation, has released a new estimate of the number of polar bears worldwide. Instead of saying there are 20,000 – 25,000 polar bears, it now says there are approximately 26,000 polar bears, but that this estimate has a possible range of 22,000 – 31,000 bears. Does this mean there are more polar bears now? Confusingly, the answer is no, probably not, just that there is more precise information to estimate the number of bears globally.
The wide range in the numbers above illustrates the difficulty with getting accurate population estimates of polar bears. They live in the Arctic, a place with relatively few people and prone to extreme conditions. They are mostly solitary, which means they live far apart from one another. Finally, counting individual bears is made even more challenging by the fact that they are almost totally white in colour and they live on a white background of snow and ice. Some bears do actually live in places that are closer to people and airports, which make them more accessible and easier to study. Then there are the remote subpopulations whose numbers have never been estimated, and likely never will, such as the “Arctic Basin”, high up in the northern Arctic. How many bears are there? It’s an educated guess at best.
For the past 10 years, the IUCN pegged the global population of polar bears at 20,000-25,000, split into 19 subpopulations. Subpopulations are smaller groupings that together, make up the total wild polar bear population. They were designated based on what biologists know about the movements and genetics of the animals, but also on how groups of polar bears might be managed based on governmental jurisdictions.
Recent improved approaches for surveying some polar bear subpopulations mean scientists can be more precise in their estimates of polar bear numbers. Adding the newly revised estimates together changed the total population number, but as the IUCN cautions, “The mixed quality and even lack of available information on each subpopulation means caution is warranted when establishing and reporting a single estimate of the number of polar bears across the circumpolar Arctic”. The new number may well be changed again in the future, once more of the subpopulations are surveyed.
If you look at the latest IUCN map, it does show some good news about overall trends for some subpopulations that were previously shown as declining but are now shown as stable:

Polar bear population trends as of 2014. © Polar Bear Technical Committee / IUCN

That stability is largely a result of good management – governments working together with scientists and local Inuit to work out sustainable hunting levels. But there are still several subpopulations considered data deficient because they lack accurate information on polar bear numbers. These surveys must be a priority for local governments to carry out so that responsible management of polar bears is ensured.
What does the future look like for polar bears?
The good news about stable populations should not mask the long-term challenges faced by polar bears. The biggest problem they face is a decline in sea ice that they need for moving around, finding a mate and hunting (mostly seals). Until or unless the summer sea ice stops shrinking, which it’s currently doing at a rate of about 14% per decade, concern about the bears’ future will persist, particularly at the southern end of their range. The same IUCN assessment that changed the way we look at the total number of polar bears finds a significant probability that the polar bear population will decline by more than 30% over the next three (polar bear) generations – about 35 years from now.

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.

The strange case of Green Bear

7 July, 2015From the field, Polar bearschurchill, polar bears, species trackeruser

Around the world, polar bear researchers use satellite collars to track where bears go, and how they’re adapting to a fast-changing Arctic. We follow a number of these bears on an interactive map:

Because the data is (almost) live, you can watch unusual and exciting behaviour unfold as the researchers do.
This year, researchers at the University of Alberta watched a polar bear mother and cub with interest.
Polar bears in Canada’s Western and Southern Hudson Bay tend to stick to a script – they wait on shore each fall for the ice (and seals) to return, and spend the winter gorging on as many seals as possible. Then spring ice breakup forces them back to shore, where they have little opportunity to eat until the ice returns.
X12777, aka Green Bear, seemed to have a different idea:

Track of bear X12777, Hudson Bay, Canada

Although the 19 polar bear populations are generally well-defined, boundaries shift and bears move between populations from time to time. But to date, no polar bear from Western Hudson Bay had been observed to move so far east.
However, this bear’s journey was not as exciting as it first seemed. The researchers soon realized that the signals sent by the bear collar matched the trajectory of the sea ice – in other words, the collar was no longer attached to a moving bear, and was simply floating along on the melting ice.
Satellite collars can fall off prematurely if, for example, they are unusually loose or the internal clock of the collar is wrong, triggering the release mechanism early. We hope that’s what happened here, although it’s also possible that the bear has succumbed to illness or injury.
If she’s still healthy, we may encounter her again. Each bear receives a permanent tattoo on its lip, so researchers can recognize it, and understand how the bear’s health and condition changes over time in response to its environment.
Although Green Bear’s story is over for now, there are more polar bear tracks to follow:
In Western Hudson Bay, Purple and Blue are finishing a season on the ice and heading back to shore. Follow them on our map here.
And on Svalbard, four new bears (and their cubs) are starting their summer journeys. Follow along here.

