Polar Bear Media/Contacts
Science Center Objects
If you have questions about research or media inquiries regarding the USGS Alaska Science Center please contact Yvette Gillies or Paul Laustsen.
Return to Media/Outreach or Polar Bear Research
We appreciate all the interest in the USGS research on Polar bears. You can find vidoes, news releases, USGS top stories and fact sheets on this page and under the news and publications tabs.
Polar Bear Videos
- Polar Bear Collar Cam B-Roll 2014, 2015, 2016 (March 2018)
- Polar Bears Film Their Own Sea Ice World (February 2018)
- Science Friday Video "Breakthrough: Polar Bear Witness" (June 2017)
- Polar Bear Point of View (POV) Cams (Spring 2016)
- Polar Bear Research at the San Diego Zoo (2016)
- Polar Bear Research at the Oregon Zoo (August 2015)
- Polar Bear Aids Scientists in Research (February 2015)
- Polar Bear Research - B Roll 1 (Spring 2014)
- Polar Bear Point of View (POV) Cams (Spring 2014)
- Tasul's Collar (July 2013)
For more information regarding polar bears and polar bear research visit:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/alaska/fisheries/mmm/polarbear/pbmain.htm
U.S. Geological Survey: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/asc/science/polar-bear-research
Polar Bears International: http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/
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Date published: July 13, 2017Status: ActivePolar Bear Research
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are one of 4 marine mammal species managed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat. Our studies, ongoing since 1985, are focused on population dynamics, health and...
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Date published: March 2, 2018Status: ActiveMedia/Outreach at the Alaska Science Center
If you have questions about upcoming events, research, or media inquiries regarding the USGS Alaska Science Center please contact Yvette Gillies, Paul Laustsen or Steven Sobieszczyk.
Changing Arctic Ecosystems: Updated forecast: Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions required to improve polar bear outlook
The Arctic is warming faster than other regions of the world due to the loss of snow and ice, which increases the amount of solar energy absorbed by the region. The most visible consequence has been the rapid decline in sea ice over the last 3 decades-a decline projected to bring long ice-free summers if greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are not...
Oakley, Karen L.; Atwood, Todd C.; Mugel, Douglas N.; Rode, Karyn D.; Whalen, Mary E.
Polar bear and walrus response to the rapid decline in Arctic sea ice
The Arctic is warming faster than other regions of the world due to positive climate feedbacks associated with loss of snow and ice. One highly visible consequence has been a rapid decline in Arctic sea ice over the past 3 decades - a decline projected to continue and result in ice-free summers likely as soon as 2030. The polar bear (Ursus...
Oakley, Karen L.; Whalen, Mary E.; Douglas, David C.; Udevitz, Mark S.; Atwood, Todd C.; Jay, C.
Changing Arctic ecosystems--research to understand and project changes in marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Arctic
Ecosystems and their wildlife communities are not static; they change and evolve over time due to numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. A period of rapid change is occurring in the Arctic for which our current understanding of potential ecosystem and wildlife responses is limited. Changes to the physical environment include warming...
Geiselman, Joy; DeGange, Anthony R.; Oakley, Karen; Derksen, Dirk V.; Whalen, Mary E.
Polar Bears Film Their Own Sea Ice World
This video showcases the latest polar bear point-of-view footage to date along with an interview of the research scientist who is responsible for the project. Released in conjunction with a new scientific study led by the USGS.
