Polar bears are found in the circumpolar north in the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Greenland, Russia and Norway. Polar Bears. ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska scientists say the chances of a polar bear encounter have increased after research reveals the bears are arriving on shore earlier and staying on … Polar bears eat mainly ringed and bearded seals, waiting for seals to surface in their breathing holes or stalking them on ice floes. Kaktovik is a place far away from modern civilization on the edge of the world, and very popular with polar bears. The period between August and October is a no-ice season, so bears usually rest on the beaches, that’s why it’s the best time to see these animals. In the winter, polar bears in Alaska are found as far south as St. Lawrence Island and occasionally move down to St. Matthew Island and the Kuskokwim Delta. This tour takes you to Kaktovik during the fall whaling season, when polar bears wander off the arctic ice and congregate in one area. Thanks! The company only offers tours during prime viewing months of October and November, when the highest concentration of bears are present on land. They can detect seal scent from almost one mile away! You can also fly 70 miles southwest of Anchorage to Lake Clark Wilderness Preserve for amazing bear viewing and luxurious accommodations at the Redoubt Bay Lodge. polar bears could turn more to scavenging, Human-polar bear interaction will also likely increase, disturbances caused by development activities like seismic exploration. Viewing polar bears in the wild is one of the most unique experiences in the world. Date: 18/11/18; Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science ; The Chukchi Sea finally has a polar bear population estimate! Their powerful claws can haul a 150-200 lb seal from the water. It can also affect mother polar bears when they select their dens, or cause them to abandon a den and their cubs. The Terrestrial Denning Habitat includes lands within 32 km of the northern coast of Alaska between the U.S. Canadian border and the Kavik River and within 8 km between the Kavik River and Barrow. While it's not mandatory to join a tour to view polar bears, it is advisable. He said that bears in Alaska usually stay within a few miles of the coast, with the exception of pregnant females who may go farther inland to build their dens. A thin polar bear has wandered more than 1000km south of the Kara Sea into the Siberian town of Norilsk, which has happened at least once before in the 1970s. ARE POLAR BEARS ENDANGERED? Melting sea ice is one of the most pressing threats to polar bears’ survival, and scientists have predicted even more dramatic reductions in sea ice coverage during the next 50 to 100 years. Especially when they run! As hunting for seals becomes more problematic, polar bears could turn more to scavenging, a fall-back that may have saved them in Earth’s distant past but might be less successful in the present. Pollution – Many toxins build up in animal fat, and a healthy polar bear diet requires large quantities of fat. Polar bears typically move at a speed of 4 km/h which they are able to sustain for longer periods. According to fossil evidence, polar bears today look about the same as they did 120,000 years ago. Keep an open mind, enjoy the scenery and if you see a bear, that's a bonus.....unless of course you go on a trip that guarantees sightings near salmon runs etc. “Vulnerable” under IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Historically, there had not been enough open water for polar bears in this region to swim the long distances we observed in these recent summers of extreme sea ice retreat, explains co-author Karen Oakley, of the USGS Alaska Science Center . Help protect polar bears from drilling near their dens. The white color results from light being refracted through the hair strands. THREATS: Mother polar bears den on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain through the winter, emerging in March/April. Outside of zoos and private exhibits, Hudson Bay is normally the southern extreme, that of James Bay - Wikipedia. While they are rare north of 88°, there is evidence that they range all the way across the Arctic, and as far south as James Bay in Canada. This involves submissive behavior, circling, and nose bumping. A man in Arctic Village reports that in early January he encountered and shot a polar bear. Viewing polar bears in the wild is one of the most unique experiences in the world. As sea ice continues to disappear, polar bears are forced to swim further and further out to sea in an attempt to reach prey. Mothers wait for the snow to close the tunnel entrance, and then within their cozy den will give birth to one, two or three tiny cubs during the winter months. If properly nourished, polar