Polar Bears International

Last updated
Polar Bears International
FormationJanuary 1994;30 years ago (1994-01)
Type 501(c)(3)
77-0322706 [1]
Headquarters
Executive Director
Krista Wright
Chief Scientist
Dr. Steven C. Amstrup
  • John Kelleher (Chair), Amy Moore, (Vice Chair & Secretary)
Revenue (2018)
$5,972,199
Expenses (2018)$3,041,250
Staff (2020)
18
Website polarbearsinternational.org

Polar Bears International (PBI) is a non-profit polar bear conservation organization. Their research, education, and action programs address the issues that are endangering polar bears. [2] The organization also studies polar bears and monitors their activity data which helped lead to the animals being listed as a threatened species. [3] While Churchill, Canada, serves as an important hub for PBI scientists and educators, the organization's work on behalf of polar bears spans the Arctic including Svalbard, Russia, and Alaska.

Contents

PBI's Chief Scientist is Steven Amstrup, [4] winner of the 2012 Indianapolis Prize. [5]

Description

Churchill, Manitoba, is known throughout the world as the place where hundreds of polar bears gather each fall to wait for the sea ice to return to Hudson Bay. The town is also a hub for Polar Bears International and several of PBI's programs including Tundra Connections webcasts [6] – free, live webcasts provided by polar bear and climate scientists and geared towards students, families and professionals, Polar Bear Cams with Explore.org, and Climate Alliance training take place.

Polar bears are marine mammals, adapted to life on frozen or partly-frozen ocean. They hunt seals from the surface of the sea ice, and also rely on the ice to travel. Sea ice is as important to the Arctic as the soil is to the forest – it supports the entire Arctic food chain. Arctic sea ice is melting at a rate of 13.1% to 13.4% per decade. [7] [8] [9] The 13 lowest Arctic sea ice extents on record have all occurred in the last 13 years. [10]

In partnership with Google, polar bear habitats in Churchill were added to Google Maps in February 2014. [11] [12] PBI has worked with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to create education programs regarding polar bear conservation. [13] In November 2019, PBI unveiled the Polar Bears International House, [14] a new center in Churchill.

Research

Denned polar bears are invisible under the snow; therefore, winter-time petroleum exploration and development activities in northern Alaska have potential to disturb maternal polar bears and their cubs. Previous research determined forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imagery could detect many polar bear maternal dens under the snow, but also identified limitations of FLIR imagery. This study evaluated the efficacy of FLIR-surveys conducted by oil-field operators from 2004 to 2016. [15]

The study "The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)" observed wild polar bears caching of food and has led to the conclusion that such behavior does not occur or is negligible in this species per observations of short-term hoarding by polar bears between 1973 and 2018 in Svalbard, Greenland, and Canada. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polar bear</span> Species of bear native largely to the Arctic Circle

The polar bear is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bear Island (Svalbard)</span> Southernmost island of Svalbard, Norway

Bear Island is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The island is located at the limits of the Norwegian and Barents seas, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape. Bear Island was discovered by Dutch explorers Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerck on 10 June 1596. It was named after a polar bear that was seen swimming nearby. The island was considered terra nullius until the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringed seal</span> Species of carnivore

The ringed seal is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The ringed seal is a relatively small seal, rarely greater than 1.5 m in length, with a distinctive patterning of dark spots surrounded by light gray rings, hence its common name. It is the most abundant and wide-ranging ice seal in the Northern Hemisphere, ranging throughout the Arctic Ocean, into the Bering Sea and Okhotsk Sea as far south as the northern coast of Japan in the Pacific and throughout the North Atlantic coasts of Greenland and Scandinavia as far south as Newfoundland, and including two freshwater subspecies in northern Europe. Ringed seals are one of the primary prey of polar bears and killer whales, and have long been a component of the diet of indigenous people of the Arctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hopen (Svalbard)</span> Island in the southeastern part of the Svalbard archipelago, Norway

