A regular spring expedition was held in early April to study polar bears on the Medvezhyi Islands (Bear Islands). It included researchers from the Medvezhyi Islands Marine Nature Sanctuary and representatives of Yakutia’s Directorate of Biological Resources and Special Protected Natural Areas and the Tigrus Project.

The scientists logged maternity lairs, adult bears and cubs, and assessed the standards of protection of these endangered animals from poachers.

They used five snowmobiles to visit five islands of the archipelago, where they recorded at least six maternity lairs. The experts believe that some 30 polar bears were living on the archipelago during their expedition.

“This is the 15th expedition we have held since 2007. Over this period of time, we have carried out many projects, compiled a list of maternity lairs in the Nizhnekolymsky and Allaikhovsky districts and arranged them by year. Spring is the best time for determining the bears’ reproductive success based on the number of cubs a female bear had and the cubs’ physical condition,” said Viktor Nikiforov, director for nature conservation at the Tigrus Project.

Yakutia’s Minister of Ecology Sakhamin Afanasyev pointed out that the annual monitoring of polar bears was especially important in light of global warming. Warm winters are changing the duration of the period when female bears build maternity lairs and are increasing the risk of their melting, which can affect the survival of the cubs.