Journey to the Kara Sea: Wildlife

5 May, 2015From the field, Polar bearsbeluga, kara sea, polar bears, walrususer

Little is known about the polar bears, walrus and whales of Russia’s Kara Sea. This spring, WWF sponsored an expedition to this remote Arctic sea, for a preliminary survey (part 1, part 2). Dmitry Ryabov of WWF-Russia reports:
The area we surveyed is really hard to reach. The only way to get here, and to conduct a survey, is a helicopter. We flew mainly along the ice edge and near the coast, where we’d be most likely to encounter bears.
Immediately after take-off, the team was glued to the windows. Inside the helicopter, it’s too noisy to talk anyway.
Each time we spot something interesting, we note the details – weather conditions, ice conditions, speed and height of the helicopter. We also tried to take plenty of photos, though from a height of 100 meters with constant vibrations, it’s not easy. See the mysterious flash-like device on the camera? This gadget captures the latitude and longitude of each photo within a few metres.

Taking photos from the helicopter © Dmitry Ryabov / WWF-Russia

Now the fun part – this is a polar bear den. No one was home.

Polar bear den, Kara Sea. © Dmitry Ryabov / WWF-Russia

A walrus. One of only three we encountered.

Walrus, Kara Sea. © Alexandr Chichaev / WWF-Russia

Beluga whale. Our resident experts are divided: some consider it amazing to find belugas in the Kara Sea, others believe they’re not uncommon here.

Beluga in Kara Sea. © Alexandr Chichaev / WWF-Russia

And, finally, the Lords of the Arctic – polar bears.

Polar bear, Kara Sea © Alexandr Chichaev / WWF-Russia

Polar bear mother and cub, Kara Sea © Alexandr Chichaev / WWF-Russia

Over the next few months, the data we collected will be analyzed by staff from Russian Arctic National Park, WWF’s scientific partners for the expedition. The information we gathered is just the first step towards a complete picture of marine mammals in this region.
The results could help expand the system of protected areas around the Kara Sea. We hope to expand the survey in the future to surrounding areas, including the eastern coast of Taimyr and Novaya Zemlya.

#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.

Walk 3,700 km with a polar bear

4 September, 2014From the field, Polar bearspolar bears, species tracker, svalbarduser

We’ve followed dozens of polar bears on the WWF Polar Bear Tracker since it launched in 2003. But few have wandered as far as Kara, a female bear tagged by researchers in Spring 2013.
By fitting polar bears with GPS collars (females only – the collars slip off the males’ larger necks), researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute can track exactly where the bears of Svalbard go. After years of such work, the researchers get to know many of the individual bears. Sometimes, however, previously unencountered bears appear on Svalbard. Unlike local bears that spend the summers hunting seals in Svalbard’s fjords, these bears may be long-distance wanderers on the sea ice – “pelagic” polar bears.

See her journey on the ice

Explore Kara’s journey on the interactive map:

Understanding long-distance polar bears

Most of Svalbard’s polar bears remain on land throughout the summer, a strategy that requires less energy than long-distance roaming. On land, however, there is less food in the summer. Why do bears choose one strategy over the other? Tracking the bears will help NPI answer questions like:

Do individual polar bears shift strategy between years?
Do cubs learn from their mothers whether to walk the sea ice or to stay on land?
Are the Svalbard polar bears split between Russian-oriented and Greenland-oriented individuals? Some wandering polar bears head east like Kara. Other wanderers seem to prefer to head north and west like N26220, who was collared April 2014.

Research over long periods of time is vital to polar bear conservation. By understanding how they use their habitat, what places appear to be important for them and how populations change, only then we can arrange for better protection measures.

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.”