Many of you have noticed the new wall by the beach. This is the new “Guest Experience Wall” that will be unveiled next year when the new interpretive area opens. However, Tatqiq has ignored all memos saying that this will happen next year. She has installed herself as the overseer of all guest greetings and is chief model for all polar bear close-up photography. In brief, she is THE Arctic Ambassador, and she is holding court every day as though she is the queen of the beach, no longer the princess! What an incredible opportunity now to have only three inches of glass separate you from a polar bear so willing to pose for your photos! More surprises are ahead when we do officially open the wall in March.

Kalluk has also enjoyed having the entire beach area back. Every night he chooses between sleeping on what is left of his kiddie pool or building a soft, cozy sand bed. He does seem to enjoy watching the show Tatqiq puts on with the guests and will join from time to time. He also spends time watching Chinook next door in the yard. I’m not sure what he is thinking. Perhaps he, too, is wondering if cubs are on the way. If not, we expect to begin seeing changes in him by the end of December as his hormones prepare him for the next breeding season.

For me, I am in Canada, working with our conservation partner, Polar Bears International, and spending time with the polar bears of Churchill, Manitoba. This will be my ninth fall with our incredible furry ice bears. Even in such a short time I have seen great changes in the polar bears due to the change in ice. Please take the time to read our student Arctic Ambassador Daniel Straub’s impressions of his time with the bears (see post Northern Lights Perfect Backdrop for Polar Bears) and the great information shared by Dr. Ron Swaisgood of his first adventure to Churchill (see post Hope for Polar Bears). With how fast the Arctic is changing, anyone lucky enough to experience this disappearing land of ice must be an ambassador to inspire others, who can’t come north, to care enough to make the changes to save this beautiful habitat and the animals and people who live here. Tatqiq is a great model as an Arctic Ambassador; she’d love to share the role with you!

JoAnne Simerson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

As the weather gets cooler, we expect that she may be more inclined to go into denning mode. Isolating herself in the den is one of the strongest behavioral cues we’d expect to see, letting us know that birth is imminent. Unfortunately, this might happen one month or one day before she gives birth. Our advice to the San Diego Zoo’s extended family of polar bear lovers: stay tuned! We will keep you up to date on any changes we see.

Megan Owen is a conservation program specialist at the San Diego Zoo.

Watch video of an ultrasound procedure being done on Chinook.

What I want to talk about to today is hope—hope for conservation, and hope for our planet even though it is facing unprecedented environmental challenges. I’m in Churchill in Manitoba, Canada, working with friends and collaborators at Polar Bears International. It’s a surreal experience going out on the Tundra Buggies and seeing wild polar bears. But underneath this joyful experience there is also sadness, because I know that this “polar bear capital” may one day have no polar bears. By now, most of us know that the polar bears are losing their sea-ice habitat and here, at the southern end of their range, they will disappear first. We’ve already lost almost a quarter of them in the past 15 years. In another 15, there may be no polar bears left in Churchill.

So, given this gloomy scenario, why am I writing about hope? Well, what’s the alternative? Despair? Gloom and doom? That never got anyone anywhere. Yes, we have to face up to this crisis, but the good news is that we are the ones that got us into this mess, so we can get us out. We’re consuming too many resources. We use energy like there’s no tomorrow. But there is a tomorrow, for us and for nature. We have to change our ways. If we do, if we make those daily decisions to do the right thing, it will make a difference. I won’t go into what doing the right thing is here—we know the answer more or less: turn off the light; turn down your thermostat; drive less, carpool more; keep our forests. All these things help us reduce our carbon footprint and slow down the climate change we set in motion by overproducing these greenhouse gases.

So, today, why am I hopeful? Well, it’s inspiring to be here with these people, the people affiliated with Polar Bears International who are so passionate, so dedicated to making a difference. We are doing something—that always gives hope. We are reaching out to students around the country and helping them to understand climate change, its impacts on polar bears and other wildlife, and how they can do something. Doing something always helps create hope. I recommend YOU do something. It will make you feel better, I promise.

Part of the PBI Team: Evan Richardson, a wildlife ecologist for Environment Canada and a Ph.D. student at University of Alberta.

We’re also working with many other zoos in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to fill in other information gaps—things that the field biologists don’t know because it is too difficult to study in the wild bears that range over hundreds of miles in search of seals. Things like reproduction, physiology, and olfactory communication. And, most importantly, we are talking about climate change and all the threats to nature as we know it. We are talking to anyone who will listen. We have to get this message out, now, before it’s too late.

And I have hope because I look around and see people talking more about going green. I see business and government investing in green technology. Maybe more people will walk the talk. Maybe the momentum is starting to change. Maybe we can reverse climate change and other destructive activities. I hope so.

Ron Swaisgood is director of Applied Animal Ecology for the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research.

Watch the San Diego Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam.

