myActions.org Cincinnati Zoo Challenge!

myActions.org has just launched the Cincinnati Zoo Challenge campaign.  Running now through August 31^st, the campaign funds polar bear research at the Cincinnati Zoo.  Contributors to the campaign are challenged to perform 21 actions in 21 days.

http://myactions.org/node/11825

 

Out of curiosity I visited the website for the Cincinnati Zoo and discovered that scientists at this zoo, in collaboration with the those from the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, N.Y., have been able to perform the first ever artificial insemination of a captive polar bear.   Scientists at the zoo began looking into it back in 2008. However, as of March of this year, scientists were able to crack the code, which means a new baby polar bear cub is on its way!

http://cincinnatizoo.org/blog/2012/06/04/zoo-paves-path-on-polar-bear-reproduction/

Support the research!  Save the polar bears!  TakeAction!

PBI Arctic Ambassdors Campaign Action Cards

myActions.org has an interesting way of motivating members to post about their environmental good deeds. Everytime you post an action, you are rewarded with an “Action Card”.  There are multiple card decks from which you can earn Action Cards.  Each Action Card is essentially a virtual card with a picture and a short tidbit of information. 

The Just Fun Action Card (below), which is part of the PBI Arctic Ambassadors Campaign card deck, told me about polar bear body language.  Apparently, head wagging means that a bear wants to play and nose-to-nose greetings are considered a polite way for bears to ask another bear something…like can I share this food with you.  Clever things!

The Arctic King Action Card (below) tells me that the polar bear can be found in five nations: US, Canada, Russia, Greenland/Denmark, and Norway.  With a primary diet of ringed seals, adult males can weigh up to 1,200 pounds!

So does this incentive work?  In a way, it is almost like a game.  Although this might be geared more for children, but given that this website has raised thousands of dollars for Polar Bears International, I think is pretty cool.

myActions.org

Every time you remember to recycle or to turn the lights off when you leave the room you are doing actions that save energy and resources.  These actions may seem small, but collectively they can make a big impact and now more than ever before.  A new social media site exists that I encourage everyone to check out.  myActions.org helps members keep track of all the actions they take such as  recycling, carpooling, reducing and reusing materials, etc. For every action you track, you can earn about 25 cents for an environmental charity.  At this moment a Polar Bear International (PBI) Arctic Ambassadors Summer Campaign is going on that is all about raising money for PBI.  Now through August 10^th every action you take and track on the site raises funds, awareness, and strengthens a community of caring, forward-thinking individuals who are inspired to take action.  What are you waiting for?  :)  

Polar Bears International

A great place to explore and to obtain more information about polar bears is definitely a site called Polar Bears International.  This site is completely devoted to polar bears!  http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/  See their vision and mission statements below.

Vision

To be recognized globally as the preeminent resource for polar bear information and education, and to have a measurable impact on the stewardship of polar bear populations and preservation of polar bear habitat by 2015.

Mission

Polar Bears International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the polar bear and its habitat through research, stewardship, and education. We provide scientific resources and information on polar bears and their habitat to institutions and the general public worldwide.

I am very impressed with the layout of the website, as well.  Polar bear FAQs and what they are calling Bear Essentials are two sections which clearly layout some good information that every polar bear conservationist should read over.

http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bears/faq

 http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bears/bear-essentials-polar-style

I found the following question and answer quite informative and concise.

Are polar bears endangered?

Experts in polar bear science believe they are. They predict that as the Arctic continues to warm due to climate change, two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear by mid-century—although hope remains if action is taken to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Rapid loss of sea ice is their major threat. Others include pollution, poaching, and industrial impact. Hunting will become a threat if not well regulated.

In 2005, the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) classified polar bears as vulnerable on the IUCN World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species noting that extinction could occur due to sea ice changes.

In May 2008, U.S. Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as a Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act. Canada and Russia list the polar bear as a species of concern.

At the 2009 meeting of the PBSG, the world's leading polar bear scientists reported that of the 19 subpopulations of polar bears, eight were declining, three were stable, and one was increasing. They lacked sufficient data about the remaining seven.

http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bears/faq

Thin Ice

Geoff York and his team have created a blog called Thin Ice.  Here the polar bear crew talk about their experience searching for polar bear from helicopters and work involved in studying the bears once they have been sedated.  

http://blogs.panda.org/arctic2/2011/04/13/in-search-of-the-extraordinary-chukchi-sea-polar-bear-research/

It looks like the last post was in April, but I am sure the team is keeping busy.  

I wonder if it would be possible for the team to grab a flip camera to capture what goes on from time to time.  Perhaps transforming this blog into a video blog.


I found a number of video posts from Geoff on YouTube.  Here is one of them.

Polar Bears and Artificial Islands Solution is Questionable

According to Geoff York, the  WWF Global Arctic Programme Polar Bear Conservation Coordinator, the idea of building artificial islands for polar bears would be more challenging than we may have realized.  It turns out that the ecosystem beneath the sea ice is actually more important than the ice above ground. This ecosystem attracts fish such as cod, which attract seals that feed on the cod...and polar bears feed on the seals.  Therefore, these bergs or floes, as they are called below, would need to be developed into  ecosystems capable of sustaining all of these life forms.  Given that some polar bears can weigh over 1,000 lbs, these ecosystems would need to attract a lot of fish and a lot of seals..

