Burr-on-Fur

Why it Matters

Polar bears have been tracked via radio and satellite collars for decades, providing crucial data to researchers and managers. Now researchers are working to make tracking devices smaller, lighter, and more efficient.

Scientists track bears to better understand how and where polar bears use their sea ice habitat and how movements between ice and land are changing. This allows researchers to more effectively identify the needs of polar bears and understand how continued warming will impact this sentinel species.

Burr on Fur allows scientists to follow the movements of adult males and subadult bears, two groups that can’t be studied  through current satellite collar technology: Adult males can’t wear collars because their necks are as big as their heads, causing the collars to slip off; and subadult bears can’t be collared because young bears grow too fast.

The Impact

The Burr on Fur project began with a challenge from Polar Bears International to 3M scientists. 3M scientists volunteered their time to create four prototype devices that were tested both in the wild and in zoos, helping researchers understand which prototypes worked best. In addition, the tests in zoos helped provide insights into why a particular design failed (e.g., was the bear swimming? brushing up against something?), allowing researchers to make adjustments.

A paper published on the Burr on Fur tags shows that one design in particular shows real promise as a tracking option, a finding that will help researchers as they seek to gather as much information as possible about a species that is extremely difficult to observe at length in the wild.

Project Partners

3M, Manitoba Conservation and Climate, University of Alberta, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, York University, and the following zoos: Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Kansas City Zoo, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Como Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, Louisville Zoo, Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, and Utah’s Hogle Zoo in the U.S.; Assiniboine Park Zoo, Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat, and Toronto Zoo in Canada; Skandinavisk Dyrepark in Denmark; and Vienna Zoo in Austria