Hopen is an island in the southeastern part of the Svalbard archipelago (Norway). Hopen was discovered in 1596 by Jan Cornelisz Rijp during the third expedition by Willem Barentsz, trying to find the Northeast Passage. Later, in 1613, its name was given by Thomas Marmaduke of Hull, who named it after his former command, the Hopewell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wapusk National Park</span> National park in Manitoba, Canada

Wapusk National Park (; is Canada's 37th national park, established in 1996. The name comes from the Cree word for polar bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barentsøya</span> Island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway

Barentsøya, anglicized as Barents Island, is an Arctic island in the Svalbard archipelago of Norway, lying between Edgeøya and Spitsbergen. To the north, in the sound between Barentsøya and Spitsbergen, lies the island of Kükenthaløya. To the south, the sound separating Barents Island from Edgeøya is Freemansundet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kong Karls Land</span> Island group in Norway

Kong Karls Land or King Charles Land is an island group in the Svalbard archipelago, in the Arctic Ocean. The island group covers an area of 342 km2 (132 sq mi) and is made up of the islands of Kongsøya, Svenskøya, Abel Island, Helgoland Island, and Tirpitzøya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grizzly–polar bear hybrid</span> Cross between grizzly and polar bear

A grizzly-polar-bear-hybrid is a rare ursid hybrid that has occurred both in captivity and in the wild. In 2006, the occurrence of this hybrid in nature was confirmed by testing the DNA of a unique-looking bear who had been shot near Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, on Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic. The number of confirmed hybrids has since risen to eight, all of them descending from the same female polar bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area</span>

Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area on Bathurst Island within Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is on federal Crown land, and is administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service, a division of Environment Canada, with respect to the Canada Wildlife Act's National Wildlife Area Regulations. Land use is also subject to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. To the north and west is Qausuittuq National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of Svalbard</span>

Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The climate of Svalbard is principally a result of its latitude, which is between 74° and 81° north. Climate is defined by the World Meteorological Organization as the average weather over a 30-year period. The North Atlantic Current moderates Svalbard's temperatures, particularly during winter, giving it up to 20 °C (36 °F) higher winter temperature than similar latitudes in continental Russia and Canada. This keeps the surrounding waters open and navigable most of the year. The interior fjord areas and valleys, sheltered by the mountains, have fewer temperature differences than the coast, with about 2 °C lower summer temperatures and 3 °C higher winter temperatures. On the south of the largest island, Spitsbergen, the temperature is slightly higher than further north and west. During winter, the temperature difference between south and north is typically 5 °C, and about 3 °C in summer. Bear Island (Bjørnøya) has average temperatures even higher than the rest of the archipelago.

<i>Ursus maritimus tyrannus</i> Extinct subspecies of carnivore

Ursus maritimus tyrannus is a controversial extinct subspecies of polar bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pagophily</span> Preference or dependence on water ice

Pagophily or pagophilia is the preference or dependence on water ice for some or all activities and functions. The term Pagophila is derived from the Ancient Greek pagos meaning "sea-ice", and philos meaning "-loving".

Steven C. Amstrup is an American zoologist who studies bears, especially polar bears. He is the 2012 recipient of the Indianapolis Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Hudson Bay taiga</span> Taiga ecoregion of Canada

The Southern Hudson Bay taiga is a terrestrial ecoregion, as classified by the World Wildlife Fund, which extends along the southern coast of Hudson Bay and resides within the larger taiga biome. The region is nearly coterminous with the Hudson Plain, a Level I ecoregion of North America as designated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in its North American Environmental Atlas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davis Highlands tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Nunavut, Canada

The Davis Highlands tundra ecoregion covers the Baffin Mountains on the northeast coast of Baffin Island and Bylot Island, facing Baffin Bay in Nunavut, northern Canada. The terrain is extremely rugged, heavily glaciated, with many deep fjords, and very cold. About half of the territory is moss and lichen tundra, the other half bare rock and ice. The region is wetter than the much drier regions to the southwest of the Baffin Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Arctic tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, Canada

