MORE ON POLAR BEARS

In re-reading my notes from the polar bear lecture put on by the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, there were several more things that I thought would be interesting to share:
 

·         There are currently approximately 25,000 polar bears in the Arctic regions.

 

·         They den beginning in April or November.

·         Their dens have between one and three chambers.

 

·       Snow insulates, creating a temperature difference of approximately positive 30 degrees, so the dens are quite a bit warmer than the outside temperature.  This same characteristic of snow kept Eskimo people warm when they lived in igloos made of ice blocks.

 

·       A survey of bear dens must be done every year before an ice road can be built between Nuiqsuk and Prudhoe Bay.  Regulations require that it be built a certain number of miles from any bear dens in the area.  Airplanes equipped with radar instruments that can sense body heat under the snow are used.  It was interesting watching the radar screen, being sensitive enough to show a bear’s head, nose, ears and movement inside the den.

 

·       Polar bear cubs weigh approximately two pounds when they are born.  Here is a link to a video about a new born polar bear cub being fed by a staff member at the Scandinavian Deer Life Park because the cub’s mother was not able to feed it.  http://www.skandinaviskdyrepark.dk/index.dsp?area=1200.  Here is another link that contains quite a bit of information on polar bears and research surrounding them:  http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/

 

·       I still haven’t seen a polar bear, but this is probably a good thing.  Better to be safely looking out from the clinic window at Kaktovik instead of seeing them on a walk in Browerville or Barrow.  On the van ride to the lecture, one of the women I spoke with said that she saw one a few summers ago out on the tundra south of Barrow.  She said watching through binoculars was fascinating and that the only experience that had moved her more was the birth of her son.