JoAnne had an eye-to-eye cub connection.
In November 2001, I journeyed to Churchill for the first time to see polar bears. The freezing cold and strong winds from the north stung. I could not believe that an animal that had the same body temperature as me could live in these conditions. I soon saw how incredibly specialized polar bears are for this arctic home. They were all thick furred and very round with the warm insulating blubber from their main prey, ringed seals.
Males playfully spar
The fall is the thinnest time for these polar bears of western Hudson Bay, yet they still had enough energy to spare. What fun to watch the males sparring and greeting one another, such play and comedy. The family groups all had two cubs, and their play had such animation while the moms watched and rested, preparing for the ice and the hunt to come. Normally over the fall, the cold north winds help to form the ice along the coast, and then a slight shift from the south pushes the ice, and the first bears out to the bay are typically the large males. As the large males head to the ice, the sub-adult bears and family groups can safely come to the coast and ride the next ice out to hunting. This first year the ice came and the bears left to hunt before the middle of November.
Over the past nine years I have seen many changes in my weeks with these bears. Two years ago, after the shortest ice season on record, I saw very thin bears, very little play or sparring by the males, and families with only one cub and thin moms. The one family with 2 cubs had a very thin mom, and the cubs were perhaps the size they should have been at 6 months of age, not 10. It was at this time that many of us wondered how much longer this population would continue.
A large, healthy male
This year the summer ice stayed around longer than it has in many years past. I arrived in Churchill hearing stories of how fat the bears looked, many family groups had two healthy cubs, and that the males were energetic. All seemed set for a great season. We also felt that there would be an early freeze-up so the bears would have food soon. Early on we saw the normal freeze and wind shift that sent some bears out to the hunt the first week of November.
The bears wait for the ice to form.
But then something changed. The wind from the south didn’t switch back to the north, and the temperatures barely dipped below freezing for the next weeks. Soon we were seeing perhaps as many as 100 bears in a day all mixing together along the coast. In traveling out to the Cape, we saw more bears than we had ever seen in that near 40 miles (64 kilometers) of coast line. All were waiting to get out to hunt and eat.
Mother and cub run from a pursuing male.
Early this year we saw several seal kills in the dramatic low tides of the Hudson Bay. But once the ice formed up north, the seals could swim up to reach it, and we suspect they were no longer there for the bears to hunt from the tidal flats. But it was time to hunt, and unfortunately this was when the greatest danger came for the family groups. So often, folks ask about the danger adult male polar bears pose to cubs. I have always said that if it was such a danger surely we would see it in Churchill. We do know that it does happen, but have never quite understood why or how often it occurs. This year we did see it happen in Churchill. We know of four cubs killed and eaten by adult male bears (see post:
Polar Bears: Tundra Heartbreak).
It is a hard truth. We must not condemn these males or the behavior. We must love them for what they truly are, not what we want them to be. Perhaps the hunting of cubs is nature’s way of providing food for its healthy and strong or a way of controlling numbers in a population that we know is facing great habitat loss. The truth is the Hudson Bay has lost over 22 percent of its ice in the last decades as well as 22% of the bears. This year the ice has not formed and the bears have no place to go.
Mother and cub sink on the weakened ice.
I am incredibly lucky to experience these beautiful animals in their natural habitat. It is my responsibility to share that with you and to inspire you to make changes to save this arctic habitat. We know the ice is disappearing all over the north, we know that it is impacting our entire planet. Take the politics out of the equation: there is no scientific evidence to support that we as humans are not impacting the rate of global warming. In fact, the opposite is true. We must clean up after ourselves. All of Earth’s inhabitants will benefit from taking responsibility. It is the right thing to do.
A mother and her two healthy cubs.
As I return to our polar bears Chinook, Kalluk, and Tatqiq, I am excited about their roles as ambassadors for the polar bears I have been living with on the Canadian tundra. There is nothing more inspiring than a connection with such an incredible animal. Our new guest experience wall will allow our guests such a connection. I am eager for the new interpretive area we will open next year. The information and stories will also inspire the changes so needed to protect our planet.
For now, I hope the arctic winds will come out of the north to freeze up the Hudson Bay and change the fate of the polar bears as soon as possible. I hope through inspiration the winds of our behavior changes will be strong, and we will change the fate of global warming. There is still time, and we can do it!
JoAnne Simerson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
Watch the San Diego Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam.
Posted in Bear Awareness, Conservation, Default, Field Studies, General, Polar Bears | Link to this post
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December 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Thank you for the beautiful and heart touching post. While reading I could help but shed a few tears. I am guilty (like many others) of not helping protect natural resources. After reading this I am going to have to move to be more “green” and pray that the beautiful bears up north get their freeze soon and can eat.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
I’d glad you can see male predation of cubs in that light. It tears my heart out to think about it.
I’m probably not supposed to tell about this, but I had a super-close encounter this year. I was out on a vehicle (NatHab has dubbed them ‘Polar Rovers’), and a bear came up under the grate. It was a single grate. I put my hand down to get the bear to sniff it, then a big tongue came up and ‘kissed’ my hand. I was an breathtaking experience. The tongue looked and felt like pink silk. But I rapidly got into big trouble with the tour guide. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else try it. The bears can be unpredictable, and I was taking a chance. I’m not saying whether I’d do it again.
It’s very cold in Churchill now, so I think it’s a safe bet that Nature has brought in ice and seals. I wish the mothers and their babies a safe year. Next year, let’s hope for a timely freeze-up.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Looks like someone is quite a tired, happy bear, sleeping on their cozy bed of branches.
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Such an awesome bear. I hope more then anything, their plight will change, every so soon !
