'Umky Patrol' or Polar Bear Patrol, is a project in which polar bear researchers, inhabitants of the Arctic coast and environmental organisations work to preserve the natural habitat and the harmonious existence of humans and wildlife. CLICK HERE to read the latest Umky Patrol news.
Enter our 'Umky Patrol' drawing competition!
WWF Sweden and WWF Russia are inviting children up to 15 years of age to send in drawings of polar bears and their habitat. For more information, and a downloadable form, CLICK HERE (Word document).
WWF-Canon Polar Bear Tracker
The four Svalbard polar bears have been renamed.
Learn more about WWF's polar bear work around the Arctic by visiting the WWF-Canada and WWF-US polar bear websites.
- As a result of the Canon Europe competition polar bear N23479 is now "Amala" and N23831 is now "Bouba Le Blanc" .
- Polar bear N23881 is now "Frøya" as a result of a WWF-Norway competition.
- Polar bear N23731 has been renamed "Flo".
Learn more about WWF's polar bear work around the Arctic by visiting the WWF-Canada and WWF-US polar bear websites.
Updates from the field
14 Jul 2008
Svalbard polar bear movements for April 2008
In April 2008 an expedition led by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) studied polar bears in the Svalbard area. This work takes place every year as a monitoring program to look at health, survival and reproduction. » Read more
Svalbard polar bear movements for April 2008
In April 2008 an expedition led by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) studied polar bears in the Svalbard area. This work takes place every year as a monitoring program to look at health, survival and reproduction. » Read more
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Polar bear news
22 Aug 2008
Polar bears found swimming miles from Alaskan coast
Wildlife experts have expressed their alarm after at least nine polar bears were found this week swimming in open water off the coast of Alaska - with one at least 60 miles from the shore.
Polar bears found swimming miles from Alaskan coast
Wildlife experts have expressed their alarm after at least nine polar bears were found this week swimming in open water off the coast of Alaska - with one at least 60 miles from the shore.
- Read the expedition diary from Tom Arnbom, a Swedish biologist, as he visits WWF's Polar Bear Patrol project in Vankarem, Chukotka, north-east Russia.
- follow the bears on Svalbard and the Southern Beaufort Sea using Google Earth?
- play online games or download education packs in the new Canon Kids' Zone?
- watch an animation that explains how we track the polar bears on this website?
- learn more about the latest conservation status of polar bear populations around the Arctic?
- Read more about polar bears and the largest threats to their survival?
- find out which arguments in the U.S. polar bear endangered species listing process are facts and which are fallacies?
Polar bear threatened
The polar bear is under threat from climate change. There are more than 20,000-25,000 polar bears in the Arctic, but this could change if the Arctic continues to warm at twice the rate as the rest of the world.The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists the status of the polar bear as "vulnerable" on its Red List of Threatened Species.
If our great-grandchildren are to live in a world with polar bears in it, we must all take action now to reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide.
Learn more:
- Threats to the polar bear
- Status of polar bear populations around the Arctic
- What you can do to help
