Living in a remote landscape of snow and ice, Polar Bears offer the lure of exotic travel for the ecotourist and the challenge of conducting meaningful research for the Polar Bear scientist. Polar Bear tourism is big business in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, a small town on the shores of Hudson Bay that bills itself the “Polar Bear capital of the world.” Far above the Arctic Circle, Svalbard, Norway, hosts thousands of tourists each year who travel here each summer in the hopes of seeing Polar Bears and other Arctic wildlife. Tourism also plays an important role in small villages and towns along the coasts of the Arctic Ocean in northern Alaska, and to a limited extent in Canada and Greenland. Seeing a wild Polar Bear is a thrill, and I can certainly attest to the fact that the experience never gets old.
The science of studying Polar Bears is perhaps among the most challenging of tasks, considering the environment, the weather, and the vast distances involved. Today, some of this Polar Bear research is done remotely, using GPS collars that communicate data via satellites to scientists working in labs far removed from punishing Arctic conditions. Collared Polar Bears have provided valuable information on their movements, the distances they travel, their periods of activity, and more. However, some conservationists argue that on-site observations provide more meaningful data without the risk that collaring a bear entails.
Climate change poses an extremely serious threat to the long-term survival of the Polar Bear, although this species has survived past warming events between other interglacial periods. Today, however, Polar Bears facing a relatively ice-free future also must deal with fewer dead animals to scavenge from when on land, as the seas have been over-exploited for centuries and whales, seals, and walruses are less common today. Bears, on land, also face a threat they did not have in past climatic events—man. Hungry, land-bound Polar Bears visiting villages, camps, outposts, and commercial operations in their search for food, lured by smells of drying meat or fish or trash, may be met by guns. Although Polar Bears enjoy worldwide protection in theory, exceptions are made when human life is perceived to be threatened, and in significant portions of their range, Polar Bears are hunted legally and poached illegally in many others.
Sadly, some Polar Bear scientists argue that since climate change and the loss of ice poses such a serious problem, the “harvest” of bears through hunting, done to maintain traditional hunting rights of local Arctic people or to infuse revenue in their communities, is insignificant compared to the greater threat of a warming climate and the loss of the Arctic ice. Some concerned conservationists counter that the killing of any bear only intensifies the threat to the Polar Bear’s long-term survival, especially when hunting quotas are often based on inconclusive data for the populations that are hunted.
As with so many of the world’s top predators, animals like the African Lion, down to perhaps less than 20,000 animals from 100,000 just forty years ago, or the tiger, reduced to fewer than 3,000 throughout their once vast range, Polar Bears are in serious danger, assaulted seemingly from all sides by a host of threats. I know it is a sad way to end a book celebrating the life and beauty of the Polar Bear and its world, but perhaps, in our facing the reality of this threat, we can as a world community address these issues, and in doing so, actually save ourselves, too.
SECURE AT THE TOP
Photo: Katherine Pierce/CureUs Designs
Large male Polar Bears have little to fear, either on the ice or when marooned on land during the summer months. Resting on the crest of a small hill, this Polar Bear waits for the return of winter’s ice.
HEAVY WEIGHT
Photo: Steve Metildi
In Churchill, Manitoba, Polar Bears may be marooned on land for nearly five months, eating nothing during that time. To survive, bears slow down their metabolism and enter a walking hibernation state, much like what Black Bears and Grizzly Bears undergo during their winter hibernation. Bears do not hibernate as true hibernators do, when their body temperature and heartbeat drop to death-like levels, but the bear’s metabolism does slow down.
TUNDRA BEAR
Photo, top: Tom Wester
Photo, bottom: Katherine Pierce/CureUs Designs
Although Polar Bears are most closely associated with ice and snow, in the southernmost portion of their range around Hudson and James Bays, bears can be found among stunted willow and evergreen trees where they spend the ice-free summer months.
GETTING RESTLESS
Photo: Steve Metildi
During the warmest months of summer, land-bound Polar Bears may do little more than sleep, although as the temperature drops, bears along the southern shores of Hudson Bay begin a journey to the northwest where the first ice will form.
CHECKING THE SHALLOWS
Belugas, a small, white, toothed whale, frequent the river mouths emptying into Hudson Bay, and occasionally falling tides trap one. Only ten or twelve feet long, a stranded Beluga is easy prey for a large bear.
POTENTIAL TROUBLE
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
Migrating northward, Polar Bears pass by close to the town of Churchill, Manitoba. Hungry bears occasionally break into cabins, and at one time frequented an open dump where they scavenged the garbage. Fortunately, that dump is now closed.
AN ECOTOURIST INDUSTRY
Two young male Polar Bears wrestle in play near a Tundra Buggy, a specially outfitted vehicle that transports thousands of tourists each year into the tundra outside of Churchill, Manitoba. As the world’s climate has changed, travelers are occasionally disappointed to find the “ice” bear in a drab, gray-brown, snow-free landscape.
CURIOUS BEARS
Photo: Richard Day
In many parts of their range, Polar Bears may never see a human being, although those they do see may pose a grave threat, as bears are hunted and poached. In Churchill, the bears are protected, and instead of running off at the first sign of man, they will investigate with curiosity the vehicles they see.
