Dispatches from the North Slope: Maternal Den Study
Problem-solving is a way of life when working in the Arctic. Each day brought a new set of challenges to our maternity den study team, from failing batteries to cameras that malfunctioned in the bitter cold. Photo © B.J. Kirschoffer. Click the image to enlarge.
Editor's Note: As human activities increase in the Arctic and the sea ice shrinks, it has become vitally important to understand polar bear behavior at maternity dens so that managers may set guidelines to prevent disturbances. Our Director of Field Operations, B.J. Kirschoffer, joined a team led by Dr. Tom S. Smith, a member of our Scientific Advisory Council, on a expedition to Alaska's Arctic coastal plain to study polar bear families during the critical time period when mother bears emerge from their winter snow dens and head off with their cubs to hunt seals on the sea ice.
The key questions that scientists hope to answer through this study are:
In addition to Smith and Kirschoffer, the team included M.S. candidate Rusty Robinson of Brigham Young University. To keep from disturbing the bears, the team recorded behavior with battery-powered video cameras set inside white boxes. The journal entries on the following pages by B. J. Kirschoffer describe what it's like to work in fiercely cold temperatures, meeting daily technical challenges with few human comforts and no corner hardware store.
The key questions that scientists hope to answer through this study are:
- When do polar bears typically exit the dens with their cubs?
- How long do polar bears remain at the den site before abandoning the den and returning to the active ice to hunt seals?
- What do polar bears do while at the den site?
- How sensitive to disturbances are polar bears at den sites?
In addition to Smith and Kirschoffer, the team included M.S. candidate Rusty Robinson of Brigham Young University. To keep from disturbing the bears, the team recorded behavior with battery-powered video cameras set inside white boxes. The journal entries on the following pages by B. J. Kirschoffer describe what it's like to work in fiercely cold temperatures, meeting daily technical challenges with few human comforts and no corner hardware store.