Wrangel Island Polar Bear Study

Why it Matters

Wrangel Island, Russia, is a critical resting and denning location for the data-deficient Chukchi Sea polar bears.

The Impact

Using ground-based observations and non-invasive genetic samples (hair traps), researchers were:

• examining gene flow, diversity, and population dynamics to improve our understanding of how these bears fit into global polar bear diversity

• working to improve our understanding of how Wrangel Island’s bears were handling the effects of longer ice-free seasons due to climate warming

Project Partners

University of Washington, the Wrangel Island Nature Reserve, All-Russian Research Institute for Environment Protection and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.