Polar bears. Source: worldwildlife.org.
Wrangel Island, otherwise known as the “maternity home of polar bears,” is where the majority of pregnant Chukotka-Alaskan polar bears await the birth of their offspring in dens every year. Due to recent ice shrinkage, polar bears are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Polar bear populations are intensely monitored and usually counted between March and April when the females leave their dens to teach their cubs survival skills. In the past, this counting has been done by specialists riding snowmobiles around the areas containing large numbers of dens; however, even after a thorough search, many dens are near impossible to find using this method due to their dangerous locations in high crevices and their difficult-to-see, meter-wide entrances.
In an attempt to aid the population monitoring effort, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has supplied conservationists with four drones equipped with thermal cameras. The drones not only make life safer for the specialists, but also give a more accurate tally of the polar bears with the thermal cameras’ ability to spot the warmer temperatures within dens. On the second day of drone use, an example of the future usefulness of the drones was on full display: researchers launched the new drones into the sky when they spotted a potential den. The drones showed it was inhabited, and specialists were able to examine in detail not only the female bear but also her two cubs as well. The animals reacted quite calmly, thanks to the skilled drone pilots who, as a result of their WWF-provided pilot training, kept the cameras at a safe distance to not disturb the polar bear family.
Polar bear den captured using thermal imaging. Source: worldwildlife.org.
WWF Russia-Arctic Communications Coordinator Dmitry Ryabov stated that, generally speaking, the drone operation was a success. More tests in the future are needed, but drones have shown to provide useful support in such work. Leonid Zaika, Head of the Department of Ecotourism Development of the Wrangel Island Nature Reserve, added, “Most importantly, we understood that the use of drones in polar bear monitoring makes it safer and greatly facilitates the search and study of both the dens and the animals.”