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I give you credit JoAnne..I could never see any animals starving, thin or in danger…I’m just so sensitive to these issues…thank god your safe ..and I wish the world could live in peace and all animals are as healthy and striving in numbers…
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 am
#2 Diane, yes you took a dangerous chance, but I’ll bet you’re glad you did it and feel honoured that this bear put his trust in you and you in him.
Lovely play session yesterday, one drowning their blue ball and the other throwing their bone around and then sitting woefully at the table wondering why it hadn’t bounced back!
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:00 am
The pictures of the bears are lovely. What deep and thoughtful eyes they have. I was hoping the ice cap lasted longer, as here in New England our winter was cold and long. But I also see how warm it is now and why no ice has formed yet. We just had downpours and temps already in the 60’s. Very unusual for December when we should be having snow flurries and temps around 35. I wish we would get several years in a row where the cap would freeze longer and make for better and healthier situation for the polar bears.
Right now one bear is taking an early morning swim and the other is lounging on the rock ledge, look on peacefully but with no desire to get wet!
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:35 am
Someone’s fast asleep on the palm fronds with just their ears moving.
December 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Thank you JoAnne for sharing the stories and the photos with us. I especially like the photo of the cub looking straight at the camera. How did you capture this shot? Were you able to approach the cub without raising the alarm of its mother? The photos and the blog show an intimate portrait of your trips to Churchill, and they provide me with enriching perspectives to these creatures living in the arctic regions. I am sure that with each trip, our beloved bears here at SDZ receive more love and care than before!
Thanks again!
December 4th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Well said JoAnne. It’s amazing what a united group of people can accomplish.
December 4th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Do the zookeepers know yet if Chinook is pregnant? I noticed on the “Meet the Polar Bears” page that all of these bears have been orphaned at about two months. Does that mean their mothers quit caring for them? How will Chinook, if she’s in fact pregnant, care for her cub? I know it’s a wait-and-see situation, but are bears in captivity more likely to abandon their cubs?
Moderator’s note: We have a fun little profile on the three bears that details their history.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
For all my fellow polar bear fans, go over to the ZooBorns blog and see den footage of a polar bear giving birth and the amazing lung power of the newborn twins. Astonishing footage! Maybe a preview of what we will see Chinook experiencing at SDZ! Fingers crossed!!
December 5th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
#12, Carol, thanks for the tip on ZooBorns. Amazing! The polar bear cubs look just like newborn panda cubs, about the same size and solid color. The mother polar bear is amazing and great at figuring out what she has to do to keep both cubs warm and fed. No wonder Pandas normally only give birth the singleton cubs, and need human help to raise twins. They are not “holed up” in a den like polar bears are for months.
It adds to the excitement and anticipation if Chinook is pregnant! How exciting it will be. Sounds like she and her keepers could use ear plugs and Aspirin from the screeching!
December 7th, 2009 at 12:20 am
That had to be Chinook Sunday afternoon, lying in what looks like a purpose-made dirt bed! Her paws were filthy, like she’d been making mud pies. And when she finally got up you could actually see all the bits of dirt clinging onto her back. She then went and played peek-a-boo with the cams under a rock with one of her palm fronds for company. Thank you Meerkats for the brilliant close-ups. And now I’ve got a new laptop I can, at last, zoom in even more – must have taken at least 75 pictures just of a dirt covered bear!
December 7th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I saw her too. Didn’t she look right at home!
December 8th, 2009 at 10:22 am
just popped in- see a very dirty bear laying on a rock rather lazily, and blinking their eyes like they want to go to sleep! how good is this???
December 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
cant seem to find the zooborns blog-
December 8th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Speaking of Chinook — how’s our girl doing? Any signs of denning (has she even checked it out and given it a big, very big, 2 toes up), any cravings, any signs of impending cubbies? The waiting is soooo hard… you all must be going crazy there. At what point do all signs point to no cubbies this year — and she will be reuinited with Kalluk and Tatqiq?
Moderator’s note: Keepers are waiting for one more ultrasound. If no cub is detected, then the bears will be reunited.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Could someone please update us as to what, if anything, has become of the possibility of a pregnancy in Polarville? No updates for so long, and it leaves one wondering and very concerned.
Thank you!
Moderator’s note: See response above.
December 8th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Well, Chinook, we love you no matter what and if nothing shows this time around, maybe next fall you will be all expecting cubbies. In the meantime, if we all find out she is not expecting I can imagine a very excited bunch of bears being united as it probably has been confusing to them as to why she is separated from them.
Of course, if you went back up to Churchill area come spring and found some abandoned cubs you could always adopt them! Or bring them to my yard. I have snow!
December 8th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Speaking of newborns, check this out: http://www.aalborg-zoo.dk/ Click on Actuelle Videoklip.
December 8th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
With the climate summit already underway in Copenhagen, I think we read and hear even more of species that are endangered or threatened due to global warming. I just stumbled this article about polar bears “turning to cannibalism” in a British newspaper. It really is heartbreaking. But like JoAnne said in one of her previous blog entries, we must tell the story to keep us in checked and informed.
For more information, please visit Telegraph Newspaper online.
December 8th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Cindy in KC, it’s http://www.zooborns.com/ – scroll down to the Dec. 4 “The Bear Witch Project.” It’s a terrific website! And Diane, thanks for the tip on Aalborg, that’s very cool.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I saw something oh so sad when I went up to Churchill for Christmas.
A thin, weak male crept up behind a mother bear and her cub and *tear*, oh, you know what happened, bye-bye cub. The males are forced to do this because there is no ice to be their hunting platform. Sadly, there were 15 other people watching the incident with me. *tear*