Wildlife Promise » bears

Watch Polar Bears Live Online

David Mizejewski — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:00:39 +0000

I’m a pretty lucky guy. As National Wildlife Federation naturalist, I get to go on television to promote conservation, often with real wild animals. It’s a very cool job, and I love it. Today, however, I am even luckier.

Today, I got to see polar bears. Up close. In the wild. Holy wow!

An inquisitive female polar bear checks me out.

You see, I’m writing this from Churchill, Manitoba, on the banks of Hudson Bay. I was invited here by Polar Bears International to participate in the Tundra Connections® program. I’ll be moderating a series of webcasts this week all about polar bears, other tundra wildlife, their Arctic environment, and the impacts of climate change on these species.

Today was our first day out on the tundra. At this time of year, polar bears are gathering on the shores of the bay, waiting for the sea ice to form so they can go out and hunt seals, their primary source of food. This makes it one of the best places on the planet to see wild polar bears.

The bears did not disappoint. Within a few minutes of heading out on the Tundra Buggy® we spotted a female bear who wandered over to us and propped herself up on the tire for a closer look.

Shortly after that, we encountered two males sparring, a playful, wrestling behavior that helps males size each other up, reducing the likelihood of bloody and potentially fatal battles later when they’re competing for mates.

Two male polar bears sparring.

The good news is that you can be just as lucky as I was today. Through the Tundra Connections webcasts, you can see the polar bears in real time, just as I’m seeing them.

Not only that, you’ll also hear from and interact with polar bear expert Andy Deroscher from University of Alberta, snowy owl biologist Denver Holt of the Owl Research Institute, and climate change expert Kassie Siegel of the Center of Biological Diversity. You really don’t want to miss this.

Get the Tundra Connections webcast schedule here.

A lone polar bear patiently waits for the sea ice to form so it can hunt seals and break its months-long fast.

Three-Pawed Grizzly Bear Turns Heads, Beats Odds at Alaska’s Denali National Park

Miles Grant — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:42:49 +0000

Three-pawed grizzly bear at Alaska's Denali National Park (Courtesy National Park Service)

A three-pawed grizzly bear is getting some attention at Alaska’s Denali National Park – not just for his head-turning appearance, but for his ability to survive despite his handicap. Park wildlife biologist Pat Owen tells the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that staff have nicknamed the grizzly Tripawed:

The bear doesn’t seem to have any problem getting around on three feet, and the wound appears to have healed completely since Owen first saw the bear last July.

“He showed up two weeks ago along the (Parks) highway,” Owen said. “He’s been very visible. A lot of people have seen him already.”

One of the first people to see the bear this spring said the bear ran across the Parks Highway and jumped a guardrail. “They said he looked very agile,” Owen said. “I don’t think he has any trouble getting around.”

It’s a mystery as to how the bear lost its paw. Owen says the bear looks even healthier now than he did last summer, when staff feared for his survival:

Owen contacted bear biologists around the country and world to inquire about bears with missing limbs or parts of limbs and how they fare. “I found out they’re a lot more common than you’d think,” Owen said. “Pretty much everyone said they had experience with bears missing all or parts of limbs and they get along pretty well.” [...]

Last week, the bear claimed a dead caribou that park officials found along the highway near the park entrance a week earlier and dragged farther off the road.

“It took him the better part of a week but he finally showed up on that carcass,” Owen said. “He spent all last week camped out on that carcass, burying it, sleeping on it and eating on it.”

And what better sign of good health than sleeping on a caribou carcass, am I right?

In all seriousness, I’d have thought a three-legged grizzly would be a goner. But as National Wildlife Federation Senior Scientist Doug Inkley told me, “Given a chance, some animals are remarkable in their ability to survive injury.”

Did you know there’s a proposed mine that threatens the food supply of Alaskan grizzly bears? Learn more about the Pebble Mine proposal and how you can stop it.

From Yellowstone to Yosemite: My Top Ten Wildlife Encounters of 2011

Beth Pratt — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:58:13 +0000

As a child who grew up reading Ranger Rick and watching Wild Kingdom, I cherish any wildlife I encounter. I’ve been lucky enough to live in Yellowstone, where I viewed charismatic mega-fauna on a daily basis, and now live near Yosemite, where the critters aren’t as big but still really cool, but I also love seeing the tiny tadpoles swim in my backyard frog pond. This year has been filled with wonderful encounters, so as a way of saying Happy New Year, I share with you my 2011 top ten wildlife moments.

