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Polar bears losing sea ice - Western Hudson Bay population in decline
Polar bears hunt seals from sea ice, and the Arctic is warming more than four times faster than the rest of the globe. The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group names sea ice loss as the single biggest threat to the species.
Open on the interactive globeAbout 26,000 polar bears live in 20 populations worldwide. The Western Hudson Bay population fell from about 1,200 bears in the 1980s to 842 in 2016 and 618 in 2021 (a 27 percent drop in five years, aerial survey). In 2026 sea ice in western Hudson Bay fell below the 30 percent threshold on 27 June, the 16th earliest break-up in the 48-year satellite record; bears spend the summer on land living off their fat reserves. Declines are also recorded in Davis Strait and the Southern Beaufort Sea, and the Barents Sea population faces the fastest sea ice loss of all 20 populations.
Species
| Species | IUCN status | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ursus maritimus Ursus maritimus | vulnerable (IUCN VU) | (2021) | polarbearsinternational.org |
Needs
- habitat
Who is helping
Organisations that, according to their own publications, work on this event (3). Donations go directly to each organisation's own website - GLOBURNS does not handle payments.
- Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI)The Norwegian Polar Institute researches and monitors Arctic and Antarctic nature. Since the 1960s it has studied Barents Sea polar bears using capture-recapture and…
- Polar Bears International (PBI)Polar Bears International protects polar bears and the sea ice they depend on through research, education and work with Arctic communities. In Churchill, Manitoba, it…Donate on the organisation's website (polarbearsinternational.org)
- WWF (WWF)WWF is an international conservation network working for species, forests, oceans and climate. In Poland about 200 Blue Patrol volunteers help seals, harbour porpoises…Donate on the organisation's website (wwf.pl)
Sources
- polarbearsinternational.org polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bears/polar-bear-facts/status/
- polarbearsinternational.org polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/polar-bear-tracker-update-summer-2026/
- polarbearsinternational.org polarbearsinternational.org/what-we-do/projects/hudson-bay-population-study/
- arcticwwf.org arcticwwf.org/wildlife/polar-bear/
- npolar.no npolar.no/?p=1539
- polarbearsinternational.org polarbearsinternational.org/what-we-do/projects/barents-sea-population-study/
- polarbearsinternational.org polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/special-report-and-perspective-series-on…
Seed record, before editorial verification. Every number links to its source; report errors on the Corrections page. Methodology · Corrections
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