PBI Puts Polar Bear Scientists on Film
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Dr. Andrew Derocher Click the image to enlarge.
Increased Encounters with Humans
The scientist also discussed the fact that more polar bears have recently been seen near human settlements along Western Hudson Bay, but says this doesn't reflect a population increase.
"A starving carnivore doesn't just lie down and die," he says. "It's going to look for an alternate food source. In Western Hudson Bay that means either garbage dumps, hunting camps, or, occasionally, people. [Residents are] seeing many more bears in West Coast settlements and that's been interpreted as an increase in the population. In fact, it's the exact opposite, as we know from analyzing our data."
Derocher's Viewpoint
Dr. Andrew Derocher echoed Stirling's concerns about diminishing sea ice. "The ice is of key importance to the bears," he says. "When you take away the habitat of an organism, you lose the organism. If we lose the sea ice, it's pretty clear that we're going to lose the bears."
Derocher says that many people ask, "Well, if the ice melts, won't polar bears become more like brown bears?"
His answer is that it took polar bears roughly 400,000 years to evolve from brown bears. "What we're asking an animal to do—in the space of less than 100 years—is to turn back the clock and lose those adaptations and go back to being a largely plant-eating animal."
Derocher says that it's clear that climate change is happening in the Arctic, beyond Hudson Bay. "We know from projections from ice scientists and places like NASA that the ice has changed substantially, and projections are that it will continue to change and maybe at an accelerated rate," he says. Still, he adds, no one really knows how quickly changes will occur and how widespread they will be.
What Can Be Done?
To save polar bears, Derocher says, humans need to change their behavior and leave a lighter footprint on the planet. [See "How You Can Help Polar Bears," page three.] "It's not really reasonable to expect people to make massive changes," he says. "We're looking at smaller, incremental things. Longer term, we really need to see new technologies that will lessen the impact that we have on a global scale."
Derocher believes that education is a major component of conservation. "If people truly understand the dangers not only to polar bears but to other animal species," he says, "I think they would change their behavior."
“I think the answers are out there. We just have to find them”
- Dr. Andrew Derocher
"I'm not yet to the point where I'm depressed," he adds. "I'm more at the stage where it's time to be concerned, where we need to help people understand the issues and to mobilize people to respond in a meaningful way. They can take very small actions like conserving gas in their vehicles or shutting off lights or turning down the thermostat. If everybody did those things, that would be a start."
Children, he says, respond to this approach. "I give lectures to elementary schools and quite often I tell the children to turn their lights off to help save polar bears," he says. "I know from their parents that their homes are now virtually dark because the children are keen to initiate change that will help polar bears."
Derocher believes that governments and industry also need to play a role in developing reasonable alternatives to fossil fuels, although the call for policy change will probably have to come from the bottom up rather than the top down, with citizens contacting their governments to request change.
"At the end of the day, I'm an optimist," he says. "I'm a great believer in the advances of technology. I think the answers are out there. We just have to find them."
Watch the DVD online in our Gallery: Part 1 & Part 2.
The scientist also discussed the fact that more polar bears have recently been seen near human settlements along Western Hudson Bay, but says this doesn't reflect a population increase.
"A starving carnivore doesn't just lie down and die," he says. "It's going to look for an alternate food source. In Western Hudson Bay that means either garbage dumps, hunting camps, or, occasionally, people. [Residents are] seeing many more bears in West Coast settlements and that's been interpreted as an increase in the population. In fact, it's the exact opposite, as we know from analyzing our data."
Derocher's Viewpoint
Dr. Andrew Derocher echoed Stirling's concerns about diminishing sea ice. "The ice is of key importance to the bears," he says. "When you take away the habitat of an organism, you lose the organism. If we lose the sea ice, it's pretty clear that we're going to lose the bears."
Derocher says that many people ask, "Well, if the ice melts, won't polar bears become more like brown bears?"
His answer is that it took polar bears roughly 400,000 years to evolve from brown bears. "What we're asking an animal to do—in the space of less than 100 years—is to turn back the clock and lose those adaptations and go back to being a largely plant-eating animal."
Derocher says that it's clear that climate change is happening in the Arctic, beyond Hudson Bay. "We know from projections from ice scientists and places like NASA that the ice has changed substantially, and projections are that it will continue to change and maybe at an accelerated rate," he says. Still, he adds, no one really knows how quickly changes will occur and how widespread they will be.
What Can Be Done?
To save polar bears, Derocher says, humans need to change their behavior and leave a lighter footprint on the planet. [See "How You Can Help Polar Bears," page three.] "It's not really reasonable to expect people to make massive changes," he says. "We're looking at smaller, incremental things. Longer term, we really need to see new technologies that will lessen the impact that we have on a global scale."
Derocher believes that education is a major component of conservation. "If people truly understand the dangers not only to polar bears but to other animal species," he says, "I think they would change their behavior."
“I think the answers are out there. We just have to find them”
- Dr. Andrew Derocher
"I'm not yet to the point where I'm depressed," he adds. "I'm more at the stage where it's time to be concerned, where we need to help people understand the issues and to mobilize people to respond in a meaningful way. They can take very small actions like conserving gas in their vehicles or shutting off lights or turning down the thermostat. If everybody did those things, that would be a start."
Children, he says, respond to this approach. "I give lectures to elementary schools and quite often I tell the children to turn their lights off to help save polar bears," he says. "I know from their parents that their homes are now virtually dark because the children are keen to initiate change that will help polar bears."
Derocher believes that governments and industry also need to play a role in developing reasonable alternatives to fossil fuels, although the call for policy change will probably have to come from the bottom up rather than the top down, with citizens contacting their governments to request change.
"At the end of the day, I'm an optimist," he says. "I'm a great believer in the advances of technology. I think the answers are out there. We just have to find them."
Watch the DVD online in our Gallery: Part 1 & Part 2.
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