1. The remarkable life of Yellowstone wolf 495M: A friend of mine sponsored a radio collar in my name for 495M. When I lived in Yellowstone, I followed his adventures as the alpha male of Mollie’s Pack. He died this year, but had a remarkable life and got to live and die like a true wolf. Read the full story here >>

495M while tranquilized for research (Photo: Yellowstone Wolf Project)

2. Zisa, the late bison calf in Yellowstone: Most bison give birth in late April through May, but this little guy came into the world in late fall—and faced many challenges in surviving the winter so young. He hung out near my home in Yellowstone and we all rooted for him and named him Zisa, the Lakota word for orange. Against all odds he survived the winter, but once he changed color to the traditional brown he was tough to track. NWF is working to restore bison to the Great Plains of Montana-read more about this great project.

Late bison calf "Zisa" in Yellowstone (photo by Beth Pratt)

3. Pika running over my foot: On a hike to Gaylor Lakes in Yosemite, I was standing at the shore of the lake and suddenly felt something scurry over my boot. I looked down and to my delight saw a pika hurrying away over the rocks. Very cool!

The pika who ran over my foot poses for a photo. (Photo by Beth Pratt)

4. Two bald eagles in one day: I had never seen a bald eagle in the Sierra. So imagine my surprise when I encountered two in one day this winter—one perched along the bank of the Merced River and the other soaring over Tioga Pass in Yosemite.

Two bald eagles in one day in the Sierra (photo by Beth Pratt)

5. Dancing penguins on Hollywood Blvd: Although Hollywood is known for its ‘anything goes attitude,’ it’s not often you see penguins dancing in the streets. During the premiere of Happy Feet 2, I had fun dancing with colorful penguins. The National Wildlife Federation teamed up with the movie to encourage people of all ages to take the steps necessary to protect amazing wildlife species such as penguins and wild places such as Antarctica.

The joy of dancing penquins (photo by Beth Pratt)

6. Bighorn sheep in Anza-Borrego State Park: After a mere fifteen minutes upon entering Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, my friend Michelle started pointing and uttered something incomprehensible in her excitement. Finally, I made out the word “sheep” and pulled off the road as soon I could. To our delight, a herd of ewes and young lambs leapt up the rocks and gazed back at us as we stood watching their movements. Desert bighorn are rare to spot, and although the animals were once in abundance, the population in the park has decreased to less than 300.

Desert bighorn sheep in Anza-Borrego State Park (photo by Beth Pratt)

7. Black bear in Tuolumne Meadows:The road to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite opened very late this year because of what seemed like a never-ending winter. During my first trip to Tuolumne in June, this black bear wandered out of the forest. I think he was hoping the long winter would end as well.

Black bear in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite (photo by Beth Pratt)

8. My backyard frog pond: My proudest accomplishment is being a mother to hundreds of tadpoles each year in my backyard frog pond (and in my NWF Certified Wildlife Habitatof course). I love watching the tiny frogs take their first steps out of the pond.

The life of a frog in my backyard pond (Photos by Beth Pratt)

9. Misguided frog mating in Yosemite: During a spring hike in the Gaylor Lake Basin, I spent an hour listening to the music of pacific chorus frogs and watching some “misguided” mating attempts—see the video below for the full story.

Click here to view the embedded video.

10. Ranger Rick at the Ahwahnee Hotel: During the first meeting of NWF’s California Advisory Council, we had a special visitor—Ranger Rick came to Yosemite! Also in the photo, council member Jack Laws, the talented naturalist and author of The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada.

Ranger Rick in Yosemite! With myself and Jack Laws.

New Poll: Americans and Bears Once Again Oppose Pebble Mine

Jim Adams — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:16:38 +0000

A Bristol Bay cub shares some good polling news. Photo courtesy of Larry Burke

Last month, a voter’s initiative in Bristol Bay signalled that locals opposed placing what might be the largest gold and copper mine in North America in the headwaters of the streams and rivers supporting the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

Now the opposition has gone nationwide. A new nationwide poll released by the Renewable Resources Coalition (which is National Wildlife Federation’s Alaska Affiliate), Nunamta Aulukestai, and NRDC shows extremely strong opposition across the board to the proposed Pebble Mine, slated to be built in the headwaters of the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. 77% of Americans in the “lower 48″ think the mine is a bad idea, while 68% of Alaskans think the same. Those are huge numbers, particularly in a state like Alaska where resource development is a tradition and mining projects get an immense amount of benefit of the doubt.