Culprits of the nighttime shakedown? Visitors to the Tundra Lodge are common, including some devious ones that shook the lodge in the wee hours of the night.

This really is shaping up to be an amazing experience. Each day I go out on the Tundra Buggy, run by Frontiers North Adventures. Oh, and by the way, they are giving us a free pass on the Tundra Buggy and a room in the Tundra Lodge. They like what we are doing, trying to bring more attention to the plight of the polar bear. And it’s hard to imagine a species more deserving of attention than polar bears. They are the world’s largest terrestrial carnivores, and they are impressive.

My first night in the Tundra Lodge, I awoke to more than a little gentle rocking. The Tundra Lodge is somewhat like a train car up on monster truck wheels. Apparently, one of the polar bears thought it might be fun to give us all a little shake. I saw visions of our “enrichment feeders” we give our bears at the San Diego Zoo—objects they have to shake until some tasty treat drops out. Was I the tasty treat? Of course, several feet above the ground and separated by a steel wall, I was safe. But that’s the kind of place Churchill is. Wild tundra. Subarctic wilderness. Polar bears shaking your lodge.

Up close and personal! Okay, so I did use a zoom lens, but this guy was pretty close. What an incredible opportunity to see these wild bears!

A yearling cub spots a big male nearby. Vigilance pays off for youngsters. If they don’t stay away from adult males, they may end up becoming a snack.

Families of three are less frequent than they were a decade ago. This female is doing well to have two surviving cubs.

Although addressing a serious issue, this has been great fun, joining in with so many inspired and inspiring people, literally motivated to change the world. And all against this wonderful backdrop, the tundra of Churchill. Look at the pictures I’m posting. These really are fabulous animals. C’mon guys, we can’t let this animal disappear.

Ron Swaisgood is director of Applied Animal Ecology for the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research.

Watch the San Diego Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam.

One of my first wild polar bears here at Churchill. Thin at this time of year, waiting for the ice to re-freeze so they can hunt, they are still large and powerful predators.

I’m in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, known as the polar bear capital of the world. I’m here as a guest of my friends and collaborators (and supporters!) at Polar Bears International. This is a terrific organization, and they have given me a terrific opportunity. More on that later. The bears are beautiful! I can’t wait to share more about the bears in my next posts.

Nothing to do, a polar bear might as well sleep. Occasionally, they may eat some berries or even some kelp, but the best strategy is just to conserve energy until the ice returns.

I won’t explain the science, I think most of us know this by now. The sea-ice is shrinking, shrinking faster than even the most pessimistic models of five years ago. In 2007, we all were shocked when we lost a million square miles of sea-ice: that’s Alaska, Texas, and Washington combined. This year is fortunate—the Arctic is getting a little break from the warmer temperatures. But the trend is unmistakable: the Arctic is getting warmer, and it is losing its ice.

View from the Tundra Buggy. At Churchill at this time of year, this may be the highest density of polar bears anywhere. This is where they come to wait for the ice… and check out the tourists and researchers!

It seems clear to me: we must do something about climate change. Not just for the polar bears. Giant pandas, too, may lose habitat to climate change. I recently visited another spectacular site for Andean bears, in the dry forest. If climate change brings even drier climates, the water holes will dry up and the bears will be gone. And, in Southern California, kangaroo rats (see post Roo Rats Released), the desert bighorn, and the desert tortoises (see post Tortoises on TV) of the Mojave desert are all predicted to suffer from the hotter, drier climate forecast for our region. All these species and their ecosystems, and many more, are being altered by climate change, and the effects will not be good.

That’s why I’m here, working with Polar Bears International. We are here to see these bears and bring this message into your homes and schools around the world. Climate change is real, we are the primary cause, and we can and must do something about it. If we don’t, we will live in a very different world, and it may be a world without polar bears. Is that what we want?

Ron Swaisgood is director of Applied Animal Ecology for the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research.

Watch the Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam.

Kalluk takes the plunge.

On October 22, 2009, things changed. The federal government issued a statement proposing the designation of over 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles) of coastal land on Alaska’s North Slope as “critical habitat” for the polar bear. This coastal habitat is essential to the polar bear, as it is where the majority of maternity dens are found in Alaska. Its designation as critical habitat would dramatically limit any and all human activity within its boundaries.

By most accounts, this area in the high Arctic is far away, very cold, and as remote as you can imagine. As inhospitable as this region may sound, it happens to be where some of the biggest reserves of petroleum in the world are found. Petroleum extraction activities have been ongoing in this region for decades. However, the impact of this industry on polar bears is not clear, and as more activity has been proposed on the coast and offshore, it has become obvious that we need to find out more about how these activities affect denning bears. Clearly there is a lot at stake for industry if this proposed rule is established.

