Ilya Mordvintsev, a senior researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution at  the Russian Academy of Sciences, speaks about global warming and its influence, research and new data on the life of polar bears.

– The number of polar bears is decreasing. Why do researchers think so?

– Researchers assess the polar bear’s habitat, sea ice, which in recent decades has shrunk dramatically to its smallest extent in the entire history of satellite observations. All this allows experts to conclude that polar bears are losing most of their habitat, which cannot but affect the number of these animals. Therefore, the researchers concluded that some populations remain in a balanced state, while others are on the decline. There is no increase in any population of polar bears in the world.

– How do you track the number of polar bears?

– It is impossible to track, but you can estimate it at a certain point in time. But unfortunately, this is a very difficult task, which requires a great amount of work and funds.

There are numbers from the Soviet era. For example, the Chukchi-Alaska population was roughly calculated by the number of maternity dens on Wrangel Island in the 1990s.

In 2016, there was an attempt to estimate this population using aerial surveys. The US conducted the survey on its part of the Chukchi Sea, and Russia did the same on its part. However, the results are still being discussed.

It is quite difficult to count bears in such a large area. It is necessary to fly around the entire Chukchi Sea at a time when the animals are within the access zone of the plane. At this moment, some of them may even be in the Arctic Ocean.

– What could help increase the number of bears?

– Ideal habitat conditions. The shrinking ice cover leads some polar bears to remain on the islands of the Arctic Basin or go to the coast. Some of them die due to their inability to find food there.

The adult bears have already adapted. They eat eggs, chicks and waterfowl, hunt seals and even feed on vegetation, somehow maintaining their energy balance in the summer until the ice forms.

Young animals, two or three years old, which have recently left their mother, have not yet adapted to the new conditions.

– Are there new data on the life of polar bears?

– The species has been studied for a long time, but there are a lot of insufficiently researched areas. For example, we believed that animals that stay on islands in the summer live there. But in fact that is not true. After exploring the territory and finding some food, bears can swim to another island which is 100–200 km away.

Although scientific facts (blood tests, studies of the general condition of the predator and its range) are very important, it is very interesting to observe the behaviour of this magnificent animal, for example, the behaviour of females and cubs in different age groups. To study how they behave after leaving the den, when the cubs are very small, and how the cubs mature and become more independent.

– How should a person living in a “bear region” behave?

– You should not leave food out or feed polar bears.

If you encounter this animal, do not scream, panic or run. First stop, and then slowly move away from it.

The polar bear is not an aggressive species. It is a predator, but a very cautious one that values its life and will never take actions that may cause it harm.

Three categories of bears are dangerous. First of all, famished animals. A hungry bear can be a threat, as it may kill people for food. The second group is young males, which are more curious. They go to a person out of interest, but a wrong move can cause aggression. The third category is females protecting their cubs. If you find yourself between a female and cubs, the mother will be aggressive.

– How can people help bears adapt to new environmental conditions?

– If a person knows what a polar bear is and behaves the right way towards it, then this will be a great help to the animal.

The second point is putting a stop to poaching.

This is not the first time that bears are experiencing global warming and reduced ice cover, but at that time there were no people in the Arctic. Here we can conclude that we should treat this species more carefully.

We cannot influence global warming, but we can influence changes in the environment by our behaviour in the Arctic, for example, by reducing water pollution.

The president proposed and approved a state programme for cleaning up the Arctic. As a result of this programme, four islands of Franz Josef Land have already been cleared [of rubbish]. Work is currently underway in the northern part of Novaya Zemlya, at Russian Arctic National Park, and so on. This is also a contribution.

Interview by Alyona Davydova