Polar Bear Tracker Update: Spring 2025

Spring is the time of year when polar bear moms emerge from their dens with their cubs to find their first meal after eight long months without food. It's the feasting season for polar bears, also known as hyperphagia, with young seal pups making for easy, blubbery prey. Below are snapshots of what a few bears on our Polar Bear Tracker have been up to.

Arctic Ambassador – X34266

This eight-year-old polar bear mom and her yearlings have found their special hunting spot this spring! After a slow meandering toward the southern parts of the bay earlier in the winter, this family headed north at the beginning of the year and has been circling the same region for a couple of months now. There must be plenty of young seals to gorge on for these bears to be so content in the same spot! They have another month or two of good eating, so we wish them happy hunting as they bulk up as much as possible. The cubs have roughly a year left with Mom to learn all they can, so they had better pay attention!

Ares – X33910 

Eight-year-old Ares will be weaning her cub of just over two years now and looking to find another mate out on the sea ice. She is a serious traveller, moving throughout the bay’s western half since she got on the ice last December. Starting from high up in Nunavut, Ares is now off the coast of Ontario, likely gorging herself as much as possible over the next month or two. She must gain hundreds of pounds to sustain a healthy pregnancy throughout the upcoming summer and fall. Obese is best (and healthiest) for pregnant polar bears, and the only way to be obese is through seal blubber. We look forward to continuing to watch this young bear during the next phase of her journey. 

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Betty White – X33570

Betty White continues to surprise us with her antics! With two yearlings in tow, Betty White recently travelled clear across Hudson Bay, to the east coast and back, and is now in the centre of the action. She might be exploring new areas for hunting—we know she is a great seal hunter and has consistently been seen in good shape by researchers. Hopefully, Betty White, along with her growing offspring, is packing on the pounds in this time of hyperphagia (i.e., eating as much as possible as fast as possible!) This family has a couple of months left on the ice—no doubt Betty White has more surprises ahead!

Siku – X33311

Since getting on the ice in mid-December, Siku, a 20-year-old with a yearling in tow, has been pretty focused! She headed southeast from Wapusk National Park well over to just north of James Bay, during which she stayed in mostly a straight line. Just recently, she has headed back northwest slightly but seems to like a particular angle of travel! Lately, she has been hanging out in the center of Hudson Bay, not too far from some other families—which makes us think there must be some good seal hunting in the region. Siku has one more year with her cub, so she must teach it all she knows about hunting seals and navigating seal ice as efficiently as possible. We wish this little family the best of luck this spring as they quickly fatten up!

Aurora – X19939

Aurora is an experienced mom at 21 years old and has one more year to teach her two yearlings everything she knows about hunting seals and traversing sea ice. This family spent most of their year in the northwest portion of Hudson Bay, travelling well over 1300 km since December. They have zig-zagged around for the past couple of months, eating as many seals as possible and gaining as much weight as possible to last them throughout this upcoming summer on land. Aurora and cubs still have a couple of months left on the ice to fatten up, and we look forward to seeing how and where they decide to return south to Wapusk National Park near Churchill, Manitoba. Will they stay west or try a new region before returning home? Only time will tell.   

Anuri – X19735

Anuri is an experienced 25-year-old and will wean her cub this spring if she hasn't already. Currently, Anuri will be balancing eating as much as possible with finding a mate. At her age, she doesn’t have many litters left, so hopefully, she will successfully sustain a pregnancy this year. To ensure success, she will need to gain hundreds of pounds, getting as fat as possible to support her body through the upcoming summer and fall months when she won’t have access to calorie-rich blubber. And not just that, but she’ll also have to make it through giving birth and nursing, all without access to more food. Anuri’s experience should help her navigate this next step. Her newly weaned cub is now a subadult on its own, with many lessons ahead until it turns five and is considered an adult. We wish them the best of luck in their now-separate journeys and hope to see them again!

Portia – X34218 

Eight-year-old Portia and her yearling have had a nice and steady winter and spring, heading southeast throughout the last few months and, more recently, hanging out just north of James Bay in Ontario. This area is a great feeding spot as they have been circling for weeks in the same region and have only just started to head back a bit northwest. Since the fall, they’ve travelled over 850 km. It’s not far for polar bears, but that doesn’t matter as long as their strategy works. Portia has another year left with her cub, so she will have to teach it all about hunting and travelling in a relatively short time. We’ll be interested to see if this family follows a similar path home or heads farther north; this may depend on where the smell of seals takes them. Happy hunting to Portia and her yearling over these next couple of months- we hope they get as fat as possible! 

Vicky – X33881

Last we saw Vicky, she was hunkered down in a den for the winter, pregnant and preparing to give birth. We haven’t heard from her collar lately, but this is surprising. It is most likely that the collar’s battery died, or the collar got pulled off in the den by curious little paws. Vicki would have given birth at the end of 2024 and headed out onto the sea ice sometime in February or March. Scientists spotted her from a helicopter on March 7th with two new cubs in tow! We’re sure she’s now hunting and regaining some fat while nursing and caring for her brand-new cubs on the ice, though she’s likely not too far out from the coast, as long swims can be dangerous for little cubs. The researchers are keeping an eye out for Vicky, and we will let you know the next time she is spotted. 

Yvette – X17082

Yvette is still a serious traveller and an experienced older gal at 28 years old. Since getting on the ice in mid-December, she has travelled back and forth through the center of Hudson Bay, heading out pretty far to the east coast before veering back again. Currently, she is near the middle of the bay, not too far from some other bears, so there must be some good seal hunting in the region. We’ll be curious to see where Yvette heads next; based on her history, she is likely single right now, so she may be looking to mate or enjoying the solitary life in her golden years. Last spring, she spent much time just off the coast of Wapusk National Park, but she’s relatively far from there for now. However, things can change fast on the bay, especially for a bear like Yvette! Best of luck this spring as she gorges on blubber and packs on the pounds for whatever life brings next.

Ursula 2.0 – X12639

This 28 year old female is an experienced traveller, racking up over 3700 km in the last couple years, and has relatively free movement right now as she is likely solitary. She got onto the ice in December and, ever since, has been roaming a very similar area as she did last year. Ursula 2.0 seems to know this area well and be able to effectively hunt seals here, great for her as she packs on as many pounds as possible to last her through the upcoming summer months. She may be looking to mate this year but, if she does, it is likely to be one of her last pregnancies due to her age. We wish this older gal the best of luck out on the ice in these next few months and we will wait to see whether she has a new family or not.