Adorable polar bear cubs seen emerging from Arctic dens. See first-of-its-kind video
After nearly a decade of trying to learn details about polar bears' denning habits in the Arctic, researchers have captured cubs emerging from dens on video for the first time.
The footage was filmed in Svalbard, Norway, and published in a new study in the Journal of Wildlife Management on Feb. 27 — which is International Polar Bear Day, Polar Bears International said in a news release.
The video 'shines light on elusive polar bear reproduction' and 'marks the first combination of satellite tracking collars with remote camera traps to answer questions about polar bear denning, which is notoriously difficult to study as polar bear moms build their dens under the snow in remote areas,' the release said.
It shows a mother polar bear walking through the frozen landscape — then a cub pops up out of the den and slips and slides over the ice toward her. As the cub reaches its mom, another two emerge and make their way over to their mom and sibling.
One of the cubs then climbs onto mom's back to hitch a ride.
'It's a pretty special thing to see polar bear cubs emerge into this vast, white landscape that appears so inhospitable,' lead author Louise Archer told Live Science. Archer is a Polar Bears International postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
'In Svalbard, polar bears build their dens on the slopes of steep mountainous areas, and it's hard to imagine how cubs could find their feet in this severe terrain,' Archer told the outlet. 'Watching them sliding, tumbling, and even climbing up on their mother was truly remarkable.'
Photos and videos shared by Polar Bears International, the Norwegian Polar Institute and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance show the bears and their dens.
The denning period is the most vulnerable time in a polar bear's life — and less than 50% of cubs make it to adulthood, researchers said. Several factors negatively impact cub survival, including a warming Arctic and expanding industry.
'Polar bear mothers are having increasing difficulties reproducing due to climate-driven changes, and are likely to face further challenges with the expansion of the human footprint in the Arctic,' Archer said in the release.
The team's research into polar bear denning can help protect cubs and therefore the species as a whole, study authors said.
'Protecting denning habitats is essential for population health, and this study provides invaluable insights that will help guide protective management,' Megan Owen, vice president of wildlife conservation science at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, one of the organizations involved in the study, said in the release.
The study authors included Archer, BJ Kirschhoffer, Jon Aars, Danielle K. James, Katharina M. Miller, Nicholas W. Pilfold, Joanna Sulich and Owen.
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