Photo: Elbert Bakker / Handcraft Creative
Kieran McIver installing Bear-dar near Eureka, Nunavut, Canada

Projects

We're researching, testing and deploying innovative solutions for polar bear conservation.

Science for Change

We work with partners in science, technology, and media on projects across the Arctic. With a focus on polar bear conservation, our ongoing research inspires action, adds to our understanding of polar bears, and brings hope to people who believe it’s not too late to make a difference.

Bear-dar installed on a building rooftop in Eureka, Nunavut, Canada, with the water in the background

Bear-dar: Early Detection Radar

Polar Bears International is collaborating with Spotter Global to create an early alert radar system that alerts communities and remote camps when a bear is approaching.

Kyle Garrett of Brigham Young University flying a drone.

Polar Bear Deterrents

What are the best ways to keep people and polar bears safe when their paths cross?

Polar bear Walking on Road Near Town of Churchill (Coexistence) - Daniel J. Cox

Polar Bear Safety

Being bear aware in polar bear country will help keep both polar bears and people safe. 

Polar bear and 2 coys huddled near a fence and oil drum in Churchill, Manitoba.

Waste Management

Properly managing waste can help reduce the smells and promise of food that attract polar bears into communities.

Polar Bear Sitting in Tundra Grasses in Summer in Churchill

Hudson Bay Population Study

We support long-term monitoring of these polar bears, among the most affected by climate change.

Polar Bear on a Rock Cliff in Svalbard - Tommy Simonsen

Barents Sea Population Study

We're supporting work to better understand these polar bears ranging between Norway and Russia.

Burr-on-Fur Crimp Tracking Device Prototype installed on polar bear fur - Erinn Hermsen

Burr-on-Fur

A smaller, lighter polar bear tracker opens up new possibilities.

Solar panels used in maternal den study, Svalbard, Norway

Den Emergence Study

This collaborative maternal den study is the first to combine satellite tracking collars with remote camera traps, offering a unique look at polar bear denning behaviour in the Arctic.

Polar bear with 2 cubs lying in snow

Building a Polar Bear Pedigree

A detailed polar bear family tree tells us how genes flow and how genetic diversity may contribute to the species’ long-term survival. 

Indigenous Knowledge in Churchill Research Participants (Kt's Study) - Horizontal Hero - Kt Miller

Indigenous Knowledge in Churchill

A storywork research project explores the distant past, past, present, and future visions of human-polar bear coexistence with Swampy Cree, Sayisi Dene, Métis, and Caribou Inuit Elders and Knowledge Keepers.

BJ Kirschhoffer and Jeff Stacey, a graduate student from Simon Fraser University, load the SAR unit into the helicopter for testing in Svalbard - Kt Miller

Den Detection Tools

Our team is researching whether synthetic aperture radar, attached to an aircraft, can be used to find polar bear dens hidden under the snow.

Close-up of Polar Bear Walking from above

Safe and Responsible Polar Bear Tourism

We're working to ensure that polar bears aren’t disturbed in a biologically meaningful way and that people and bears remain safe.

Male polar bear with long foreleg guard hairs walking on ice.

Polar Bear Attacks and Causes

Understanding the causes of polar bear attacks on people is critical to ensuring both human safety and polar bear conservation.

Polar bear tracks near the village of Barrow, Alaska.

Iñupiaq Knowledge of Polar Bears

A map-based, story-telling approach integrating Iñupiaq and conventional scientific knowledge about changes to polar bears and their habitat.

Several Sets of Polar Moms and Cubs on a Hillside on Wrangel Island - Babiy Ulyana / Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve

Wrangel Island Polar Bear Study

This collaborative study is now on pause due to the war in Ukraine.

Research

We focus on projects with the greatest impact on polar bear conservation.

Human-Polar Bear Coexistence

We work with partners on projects related to conflict-reduction, with a goal of helping polar bears and people live safely with each other.