Tag Archives: summer fast

Most polar bears easily deterred this time of year, lucky Labrador boaters discover

Posted on August 30, 2016 | Comments Off

A polar bear female accompanied by a cub recently attempted to board a small sailboat anchored in a remote harbour off central Labrador – giving the two American boaters below deck a mighty big surprise.

Labrador polar bear encounter Torngat boat_CBC 30 Aug 2016

‘He said ‘it’s a bear, it’s right on the boat, make some noise.'” – Nancy Zydler

The encounter occurred south of the same national park where a much-publicized attack occurred in July 2013 (see previous posts here and here) but had a happier ending. See more below from a CBC report released this morning (based on a radio interview) and some ecological context for the sighting not mentioned by the reporter.
Continue reading

Comments Off on Most polar bears easily deterred this time of year, lucky Labrador boaters discover

Posted in Polar bear attacks, Population, Sea ice habitat

Tagged attacks, Davis Strait, encounters, harp seals, Labrador, Meltdown, polar bear, prey, problem bears, sailboat, sightings, summer, summer fast, swimming, Torngat Mountains National Park

Tracking polar bears in the Beaufort Sea – all bears on the ice in June

Posted on July 11, 2016 | Comments Off

The recent open water in the Southern Beaufort didn’t seem to change what polar bears were doing – bears tracked by USGS show them on the ice, likely trying to hunt. More ice edge means more hunting habitat at this time of year.

Beaufort tracking USGS bear-movements-June 2016 lg closeup

However, few hunts are likely successful at this time of year – because only older seals are on the ice and the broken ice makes escape so much easier for the seals (see previous post here). Fat bears on shore this summer (like the ones seen at Kaktovik in September) will tell us that they got enough to eat earlier in the season. Note that bears in good condition that appear at the whaling bone piles in September are there by choice (not stranding) and they got fat by feeding in the spring (March-May), not by picking at leftover whale scraps. Calories from terrestrial sources (for most bears) just reduce the amount of weight they lose over the summer.

More maps below. Continue reading

Comments Off on Tracking polar bears in the Beaufort Sea – all bears on the ice in June

Posted in Life History, Sea ice habitat

Tagged Beaufort Sea, fat bears, feeding, satellite radio collars, sea ice, spring feeding, summer fast, tracking polar bears, USGS

Polar bear habitat update: many bears on the ice in Hudson Bay, lots of sea ice globally

Posted on June 25, 2015 | Comments Off

Polar bear habitat over Hudson Bay was average this week (at 60% coverage), despite the odd pattern of breakup – but the end of spring in the Arctic is only 5 days away and there is still plenty of polar bear habitat in all regions.

According to the Canadian Ice Service (CIS), there is still more ice in the eastern portion of the bay than usual and much less in the northwest (Fig. 1 below). There is far more ice than average ice in Hudson Strait, the approach to southern Davis Strait.

Figure 1. Hudson Bay sea ice, difference from average at 22 June 2015. Blue is less than average, red is more than average. CIS. Click to enlarge.

Comments Off on Polar bear habitat update: many bears on the ice in Hudson Bay, lots of sea ice globally

Posted in Life History, Sea ice habitat

Tagged Arctic, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, breakup, global, habitat, Hudson Bay, melt ponds, polar bear, satellite collars, science, sea ice, spring, summer fast, Svalbard, western hudson bay

Spring/summer sea ice bonanza for polar bears – conditions excellent again for 2014

Posted on June 24, 2014 | Comments Off

Again this year – contrary to predictions – there has been no early breakup of the sea ice on Hudson Bay and even though it’s the height of summer, there is plenty of ice throughout the Arctic to act as a feeding platform for polar bears. This makes it unlikely there will be a longer-than-average summer fast for polar bears again this year.

Figure 1. NSIDC MASIE map for June 21, 2014.

Sea ice maps around the Arctic for June 21 (and June 24, for Hudson Bay) reviewed and discussed below in relation to polar bear habitat — have a look.

Comments Off on Spring/summer sea ice bonanza for polar bears – conditions excellent again for 2014

Posted in Conservation Status, Sea ice habitat

Tagged Chukchi Sea, critical feeding period, early summer ice coverage, Hudson Bay breakup, Jon Aars, polar bear, polar bear habitat, sea ice maps, spring sea ice, summer fast, Svalbard, Svalbard cubs, western hudson bay