Researcher Explains The One Big Problem Plaguing Polar Bears
Published 6:39 am, Thursday, November 14, 2013
Steven Amstrup spent 30 years studying polar bears in Alaska. His research is what put polar bears on the threatened species list.
Amstrup is now working with Polar Bears International in Manitoba, Canada to communicate the threat climate change poses to the polar bear population.
"I left a research career because I already knew the answer," Amstrup said. "Its now more important to inspire people to save them."
Last year Amstrup was awarded the Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation — a $100,000 award that has helped him communicate his research to a larger audience.
Amstrup now travels to the tundra on the west side of Hudson Bay during the fall, where he shoots live webcasts with other scientists and experts on climate change and its relationship to polar bears. He also gets some amazing pictures of the bears.
You can see some of the polar bears from this live webcam set up by the Tundra Buggy company.
To start the journey to the tundra, Amstrup first travels to Churchill, Manitoba: the northernmost town in the area. Most people have to fly in because it's so remote. From Churchill it's only about a 5-mile trip out into the tundra, but getting there isn't easy.
The tundra is a very harsh environment. It has a layer of permanently frozen ground and the growing season is only about 60 days. Temperatures average around negative 25 degrees during the winter. It's the perfect place for polar bears because under their skin they have a layer of fat about 4.5 inches thick that keeps them warm.
To get to this frozen environment that polar bears thrive in, you need a Tundra Buggy. A van swings through Churchill to pick up Amstrup, his team, and any visitors on the way to the Tundra Buggy launch port.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider