Polar Bear Tracker Update: Summer 2026

Each year, the Polar Bears International Bear Tracker follows a subset of GPS-collared female polar bears as they go about their lives. By monitoring these movement data, scientists can determine when and how polar bears use their sea ice home, helping us better understand what the species needs to survive and thrive.

Summer is the time of year when polar bears are wrapping up their biggest feasting period, having enjoyed gorging themselves on the bounty of plump spring seal pups. It’s also the end of their mating season, meaning many females might be “a little bit pregnant.” That is, they may have fertile zygotes, but those zygotes will not implant to actually begin growing cubs until after summer, and then only if the female is fat enough to sustain that pregnancy (at least 420 lbs) over the many months ahead.

Hudson Bay, Canada

Hudson Bay polar bears should be fat and happy right now, maximizing their time on the ice while thinking about when to come ashore as the sea ice starts to melt. They will want to balance staying on sea ice to hunt with avoiding a very long swim or walk home to their summer resting place, trying to save as much energy as possible.

Don’t worry if you don’t see a lot of movement on the Polar Bear Tracker. At this time of year, it’s normal for updates to lag as the bears enter the water: their collars get cold, salty and soggy if they must swim home as the ice melts. As the bears reach land, the collars should soon dry out and begin transmitting more frequently. Whatever their path home, the bears are likely to move around less once they’re on land, conserving their energy and living off their own body fat until the ice refreezes late this fall.

Sea ice extent in Western Hudson Bay crossed below the 30% threshold on June 27, marking the start of this year's “ice-free period”. This is the 16th earliest break-up date in the 48-year satellite record.

Below are snapshots of what each bear has been up to on our newly updated Polar Bear Tracker.

X19735 - Anuri

At 27-years-old, Anuri is a highly experienced polar bear, likely entering the final chapter of her life. As she approaches 30 she may have another litter of cubs, but it could be more challenging, especially as conditions today may look very different compared to when she was a cub.

Last fall, Anuri entered a den, indicating she was pregnant. She spent several months in the den before emerging onto the sea ice in mid-January. Mothers in this region typically leave their dens with their cubs in late February or throughout March. By mid-January, newborn cubs would be far too small to survive the journey to, and life on, the sea ice.

So, it is likely that Anuri lost that litter, eventually emerging alone once she was ready to hunt seals and regain some weight. She wasted no time after returning to the sea ice, travelling extensively across central Hudson Bay while looping north and south. Without mouths to feed, nothing was slowing her down.

Anuri may have mated again on the sea ice in the spring, but only time will tell whether her body maintains another pregnancy. To successfully produce another cub or two, she will have needed to accumulate substantial fat reserves and still be in excellent condition by the fall. Even then, there are no promises.

Throughout June, Anuri wisely stayed close to the west coast of the bay near Wapusk National Park, taking advantage of the last remaining sea ice to find and consume as much food as possible before the long summer fast on land.

As of late July, she appears to be back along the coast, not far from the Ontario border. She will likely take her time making her way north toward the park over the coming months. We hope Anuri has been able to feast on plenty of seal blubber over the past few months and that she returned to land healthy and, ideally, hugely obese.

With nearly three decades of experience, Anuri knows where, when, and how to travel and hunt efficiently. We wish her the very best and hope she enjoys a restful summer.

X33772 - Canada Goose - Ares

Eight-year-old Ares and her yearling continue to stay within their preferred region of western Hudson Bay, looping up and down on sea ice northeast of Churchill, Manitoba, as they hunt seals. We hope it has been a successful spring for this little family and that they have grown very fat by gorging themselves on seal blubber. Polar bears are exceptionally efficient at converting the blubber they eat into body fat — a good thing, because they will spend the upcoming summer months on land, living largely off the fat they gained during the spring.

Although they have not moved all over the bay, Ares and her yearling have travelled more than 3,100 km since the fall — a pretty massive distance considering their young ages!

Ares has some decisions to make soon about when and where to return to land. She will want to maximize her energy stores, so her choice will depend on ice conditions and her distance from shore. Swimming is not ideal with a yearling, but yearlings are more capable swimmers than cubs-of-the-year, giving Ares more options than she had last year.

Only time will tell what she decides to do, but we will be here to follow her tracks. We wish this young family a happy and productive few months ahead!

X33653 - AAC Bear - Arctic Ambassador

Eleven-year-old Arctic Ambassador and her two yearlings continue to zigzag within a relatively small region of western Hudson Bay. This family remains north of Churchill, in an area where seal pupping occurs throughout the spring. Hopefully, Arctic Ambassador and her offspring have been gorging themselves and gaining plenty of weight in anticipation of a long summer on land. To date, this trio has travelled more than 2,800 km since last fall.

Recent movements have this family heading farther south toward Churchill, but time will tell whether they continue on this path or make one more sweep north before the sea ice melts completely for the summer. This mom will need to balance the energy required to return to shore with the calories she could still gain by remaining on the ice a little longer. The yearlings should be somewhat helpful in hunting seals by now, learning to sneak and stalk and wait patiently in hopes of securing a blubbery meal.