WATCH OUT!
Years ago, a photographer who was not paying attention had his arm bitten by a Polar Bear. That could have been me, for I had been photographing a bear while using a heavy sweater as a lens rest. Distracted for a moment, I looked down to find a Polar Bear had reared up and grabbed my sweater. I quickly grabbed the other end and began a tug-of-war, a battle I knew I’d lose. The bear took my sweater to the ground and played with it for a few minutes, and finding it inedible, walked away. The sweater could have been my arm!
CURIOSITY
Photo: Tom Wester
While it is tempting to be so close to a bear, one must be cautious. An upward lunge, perhaps simply done playfully, could result in tragedy for anyone with a hand or arm draped over the edge of a vehicle.
BEAR TRAP
Photo: Steve Metildi
Polar Bears sometimes become pests around human habitation, raiding trash bins, breaking into cabins, and potentially endangering people’s lives. This live trap in Churchill was set along the outskirts of town for a bear that had been causing concern.
THE BEAR JAIL
Photo: Steve Metildi
Problem bears in Churchill are housed in “the bear jail,” where they will remain until Hudson Bay freezes, although some bears may be helicoptered north and then released if the jail is full. Bears are not fed while in the jail, since in the wild, before freeze-up, they would not be eating, either. By not feeding jailed bears, bears are not trained or conditioned to come into town, go to jail, and get a free meal!
HELICOPTER RIDE
Photo: Richard Day
Bears may be transported from a capture site, and are ferried off to a release location, via helicopters. This is expensive, but Churchill’s program of jailing and transporting bears has worked, keeping bears and people safe.
AWAITING FREEZE-UP
Photo: Richard Day
Tourists in Churchill come to see the bears. When I started going to Churchill in the late 1980s, Hudson Bay froze over sometime around the first week of November. Now, freeze-up occurs as late as mid-December, but every year is different. If freeze-up occurs early, the Polar Bears vanish as they head out onto the ice, leaving late-season tourists very disappointed.
AIRPORT BEAR
Tourists arriving at the luggage carousel in Svalbard, Norway, meet their first Polar Bear and hope that this one isn’t the only bear that they will see. Most tourists are not disappointed, provided they are visiting at the right time and to the right areas. Not everyone does so.
SHIP-BOUND TOURISM
Photo: Adam Rheborg
Svalbard, an island archipelago north of Norway and far above the Arctic Circle, is another hot spot for the ice-loving Polar Bear. Here, tourists view bears from the deck of ships or small inflatable crafts, called Zodiacs.
POTENTIAL STOW-AWAY
Although large cruise ships ply these waters on ecotourism adventures, the best experiences are had on small ships. This Polar Bear approached our twelve-passenger ship out of curiosity, and by standing, could rest her paws upon the deck.
INTIMATE VIEWS
Photo: Adam Rheborg
The author, Joe McDonald, photographing a Polar Bear from the deck of a small ship. With a canny and sensitive boat captain, tourists can obtain incredible images of bears and other wildlife. The trick is to let the curious bears come to you, and they usually do.
WHO’S INSIDE?
Photo: Adam Rheborg
On a small ship, portholes are low enough for a curious bear to look inside. Imagine waking up in your bunk, looking outside, and seeing this!
ZODIAC CRUISING
Little can compare to the thrill one gets being at ice or water-level with a Polar Bear, possible when doing a Zodiac cruise through the ice. Bears often approach the edge of the ice in curiosity, an extremely important behavior for a top predator living in such a harsh environment.
WARNING SIGN
Signs warn the residents and tourists in Svalbard that they are in bear country. Bears rarely enter town, but the chance of an encounter is always present.
TOO CLOSE
Brown Bears in some of the coastal national parks in Alaska are habituated to man, and sometimes tourists and bears get too close to one another. The omnivorous Brown Bear grazes on sedges and grasses or fishes for spawning salmon while fresh mammalian meat is a rarity in their diet. Being this close is too close, and with a Polar Bear, this might be suicidal.
HIKING IN SVALBARD
Tourists traveling on foot in the back country of Svalbard must be accompanied by an armed guide. Should a curious Polar Bear approach, guides will employ a variety of methods to discourage it, and only as a last resort may fire a rifle into the air or into the ground nearby. Bears are rarely killed, although the average is about two per year, and many conservationists believe bear spray or air horns might be a more prudent deterrent for a bear that approaches too close.
A CLOSE CALL?
Photos: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
Who knows whether this Polar Bear wanted to play or wanted to eat, but this photographer on the northern coast of Alaska was not taking any chances. The photographer eventually slipped inside his vehicle, no doubt with his heart pounding loudly!
POLAR BEAR CURIO
Photo: Adam Rheborg
Polar Bears are protected in Svalbard, but hides and mounts can be sold here, imported from Canada where bears are still hunted. Many conservationists, concerned about the uncertain number of Polar Bears worldwide, worry that this commercialism further threatens an animal faced with extensive habitat loss from climate change.