Our job now is to translate that national, statewide and local opposition into stopping the mine and that takes boots on the ground. Please click here to put your money directly into NWF’s Pebble Mine work–it is a great holiday gift to the world. Visit us here for more information about the campaign.

Bears and People Vote Against Mine–Foreign Mining Giants Prepare to Ignore Them

Jim Adams — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:38:47 +0000

Tuesday night, voters in Bristol Bay passed a borough initiative banning any mining project of 640 acres or more that adversely affects salmon streams in the borough.

A brown bear cub from Bristol Bay shadowboxes in preparation for his showdown with foreign mining companies. Photo courtesy of Larry Burke.

The vote was aimed directly at a proposal by two foreign mining companies–Anglo American from the United Kingdom and Northern Dynasty Minerals from Canada–to dig the largest gold and copper mine in North America in Bristol Bay and dump its toxic mining waste into a 10 square mile lake in the headwaters of the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. A run that supports a great range of wildlife, including the bears of Katmai National Park.

As Anglo American and Northern Dynasty (known together as “the Pebble Partnership”) have put together their proposal for the mine, Anglo American President Cynthia Carroll has repeatedly assured Alaskans that ”We will not go where communities are against us.” But the Partnership sued to stop the borough vote even before it took place and has vowed to continue working on the mine despite the vote. How does that square with Anglo American’s promise? It doesn’t.

Protect Alaska’s Grizzlies from Toxic Mining >>

99% of Bear Encounters Take Place Without You Ever Knowing the Bear Was There

Jim Adams — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:52:07 +0000

99% of human/bear encounters take place without the human ever knowing there was a bear nearby. A friend of mine who guides raft trips down Alaska’s wild Copper River makes that claim, and I suspect it is true. Bears generally don’t want anything to do with people and they lay low when we wander by.

This weekend, Milo and I went walking in the Chugach State Park just outside of Anchorage. We were on some well-travelled trails no more than 15 minutes from town with plenty of footprints and bike tire treads in the mud.

There was also bear scat.

Milo and the Bear Scat (Sounds like a children's book)

And bear tracks.

68-pound dog's paw next to bear track

Alaska has 98% of America’s brown bear population. There really isn’t much risk. Bears aren’t looking for trouble. You are more likely to get hit by a car driving to work then to get hurt by a bear.

A path through the spruce on the way to treeline in Chugach State Park

But it stirs the blood to know that there are wild things in the woods. You tend to pay a little more attention to the world, and to feel lucky to be a part of it. If I hadn’t seen the bear sign, I might not have been paying enough attention to see the flock of ptarmigan in the spruce next to the trail five minutes later.

Wildlife of all kinds can help us notice the world, and it is one of the many good reasons to ensure that we pass on those experiences to the next generation by getting them outdoors and by protecting the wildlife we have.

Learn more about bears and more ways to help connect your family to nature and the world. And tell us how the presence of wildlife, from bears to birds to armadillos (to choose an animal at random), enriches your world.

Share with us on Facebook or in the comments below!

Watch Adorable Video of Bear Cubs Playing in Road: We Need Safe Road Crossings

Curtis Fisher — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:36:19 +0000

I couldn’t resist. Bear cubs are adorable. Could there be a better reminder of the need for safe wildlife road crossings?

Check out this new video shot at Yosemite National Park.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There is no difference between this scene at Yosemite and road crossings all over the Northeast. In fact, the Northeast has an insane amount of roads that wildlife have to traverse to find food, shelter and mates.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Northeast Regional Center is working to make wildlife crossings safe for people and wildlife as part of a Wildlife Corridor Initiative. For more information, check out one of our earlier blogs: “The Moose that Stole the Show.” That post chronicles another amazing road crossing of a moose during a press conference NWF had organized about priority wildlife road crossings in that area.

