Arctic species

Conserving wildlife in the Arctic

Listen to the amazing underwater sound of a bearded seal off Point Barrow, Alaska. Courtesy: Christopher W. Clark / North Slope Borough.
Picture of a Bearded Seal. Alaska, USA.
© Mike Spindler / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Many species have adapted successfully to the arctic seas and ice edge. This environment provides a rich habitat for the polar bear, arctic fox, arctic wolf and walrus as well as many varieties of seals, whales and birds.

Polar bear: top of arctic food chain

The polar bear is not just an extraordinary animal that captures the imagination: it also stands at the top of the arctic food chain. In this position it is uniquely susceptible to changes in arctic ecosystems, whether they are changes in climate and the associated impact on the sea ice where the bears live, hunt and breed, or the accumulation of dangerous contaminants in its body fat. Because of this, part of our species work focuses on the polar bear, and its part in the arctic ecosystem.

We support field projects in Hudson Bay in Canada where one of the world's leading polar bears scientists and his colleagues are studying the population and condition of bears. And we also support the work of the Norwegian Polar Institute in the Svalbard archipelago.

To learn more about polar bears, you can visit our Polar Bear Tracker website, or visit the climate change and toxics sections of this website.

Whales

Whale watching

We actively promote whale watching. Learn more about this on our Whale Watching website.

A kayaker watches a bowhead whale.
© B. Evans / WWF-Canada

Arctic marine food web. Research in the Beaufort Sea suggests that ice algae at the base of the marine food web may have already been profoundly affected by warming over the last few decades.
© Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

WWF's goal is to ensure that healthy populations of all cetacean species (whales, porpoises and dolphins) occupy their historical range, and remain part of a healthy ocean ecosystem.

We work at a local level and across a broad range of international organisations to address and reduce threats to cetaceans. In doing so, WWF acknowledges the widely varied cultural attitudes toward the conservation and management of whales.

We work to minimise negative human impacts from commercial exploitation, marine pollution, climate change, ship strikes, fisheries bycatch, noise pollution, and other human-caused threats.

Commercial whaling

WWF opposes commercial whaling, now and until WWF is convinced that the governments of the world have brought whaling under international control, with a precautionary and conservation-based enforceable management and compliance system adhered to by the whaling nations.

And we continue to oppose the resumption in international trade in whale parts and products.

Subsistence whaling

WWF recognises the human need for aboriginal subsistence whaling where it is carried out by aboriginal, indigenous, or native peoples with long-standing, strong social or cultural ties to whaling; where products are for local consumption only; and with a precautionary management scheme in place to ensure such activities are sustainable and do not threaten whale populations.