549 



Ff/rraer durtrihution: '"The jkAslt bears range has tiDomn eigDSi ol eignificant 

 contractiCfn since the lif^fa at least." (2 :5> 



Htatui: •"Generally, it seems that Alaska. Canada, an<l perhaps Norway po g s c gg 

 the healthiest' white bear pr/f/ulations. Si^ififstnt deplKion.-. attrihated to orer- 

 hunting have ocr-urred in Greenland and the Soviet Arctic since aboat the lJ*3(yg. 

 Still, environmental and ecological conditions may exert an unknown but power- 

 ful influence where .such depletions take place. Sp5rci'.s figures cleariy indicate 

 a decline in polar bear stock which is most pronounced in the western and south- 

 eastern coasts of Greenland-*' <2:10> As a result of protective measures tak€fn 

 by the Soviet authorities, the l^ear population has remained stable since 1960 

 and may have increa.sed .slightly. <.^ :318/ 



Estimated numbern: Uspensfey estimates the total woiid population to be about 

 5.000 to 10,000. (.3:.319, Harington con.«iders the total to be "well over lO/XXT, 

 including 6,000-7.000 in the Canadian Arr-tic. "Probably the total annual kill 

 of ijolar bears now approximates 1 ..300." < 2 :10) 



Breeding rate in vrild: Denning c-ommences about October and the young are 

 bom in late November or early December. Twin births are asuaL "Mating u.sually 

 oc-curs in April . . . The gestation period averages about eij^t months, and al- 

 though there is no .scientific proof of delayed impAantatioo in pcdar beans, there is 

 good rea.son to believe that it exLsts . . . Females become sexually mature wImo 

 they are approximately three years old, males when they are four. Adult females 

 bring forth cubs the third winter after a previous birth, or .sooner if her eui>8 die 

 or are lost. This ac-counts for the rather slow rate at whifA dep> • rmlati/jiM 



may revive. It has l^een estimated that white bears remain fert. _'■ years of 



age." ^2:7-8) 



Reasons for decline: "Intensive hunting of polar bears began in the early 17th 

 century when ships started piercing the core of their range. . . . When the seal- 

 ing indu-'itry l^egan to replar-e the impoverished whaling industry, a more deadly 

 pre*vsure was exerted on the ice bears, particularly in the waters east of Spitz- 

 bergen and Franz .Josef Land, the Greenland Sea and the Canadian Eastern 

 Arctic. In lf:»24 Norwegian seal hunters alone killed 714 polar bears. The latCT-- 

 develojMng fur trade was an additional .stimulus to exploitation of tMs natural 

 resourc-e." <2:.>» U.spen.sky .states that the range of the s; is been reduced, 



probably as a result of the on.set of milder climatic c- .s in the Arc-tic. 



Moreover, numbers of humans and domestic livestoc-k in the Arctic have in- 

 crea.sed in recent years and this has resulted in a higher incidence of dlsea.se. (5) 



Protective meafiuresi already taken: "In Cajm^ia.. only Eskimos. Indians and the 

 few holders* of general hunting licences may legally hunt" the species. In >Iani- 

 toba. Ontario. Quel^ec and the Northwest Territories .sportsmen are not permitted 

 to hunt them. On the northeast coast of Greenland hunting is prohibited between 

 June l.st and October Slst. In the Norwegian Arctic the .species Ls protected on 

 King Karls Land and in adjacent territorial waters, and there are limitations on 

 c-apture of cubs. "OtherwLse polar bears can be hunted throughout the year, in 

 any part of the archipelago. There is a bag limit of one bear each to foreigners 

 hunting in the Norwegian Arctic." ""The Canadian Wildlife Service initiated a 

 five-year polar Ijear project in 1961. The objectives are to review the effectiveneas 

 of protective legislation and to integrate, verify and add to the sc-artered and 

 often fragmentary information existing on polar bean*." In the Soviet Union 

 S. M. U-spensky is currently undertaking a study of the animal on Wrangel Ls.land- 

 (2:9-11) "In 1956 the Russian parliament adopted a .special decree . . . which 

 imposed a ban on .shooting polar bears in the Soviet Union. . . . This law was 

 introduced following the recommendation of the 1955 t lUCN » General AJisembly 

 that the Arctic countries should take mea.sures to protect the polar bear." Cubs 

 may not be caught in the Soviet Arctic eic-ept under special licence. In 196Q a 

 reserve was established on Wrangel Island, one of the most important denning 

 areas in the Soviet Arctic. < 3 :318 1 



MenJ-urcii frropfj^ed: "'There Ls a definite need for an internationally coordi- 

 nated programme of marking polar bears, once an effective techniqtie is developed. 

 This woufd indicate how much of an international problem pc^r bear manage- 

 ment iSu . . . Appropriate international meetings on polar bear c-onservation 

 should be initiated when and if the evidenc-e shows them to be necessary. Mean- 

 while, until we know enough about numhiers and movements to begin really en- 

 lightened management programmes, each nation concerned should make every 

 effort to protect adequately this valuable and impressive wildlife species." ( 2 :11 » 

 An international agreement restricting the hunting of polar bears is urgently 

 required as well as adequate local restrictions. (.5> 



yumlter in captivity: The jjolar bear is one of the most commonly exhibited 

 bears in captivity, few of even the minor zoos not showing it. I would say that 

 there are no less than LOOO ( mainly of the nominate race • in zoos, perhaps even 



