The Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Arctic Development Centre conducted research on polar bears on Bely and Vilkitsky islands in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area. The expeditions to Yamal were sponsored by the Russian Centre for Arctic Development in 2019 and by Rosneft in 2018. 

In 2019, tracking collars were put on two female polar bears, one on Bely Island and the other on Vilkitsky Island. The collars will give scientists near real-time data on the polar bears’ migration speed and distance, and also on their preferred habitat and response to environmental changes.

In addition, zoologists took biological samples of the polar bears. The results of immunological, microbiological and DNA testing of all the biological samples will help determine the level and the composition of anthropogenic substances in the polar bears’ system and assess the health of the animals that were examined. This research is part of the comprehensive programme for supporting and protecting polar bears.