552 



It quickly became necessary to consider the application of conservation prac- 

 tices directed to assuring the future of the species. Information basic to the 

 achievement of this objective, however, was not available. For example, the 

 size and structure of the population were unknown. So were the extent of the 

 animals' travels, their use of food materials, and the duration of their reproduc- 

 tive life. These shortcomings in basic information emphasized the need for an 

 increased effort in pertinent research. 



KESEABCH ACTIVITY 



Objectives: 



1. Ascertainment of the number of polar l>ears using American waters; 



2. Age and sex composition of this population ; 



3. Extent and pattern of travels ; 



4. Population productivity ; 



5. Extent of denning by pregnant sow« on 'the American Arctic ice pack 

 and along the Alaskan coast ; 



6. Develop aerial methods for enumerating the population. 



Methods: In general, standardized methods are used in pursuing the research 

 objectives. These include the immobilization of the bears with an appropriate 

 drug so that they may be handled for marking, weighing, and extraction of one 

 of the vestigial premolar teeth. The marking, of course, individualizes an animal, 

 and the tooth is used to ascertain age. 



Infra-red scanning equipment was tested for utility for aerial censusing. This 

 is a new development, which seems to offer some promise, but which also is 

 expensive. 



PROGRESS 



Early work: In recognition of the need for reliable information upon which 

 to base a management prt^ram, personnel of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and 

 Wildlife published in 1959 (Trans. 24th North American Wildlife Conference) 

 a preliminary study concerning tJie status and management of the polar bear. 

 This study showed the known bag of this species for Alaska, whose territorial 

 waters encompass the American segment of the circumpolar range of the species, 

 to be 206 bears in 1957 and 128 for 1958. It also stressed the need for legislation 

 providing for the control of American nationals (polar bear hunters) on the 

 high seas. 



Later, in 1965. the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife convened the 

 first international meeting devoted to polar bear conservation. Represented at 

 this meeting, held at Fairbanks, Alaska, was a delegation from each of the 

 nations fronting on the north polar basin, namely, Canada, Denmark, Norway 

 and the Soviet Union besides the United States. 



Based upon the combined effort of this Bureau and the State of Alaska, 

 it now was possible to increase the definitiveness of information concerning 

 this species. It was shown that this bear does not regularly come ashore in 

 Alaska, which precludes regular denning and foraging in this land; that this 

 species no longer occurred on St. Matthew Island as it did in 1800; that the 

 bag of 1965 of 292 bears contributed about $450,000 to Alaskan economy ; that 

 the bag from 1960 to 1965 averaged about 75 percent males ; that the average 

 litter size in March and April since 1958 for cubs of-the-year was 1.86 in- 

 dividuals, and for cubs older than one year was 1.58 animals. 



With the engagement in December 1967 of a wildlife biologist intimately 

 acquainted with Alaskan conditions, this Bureau began its first specialized study 

 of the polar bear. This biologist and another from the Alaska Department of 

 Fish and Game work in a complementary manner, the Bureau biologist centering 

 his attention on the bears of the Chukchi Sea region off the west coast of Alaska, 

 and the Department of Fish and Game biologist centering his attention on the 

 bears of the Beaufort Sea region off the north coast of Alaska. Their work, it 

 should be noted, is being carried out cooperatively with wildlife biologists rep- 

 resenting Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the Soviet Union, which in turn is 

 being coordinated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and 

 Natural Resources headquartered at Morges, Switzerland. 



This group has found that the Arctic-wide harvest of polar bears is approxi- 

 mately 1,250 animals annually. In 1969, the harvest by nation included 128 by 

 Greenland (Denmark), 346 by Norway, 407 by Canada, 298 by the United States, 

 and a few by the Soviet Union for zoos or scientific study. The Soviet Union has 

 otherwise had a closed season on this species since 1956. The bag in Alaska is 