We hope that Arctic Ambassador and her yearlings are fat, happy, and ready for a restful summer waiting for the sea ice to freeze again this fall!

X33991 - Frontiers North Adventures - Hope

This incredible six-year-old mom remains on the move with her two yearlings: one biological and one adopted. This family has racked up more than 3,700 km since late October, travelling all the way to the middle of Hudson Bay before returning to spend most of the spring in the western part of the bay. Young Hope has been zigzagging north and south, hunting seals during peak pupping season and hopefully helping the entire family gain as much weight as possible.

Her adopted cub would not have been able to travel, hunt, or eat like this without Hope's support. We hope it is soaking up all the lessons it can and learning how to be a polar bear with its new mom’s help.

This family will come ashore in the next few weeks to spend the ice-free summer on land. Until then, they will be packing on their final pounds before a long fast and navigating their way back to the coast ahead of a more restful few months.

We wish this young family the very best and hope we can spot them again this summer or fall to see how they are all faring together!

X34147 - Katjes - Vicky

Vicky is a focused mama! After travelling most of the way across Hudson Bay until about February this year, she has steadily worked her way back to western Hudson Bay with very little back-and-forth movement. She and her yearling are currently just off the coast of northern Manitoba, reducing the need for a long swim as the sea ice breaks up for the summer.

This family has travelled more than 2,600 km since last fall, hunting seals along the way and hopefully getting very fat. With less than a year left before independence, this yearling should be learning how to navigate the ice, find seals, and stay safe.

Hopefully, they have had a successful season of hyperphagia — eating as much as possible to gain plenty of weight before spending many months of summer and fall on land while living off those spring fat reserves.

At 15, Vicky has a wealth of experience and, hopefully, many years ahead of her. We look forward to continuing to follow her journey!

X32465 - Ursula

Ursula is still a true western Hudson Bay polar bear! This 22-year-old is an experienced mom with one yearling, sticking to the areas where she knows seals are plentiful. This family has travelled more than 2,600 km since the fall, spending the last several months off the coast of Churchill and never straying too far from Manitoba.

There is good hunting where this family is currently located, so this yearling must be gorging on blubber while soaking up as many lessons as possible during its final year with mom.

We hope this family returns to land fat and happy, ready to rest for a few months during the ice-free season. They are still close to the coast, so they should not need to travel far when the time comes — a wise strategy for conserving energy!

X33311 - Canada Goose - Siku

It has been incredible to follow Siku's journey since she left her den, hopefully with one or two new cubs!

This 21-year-old returned to the sea ice after roughly eight months of fasting. She left the sea ice last summer, entered a den in the fall, gave birth to and nursed cubs throughout the winter, and finally returned to the ice this spring. What a journey!

By late March, Siku must have been more than ready to return to the ice and start gorging on seal blubber to regain weight while teaching her babies how to be polar bears. Her cubs will still be nursing heavily, consuming rich, fatty milk to fuel rapid growth. However, they will also begin investigating and sampling blubber and blood whenever their mother catches a much-deserved meal.

Wisely, Siku has stayed relatively close to shore. Her tiny cubs have limitations and will want to avoid long swims as the sea ice breaks up. We will likely see them head to land soon, but no doubt Siku will be eating as much as possible in anticipation of another long period of fasting on land.

We hope to receive an update on her and any cubs this fall!

X33532 - Natural Exposures - Portia

This 14-year-old likely had an eventful spring. After weaning her two offspring, Portia would have been ready to mate over the past several months. Her feet would have released pheromones, leaving a scent trail across the fragmented sea ice to help males locate her.

When a male and female meet, the male will often attempt to keep her away from competitors, sometimes herding her into an area he can defend. The pair will spend a week or more together, mating multiple times.

Polar bears are induced ovulators, meaning that eggs are not released until mating occurs. This helps prevent eggs from being released when no potential mate is nearby. A female may mate with more than one male during the same breeding season. However, if another male arrives while she is already with a suitor, the males may fight for access to her and can seriously injure one another.

This helps explain why males are so much larger than females: size matters. The biggest males often have the greatest reproductive success and are more likely to pass on their genes.

If a zygote is formed after mating, it will not implant immediately. This process, known as delayed implantation, means the female is not technically pregnant just yet. Only after the summer, if she remains healthy and maintains sufficient body condition, will implantation occur and fetal development begin. If implantation does not occur, she will have another opportunity to breed the following year.

During this stage of life, females gain substantial amounts of weight — often hundreds of pounds — in preparation for the long fasting period ahead on land and in the den while giving birth to and nursing babies. We hope Portia is packing on the pounds in anticipation of a successful pregnancy!

X19939 - Opus - Aurora

Twenty-two-year-old Aurora likely weaned her offspring this spring and finally enjoyed a little time to herself — but probably not for long. Although she is getting older, she may still have another litter in her future.

Aurora likely mated this spring after being tracked down by one or more suitors on the sea ice, guided by the pheromones she leaves behind. Having been through this process before, she will not be surprised by the attention. Instead, her focus will be on hunting seals and gaining as much weight as possible to support herself and a potential pregnancy over the next eight months.