Critical Paths is a model project that seeks to maintain natural wildlife migration corridors by identifying critical wildlife road crossings in the State of Vermont. Recently, we have targeted the landscape between the northern Green Mountains and the Northeast Kingdom. The project uses a combination of cutting-edge computer modeling and good old fashion on-site field work to determine where bottlenecks and impermeable crossings exist that can impede the free movement of animals. This project was made possible with funding from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and generous donations for individuals.

It’s great to see these bears frolicking at Yosemite. Do you have photos to share of America’s public lands? Share them in our monthly photo challenge.

Please give today to help create safe pathways for wildlife, and protect vulnerable animals across the country from the many threats they face.

No Fracking Way: Protecting Our Public Lands, Wild Places and Wildlife

Mekell Mikell — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:07:11 +0000

Great Outdoors America Week is September 19 -22 this year, but every day is an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of our public lands, wild places and wildlife. George Washington National Forest, which stretches from Virginia to West Virginia, is an oasis for campers, anglers and anyone who just wants to get outside and connect with nature. But, even though it’s the closest national forest to our nation’s capital, it isn’t the farthest away from danger.

Streams stocked with brook trout, forests with foraging bears and trees housing cerulean warblers add an interesting mix of wildlife to the George Washington National Forest. There are also lakes, rivers, valleys, mountains and plenty of opportunity for recreation and relaxation. But, all of this natural splendor could be corrupted by the natural gas drilling process known as fracking.

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a ban on fracking in this great outdoor public space. Take action to protect brook trout and other wildlife from fracking in George Washington National Forest. Developing energy is important and necessary for our way of life, but so is protecting wildlife for future generations. Say no fracking way to fracking in public lands and wild places.

Alaska’s Small Bears Are Still Glorious

Jim Adams — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:31:14 +0000

A friend told me a story last night about the Klondike, a great overnight relay running race from Skagway, Alaska to White Horse, Canada. A runner from an opposing team was chugging along around six in the morning when a black bear pulled out of the bushes and started trotting along right behind him.

My friend’s team pulled up alongside the runner and yelled “Bear!” But the runner thought they were offering him a beer–it was 6 in the morning and he had 10 miles to go, but its that kind of race–and yelled back ”No thanks, I’m good!” So they yelled “Bear!” again while pointing behind him, but he told them “no thanks” again and gave them a friendly wave goodbye. So they let him go.

Apparently the bear stayed with him for another quarter mile before getting tired and veering off into the bushes. Whether or not this story is entirely true, I like it. And I love the fact that I live in a place where wildlife can wander into my life and backyard.

Big or small, backyard habitats make lives richer.

Do You Have a “Beary” Good Photo?

Anne Senft — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:08:41 +0000

Stephen W. Oachs of San Jose, CA took first place in the Mammals category, Amateur division in the 37th annual National Wildlife Photo Contest

A few years ago, my brother George and I were hiking the popular White Oak Canyon Trail in Shenandoah National Park. It was a lovely, verdant trek but challenging at points, at least according to my cranky knees.

About a mile from the trail head, I froze in my tracks. Not too far from the trail stood three black bears, a momma and her two cubs. What a thrilling sight! Unable to hear my emphatic but hushed warnings, my brother forged ahead. In fact, when he did finally turn around, he couldn’t understand why I was making such a fuss. Fortunately, he saw the trio and we slowly began to slink away in the opposite direction.

While I was still recovering from the adrenaline rush, my brother whipped out his camera and managed to get a halfway decent shot of the bears. But, like my previous encounters with bears, my photos were less than stellar. And, unfortunately, my window of opportunity quickly closed as the bears headed back into the woods.

So, today, I don’t have any good bear photos I can call my own. Nonetheless, I can live vicariously through the many bear encounters captured on film and entered into the 41st annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. Its new search feature allowed me to see many cool photos of black, polar and grizzly bears in an instant.

As more photos are entered, I’m going to revisit the contest site to search for wild places that I’ve visited and wild animals that I’ve seen, and enjoy them again through different eyes. Plus, given my slight obsession with primates, I’ll keep coming back to swoon over any entrants into the new “baby animal” category. Who doesn’t like baby monkeys?

If you have any photos you’d like to share with the world, why not enter them into this year’s contest? You’ll inspire thousands of people with your photography. And, who knows, you may win a fabulous prize!

Visit the contest site today to learn more. Good luck!