polorbears

Davis Strait polar bears flourishing, GN says: "Scientific knowledge has demonstrated that Inuit knowledge was right"

(Note: GN - Government of Nunavut. It is with quiet joy that this compilation of articles was researched, verified and is hereby presented to the thoughtful reader. Truth is undeniable, eloquent in its simplicity, while also intricate in its scientific proving. Dr. Mitch Taylor stands tall, no matter what his actual stature, for refusing to compromise the courage of his knowledge and convictions.)

The Davis Strait polar bear population is much more numerous than originally expected, says a preliminary report conducted by Government of Nunavut biologists.

There are some 2,100 polar bears in the Davis Strait population, says the report, which is part of a three-year study currently underway.

That's a big jump from an estimate of about 850 Davis Strait polar bears made by the Canadian Wildlife Service during the early 1980s.

Mitch Taylor, the GN's polar bear boss, says the latest findings confirm what Inuit hunters have said for a long time: polar bears who live along the southeast coast of Baffin Island, Ungava Bay in northern Quebec, and the northern coast of Labrador are healthy, and growing in numbers.

Inuit hunters revised the Davis Strait population estimates one decade ago to 1,400, then up to 1,650 in 2004, based on the number of bears they encountered on the land.

"The Inuit were right. There aren't just a few more bears. There are a hell of a lot more bears," Taylor said during an interview on Tuesday this week.

That hasn't always been the case. In western Hudson Bay, which covers the southern Kivalliq and northern Manitoba, Inuit, backed by the GN, claim the bear population has risen from about 1,200 animals to 1,400.

But scientists such as Ian Stirling of the Canadian Wildlife Service claim that between 1987 and 2004, the western Hudson Bay population dropped from about 1,200 animals to 935, a 22 percent decline.

That's led some, including Stirling, to argue that growing numbers of polar bear sightings doesn't necessarily mean there are more bears -- in some cases, polar bears may be hungry, and venturing closer to communities in search of food.

That could be due to shrinking sea ice levels, which force polar bears to spend more time on dry land, without easy access to food, making them weaker and less healthy. Stirling and his collaborators say fewer cubs and young bears now survive the lean times of a lengthening summer.

But Taylor says experienced Inuit hunters should be given more credit for their observations, and dismisses the theory that polar bears may simply be more visible, rather than more abundant, as a view that sees these hunters as "so simple, and so childish, they could be fooled."

And in the case of Davis Strait, the polar bears are increasingly seen on the land and sea ice, not necessarily near communities.

Meanwhile, most polar bear scientists also believe Nunavut's Baffin Bay and Kane Basin bear populations may be in decline.

Stirling's estimates of polar bear declines in western Hudson Bay have been seized on by environmental groups, eager to use the polar bear as a poster child for climate change, to argue the animal is on the brink of extinction.

But Taylor says he hopes the Davis Strait study will draw attention to how not all polar bear populations fit this generalization.

Ironically, the growth in Davis Strait polar bear numbers may be due to animal-rights activists.

Efforts to ban seal hunting during the late 1970s and early 1980s hurt Inuit by destroying the market for seal skins.

But this likely helped Davis Strait polar bears, because with less human competition, more harp seals were available for bears to eat.

This growing food supply could have helped the Davis Strait polar bears multiply, Taylor says.

At one time, Norwegian sealers had their own polar bear quota, which they used when hunting harp seals.

Taylor also suspects the old Davis Strait study done by the Canadian Wildlife Service underestimated the number of polar bears in the area. He explains the study took place during the spring, when polar bears spend their time out on pack ice.

This makes the bears difficult to spot by surveyors inside a helicopter, as the bears spend much time in the water.

It's also difficult to safely land a helicopter on pack ice, and a crew that tries to tranquilize a swimming bear risks letting the animal drown.

These are all reasons why the current GN study underway is being conducted during the summer, when the bears are on dry land.

For the last two summers the study has been underway, GN biologists, with help from their Nunavik and Labrador counterparts, have spotted record numbers of bears in the Davis Strait range.

Taylor says during a good survey, field biologists will manage to spot and capture between 160 and 180 bears.

