Polar Bears In Depth
Management and Conservation
Page 1 of 5
Hunting. Early Eurasian explorers viewed polar bears as fearless marauders (Larsen 1978). They killed polar bears in self-defense, before they could become a threat, or just because they could. For centuries, Arctic travelers killed as many polar bears as possible (Seton 1929). In Alaska, explorers of the late 1800s and local residents both affected polar bears. Historically, polar bears occupied St. Matthew Island, which lies over 350 km south of the Bering Strait. Unlike polar bears of the Beaufort Sea and other parts of the polar basin, many of these individuals spent the summer on land instead of remaining with the sea-ice as it retreated to the north. Commercial hunters eliminated polar bears from St. Matthew Island by the early 1900s (Hanna 1920). Likewise, overwintering commercial whalers, along with local residents, may have nearly eliminated the bears that once denned along the north coast of Alaska (Leffingwell 1919).
Although the wanton destruction of polar bears by Arctic explorers decreased during the 1900s, polar bears continued to be harvested in large numbers through the middle of the century. In recognition of the polar bear's increasing vulnerability to human activities, the five nations (the Soviet Union, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the United States) with jurisdiction over polar bear habitats negotiated the International Agreement on Conservation of Polar Bears (Treaty). The Treaty, negotiated in 1973 and ratified in 1976, prohibited the taking of polar bears from aircraft or large motor vessels or in areas where they were not taken by traditional means in the past (Prestrud and Stirling 1994). This prohibition created a de facto sanctuary in the central polar basin. A resolution appended to the Treaty requested governments to prohibit the taking of cubs or females with cubs, and hunting in denning areas during periods when pregnant females are moving into them or are denning. Another resolution requested governments to establish an international system to identify and control the trafficking of hides (Lentfer 1974; Stirling 1986; Prestrud and Stirling 1994). Finally, the Treaty required each signatory nation to conduct research and cooperate in management and research of populations that overlap jurisdictional boundaries.
Subsequent to the Treaty, most polar bear populations continue to be hunted. Hunting is not allowed in Svalbard, although a limited number of polar bears there are killed each year in defense of life and property. Hunting in the other jurisdictions, with two exceptions (see below), is limited to Native people continuing a centuries-long tradition. Modern Native hunters, in most areas, use snow-mobiles and highpowered rifles and can be more effective in harvesting polar bears than ever before. Shooting by local hunters accounted for 85% of the deaths of adult female polar bears documented in the Beaufort Sea during the 1980s and early 1990s (Amstrup and Durner 1995). Despite the effects of technology on abilities of hunters to kill polar bears, a combination of government regulations and user's agreements has kept hunting by Native people in balance with the allowable yields of most populations.
Although the wanton destruction of polar bears by Arctic explorers decreased during the 1900s, polar bears continued to be harvested in large numbers through the middle of the century. In recognition of the polar bear's increasing vulnerability to human activities, the five nations (the Soviet Union, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the United States) with jurisdiction over polar bear habitats negotiated the International Agreement on Conservation of Polar Bears (Treaty). The Treaty, negotiated in 1973 and ratified in 1976, prohibited the taking of polar bears from aircraft or large motor vessels or in areas where they were not taken by traditional means in the past (Prestrud and Stirling 1994). This prohibition created a de facto sanctuary in the central polar basin. A resolution appended to the Treaty requested governments to prohibit the taking of cubs or females with cubs, and hunting in denning areas during periods when pregnant females are moving into them or are denning. Another resolution requested governments to establish an international system to identify and control the trafficking of hides (Lentfer 1974; Stirling 1986; Prestrud and Stirling 1994). Finally, the Treaty required each signatory nation to conduct research and cooperate in management and research of populations that overlap jurisdictional boundaries.
Subsequent to the Treaty, most polar bear populations continue to be hunted. Hunting is not allowed in Svalbard, although a limited number of polar bears there are killed each year in defense of life and property. Hunting in the other jurisdictions, with two exceptions (see below), is limited to Native people continuing a centuries-long tradition. Modern Native hunters, in most areas, use snow-mobiles and highpowered rifles and can be more effective in harvesting polar bears than ever before. Shooting by local hunters accounted for 85% of the deaths of adult female polar bears documented in the Beaufort Sea during the 1980s and early 1990s (Amstrup and Durner 1995). Despite the effects of technology on abilities of hunters to kill polar bears, a combination of government regulations and user's agreements has kept hunting by Native people in balance with the allowable yields of most populations.