567 



during the next few years while research on the status of the polar bear 

 progresses. 



The Soviet Union is highly critical of the airplane hunting methods em- 

 ployed in Alaska. Dr. Uspensky i>ointed out during the meeting that the U.S.S.R. 

 had banned all hunting of polar bear in 1956 because their scientists had con- 

 cluded that the animal was endangered and drastic action was required to 

 preserve the species. He noted that these efforts have been offset by increased 

 hunting out of Alaska on the east and out of Spitzbergen (Norway) on the 

 west of the Soviet Arctic. Since the major known denning areas for the pro- 

 duction of polar bears moving into these waters are in the Soviet Arctic, it is 

 not surprising that the Soviet scientists are apprehensive. Why should the 

 U.S.S.R. provide complete protection for the polar bear. Uspensky said, if they 

 are only producing a larger crop for neighboring nations that allow airplane 

 hunting for trophy, in the case of Alaska ; and. in the case of Norway, trophy 

 hunting by boat as well as set-gun hunting by wintering trappers in Spitzbergen? 

 (A set-gun is a baited box rigged with a gun which discharges when the polar 

 bear sticks his head in to investigate.) 



It is not diflBcult to comprehend why the Soviet scientists are concerned ; and 

 herein lies the reason why preservation of the i)olar bear is an international 

 problem. Canada also realizes that polar bears from its western Arctic are 

 al.so migrating into northern Ala.ska waters to be cropped by American sports- 

 men, and it is not surprising under the circumstances that the Northwest ter- 

 ritorial government has opted for their own program of trophy hunting. Obvi- 

 ously, no one nation can handle the situation alone. 



THE FUTURE OF THE POLAR BEAR 



There was unanimous agreement that the group should continue its efforts 

 and that additional research was needed in order to clarify the exact status 

 of the species. That this could be accomplished only through international col- 

 laboration was also accepted by all of the delegates. Among the technical mat- 

 ters di.scus.sed requiring international cooperation during the next two years 

 were tagging programs, radio telemetry and the u.se of satellite (infrared heat- 

 sensing) devices to monitor polar bear migrations. Because existing national 

 tagging programs do not meet requirements of all five countries, a committee 

 was established to develop an international program which can agree upon 

 materials, designs, languages and other matters that facilitate exchange of 

 data among the countries. For example, the committee will examine the pos- 

 sibility of using a common international tag under lUCN coordination. 



It was agreed that work on long-range telemetry and heat-sensing devices 

 conducted by the separate nations should be made known to all delegates as 

 soon as jwssible. On the recommendation of Dr. Uspensky, it was unanimously 

 agreed that the terms of references for the Polar Bear Group should be modi- 

 fied by the addition of a statement clearly identifying that the conservation of 

 the polar bear is an international circumpolar problem which must be con- 

 ducted for peaceful purposes only. 



Agreement was reached on a number of specific areas for research collabora- 

 tion. These included: (1) collect of fat .samples for pesticides determinations 

 and food habits studies; (2) a comprehensive study by Canada, with assistance 

 from all other Arctic countries, to develop an ecological model of i>olar bear 

 dynamics, including ice movements, seal distribution and abundance, and other 

 factors influencing polar bear numbers and movements; (3) continued .study of 

 blood samples (Norway) and age-determination studies (Alaska) which may 

 lead to greater understanding of the discreteness of iwpulations ; (4) exchange 

 of information between specialists in Canada and the U.S.S.R. on the taxonomy 

 of the polar bear; (5) continuing international collaboration on tagging pro- 

 grams aimed at better understanding of migration patterns; (6) additional sur- 

 veys to locate new denning areas throughout the Arctic and to determine the 

 productivity of the species throughout its northern range (.studies are especially 

 needed in Greenland and Canada) ; and (7) other collaborative efforts aimed at 

 reaching a scientific agreement on the total population of the polar bear and 

 the vital question of what additional international efforts may be required to 

 preserve the species from extinction. It was also revealed at the meeting that 

 the lUCN's Ecology Commission planned to establish a committee on Arctic 

 habitats, and it was agreed that the polar bear group should coordinate its work 

 with this committee. The group concluded that it is meaningless to try to pre- 

 serve the polar bear without adequate understanding of what is happening to 

 the total Arctic environment. 



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