An Arctic Awakening

By Frederic Hoffmann, WWF volunteer
The WWF and Coca-Cola trip to Churchill, MB, this weekend marked the beginning of the Arctic Home Campaign, which has as objective to raise awareness on the polar bear’s current situation, slow the degeneration of the polar bear’s habitat, and thus ensure its survival. The fantastically diverse team was composed of both experts and rookies in polar bear conservation, and for many, such as myself, this marked northernmost spot ever visited!
It was truly a privilege for me, first year student at McGill University in Montreal, to take part in this trip and learn from world leading polar bear experts, while rubbing shoulders with industry leaders and taking part in fascinating discussions about the future of our planet, the campaign, and much more with these bright minds.
This, added to the majesty of the bears, the absolute, breath-taking beauty of the landscape, the rare sightings of Arctic foxes, and snowy owls, and the friendliness of local Churchillians made for an experience few will forget. However, it is what we realised as we were out there that struck even more.
This year, the ice that is so vital to polar bears has not yet formed on the Hudson Bay, and the bears are forced to wait longingly by the shores before being able to go out and hunt their much awaited seal blubber feast, which they should be enjoying now. Research conducted in Churchill recently pointed out that a full grown polar bear loses about a kilo a day when it is in this stage, and many of the ones we spotted belly-down in the snow showed clear signs of hunger, with none of the usual gut hanging from their long body. As bears are already forced to fast for most of the year (a time during which mothers also have to care for their young, who still depend on breast-feeding), more and more it becomes only the very strongest that survive, and the depletion of the population may soon become even more of a problem.

WWF’s Pete Ewins talks about Arctic sea ice (C) WWF-Canada/ Riannon John
This is why the WWF and Coca-Cola’s new joint efforts come at an important time. With Coca-Cola’s huge consumer base, and WWF great work in the Arctic and world renown this is an ideal opportunity for a rise in the public’s support, and a vital step in paving the road to a successful protection of polar bears, the tundra they live in, and the arctic as a whole.