bears also have a thick fat layer. To catch hauled-out seals, they will pounce from as much as 20 feet away. At 72 degrees north latitude, Barrow is as close to the North Pole (1,311 miles) as it is to Ketchikan, Alaska's farthest-south city. Originally a fishing spot, Kaktovik became the main town of the island when a runway was constructed in the 1950s. In Alaska, they can be found in the Far North and Western Arctic areas, usually on the frozen sea, but sometimes on land near towns like Barrow and Kotzebue. While polar bear populations in the Bering Sea are thought to be decreasing, bears have become such a common fixture on Alaska’s Arctic coast in summer that a tourism industry has developed around their presence in two Inupiat Eskimo villages: Barrow and Kaktovik. One of the reasons we work so hard to protect the Arctic…so that each Spring mother polar bears can re-emerge into the wilds of the Arctic Refuge, ready to raise the next generation of these iconic and awe-inspiring animals. Polar bears will also eat the occasional small mammal, the remains of other animals like whales, or scavenge eggs from on-shore bird nests. Climate change! Your Seaplane Bear Safari will take you to Brooks River Falls in Katmai National Park, home of the world ’ s largest salmon run. DIET: DISTRIBUTION: Polar bear researchers fear recent effects of the loss of sea ice on Alaska polar bear populations. Visit the website of our sister organization Alaska Wilderness League Action to learn more about its legislative and political advocacy to protect Alaska’s wild places. DENNING: Mother polar bears den on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain through the winter, emerging in March/April. Alaskan town's polar bear problem leads to tourism boom. DENNING: Arctic Air Expeditions offers polar bear tours that include airfare from Anchorage, meals, and transportation. In the summer, bears are most abundant around the … Endangered Species Act (May 2008). The symbol of Arctic can be spotted near the Katovik and Barrow communities. Additional threats to polar bears include: The IUCN states that 20-25,000 polar bears remain in the wild worldwide. SIZE: 775-1,300 lbs for males and 330-650 lbs for females. In 2014, a study published in Ecological Applications on polar bears in northeast Alaska and the Northwest Territory in Canada (the Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear population) documented a 40 percent population loss between 2001-2010, dropping from 1,500 to 900 bears. Biologists calculated the annual distance covered by a polar bear in a straight line and estimated at 6,200 kilometers but averaging 3,415 kilometers. He said he has never seen a polar bear before now. This was by far the best and safest way to view the point. Email Us, Board of Fisheries and Game: Actions & Activities, Threatened, Endangered, and Diversity Program, Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (ARLIS), About the Division of Commercial Fisheries, Western Alaska Salmon Stock Identification Program (WASSIP), Online General Season & Registration Permits, Subsistence and Personal Use Fishing Permits, CSIS – Community Subsistence Information System, The Technical Papers and Special Publications Series. About 8,000 bears from Canada to Alaska to Russia share this divergent ice. Scientists, however, believe disturbances caused by development activities like seismic exploration can cause mothers to abandon their dens early, thereby endangering the lives of their newborn cubs. Experience the chill of the Arctic in an incredible one-day excursion that highlights aerial views of the far frozen north, insight into modern arctic coastal village life and mesmerizing views of wild polar bears waiting for the ice pack to come in. To see polar bears in the wild, head north to the Arctic Ocean coast of Alaska. Polar bears in Alaska rely on the divergent ice ecoregion where sea ice pulls away from the coast in summer, and polar bears must be on land or stay with the ice as it recedes north. Some bears are even drowning as they swim further and further distances out to sea to find food. If you can afford it, I would suggest that you also hire someone to take you to the Will Rogers/Wiley Post memorial south of town. Aside from safety (a significant factor to consider) you're more likely to see polar bears when traveling with an established tour company than on your own. With receding ice, polar bears have a hard time maintaining their food supply, ringed and bearded seals, which also rely on sea ice. Alaska's polar bear populations are concentrated along its Arctic coastlines.In the winter, they are most common in the Kuskokwim Delta, St. Matthew Island, and at the southernmost portion of St. Lawrence Island.During the summer months, they migrate to the coastlines of the Arctic Ocean and the Chukchi Sea.