Polar bear encounters with humans are on the rise, as suggested by documents from the Manitoba government in Canada. In fact, encounters on the Hudson Bay shores may have reached a record high. As a result, more polar bears are ending up in specialized lockups in Churchill.
In 2013, there were 229 documented polar bear cases in Churchill. The numbers jumped to 351 cases in 2015, Manitoba Conservation regional wildlife manager Daryll Hedman said it was a high number for occurrences.
Commonly known as the "polar bear jail," the holding facility is where polar bears are locked and tranquilized before its re-entry into the wild. In 2013, there were 36 bears in custody. In 2015, the inmate population jumped to 65.
Patrol officers from the Manitoba Conservation increased their activities already but Hedman and other specialists said climate change has a lot to do with the increased polar bear encounters.
Two-thirds of the entire polar bear population call Canada its home. Unfortunately, due to the effects of climate change, the polar bear population in Hudson Bay could be extinct in the next several decades.
Hunting during the winter months is important for the polar bears. They use this time to stock up on fatty seal meat to help them make it through the summer months when they suffer food scarcity on land.
Recently, there has been delay in the yearly freezing in the Arctic waters. Additionally, the ice melt faster during spring. These shrink the polar bears' window to stock up on the seal meat they need for fat build-up.
Since fatty meat is scarce in dry land, hungry polar bears on land tend to venture in human towns for food. Normally, polar bear encounters happen around late August. Hedman said that lately, polar bear encounters are documented as early as the first of July.
"What's the tipping point? What's the threshold that they can go without food? When they're on land, they're not eating." added Hedman. It's a question of how long these polar bears can go on without hunting seals on the sea ice.
University of Alberta's polar bear expert Andrew Derocher said that as polar bear spend more time on dry land without food, the chances of venture into populated areas increases.
"Hungry bears are always going to be a problem. All projections are that they will increase their on-land time," said Derocher.
Photo: Anita Ritenour | Flickr