Right now, Aurora is just off the west coast of Hudson Bay, well north of Churchill. It will be interesting to see when she begins moving south and where she ultimately comes ashore. Ideally, she will be able to remain on the ice for another week or two, squeezing in a few extra meals before returning to land.

To successfully support a pregnancy, she will need to enter the fall with substantial fat reserves, so right now, fatter is definitely better. If she remains healthy enough, she will enter a den this fall and conserve energy all winter while giving birth to and nursing a new cub (or two, or three). She will not see the sea ice again until next March – a long time to wait for a decent meal!

Best wishes to this very experienced mom as she begins another chapter.

X33570 - Explore.org - Betty White

Fan favourite, 14-year-old Betty White, has hopefully had an eventful spring. After weaning her two two-year-olds, she would have been leaving scent-filled footprints across the sea ice in hopes of attracting a suitor or two. Betty White likely mated sometime over the past few months, spending a week or more with a male to ensure ovulation occurred and for him to increase the likelihood that he would be the father of her cubs.

Now, Betty White will be focused on hunting, eating, and getting as fat as possible so she can sustain a potential pregnancy through the fall and winter ahead. Conserving energy may be challenging for this adventurous bear, who is in the prime of her life and loves to travel.

At the moment, however, she is playing it smart by staying near the west coast of the bay, not far from Arviat. She will likely begin moving south toward Churchill and Wapusk National Park before eventually stepping back onto land.

Until then, she will be making the most of every hunting opportunity, trying to add hundreds of pounds before the long fasting season begins.

Best of luck to this fascinating female. We look forward to seeing what she does next!

Svalbard, Barents Sea, Norway

The polar bears of the Barents Sea live in the Divergent Ice Ecoregion, where ocean currents continually carry ice offshore as it forms. These bears use two different strategies to find food.

Coastal bears stay on and around Svalbard and hunt seals close to shore. These 250 or so bears have among the smallest home ranges of any polar bears. They feed primarily on ringed seals on landfast ice (ice that is “fastened” to the coast) and glacial ice in fjords.

Pelagic bears head out onto the ice pack, travelling out to sea with it and wandering large distances in search of food. They hunt over a wider area (almost 400,000 square km) and for longer periods. This is because food is more dispersed on the sea ice than in coastal areas.

Each spring, a number of female polar bears are fitted with GPS collars by the Norwegian Polar Institute. On our brand-new Barents Sea Polar Bear Tracker, you can follow both types of polar bear as they raise cubs.

N26479 - Ettra

This 19-year-old female was last seen by researchers this spring, travelling alone but followed by a male. This suggests that she likely mated this spring and will now be focused on gaining enough weight to support a pregnancy through the summer, fall, and winter. If all goes well, she will enter a den, give birth to one to three cubs, and nurse them through the early stages of life.

Fortunately, she may still have opportunities to catch some tasty seal meals this summer. Ettra is a pelagic Svalbard bear from the Barents Sea population, a region characterized by divergent sea ice. In summer, the sea ice pulls away from the coastlines, while in winter it reforms and extends back toward shore. The pelagic bears, including N26479, choose to follow the retreating ice edge throughout the summer, remaining on the sea ice as much as possible to hunt seals. Although hunting is generally less productive than in spring, these bears can ideally offset the additional energy spent travelling with the chance to catch food during the warmer months. Approximately 800 bears in the Barents Sea population are classified as pelagic Svalbard bears.

Ettra will likely continue riding the sea ice for several months, feeding whenever opportunities arise. By fall, however, she will need to be near a suitable denning area — most likely on land in a mountain or fjord region, though she may also choose to den on the sea ice itself.

Since being tracked, she has travelled an impressive 650 km, demonstrating that she is truly a remarkable traveller. We are excited to see where she ends up later this year as she follows the ice edge far from the archipelago, and hope she is able to maintain the body condition needed for a successful pregnancy and denning season.

N26278 - Tuva

This 11-year-old female was last spotted in good condition on the southeast coast of Svalbard. She is one of approximately 300 coastal polar bears that make up the Svalbard portion of the Barents Sea population. Coastal bears are those that rarely stray far from the islands, relying primarily on fjords and landfast ice for hunting and foraging all year long. They have some of the smallest home ranges of any polar bears, and N26278 is a great example, having moved only about 20 km since we began tracking her.

Unlike pelagic bears that follow drifting sea ice, these coastal bears have adapted to spend less energy on long-distance movements. Instead, they remain close to home, hunting ringed seals on landfast ice and in fjords, and occasionally supplementing their diet with bird eggs or even reindeer during the summer months.

At this point, we do not know much about N26278 or whether she has any cubs, but we hope to learn more as the year progresses. At 11, she is in the prime of her adult life — old enough to have gained valuable experience and potentially raised several litters, yet young enough to retain the strength and energy needed for raising more cubs, hunting successfully, and continuing her travels, even if those journeys do not take her very far from home.

We look forward to learning more about this remarkable bear and following her movements through Svalbard’s fjords in the months ahead.