Bears we are currently tracking

Svalbard and the Barents Sea

These are the bears that we are currently tracking on the Svalbard Archipeligo and the Barents Sea. They were all tagged by researchers Magnus Andersen and Jon Aars from the Norwegian Polar Institute.

N23731

N23731 has been captured several times during the course of our research program, and always in the same area, namely in Hornsund, a fjord in the southern part of Spitsbergen. The first time she was captured and tagged she had a female cub with her, N23732, and this year we captured her on the same day as her mother, and she had her own cubs with her.

During the summer N23731 has moved over to the east coast of Spitsbergen, a relatively short journey. Her last movements show that she has returned to the place that she must regard as home, namely Hornsund in the southern part of Svalbard. This is where she has been seen many times during the course of the years, and this is probably where she was born.

The inner part of Hornsund, Brepollen, is a bay surrounded by glacier fronts, and the bay is well protected from the ocean on the outside by a narrow peninsula. As a result the sea on the inside freezes up quite early in the season, and therefore could be a good place to start the hunting season for the bears.

N23639

Females with cubs often seem to be playing safe with regard to their movements relative to when they are alone. So, N23639 knows that sea ice will form again, and food will be more easily available soon, and the only thing she has to do is to stay put and wait.

The alternative would have been to go out on a difficult and dangerous journey, for the cubs, and still not knowing if she would get to a better place. So, she decides to stay and wait.

N26002

In sharp contrast to the other bears we have on the Polar Bear Tracker, N26002 has made some quite spectacular movements out into the open ocean, the Barents sea. She has stayed with the drifting pack ice all summer, and has throughout the tracking period spent her time right out on the edge of the sea ice.

It is interesting to see how she manages to stay this close to the edge, knowing that the conditions are difficult with sea ice that is drifting with ocean currents and wind, it is melting and cracking and always moving under her feet.

At the moment she is about 100 km east of Kong Karls Land in Svalbard, and out on a ice peninsula pointing southwards. The sea ice cover is open to very open, according to the ice maps. The last positions we have received indicate that she is on her way north, and that seems to be a good idea at the moment, because if that peninsula she is on breaks off, she might be in trouble.

We know, however, from research, that polar bears have a fantastic ability to “read” the ice and the currents, and that they make the right decisions. This is, after all, their natural habitat.

N7839

The situation for N7839 is quite similar as for N23639, in that she too probably has had to stay on land for some time now. Earlier this summer there was quite a bit of sea ice in the Hinlopen Strait, but now there is not much left.

N7839 is in the same area as she was a month ago and has only moved locally in the Bjørnsundet and Wilhelmøya area. The cubs that N7839 has are one year older that those N23639 has, and the older cubs are bigger and stronger and may cope better with the low access to food than the smaller cubs.

We know that survival is better for yearling cubs compared to cubs of the year. Females with cubs often seem to be playing safe with regard to their movements relative to when they are alone. So,N7839, like N23639, knows that sea ice will form again, and food will be more easily available soon, and the only thing she has to do is to stay put and wait.

20534

This bear was first captured as a yearling and with her mother on the active sea ice near Prudhoe Bay on 23 March 2001. She was not observed again until her capture in this same region, with her 2 new cubs, on 16 April 2008.  As a yearling she weighed 53 kg and had a total body length of 148 cm. As an adult, and immediately following a 5-month fast, her weight was 134 kg.  Her total body length was 218 cm.

20955

The bear known as 20955 was first captured on the sea ice near the border of Alaska and Canada (70.1435, -142.8587) with her 1 new cub on 12 May 2008. Her weight was 177 kg and her total body length was 211 cm.

32232

This bear, identified as bear number 32232, was first captured as a yearling with her mother by the Canadian Wildlife Service on the sea ice near the Mackenzie River Delta on 21 April 2003. She was recaptured as an adult by the University of Alberta on sea ice in the eastern Beaufort Sea on 23 April 2008.

X32682

No further biographical information is currently available for bear X32682.

X32687

No further biographical information is currently available for bear X32687.

X32690

No further biographical information is currently available for bear X32690.

Aurora (X12299)

Aurora was first captured in 1994, south of Owl River in Manitoba, Canada. Although she was just a yearling, she was already independent and had left her mom. Usually, cubs will stay with their mothers for two to two and a half years. During the 1980s and early 1990s, up to 40% of mother polar bears in western Hudson Bay were able to successfully wean there cubs at about one and a half years of age, however researchers are now finding that fewer mothers in that region are able to do this. It is speculated that climate change may be a contributing factor in this change.

The following year, Aurora was captured again, this time northwest of Thompson Point, Manitoba. Researchers didn’t see Aurora again until 1999, when at the age of six, she was captured southeast of Napper Lake, Manitoba.

In 2001, at the age of eight, Aurora was captured northeast of Beale Lake, Manitoba. For the first time, she was with cubs. She had two COYs (cub of the year), one male and one female.

This past September 2008, Aurora was captured northwest of Broad River, Manitoba, and was fitted with a satellite radio collar. She is now 15 years old and has one male COY.

Solstice (X19250)

Solstice was first captured in 1999, northwest of Thompson Point, Manitoba, Canada. She was 16 years old and had two male COYs (cub of the year).

This past September 2008, on Keyask Island in Manitoba, Solstice was captured once again and fitted with a satellite radio collar. She is now 25 and has one male yearling cub.
 

Hope (X17327)

This past September 2008, X17327 was captured north of Klohn Lake, Manitoba, Canada. There are no records of previous captures. She is eight years old and has one male yearling cub.