Tag Archives: polar bear survival

Western Hudson Bay polar bears will still be around in 20 years

Posted on December 25, 2014 | Comments Off

This is not a bet or prophesy based on models, it’s my conviction as an experienced zoologist, based on history demonstrating the resilience of the species.

I’m so sure about Western Hudson Bay polar bears that I’ve started a spare-change jar marked “Send Nico to Churchill.” Nico is my new grandson, just two months old now. This will be our first Christmas with a baby in a long time.

Nico’s special savings account will assure that in 20 years (given wise investments), he’ll be able to see Churchill polar bears in their own element.

Warmest wishes to all my readers and thanks for your support, it is much appreciated.

Susan

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Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Churchill, polar bear survival, polar bears, western hudson bay

Polar bear biologists doing mark-recapture work in Hudson Bay may have misled the world

Posted on November 2, 2014 | Comments Off

What exactly are Western Hudson Bay (WHB) polar bear researchers hiding? Since 2004, research on the body condition and cub production of Western Hudson Bay (WHB) polar bears has been carried out but none of the results of these mark-recapture studies have been made public.

The researchers all claim that WHB polar bears are struggling to survive because of recent sea ice changes but won’t release the 10 years worth of updated information they possess on the bears or the sea ice.

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Posted in Advocacy, Conservation Status, Population, Sea ice habitat

Tagged Amstrup, body condition, climate change, cub mortality, Derocher, global warming, invasive research, litter size, Lunn, mark-recapture, misinformation, photo ops, polar bear, polar bear survival, polar bear week, Polar Bears International, population estimate, propaganda, vital rates, western hudson bay

September sea ice ballyhoo and why it doesn’t matter to polar bears

Posted on October 20, 2013 | Comments Off

The end of September sea ice summary from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) finally became available late last week (October 3, “A better year for the cryosphere”).

The summary figure NSIDC provides are the average ice extent for the month (not the maximum achieved at the end of the month), which are compared to previous years.

[There has been considerable ice growth since the end of September (updated daily here].

Here is why the September extent doesn’t matter to polar bears: it is the extent in June that is important to polar bear survival. June is the end of the critical spring feeding period for polar bears (see previous post here) – healthy bears eat more seals over a shorter period of time from March to June than any other time of year. After the end of June, most bears have enough fat to survive a fast of 4 months or more.

In contrast to September – when many bears are taking a time-out on shore – ice extent for June over the last 30 years or so provided an extensive hunting platform for polar bears throughout the Arctic. To show you how extensive, I’ve constructed a composite of ice maps from selected years (Fig.1, below).

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Posted in Life History, Sea ice habitat

Tagged Arctic ice extent, average monthly ice extent, hunting platform, June sea ice extent, NSIDC, polar bear survival, polar bears, ring seals, sea ice maps, September ice extent