I frequently tell my children that one of the best things about our government is that it invites people to find out what’s going on and offers many outlets for us to let our voices be heard and be part of the legislative process. Regardless of what your opinion is, you can go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Web site, Marine Mammals Management page and download the proposed rule and all of the great maps and resources available to all. The information provided on the Web site is the same set of resources available to the legislators that will be voting on this designation. There is even an invitation to the public to send in their opinion on the designation. So, go ahead! Get informed! Get involved!

Megan Owen is a conservation program specialist at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Polar Bears: What Little We Know.

Tatqiq explores the new yard.

Yes, all is complete inside for Chinook to remove herself whenever she wants. Every day our girl lets us know how she is doing. Mostly she is content hanging out with her keeper in the bedroom area while we work. But sometimes she still wants to go out to the yard or the exhibit to enjoy a quick soak and rub and then come back inside. Yes, she is still very cooperative for ultrasounds each week. And we’ve not yet been able to detect a pregnancy. So keep your fingers crossed! Remember: with the delayed implantation and length of gestation, we may not see cubs until next year if we count from the last day of breeding. Oh, a long wait may be ahead!

So far, Chinook isn’t showing any interest in spending time in her den. We built it in one of her favorite sleeping areas. It is completely covered so no light comes in except through the doorway. We have a thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature so it stays comfortable for her. The floor is made of recycled plastic and is raised up just enough to allow for any moisture to travel beneath and into a drain. Polar bear cubs have no ability to thermo-regulate at first, so it necessary to protect them from cold but still keep the den cool for Mom.

Chinook is still making beautiful beds for sleeping. Her preference has always been Bermuda hay, but lately she is choosing pine needles we collect from around the area. Chinook is from the western Hudson Bay population of polar bears; this means the den she was born in was first dug in frozen peat with tree roots as the roof support. Her mother would then have dug a second chamber into the snow after it drifted into a deep pile outside the earthen den. Chinook’s den is built adjacent to another bedroom we have darkened, and she could use it as a second chamber. Right now, though, she prefers to sleep in another area of the building. Oh, what will our girl choose?

What happened when we first gave the bears access to the new management yard? Chinook went out when her keeper was out by the exhibit and went back in when her keeper went inside. An interesting behavior for our independent girl! Kalluk only stuck his head out and was more interested in his kiddie pool inside, but Tatqiq became queen of the hill! She explored and rubbed on the bushes and made great muddy paw prints from the pool. We give Chinook access to the yard every day. You may sometimes be able to see her in the yard from the Polar Cam. She looks absolutely beautiful with the trees and bushes alongside.

Kalluk and Tatqiq are keeping themselves well occupied out front. Tatqiq is filling the “dirty” bear role for Chinook. This is not a role that is unfamiliar to her. When she was a cub, she would get so brown that guests would sometimes ask, “At what age do polar bears turn white?” And Kalluk has commandeered all the kiddie pools. He has used them well. We have only one left that can be recognized by any original shape! We’ll have to wait until next summer to get new ones. Until then, both are now enjoying sleeping in the mulch piles and sandy beach area of the exhibit and making pillows from the palm wraps and ginger branches our horticulture department provides.

JoAnne Simerson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

We now have video of one of Chinook’s ultrasound procedures.

This is a great opportunity to talk about polar bear feet. First and foremost: they are large! Some males’ feet can grow to 12 inches (30 centimeters) wide. The front feet are round and the back feet are elongated. They have five toes on each foot, and each toe has a cleat-shaped, non-retractable claw. The bottoms of their feet have fur growing around each pad. This fur grows very long as the bear ages. I have seen some bears in the wild with fabulous furry slippers from the long fur that surrounds each foot. The pads of a polar bear foot have many tiny soft bumps called papillae. These help to create friction when walking on the ice so as to decrease slipping.

One of the only places on a polar bear’s body that it loses body heat is the feet. A polar bear’s body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsuis). Polar bears walk across flat ice, and the heat from their paws causes the ice to melt ever so slightly. If the snow is blowing, you can see where the snow then refreezes to the paw print. This makes for beautiful photos of polar bear prints across the flat ice.

What do polar bear prints tell you about the bear? The size can tell how large the bear is, potentially the age, and if you’re seeing a mother and cub. Cubs often walk in their mother’s prints, mimicking everything she does to learn about their world. Following polar bear prints can also tell you if a bear was walking or running. If a polar bear is walking at a normal pace, the back foot is placed where the front foot had been. If a polar bear picks up its pace, the hind foot is placed further away from the front foot, and all four prints can then be seen. The prints of a walking polar bear appear only as two feet. This is one of the reasons so many native stories talk about polar bears as being human and walking upright.