RESEARCH
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
Polar Bears can travel widely, and in the course of a year may walk the equivalent of crossing the United States from coast to coast. A bear with a GPS-equipped collar provides information on where a bear goes, how long it stays there, and, in some cases, how long it lives. Collars are designed to drop off after a year or so, but some bears are collared repeatedly.
“POLAR BEARS CAN TRAVEL WIDELY, AND IN THE COURSE OF A YEAR MAY WALK THE EQUIVALENT OF CROSSING THE UNITED STATES FROM COAST TO COAST.”
COLLARING
Photo: Adam Rheborg
The neck of a male Polar Bear is larger than his head, and any collar would eventually slip off. A female’s neck is smaller, and these are the bears normally collared. The collars not only provide GPS information, but also allow scientists to find and follow bears, and to assess their condition and their breeding status. Concerned conservationists argue that less intrusive and more informative research could be done by direct observation, thus reducing the chances of injury or death that may occur by collaring bears.
CONTROVERSY
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
If the hunting is good, a Polar Bear can gain a tremendous amount of weight and mass. One collared female in Hudson Bay gained 684 pounds between November and July, and depending upon when a collar is attached such a weight gain could cause problems for the bear. In this cited example, the bear remained healthy and produced triplets when she denned that fall.
STINKER BEAR?
Photo: Adam Rheborg
Research can come at a cost. To collar a bear usually involves a chase from a helicopter, then a shot from a rifle firing a tranquilizer. Bears can be stressed, burning up calories they cannot afford to lose, or they can be separated from their cubs, although this is reported to be rare. Bears occasionally drown, too drowsy to save themselves. Conservationists point out that bears may break limbs or suffer internal damage during this process, or die sometime after handling. Some bears grow too big for their collars, and the area around the collar may get infected, creating a nasty condition referred to as “a stinker” by Polar Bear researchers.
STARVATION
Photo: Adam Rheborg
Young bears, when finally driven off by their mother or by an amorous male, must hone their hunting skills in order to survive. Most Polar Bear scientists cite climate change and global warming as the bear’s gravest threat, but many conservationists worry that hunting, only partially under a quota system, contributes significantly to the Polar Bear’s plight.
HUNTING QUOTAS
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
Although the exact number of Polar Bears is unknown, with estimates ranging from 16,000 to 25,000, and even 31,000 by some, Canada and Greenland have a “harvest” quota. In Canada, where the greatest number of bears is legally hunted, Inuit, the native people of the Canadian Arctic, often sell their permits to hunters from the south. Although it is presently illegal to import any part of a Polar Bear into the United States, today, U.S., European, and Asian hunters buy these permits. With an unknown number of existing Polar Bears, concerned conservationists argue that the killing of any bear threatens the species’ survival.
GLOBAL WARMING
Photo: Adam Rheborg
A lone Polar Bear sleeps on an iceberg. Currents may push this precarious perch far out to sea, where it may melt, with dire consequences for the bear. Polar Bears have successfully made swims of 100 miles, but a floating iceberg may disappear hundreds of miles from the nearest pack ice or island.
ON THIN ICE
Photo: Adam Rheborg
There is absolutely no question that global warming is a serious threat to the Polar Bear. Polar Bears evolved from the Grizzly Bear around 150,000 years ago or even longer, and since that time, the Earth has witnessed several periods of extensive cooling and warming. Today’s warming temperatures are probably occurring faster than past climatic events, but bears did survive past warming trends.
WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS?
Many Polar Bear scientists argue that a controlled “harvest,” i.e., the killing of bears, is sustainable, but many conservationists argue that these harvest quotas are often based on estimates or guesses that are decades old, and actual bear numbers in quota areas are unknown.
“. . . MANY CONSERVATIONISTS ARGUE THAT THESE HARVEST QUOTAS ARE OFTEN BASED ON ESTIMATES OR GUESSES THAT ARE DECADES OLD . . .”
COMPLETE PROTECTION?
Since no one knows for sure how many Polar Bears exist, and everyone agrees that habitat loss due to climate change certainly threatens the bear, many concerned conservationist and laymen believe the bears should enjoy complete protection.
SOBERING FACTS
As the planet warms, the Arctic has lost about 13 percent of its ice cover per decade since 1980, and has declined by more than 50 percent in three decades, decreasing in actual ice volume by 75 percent. Ice reflects light and heat, while now-exposed open sea water absorbs light and heat. Warmer waters generate greater waves and storms, which erode the pack ice, compounding the problem.
ADAPTABLE?
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
Sadly, in the short term, the Polar Bear as we know it may cease to exist, but Polar Bears did survive past warming trends and hopefully will do so again. I think everyone shares the hope that this iconic and magnificent animal continues to roam the Arctic.
WANDERING THE ICE
This curious Polar Bear rested her paws on the deck of our ship before wandering off across the fast ice. To her, perhaps, the world has not changed, but it is likely she grows a bit hungrier every season, as ice melts earlier in spring and reforms later in the fall.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
The threats to the Polar Bear are complex and may require radical thinking and changes, but it is perhaps most important to view the bear as that proverbial “canary in the coal mine,” an animal that can serve as a warning beacon for us all.
