Polar Bear | NWT Species at Risk

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

NWT List of Species at Risk:

Special Concern

NWT SARC Assessment:

Special Concern

Federal Species at Risk Act list:

Special Concern

COSEWIC Assessment:

Special Concern

NWT General Status Rank:

Sensitive

Description:

The polar bear is one of the most recognized symbols of Canada’s north. The world's largest land carnivore, a male polar bear can reach two to three metres in length and weigh between 300-800 kilograms. Adult females are smaller and can weigh between 150-400 kg.

Polar bears are adapted to hunting seals from the sea ice. These creamy-white bears have long necks ending in narrow heads. Their small eyes and ears, furry footpads and thick layer of fat under their skin help combat heat loss.

Distribution

Polar bears are found throughout the circumpolar north. The majority of bears live on the sea ice around Canada’s Arctic Islands. In North America, polar bears range from Labrador in the east to the Bering Sea in the west. They are found as far south as James Bay and as far north as the north pole.

Range map information

Population Size and Trends

The world population of polar bears has been estimated at 20,000-25,000 animals. Polar bears are divided into 19 ‘sub-population’ units for management, although bears do move between them. Canada has an estimated 15,000 polar bears. NWT shares three sub-populations, an estimated 3,000 bears, with neighbouring jurisdictions: Southern Beaufort Sea (about 1500 bears), Northern Beaufort Sea (about 1200 bears) and Viscount Melville Sound (about 200 bears). The Southern Beaufort Sea sub-population is likely declining and the Northern Beaufort Sea sub-population is likely stable. The status of the Viscount Melville Sound sub-population is considered “data deficient” because there is not enough recent information to make an evaluation.

Habitat

Polar bears are as comfortable on land as they are in water and are quite agile in either environment. Polar bears follow the ice. In spring, they can be found on the inhospitable land-fast ice and coastal pack ice where they prey primarily on ringed and bearded seals. Once the ice melts in summer, polar bears spend several months on land. Reproductively active females spend the winter in dens that they construct by digging into snowdrifts, usually on land but occasionally on the sea ice. Female polar bears may return to the same denning area every year. Males may also den but only during the harshest part of winter, usually in late January and February. Denning sites and spring feeding areas are important habitats for polar bears.

Biology

Female polar bears become sexually mature at age four to six while most males breed for the first time at age eight to ten. Females usually give birth to one or two cubs. Males take no part in raising the young. Cubs stay with their mother for two years. This prevents her from breeding more than once every three years.

Polar bears are truly carnivorous bears. Meat makes up the majority of their diet. Polar bears are solitary hunters and feed primarily on seals, as well as walrus, whales, fish, and birds.

Limiting Factors

Polar bears are limited by the availability of their prey, mainly seals. Sea ice is changing due to changing climate patterns and this is changing polar bears’ access to seals. In the short term, these changes may be positive for polar bears in some parts of the NWT but may be negative in others.

Non-renewable resource exploration and development that disturb bears in maternity dens can result in premature abandonment and increased chances of cub mortality. Environmental changes, such as a crude oil spill, could have a devastating effect on an entire sub-population.

Excessive hunting is also a limiting factor. Polar bears reproduce slowly and overhunting could severely deplete their numbers. However, harvest of polar bears in the NWT is well managed and maintained within sustainable levels through a quota system.

Protection

Polar bears were internationally protected in 1976 under the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears. This agreement requires governments of all signing nations to manage the bears according to “sound conservation practices” and to conduct research related to the conservation and management of polar bears.

The Inuvialuit have polar bear management agreements with the Inuit of Nunavut and the Inupiat of Alaska. Polar bear harvest is controlled by a strict quota system that limits the harvest of bears for subpopulations within or shared by the NWT and Nunavut. Outfitted hunts for non-residents are included in the quota system. These hunts play an important role in the economy of the region. The average polar bear hunt costs $15,000. About $10,000 remains in the local community. In addition to quotas, the hunting of denning bears or females with cubs is prohibited. To ensure that mainly male bears are harvested, the hunting season opens after the majority of females have denned for the winter. This two-pronged approach of quotas and encouraging male harvests helps maintain a healthy polar bear population in the NWT.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), any international shipment of polar bears or their parts requires a permit.

Recovery

In 2008, COSEWIC designated polar bears in Canada as Special Concern because of population declines in some Canadian sub-populations and concerns about the impact of climate change on sea ice. This status was re-examined and confirmed in 2018. Polar bears were listed as Special Concern in Canada under the federal Species at Risk Act in 2011. A national multi-jurisdiction Management Plan is being developed.

In 2012, the NWT Species at Risk Committee designated polar bears in the NWT as Special Concern because of concerns about the long-term impacts of climate change and other threats. In 2014, polar bears were listed as Special Concern in the NWT under the territorial Species at RIsk (NWT) Act. An Inuvialuit Settlement Region Polar Bear Joint Management Plan and a Framework for Action for Management of Polar Bears in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region have been completed and adopted (both documents displayed below). An 'implementation agreement' has also been signed. This document summarizes the actions NWT Management Authorities intend to undertake to implement the management plan and framework for action (document displayed below).

Area:

Inuvialuit