Rare film material records the first steps of Polar Bear Cubs – and a worrying trend

Polar bears may not be the malignant murderers they imagine, but it is still advisable not to get too close. Now you don't have to, since a team of biologists recorded rare film materials from Cubs that take their first steps outside the caves in which they were born.

Usually the polar bear is examined via satellite telemetry, although it is useful, it is not great to learn the subtleties of behavior. The photos are the highlight of almost 10 years of work in which the biologists still pursued the bears through collars and satellites, but were innovative by installing cameras in a remote part of Norway. The result is a rare look of furry bears babies who take their first steps into the wider world.

Eisbears are classified as an endangered way in the international Union for the preservation of the red list of nature. There are around 26,000 bears in the wild, a number that could decrease by up to 30% by 2050. The danger is largely produced by people, with Polar Bear International Climate Change, Commercial Activities and Pollution as a main pension promoter. If these factors do not kill polar bears directly, they can still have an impact.

In order to learn more about the process, the biologists placed cameras outside of 13 known polar bear caves in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago at the intersection of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. They followed the bears again every year between 2016 and 2020 and in 2023. While the cameras took quiet photos and not on video, they took up many of them: between 4,700 and 37,000 per location, which was causing the team to create fascinating time connection recordings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcf0fyq_e_i

In addition to the pictures, the team published an associated study in the Journal of Wildlife Management (This is also the international polar bear day).

When the researchers followed the bears, they noticed some about data. The average date for bear families was March 9, a week or two earlier than before. This could be bad news, since maternal denning enables an appropriate time of pregnancy and a lot of early growth. Like human babies, young boys are very dependent on their mothers, and properly denning is of crucial importance for their early survival. Even for a predator that can grow to over 900 pounds (£ 408 kilograms), early life is risky and less than 50% of the Cubs can make it into adulthood. After the bears can emerge from the caves in spring, mom and their children usually remain nearby for several weeks, as the cubs get used to the outside world and develop muscles and motor skills.

The biologists recognized that this could only be a statistical coincidence, but it should be monitored to ensure.

Other details were less alarming and more fascinating. Some BearmaMas seemed to be quite picky and let their children come with them when they moved from one cave to another. The children's play stretched out when they decided to leave the cave. There were cases in which a bear came outside seemed to think: “Screw this, it is too cold” and go back in after less than a minute.

Louise Archer, Polar Bears International Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto Scarborough and co-author of the study, said in a explanation that it is hope that research will raise awareness of the threats created by humans that the APEX-predators have confronted.

“Polar bear mothers have increasing difficulties that reproduce due to air -conditioned changes and are likely to make further challenges with the expansion of human footprint in the Arctic,” she said. “We are pleased to introduce new tools to monitor bears in this vulnerable time and to get an insight into their behavior in the Arctic so that we can work on protecting Cubs and thus the way. Everyone we had monitored had its own story, every data point extends our understanding of this crucial time and supports more effective maintenance strategies. “

Despite – or perhaps because of the fact that polar bears are found in the field, many people find inhospitable, the species is one of the best known and most popular on the planet. Although we rely on the fact that you throw our sugar water, precious things are done to keep their houses. We hope that this film material from which you are parents melts some hearts and no longer from your habitats.