Arctic Wildlife

Polar bear population discovered that can survive with little sea ice —

Nature reports The group has adapted to hunting on glacial ice, which suggests some members of the species might survive as the Arctic heats up. An isolated population of polar bears has been discovered in southeast Greenland1, which is free of sea ice for most of the year. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) typically need sea ice […]

Polar bear population discovered that can survive with little sea ice —
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Surprising sea ice thickness across the Arctic is good news for polar bears — polarbearscience

This year near the end of May the distribution of thickest sea ice (3.5-5m/11.5-16.4 ft – or more) is a bit surprising, given that the WMO has suggested we may be only five years away from a “dangerous tipping point” in global temperatures. There is the usual and expected band of thick ice in the […]

Surprising sea ice thickness across the Arctic is good news for polar bears — polarbearscience
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New survey estimates 10x as many polar bears in Russian section of Chukchi Sea as in USA portion — polarbearscience

https://video.wordpress.com/embed/YOipPHuN?preloadContent=metadata&hd=1

A joint US/Russian aerial survey has estimated that a minimum of 3,435 polar bears (but possibly as many as 5,444) likely inhabited the Chukchi Sea in 2016, quite a bit more than a previous study that estimated a population size of 2,937 the same year (which used data from one small US area extrapolated to […]

New survey estimates 10x as many polar bears in Russian section of Chukchi Sea as in USA portion — polarbearscience
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The Arctic might be emitting billions of tons of carbon, proving climate scientists’ worst fears — Nya Sustainability

The report concludes that permafrost ecosystems could be releasing as much as 1.1 to 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year — almost as much as the 2018 annual emissions of Japan and Russia, respectively The Arctic is undergoing a profound, rapid and unmitigated shift into a new climate state, one that is greener, […]

The Arctic might be emitting billions of tons of carbon, proving climate scientists’ worst fears — Nya Sustainability
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Death of prominent Canadian polar bear biologist a tragic loss to science — polarbearscience

Markus Dyck, a renowned Canadian polar bear biologist, died in a helicopter crash near Resolute Bay, Nunavut, along with two crew members on Sunday 25 April 2021. Dyck and the crew were beginning this year’s survey of the Lancaster Sound polar bear subpopulation (Crockford 2021), which hasn’t had a population count since 1997. From the […]

Death of prominent Canadian polar bear biologist a tragic loss to science — polarbearscience
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Largest Critical Habitat Designation in History — Natural History Wanderings

Press Release Center for Biological Diversity Largest Critical Habitat Designation in History Would Protect 226 Million Acres for Alaska’s Ringed Seals ANCHORAGE, Alaska— Arctic ringed seals threatened by climate change today received proposed protections for more than 226 million acres of critical habitat in Alaska’s Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Ringed seals were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in […]

Largest Critical Habitat Designation in History — Natural History Wanderings
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Narwhal; The Proof Is in the Tusk — Wickersham’s Conscience

Male Narwhal or Unicorn (Monodon monoceros) and Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus), by W. Scoresby. 1820. So much is unknown about the Narwhal. Even the name is a puzzle. From the Oxford English Dictionary (paywalled), WC’s go-to reference for word etymologies: The etymology is uncertain, but likely comes from variants of Danish narhval (cognate with Norwegian narkval , […]

The Proof Is in the Tusk — Wickersham’s Conscience
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No Drilling in Alaskan Arctic Refuge  — Natural History Wanderings

The New York Times reports A missed deadline for flights to look for polar bears means the work to locate oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is effectively killed. An Alaska Native group failed to meet a critical deadline as part of its proposal to conduct a seismic survey in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the […]

No Drilling in Alaskan Arctic Refuge  — Natural History Wanderings
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Attenborough’s cliff-dying walrus convinced elite Davos influencers of a global climate emergency — polarbearscience

For the past two years, the Netflix/Attenborough ruse to blame climate change for walruses falling from a high cliff to their deaths seemed like a silly PR stunt. But it appears the film’s real purpose was to convince a far more important audience than paying Netflix customers that a global ‘climate emergency’ was going on: […]

Attenborough’s cliff-dying walrus convinced elite Davos influencers of a global climate emergency — polarbearscience
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Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. — Animals of the Pacific Northwest

In the far north of Alaska, there is a vast, remote refuge that stretches nearly 20 million acres. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is roughly the size of South Carolina and encompasses a range of ecosystems. It’s also home to many animals, including all three species of bear (brown, black, polar), musk oxen, caribou, and […]

Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. — Animals of the Pacific Northwest
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