Zoo
Adoption Programs: Adopt A Project:
Polar Bear
In 2005, field conservationists in the Arctic requested that the San Diego Zoo make use of our bears and expertise to determine the hearing sensitivity of polar bears, providing valuable data to help manage the effects of noise pollution from increasing industrial activities, including petroleum extraction. These activities overlap extensively with maternal denning areas, so the effects are especially worrisome, as disturbance may compromise cub survival.
Studies elucidating polar bear hearing sensitivity are successful and ongoing, and in 2008 we will collect in-den noise level data on Alaska’s North Slope during oil industry activities. With the planned breeding of the Zoo's bears this year, we will build on earlier studies of reproductive behavior and physiology and begin studies of maternal care. Using fecal hormone monitoring developed in our 2004 pilot study, we will differentiate the progressive stages of follicular activity during estrus, approximate the timing of ovulation, and monitor luteal function.
Working with U.S.Geological Survey biologists, who will collect scent samples from wild polar bears, we will expand our work on olfactory communication. The goal is to determine the role of olfaction in finding mates, assessing reproductive readiness, and facilitating sexual motivation. To do this, we will build a network of collaborative partners in the zoo community and present these scent samples to the bears at the San Diego Zoo and other zoo bears in controlled behavioral studies. Assessing the role of olfactory communication is important as the polar bear’s sea ice habitat is becoming increasingly fragmented due to the impacts of climate change, which will disrupt olfactory trails used to coordinate mating. These samples will also be chemically analyzed. We will also study maternal care patterns and mother-infant communication at the Zoo, other zoos, and in the field, in collaboration with our various partners.
The “Teen Arctic Ambassador” program sends a representative from the San Diego region to Churchill, Canada to learn about polar bear habitat and survival challenges (read blogs from the Zoo's 2007 Arctic Ambassador). The ambassadors also interact with people from the Churchill community to understand the human experience in this region. Upon returning to San Diego, they share their experience with the community at large. The Zoo also sends an educator/chaperone on this trip. Education of our visitors will be achieved through interpretive panels and interactive elements at the Polar Bear Plunge exhibit. Zoo Corps, a currently existing program for teens, will create an interactive discovery kit with biofacts, photos, and information focusing on polar bear conservation and the work of the San Diego Zoo; Zoo Corps students will use the kits to share conservation messages with Zoo visitors.
The polar bear is undoubtedly the “poster child” for climate change and is the focus of increasing attention. We have a unique opportunity to capitalize on our considerable in-house expertise, expand our conservation partnerships, and bring together the zoo and field communities to tackle this most pressing issue. A science-based program can answer questions crucial to polar bear management and help bring greater public attention to the issue of climate change and the Arctic ecosystem in which the polar bear resides.