In the summer of 2005, when the current study began, researchers found 635 bears. The next summer, they found 842.

The Nunavut communities of Pangnirtung, Iqaluit and Kimmirut hunt the Davis Strait population. These communities share 46 tags annually.

Birth and death rates of the Davis Strait polar bears won't be known until the final report is prepared, in 2009.

With temperatures increasing over the last 20 years in the Arctic, shrinking the amount of sea ice, Taylor says it only makes sense to increase monitoring of polar bear populations.

But he says the Davis Strait population also demonstrates the importance of listening to what Inuit hunters say.

Dr. Mitchell "Mitch" Taylor [email protected]a or 867-934-2183: Fax: 867-934-2190

Arctic archives: Silly to predict their demise - Startling conclusion to say they will disappear within 25 years and surprise to many researchers

By Dr. Mitchell Taylor, Polar Bear Biologist, Department of the Environment, Government of Nunavut, Igloolik, Nunavut

Tim Flannery is one of Australia's best-known scientists and authors. That doesn't mean what he says is correct or accurate. That was clearly demonstrated when he recently ventured into the subject of climate change and polar bears. Climate change is threatening to drive polar bears into extinction within 25 years, according to Flannery. That is a startling conclusion and certainly is a surprising revelation to the polar bear researchers who work here and to the people who live here. We really had no idea.

The evidence for climate change effects on polar bears described by Flannery is incorrect. He says polar bears typically gave birth to triplets, but now they usually have just one cub. That is wrong.

All research and traditional knowledge shows that triplets, though they do occur, are very infrequent and are by no means typical. Polar bears generally have two cubs -- sometimes three and sometimes one. He says the bears' weaning time has risen to 18 months from 12. That is wrong. The weaning period has not changed. Polar bears worldwide have a three-year reproduction cycle, except for one part of Hudson Bay for a period in the mid-1980s when the cycle was shorter.

One polar bear population (western Hudson Bay) has declined since the 1980s and the reproductive success of females in that area seems to have decreased. We are not certain why, but it appears that ecological conditions in the mid-1980s were exceptionally good.

Climate change is having an effect on the west Hudson population of polar bears, but really, there is no need to panic. Of the 13 populations of polar bears in Canada, 11 are stable or increasing in number. They are not going extinct, or even appear to be affected at present.

It is noteworthy that the neighbouring population of southern Hudson Bay does not appear to have declined, and another southern population (Davis Strait) may actually be over-abundant.

I understand that people who do not live in the north generally have difficulty grasping the concept of too many polar bears in an area. People who live here have a pretty good grasp of what that is like to have too many polar bears around.

This complexity is why so many people find the truth less entertaining than a good story. It is entirely appropriate to be concerned about climate change, but it is just silly to predict the demise of polar bears in 25 years based on media-assisted hysteria.

Dr. Mitchell Taylor, Polar Bear Biologist, Department of the Environment, Government of Nunavut, Igloolik, Nunavut

Climate Change: The Bush administration buys into global warming hype by proposing that polar bears be listed as an endangered species. The only thing endangered about polar bears is the truth.

Polar bears are cute and cuddly, at least when they are small. Certainly the marketing department of Coca-Cola thought so when it featured the critters in a famous ad campaign. Now the greenies have made them the poster pets of global warming, and the Bush administration is going along.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne proposed on Wednesday that polar bears should be listed as "threatened" on the government's list of imperiled species, a step below "endangered," a category reserved for those facing imminent extinction, which greenies believe applies.

A little over a year ago, three environmental groups -- the Center for Biological Diversity, National Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace -- sued to force just such a designation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees endangered species.

"This is a victory for the polar bear, and all wildlife threatened by global warming," said Kassie Siegel, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. "There is still time to save the polar bears, but we must reduce greenhouse-gas pollution immediately."

Taking a somewhat different view is Mitch Taylor, a polar bear biologist with the government of Nunavut, a territory in Canada. According to Taylor, and contrary to greenie hype, climate change -- particularly in the Arctic -- is not pushing them to the brink of extinction. They have adapted and will continue to adapt to their environment.

