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Polar Bear Response to Sea Ice Loss

Hello Christina-

What an exciting trip we are experiencing through your journals.

I read that some of the bears are near a Russian island. Are there any restrictions in the Arctic Ocean as to where the ship can travel? Do certain countries "own" the waters? Does the decrease in ice coverage create any other challenges for the countries with interests in the area?

Looking forward to your first bear tagging-

Deanna Wheeler

Wed, 09/30/2009 - 19:00

Cristina Galvan

Hi Deanna,I had some of the same questions that you posed here. There are borders
when it comes to ocean waters as well. In general, we can't get closer
than 200 nautical miles from foreign land.
Currently, we are planning on getting no closer than 250 miles from
Wrangle Island (a Russian island). However, one of the bears is about 150
miles from the Canadian coast. To be prepared, before starting the trip,
the researchers applied for a permit. We are hopeful that the permit will
be approved so that we can get to the bear that is far to the east right
now.
Hope that answers your questions.
Thanks,
Cristina

Wed, 09/30/2009 - 19:29

Michael Wing

Dear Deanna and Christina:Wrangel Island in Russia is famous because it is the last place on Earth where woolly mammoths lived!  Most mammoths went extinct around 11,000 years ago all over the Arctic, but a small population of woolly mammoths held survived on Wrangel Island until just 4000 years ago - the same time the ancient Egyptians were building the big pyramids at Giza.  
So, the woolly mammoth is not really a "prehistoric" animal, since history was being written down by then.   
Since Wrangel Island was devoid of predators and had limited plant foods, the mammoths shrank in size.  By the time they went extinct, they were only the size of large dogs, or very small ponies.
yours always, Michael Wing
 

Wed, 09/30/2009 - 20:00

Cristina Galvan

Hi Michael,Thanks for the info on Wrangle Island. All I know about it so far is that
the island has a large polar bear population. There are a lot of polar
bear denning sites there as well.
Thanks,
Cristina