Updates from the field

11 Apr 2008
Svalbard polar bear movements, April 2008
Norwegian Polar Institute polar bear biologist Jon Aars reports from the RV Lance research vessel, currently conducting a field trip on the islands of Svalbard. » Read more

07 Apr 2008
Svalbard polar bear movements for March 2008
While we have stopped receiving data from Amala's collar, we are still collecting data from Flo, Bouba le Blanc and Frøya. We hope to be able to find Amala again and remove her collar for repairs.
» Read more

01 Feb 2008
Svalbard polar bear movements during December 2007 and January 2008
While some of our other collars are not transmitting as expected, we are receiving good data from Bouba Le Blanc (N23831). Late in the fall, we were quite certain that this female had entered a den after a long trip back from the drifting sea ice in the Polar Ocean north of Svalbard. For a long time almost no movement was registered. Then suddenly the bear started to move about in the fjord for some time, and we did not know what to think. Had she not entered a den after all? » Read more

28 Nov 2007
Svalbard polar bear movements in fall 2007
Polar bear N23831 has continued to show particularly interesting behaviour. Her movements out over the sea ice pack since spring clearly demonstrates the strong dependence that polar bears have on the sea ice for the survival. If the sea ice continues to decline in this region it will not be long before bears are stranded from their denning areas or can no longer access the sea ice for their hunting.
» Read more

09 Oct 2007
Svalbard polar bear movements, September 2007
We have seen some interesting activity from the polar bears in Svalbard over the past several months. N23831 continues to be a very busy bear and has covered a lot of distance since we started following her. Although some of the other bears have not covered such a great distance, we have followed their behaviour with interest. Polar bear N23731 was spotted with her cubs during a recent field trip and we expect N23881 to enter the maternity den for the first time this winter.
» Read more

03 Sep 2007
Polar bear movements in August 2007
We have seen some interesting movement behaviour in the Svalbard polar bears we have been following since March 2007. Three of the bears have not moved too much and we have had a hard time keeping track of 2 of them. This is probably because they are travelling beneath cliff faces that interfere with the satellite signal. One of the bears, N23831, has spent most of the summer out on the pack ice and has travelled a considerable distance in the last 6 months. » Read more

02 Aug 2007
Polar bear summer movements 2007
We have now followed the polar bears tracked by the WWF-Canon Polar Bear Tracker for about four months, and we can now take an overview of their summer movements in the Svalbard area. » Read more

02 May 2007
The 2007 season of polar bear tagging
Then suddenly the snow shower got so heavy we had no choice but to land. It was still a few miles back to the research vessel Lance. We have sleeping bags and food in the helicopter, but a bed and a warm dinner at Lance seemed more tempting than a night in the helicopter or in a tent with polar bears around.  » Read more

19 Feb 2007
Preparing for a new season of polar bear tagging
Late in the fall of 2006 things did not look so good in terms of ice cover in the Svalbard area. Since polar bears are so dependant on sea ice for hunting and as a platform for movement, we were concerned that this winter and spring could be a difficult one for polar bears in the Svalbard area. » Read more

13 Dec 2006
Staying close to home
At the moment we are tracking one bear, Yume and she has been quite active although she stays close to home, around the southern part of Barentsøya and the northern part of Edgeøya. Click here to see map

Sea ice is now forming and this increases the possibilities for Yume and her cub to move around, and for them to hunt their most important prey, ringed seals. » Read more

Subscribe to this web feed

1 | 2  | Older >>