WWF Supports Successful Joint Polar Bear Survey Project in Sirmilik National Park, North Baffin Island

The helicopter-based aerial surveys aimed to upgrade the detection methods for polar bears in high topography coastlines and assess late summer bear use in the Park, by combining the expertise of local HTO members and polar bear scientists on a series of transects flown out of Pond Inlet. In total 62 bears were observed, in different coastal habitat types, in nearly 2,500 km of helicopter transect flights. These results and upgraded techniques will help increase the confidence in estimates of total polar bear numbers. Additionally the survey will aid Parks Canada in monitoring polar bears in future years and managing visitors in order to reduce bear-human conflicts.

“This is an excellent example of the collaborative approach to polar bear conservation that was called for at the January 2009 national Polar Bear Roundtable convened in Winnipeg by federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice”, said Peter Ewins, WWF-Canada’s Arctic species officer. “ WWF is proud to be able to support this kind of applied project at the community level, with local hunters and scientists working together to produce the very best possible information and wildlife survey techniques to inform future decisions around habitat and wildlife management and the threats to northern values.”

The lead HTO representative, Elijah Panipakoocho said, “I think that this polar bear survey was very useful for Inuit in general. I am very happy that the researchers did not have to handle or tranquilize the bears and am appreciative of Sirmilik National Park for ensuring that the polar bears were not being agitated. The pilot was instructed to fly at an altitude high enough to spot bears but not so low that the bears were being disturbed. The survey was very thorough involving 17 hrs of helicopter time and covered a large area including Sirmilik National Park and adjacent Inuit owned lands. My role as the local HTO representative was to provide traditional Inuit knowledge, to help in determining the age and sex of bears and to provide guidance on potential observation locations. Overall, I felt that this was the most accurate type of polar bear survey done to date. The survey will provide good data for the park and the community.”

“We were very pleased to work with WWF, local Inuit, researchers and the Government of Nunavut on this project. The polar bear survey is an excellent example of combining traditional Inuit knowledge with western science. Monitoring the number of polar bears using Sirmilik National Park and adjacent Inuit owned land during the ice-free period is part of the park’s long-term ecological monitoring program and will provide baseline information for assessing the status and trend of bear numbers,” said Carey Elverum, Park Manager, Sirmilik National Park. “In addition, the survey helped identify and confirm high polar bear concentration areas. This information in turn will be used by park staff to manage park visitors and researchers so that the potential for negative polar bear human encounters can be reduced.”

“The Government of Nunavut has a mandate to manage polar bear populations – to do so, we need accurate estimates of population size,” said Dr. Elizabeth Peacock, Government of Nunavut Polar Bear Biologist. “Developing an aerial survey technique will expand our tool box of methods we use to study polar bears. High topography complicates aerial surveys, and thus the opportunity to work in Sirmilik National Park assists us in researching and developing this technique, which is currently being tested in the low-lying lands of Foxe Basin in a Government of Nunavut – University of Minnesota collaborative project.”

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