You can see the route of a satellite-collared polar bear on the Beaufort Sea simply by clicking your computer mouse on one of the bear faces. It’s almost as good as being there—only warmer!
What you can see
- Roll your mouse cursor over a bear face and you’ll see who is sponsoring that bear and its official U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center ID.
- Click on a bear face icon to see the route that bear has taken since its collar was activated.
- Click the plus and minus buttons at the top left to zoom in for a more detailed view.
- Click and hold to grab the map and reposition its center.
Why track polar bears?
To better understand how the population is faring. Each year, scientists put new satellite collars on a small number of bears to follow the bears' movements, habitat use, fidelity to areas, and the survival of their cubs. Sensors also allow scientists to detect how much time the bears spend in the water, which is important in reference to arctic sea ice loss.
Don’t worry—the collars are lightweight and harmless. They’re designed to fall off on their own in 14 months. Scientists collar only female bears because male polar bears’ necks are as wide as their heads and collars just slip off.
PBI thanks the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center for providing the data for this map.