The Canadian High Arctic Tundra ecoregion encompasses most of the northern Arctic archipelago, from much of Baffin Island, Somerset Island, and Prince of Wales Island in the south, through all islands northward to the most northern island in Canada, Ellesmere Island. Much of the northern islands are covered in ice, and the climate is very dry with as little as 50 mm/year in places. The ecoregion has very little human habitation, and most of the non-ice terrain is moss and lichen cover. The region supports viable populations of arctic mammals such as muskox, arctic wolves, arctic foxes, arctic hares, polar bears, and caribou.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Arctic tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Canada

The Canadian Low Arctic Tundra ecoregion covers a rolling landscape of shrubby tundra vegetation along the northern edge of the mainland Canada along the border of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and a small portion in Quebec on the northeast coast of Hudson Bay. The region is important for large herds of caribou and other large mammals, and for large nesting colonies of birds such as snow geese. The region is mostly intact, with 95% remaining intact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Arctic tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Canada

The Canadian Middle Arctic Tundra ecoregion covers a broad stretch of northern Canada - the southern islands of the Arctic Archipelago, plus the northern mainland of Nunavut and, across Hudson Bay to the east, a portion of northern Quebec. This is the coldest and driest ecoregion in Canada, and can be referred to as a 'polar desert'. It is an important region for breeding and migratory birds, and supports 80% of the world's muskox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torngat Mountain tundra</span>

The Torngat Mountain tundra ecoregion covers the Torngat Mountains on the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula where the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador meet. The mountains feature glacially carved U-shaped valleys and deep fjords. The vegetation over most of the territory is that of arctic tundra, herbaceous cover, or bare rock. The region supports seasonal polar bears, black bears, and caribou. The Atlantic coast is on the Atlantic Flyway for migratory birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polar bear conservation</span>

Polar bear population sizes and trends are difficult to estimate accurately because they occupy remote home ranges and exist at low population densities. Polar bear fieldwork can also be hazardous to researchers. As of 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports that the global population of polar bears is 22,000 to 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown. Nevertheless, polar bears are listed as "Vulnerable" under criterion A3c, which indicates an expected population decrease of ≥30% over the next three generations due to "decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat". Risks to the polar bear include climate change, pollution in the form of toxic contaminants, conflicts with shipping, oil and gas exploration and development, and human-bear interactions including harvesting for food and possible recreational polar-bear watching.

References

  1. "Polar Bears International, Form 990 2015". ProPublica. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  2. "'We know they aren't feeding': fears for polar bears over shrinking Arctic ice". The Guardian . 29 September 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. Kaufman, Mark (20 November 2019). "Village of the Sea Bears". Mashable . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  4. "Introducing Dr. Steven Amstrup, Polar Bear Expert and 2014 Expo Guest Speaker". Wildlife Conservation Network . 6 August 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  5. "The 2012 Indianapolis Prize Winner". Indianapolis Prize . Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  6. "Tundra Connections Webcasts - Polar Bears International". polarbearsinternational.org. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  7. Change, NASA Global Climate. "Arctic Sea Ice Minimum | NASA Global Climate Change". Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  8. "Climate Change: Arctic sea ice summer minimum | NOAA Climate.gov". www.climate.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  9. "Sea Ice". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  10. "Arctic sea ice plunges to dismal levels". Mashable . Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. "Street View Treks: Churchill, Canada". Google Maps .
  12. Explore the Polar Bear Capital of the World with Google Maps. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  13. "Executive Summary of AZA's Partnership with Polar Bears International". Association of Zoos and Aquariums . Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  14. "'Polar Bears International unveils the Polar Bears International House, a landmark educational interpretive centre in Churchill". Bloomberg . 4 November 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  15. Smith, Tom S.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Kirschhoffer, John; York, Geoffrey (9 September 2019). "Efficacy of aerial forward-looking infrared surveys for detecting polar bear maternal dens". bioRxiv: 763144. doi: 10.1101/763144 . Retrieved 25 March 2020. CC-BY icon.svg Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  16. Stirling, Ian; Laidre, Kristen; Derocher, Andrew; Van Meurs, Rinie (12 November 2020). "The ecological and behavioral significance of short-term food caching in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)". Arctic Science. 6: 41–52. doi: 10.1139/as-2019-0008 .This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.