Polar bears in peril
Polar bears in peril
One of the world’s most magnificent apex predators, faces a critical situation due to climate change-induced loss of sea ice habitat. Polar bears need sea ice to hunt seals, travel and find mates to breed. As the ice disappears, bear populations face a challenging struggle for survival and at the same time, As the Arctic experiences increased human activity, the challenges for bear populations intensify.
Our collaboration with Arctic governments and agencies involves comprehensive monitoring and population surveys of Polar bears to address these challenges. Using satellite-linked, radio collars, we’re able to track them for about 1.5 years, until their collars fall off. Only female polar bears can be tracked with radio collars, as male bears have necks which are wider than their heads. These collars transmit the bears' positions to scientists, providing valuable insights into their behaviour and interactions with their environment.
Why we're tracking polar bears
Why we're tracking polar bears
No one knows for certain how many polar bears roam the Arctic. The best estimate is from 22,000 to 31,000 – but while we have good data on some ‘subpopulations’, we know very little about some others. This vital work helps us understand how polar bears navigate their Arctic environment and how climate change as well as toxic pollution, and other threats impacts their behaviour.
Collaring is not just about tracking; it also offers valuable health insights, helping us to monitor the well-being of the polar bear population and respond swiftly to emerging threats.
When scientists fit a bear with a radio collar, they also collect important information about its health by:
- Measuring its length and weight:
Taking samples of blood, fat, hair, and other tissues to identify any toxic contamination estimating its age. Scientists also pull a small tooth, located just behind the large canine teeth and of no use to the bear. Like the rings of a tree, the polar bear’s teeth have thin layers of bone that show its age.
- To understand how they travel:
From the data collected, scientists can determine when a female enters a den, when she emerges with cubs, and how far she travels each day. They can also map a polar bear’s range to determine whether individuals travel vast distances or remain strictly within their home range. Over time this information reveals changes and adaptations. For example, in years when there is less sea ice, it will tell us where bears go and how they adapt.
Meet the polar bears of Svalbard
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© Elisabeth KrugerMore N26425 - 5 year old, female
Tracking ID - N26425
Tagged - Hinlopen 8 April 2023
Age: 5yr oldThis female was captured and tagged for the first time this spring, on the 8th of April in Hinlopen, east in the Svalbard archipelago. She is about 5 years old, 204 cm long and 165 kg. Her body condition (fat stores) was a bit on the low side (a 2 on a scale from 1-5) but seemed to be strong and healthy. Being a young adult, it was not surprising that she did not have cubs this year. Female polar bears in our region typically give birth for the first time at age 5, but they often lose their first litter. In the months after we tagged her she has moved south east to the ice edge and then stayed with the drifting ice in the eastern parts of Svalbard. As the sea ice retreated north she moved with the ice into the Arctic Ocean, north of Franz Josef Land. In late fall she moved west and is currently in the drifting pack ice north of Svalbard.
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© naturepl.com / Ole Jorgen Liodden / WWFMore N26404 - 23yr old female
Tracking ID - N26404
Tagged - Palanderbukta, 4 April 2022
Age: 23yr oldThis female was tagged for in Palanderbukta, a fjord on Nordaustlandet, northeast in the Svalbard archipelago. During the fall, after returning from a short trip on the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean she has spent her time in the fjords on the north coast of the island. During late summer she did some trips out into the drift ice north of Nordaustlandet, before returning to shore. She is currently in a maternity den, that she entered on the 3rd of October, in Wahlenbergfjorden, and based on the sensor readings from the collar we believe that she gave birth on the 13th of December. We are following her satellite signals with excitement, hoping that her birth and raising of offspring is successful.
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© WWF-USAMore N26358 - tagged in Barentsøya
Tracking ID - N26358
Tagged - Barentsøya 3 April 2023
This bear has been on the WWF tracker for a long time, and she got a new one in spring 2022. We tagged her on the sea ice close to land in east Svalbard this spring and at that time she was accompanied by a 2yr old cub, so following a normal pattern she would get pregnant again and enter a maternity den this winter. She spent the spring weeks out on the sea ice east of the archipelago before returning to the same area where she was tagged and shortly after starting to search for a den location. Data from her collar suggest that she entered a den on the 13th of November, but that she left the den 9th of December. This could mean that her cubs died shortly after being born, or that she just entered a temporary den for the period to save energy.
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© Florian Schulz / visionsofthewild.comMore N23952 - tagged in Storfjorden
Tracking ID - N23952
Tagged - Storfjorden, 24 March 2022
This female is a well-known local bear to us. She is very local and restricted in her movements and spends most of her time in the inner part of Storfjorden and on Barentsøya. Her track from the spring fits her usual movement pattern perfectly, she does the same thing she always does; moves up and down the coast in the inner part of Storfjorden. Although she does not move far, she still walks a lot, and the total distance moved is quite similar to that of wider roaming bears that we have tagged. N23952 entered a den on Barentsøya on the 16th of November, and we are following her signals closely to see if we can detect indications of her giving birth (we typically can get some indication from temperature and movement sensors on her collar).
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Impact of tracking
Impact of tracking
Ongoing tracking has provided essential data on the impact of climate change and other threats on polar bear populations. This continuous effort is expanding, with plans to collar more female polar bears in the upcoming Spring season. Utilizing a conservation toolkit which includes genetic identification, satellite tracking, less intrusive biopsy darting operations and now environmental DNA (eDNA) - taken only from footprints without disturbing the animals; we can gather extensive insights into the species. Traditional knowledge from Inuit peoples also complements these efforts, enhancing our understanding and guiding conservation planning.
On the link below you can see the most up-to-date information to track our collared polar bears as well as other species using the Species Tracker developed by the WWF Global Arctic Programme.