Geoff also points out that these islands would essentially be crushed during the winter once the sea ices returns.  Now tessahenry proposes that the the islands be motor powered to move south in the winter. Perhaps this could be a solution if the complexity of such as creation could be figured out.  


The next question of course is whether enough islands could be created to truly create an alternative for the polar bear?  The arctic is a vast place. Maybe we would be able to estimate were to position the islands based on what we know about the bears' mitigation.  This seems complex.  Not necessary impossible, but very complex.

We definitely need to  create a safe place for polar bears...until we have a solid solution, everything should be considered.  Regardless of the solution however, the heart of the problem might still be climate change.

Polar bears and artificial islands 

To my amazement, I discovered that one of the most popular blog posts on the WWF website was titled "Polar bears and artificial islands." This particular post has been running for over 4 years now and as ridiculous as it sounds, people have actually come up with some pretty ingenuous solutions!

One individual, going by the name of tessahenry, has had the idea of creating a entire fleet of artificial icebergs. This person envisioned that this fleet would be

" Designed by a team of artists, engineers, and animal behaviorists, these beautifully sculpted bergs are durable, self-sustaining ecosystems, designed to meet the needs of a variety of species above and below the water. Each berg contains solar/wind-powered positioning motors, a 360-degree webcam, and a weather station. The bergs vary in size, and contain features such as landing beaches, fishing holes, shelters, and play areas to provide enriching environments. The high-quality video feed can be used to study these animals’ behavior, while the weather station provides valuable climate data.

In the winter, the motors will bring the bergs far enough south to avoid being crushed in pack ice, and the webcams will provide stunning views of the polar night sky.


Along with the launch of the first berg, there will be an accompanying website for people to watch the animals interact. The revenue stream generated by donations and advertising will be used to build additional bergs. In the winter, people can watch the stars and the aurora borealis, as well as highlights from the summer months."

Another individual by the name of Leslie Smyth suggested that

"The artificial floes should be numerous and have sea-anchors which do not require tethering to the sea bed and do allow for natural drift - much like natural ice floe. Small locator transmitters would let monitors know when the floes have drifted out of ideal position or into shipping lanes and need to be relocated. The incorporation of certain materials into the design of the floe pieces would allow for natural light filtration to give the appearance of real ice even from below, and could possibly reduce the warming of surrounding natural ice.

The idea of webcams is cool, but hardly necessary or realistic on every piece. However one could easily imagine a sponsorship program where ordinary people could sponsor the cost of one "berg" each whose location they could track, or corporations entire chains."

These ideas may seem...well..a little too fantastical to be true. But, how can one dare say that something is impossible with the Richard Branson's and the Elon Musk's of the world are launching spaceships?  What crazy things can you think of that exist today that were probably fairly ridiculous? I am not fully convinced that floating islands would be the right solution.  In times of desperation, one is willing to consider anything.  Would you help sponsor a floating berg or floe?

https://getsatisfaction.com/wwf/topics/polar_bears_and_artificial_islands

WWF Featured Polar Bear

This is Izzy.  Named by the Norwegian Polar Institute, she lived near Svalbard, Norway. She was one of the 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears still in the wild. Izzy was one several bears that scientists had been tracking via the WWF Polar Bear Tracker.  

As you may have guessed, Izzy has stopped showing up on the Polar Bear Tracker.  Perhaps her satellite collar malfunctioned or fell off.  But maybe she just couldn't last.  We are so sorry Izzy.  You beautiful creature, you deserve so much better.  I will continue to write this blog in honor of you Izzy.  There are a community of people out there that really care and we are going to stand up for you.  We are joining together.  Thank you WWF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhVe_IsTVJY 

 

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has significantly invested in supporting polar bear research. With the help of researchers, WWF is tracking several polar bears in the artic using satellite collars.  At present polar bears in three (3) geographic regions are under observation.

           South Beaufort Sea – Just north of Alaska, the South Beaufort Sea is home to many seals, beluga whales and three polar bears with satellite collars.

o   Winnie (female, 154kg, named by the Winchester Thurston School)

o   ID: X32682 (female)

o   ID: X32690 (female)

 

         Hudson Bay – Surrounded by Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, Hudson Bay is the second largest bay in the world and is relatively shallow with an average depth of 100 meters.  It is home to five (5) bears with satellite collars.

o   Neige (female, 18yrs, 156kg, mother of 2 cubs)

o   Callista (female, 7yrs, 201kg, mother of 1 cub)

o   Aurora (female, 8yrs, 203kg, mother of 1 cub)

o   Nanukic (female, 17yrs, 135kg, mother of 2 cubs)

o   Nita (female, 26yrs, 241kg, mother of 1 cub)

 

Svalbard – Svalbard is the northernmost part of Norway, which is home to polar bears and reindeer. Communities in this region depend on aircraft and boats to get around since no roads exist.

   o   Paniq-Qaniq (female, 8yrs, 146kg, 1 cub
   o   Sangilak (female, 11yrs, 135kg, potentially lost her cubs named by Emile Musa) 
   o   ID: N23831 (female, 9yrs, 163kg, collar has failed or bear has died) 
   o   ID: N26054 (female, 22yrs, 216kg, collar has failed or bear has died)
 

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/wildlife/polar_bear/tracker/