Polar bear feet also hold a key to polar bear communication (see post, Polar Bears: Is it the Perfume?). The foot of the polar bear has apocrine glands just as our skin does. The scent coming from these glands may give important information for safety, identification, or timing of breeding between bears. You can imagine the critical aspect of this if the scent path of polar bears disappears with the ice. We know our Kalluk is always enthralled by the scent of Chinook’s foot path around breeding season. This is often the first behavioral clue we see that things are changing. He presses his nose against her print, spreads his nostrils, and slurps and inhales all at the same time. If he is inside, the sound travels throughout the building, putting human’s noisy soup-slurping to shame!

As you walk around town, keep in mind the furry feet of our polar bear friends. Continue doing all you can to conserve. Walk a little more to reduce your footprint. And thank you for supporting our efforts to learn more about polar bears and save their habitat. See you Saturday!

JoAnne Simerson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Polar Bear Happenings.

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Watch the Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam.

Today I had to help make the meals for the buggy, which was really fun. While making breakfast, an Arctic fox was running around the buggy to say good morning to all of us. It was splendid because of his beautiful colors of white, black, and gray. I never thought I would describe an animal beautiful with such bland colors, but this fox truly was. After that we did videoconferences with kids from Winnipeg, Canada, and from Memphis, Tennessee. This was our first experience of spreading our experience and knowledge. It was a necessary stepping stone to my future presentations.

After lunch, we went on the Tundra Buggy for our last polar bear search before we go back into town tomorrow. This was our best wildlife viewing trip, starting with a pretty big Arctic hare. Now these things look like giant snow balls and it would take three or four of our cute little fluffy cottontail rabbits to make up one of these big guys. But just like the Arctic fox and the polar bear, they have ears on the small side so they don’t get frostbitten and fall off!

Then we saw a peregrine falcon flying around; according to Bill Watkins, our on-board biologist from Manitoba Conservation, they are not the most common bird around these parts, so that was very exciting. After that we pulled up to another young male bear. This one was not Bearnard, so it was exciting because this was our fourth bear! We named him Bearack (pictured above). We could tell that he was a different bear because he had no ear tags. This also means that he is new to the Churchill area. He could be a young bear or one that came in from another area on the ice floes when they broke up in the spring of this year.

One of the greatest things about spending this week with kids like me was that we all have become great friends. And you know you have a good friend when someone can do an awesome impression of you. Rachael, one of the Arctic Ambassador teens from Winnipeg, borrowed my sunglasses, and in her presentation it was like I was watching myself up there. She did an awesome job playing “the guy from San Diego.” After that, Bearack came over right under the buggy and got in our face and greeted us. This was huge to me because this was possibly the last wild polar bear I will ever see.

It is so important to me that all of us who live nowhere near wild polar bears can be part of the movement to help keep the Arctic cold so the polar bears can survive. I have been so inspired by meeting these people and these polar bears, and I know that people can use less energy, plant tons of trees, buy recycled products so we don’t have to use more resources, and do the hard stuff we need to do so that we can make things better for polar bears and all of the other things living on this planet.

Later that night we saw for the first time the Northern Lights. They were beautiful. I didn’t realize how much the Northern Lights would be moving. And they were waves coming across the sky. Fun fact: there are different colors of the Northern Lights; we saw green and purple ones. If it were possible, I think everyone needs to see them at some point in their life. This was definitely the way to end the trip, because we all congregated as one big group and just relaxed under them and watched this once-in-a-lifetime event. It was the proper Arctic farewell.

Today started again with a tundra wake-up call from Robert Buchanan, the president of Polar Bears International and a pretty bad singer. I was excited to have this morning’s breakfast burrito, a taste of home up here in the Arctic. Well, not exactly as good as home, because San Diego is pretty famous for its Mexican food, but it was good enough.

We went out on the Tundra Buggy where we saw the same male polar bear that we creatively named Bearnard (pictured above). We hung out with him for a while; he then fell asleep, and we decided to start doing our group presentations about stuff we learned from the book Impacts of a Warming Arctic. This book was about the conclusions of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment group, an international effort of all of the countries that have territory in the Arctic Circle.

My group’s presentation was a debate about the changes in weather around the world that are happening because the Arctic Ocean and the atmosphere in the Arctic has a strong influence on the global ocean currents and weather. I never thought about how the ocean way up here in the North could have an impact on the currents down in the Pacific Ocean where we are. It really made me start thinking about how connected we all are to the climate and the ocean and the world!

In the middle of our hot debate, the bear decided to wake up and do some walking around, so we had to call a bear break. That has not ever happened to me at Patrick Henry High School during a presentation, so that was something new!

Back at the Lodge, during dinner, somebody yelled “bear,” and we saw Bearnard walking down the road. He explored our camp, and then he promptly fell asleep in our camp. Almost ten minutes later we saw an Arctic fox come running behind the bear, and he was just running and testing the bear’s limits, while getting pretty close. This was definitely a memorable day and night!

Watch the San Diego Zoo’s polar bears daily on Polar Cam.