Polar Bear Collar Cam B-Roll 2014, 2015, 2016
Exciting polar bear cam b-roll footage from the bear’s perspective from 2014, 2015, and 2016. The USGS Alaska Science Center Polar Bear Research Project conducts long-term research on polar bears to inform, local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation and management of the species and its habitat. The USGS’s studies are primarily focused on
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Polar Bear - POV Cams (Spring 2016)
This short clip is representative of a large amount of video footage of an adult female polar bear, equipped with a point of view camera, that is used by scientists to study polar bear behavior and feeding rates. Camera were attached to 10 animals in the southern Beaufort Sea over the course of several years, and stay on the animals for about 2 weeks until it is retrieved
...Polar Bear - POV Cams (Spring 2014)
This video was edited and compiled from raw footage recorded by a camera equipped radio collar that was put on a female polar bear in the Beaufort Sea during April 2014 by the US Geological Survey. This new type of camera technology was developed by videographer Adam Ravetch with the support of the World Wildlife Fund. The video, which is the first ever from a free-ranging
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Polar Bear Research, B-Roll 1
Spring 2014. USGS scientists conduct a health evaluation of a young male polar bear in the Arctic as part of the annual southern Beaufort Sea population survey. The bear is sedated for approximately an hour while the team records a variety of measurements and collects key biological samples. The annual population survey has been conducted since the mid-1980's and helps
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Polar Bear at San Diego Zoo
A polar bear swims at the San Diego Zoo, California. This video is part of a research project conducted by wildlife biologist Anthony Pagano.
Oregon Zoo Polar Bear
Tasul, an Oregon Zoo polar bear, sports a high-tech collar that will help researchers study her endangered wild counterparts in the Arctic. Photo by Michael Durham, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.
Photo by Michael Durham, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.
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Date published: June 6, 2017Increased Sea Ice Drift Puts Polar Bears on Faster Moving Treadmill
A new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Wyoming found that increased westward ice drift in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas requires polar bears to expend more energy walking eastward on a faster moving “treadmill” of sea ice.
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Date published: June 29, 2016Polar Bear Outlook Favorable Under Certain Scenarios
“The scenarios predicted by our models are encouraging in that there are clear actions that humans can take to improve the chances that healthy polar bear populations persist in the future.” - Todd Atwood, USGS
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Date published: April 20, 2016How Climate Change Might Affect Polar Bears' Bodies
You really are what you eat. That’s the taking-off point for a new polar bear study, conducted by U.S. Geological Survey researchers with an assist from the Oregon Zoo — and published this week in the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.
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Date published: June 30, 2015Greenhouse Gas Emissions Remain the Primary Threat to Polar Bears
Greenhouse gas emissions remain the primary threat to the preservation of polar bear populations worldwide. This conclusion holds true under both a reduced greenhouse gas emission scenario that stabilizes climate warming and another scenario where emissions and warming continue at the current pace, according to updated U.S. Geological Survey research models.
Attribution: Land Resources, Ecosystems, Alaska, Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 23, 2015What’s on the Menu for Arctic Polar Bears?
Twenty years ago, biologists could pretty much describe a polar bear’s diet in two words: ringed seals.
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Date published: January 6, 2015Polar Bears Shifting to Areas with More Sea Ice — Genetic Study Reveals
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — In a new polar bear study published today, scientists from around the Arctic have shown that recent generations of polar bears are moving towards areas with more persistent year-round sea ice.
Attribution: Land Resources, Ecosystems, Alaska, Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: December 15, 2014
New Scientific Study Supports that Capture-based Research is Safe for Polar Bears
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A polar bear capture and release-based research program had no adverse long-term effects on feeding behavior, body condition, and reproduction, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
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Date published: November 17, 2014
Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bear Population Declined in the 2000s
In a new polar bear study published today, scientists from the United States and Canada found that during the first decade of the 21st century, the number of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea experienced a sharp decline of approximately 40 percent.
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Date published: July 9, 2014Observing Polar Bears from Space
Monitoring wildlife in the Arctic is difficult. Study areas are cold, barren and often inaccessible. For decades scientists have struggled to study animals, like polar bears, which live in these remote areas. Now researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey have begun testing a new, yet counterintuitive solution – rather then get close to the animals, monitor them from afar.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories -
Date published: June 6, 2014
Through the Eyes of a Polar Bear
The first "point of view" video from a polar bear on Arctic sea ice has just become available courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Attribution: Land Resources, Ecosystems, Alaska, Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center