In a 12-page report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Taylor stated: "No evidence exists that suggests that both bears and the conservation systems that regulate them will not adapt and respond to the new conditions." Taylor emphasized polar bears' adaptability, saying they evolved from grizzly bears about 250,000 years ago and developed as a distinct species about 125,000 years ago, when climate change also occurred.

Writing in the Toronto Star in May, Taylor opined: "Of the 13 populations of polar bears in Canada, 11 are stable or are increasing in number. They are not going extinct, or even appear to be affected at present."

The current population of polar bears is said to have dwindled to 22,000 to 25,000. A half-century ago, before SUVs [sport utility vehicles] doomed the planet, there were only 8,000 to 10,000 polar bears, according to science writer Theo Richel.

Much of this increase is due to hunting restrictions that were put in place. And if polar bears, as reported, seem to be losing weight, it may be because increasing populations are competing for the same food supply.

Actually, global warming might help in that area. A reduction in ice cover creates a better habitat for seals, which are the bears' main food. Less ice cover means more sunlight producing more phytoplankton, increasing the supply of other food sources.

On land, blueberries, which the bears adore, would become more plentiful. Taylor says he's seen bears so full of blueberries they waddle.

"Life may be good," Taylor said, "but good news about polar bear populations does not seem to be welcomed by the Center for Biological Diversity. It is just silly to predict the demise of polar bears in 25 years based on media-assisted hysteria."

(Note: This is simply outstanding in its twin points of succinctness and accuracy. Bravo, Scott Gilbreath, and bravo, Mitch Taylor! The map of Nunavut pasted above, near top, is from this location on the Internet, where it is shown further down the webpage. It is a fine map and clearly shows the proximity of Nunavut to Greenland and thus, the vital importance of accurate reporting regarding the food staples of the Inuit people, whether it be polar bears or harp seals. Self-proclaimed "environmentalists" in distant lands with what is arguably no more than a wealth-building economic 'interest' in species, which may or may not actually be "threatened" or "endangered," are litigous, but care not a whit about the custom and culture or the economic well-being of the people native to this far northern land, the Inuit that call it home.)

Late last month, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed to name the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Nunavut Environment Minister Patterk Netser has now gone on record against the proposal.

Faced with another examination of its wildlife practices, the government of Nunavut is preparing to defend its polar bear policies where it believes they need to be defended -- the court of southern public opinion.

"That's where the problem is," Patterk Netser, Nunavut's Environment Minister, said yesterday from Coral Harbour. "The problem is down there. Not here."

Nunavut is being caught between environmentalists using the powerful predators as a lever to move the U.S. government on the issue of climate change and politicians seeking an opportunity to look good, Mr. Netser says.

See also this statement by Dr Mitch Taylor, Polar Bear Biologist with the Nunavut government, pointing out that there is no evidence that Canada's polar bears are endangered. (More from Dr Taylor here.)

An Iqaluit newspaper charges that the proposal to list the polar bear as endangered arises, not from scientific consideration of the bear and its habitat, but from a political fight to force the Bush administration to acknowledge global warming.

The announcement is a response to a petition launched in February of 2004 by an environmental organization called the Centre for Biological Diversity. In December of 2005, two other groups, the Natural Resources Defence Council and Greenpeace U.S.A., joined the effort and helped launch a lawsuit against the U.S government.

Those groups say shrinking sea ice threatens polar bear populations. Their goal is to force the Bush administration to acknowledge the reality of climate change and adopt policies aimed at reducing the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Those groups are now declaring victory, because they believe they've forced the Bush administration to stop denying the science that reveals the true extent of global warming.

"It's an affirmation that global warming is real," Brendan Cummmings, a lawyer for the Centre for Biological Diversity, told the Guardian newspaper last week.

Swell. Environmentalists score political points against hated Washington Republicans, and the livelihood of Inuit hunters in northern Canada is mere collateral damage.

US Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) recalls that, only a few years ago, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that Alaska polar bear populations "may now be near historic highs." Sen Inhofe argues that the proposal to list the polar bear as endangered shows that the Endangered Species Act is "broken."