Biologists of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the Russian Academy of Sciences together with Russian Arctic National Park, the WWF Russia Barents Office and the Arctic Interregional Expedition Centre have monitored the distribution of sea mammals – walruses, white whales and seals - from a helicopter along the western coast of Yamal and in the Gulf of Ob near the village of Sabetta.

The expedition was held as part of a project to monitor the Kara and Barents seas population of the polar bear in view of the changing climate conditions and the growing human impact on the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area. The project has been under way since 2016 and is aimed at in-depth research of the polar bear species, ensuring people’s safety in the area and conserving the wildlife.

The aerial surveys were conducted from an Mi-8T helicopter of Yamal Airlines. The flights covered the length of nearly 2,000 kilometres on the route chosen with due consideration of the ice and weather conditions.