Latest news with #polarbear
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Science
- Malay Mail
The eye-opening science of close encounters with polar bears: Arctic expedition uncovers diet shifts and pollution risks
ONGYEARBYEN, July 24 — It's a pretty risky business trying to take a blood sample from a polar bear — one of the most dangerous predators on the planet — on an Arctic ice floe. First you have to find it and then shoot it with a sedative dart from a helicopter before a vet dares approach on foot to put a GPS collar around its neck. Then the blood has to be taken and a delicate incision made into a layer of fat before it wakes. All this with a wind chill of up to minus 30C. For the last four decades experts from the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) have been keeping tabs on the health and movement of polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Like the rest of the Arctic, global warming has been happening there three to four times faster than elsewhere. But this year the eight scientists working from the Norwegian icebreaker Kronprins Haakon are experimenting with new methods to monitor the world's largest land carnivore, including for the first time tracking the PFAS 'forever chemicals' from the other ends of the Earth that finish up in their bodies. An AFP photographer joined them on this year's eye-opening expedition. French spatial scientist Marie-Anne Blanchet takes an adipose tissue biopsies and blood samples from a sedated polar bear, in eastern Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago April 11, 2025. — AFP pic Delicate surgery on the ice With one foot on the helicopter's landing skid, vet Rolf Arne Olberg put his rifle to his shoulder as a polar bear ran as the aircraft approached. Hit by the dart, the animal slumped gently on its side into a snowdrift, with Olberg checking with his binoculars to make sure he had hit a muscle. If not, the bear could wake prematurely. 'We fly in quickly,' Oldberg said, and 'try to minimise the time we come in close to the bear... so we chase it as little as possible.' After a five- to 10-minute wait to make sure it is asleep, the team of scientists land and work quickly and precisely. They place a GPS collar around the bear's neck and replace the battery if the animal already has one. Only females are tracked with the collars because male polar bears — who can grow to 2.6 metres — have necks thicker than their heads, and would shake the collar straight off. Olberg then made a precise cut in the bear's skin to insert a heart monitor between a layer of fat and the flesh. 'It allows us to record the bear's body temperature and heart rate all year,' NPI researcher Marie-Anne Blanchet told AFP, 'to see the energy the female bears (wearing the GPS) need to use up as their environment changes.' The first five were fitted last year, which means that for the first time experts can cross-reference their data to find out when and how far the bears have to walk and swim to reach their hunting grounds and how long they rest in their lairs. The vet also takes a biopsy of a sliver of fat that allows researchers to test how the animal might stand up to stress and 'forever chemicals', the main pollutants found in their bodies. 'The idea is to best represent what bears experience in the wild but in a laboratory,' said Belgian toxicologist Laura Pirard, who is testing the biopsy method on the mammals. A male polar bear bear walks on the sea ice near glaciers in eastern Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago April 9, 2025. — AFP pic Eating seaweed It has already shown that the diet of Svalbard's 300 or so bears is changing as the polar ice retreats. The first is that they are eating less seals and more food from the land, said Jon Aars, the lead scientist of the NPI's polar bear programme. 'They still hunt seals, but they also take eggs and reindeer — they even eat (sea)grass and things like that, even though it provides them with no energy.' But seals remain their essential food source, he said. 'Even if they only have three months to hunt, they can obtain about 70 per cent of what they need for the entire year during that period. That's probably why we see they are doing okay and are in good condition' despite the huge melting of the ice. But if warming reduces their seal hunting further, 'perhaps they will struggle', he warned. 'There are notable changes in their behaviour... but they are doing better than we feared. However, there is a limit, and the future may not be as bright.' 'The bears have another advantage,' said Blanchet, 'they live for a long time, learning from experience all their life. That gives a certain capacity to adapt.' Belgian toxicologist Laura Pirard, specialized in marine mammals, works on biopsy samples of polar bear adipose tissue, in a laboratory onboard the science icebreaker vessel 'Kronprins Haakon' while sailing in eastern Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, on April 9, 2025. — AFP pic Success of anti-pollution laws Another encouraging discovery has been the tentative sign of a fall in pollution levels. With some 'bears that we have recaptured sometimes six or eight times over the years, we have observed a decrease in pollutant levels,' said Finnish ecotoxicologist Heli Routti, who has been working on the programme for 15 years. 'This reflects the success of regulations over the past decades.' NPI's experts contribute to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) whose conclusions play a role in framing regulations or bans on pollutants. 'The concentration of many pollutants that have been regulated decreased over the past 40 years in Arctic waters,' Routti said. 'But the variety of pollutants has increased. We are now observing more types of chemical substances' in the bears' blood and fatty tissues. These nearly indestructible PFAS or 'forever chemicals' used in countless products like cosmetics and nonstick pans accumulate in the air, soil, water and food. Experts warn that they ultimately end up in the human body, particularly in the blood and tissues of the kidney or liver, raising concerns over toxic effects and links to cancer. — AFP
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Science
- News.com.au
The eye-opening science of close encounters with polar bears
It's a pretty risky business trying to take a blood sample from a polar bear -- one of the most dangerous predators on the planet -- on an Arctic ice floe. First you have to find it and then shoot it with a sedative dart from a helicopter before a vet dares approach on foot to put a GPS collar around its neck. Then the blood has to be taken and a delicate incision made into a layer of fat before it wakes. All this with a wind chill of up to minus 30C. For the last four decades experts from the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) have been keeping tabs on the health and movement of polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Like the rest of the Arctic, global warming has been happening there three to four times faster than elsewhere. But this year the eight scientists working from the Norwegian icebreaker Kronprins Haakon are experimenting with new methods to monitor the world's largest land carnivore, including for the first time tracking the PFAS "forever chemicals" from the other ends of the Earth that finish up in their bodies. An AFP photographer joined them on this year's eye-opening expedition. - Delicate surgery on the ice - With one foot on the helicopter's landing skid, vet Rolf Arne Olberg put his rifle to his shoulder as a polar bear ran as the aircraft approached. Hit by the dart, the animal slumped gently on its side into a snowdrift, with Olberg checking with his binoculars to make sure he had hit a muscle. If not, the bear could wake prematurely. "We fly in quickly," Oldberg said, and "try to minimise the time we come in close to the bear... so we chase it as little as possible." After a five- to 10-minute wait to make sure it is asleep, the team of scientists land and work quickly and precisely. They place a GPS collar around the bear's neck and replace the battery if the animal already has one. Only females are tracked with the collars because male polar bears -- who can grow to 2.6 metres (8.5 feet) -- have necks thicker than their heads, and would shake the collar straight off. Olberg then made a precise cut in the bear's skin to insert a heart monitor between a layer of fat and the flesh. "It allows us to record the bear's body temperature and heart rate all year," NPI researcher Marie-Anne Blanchet told AFP, "to see the energy the female bears (wearing the GPS) need to use up as their environment changes." The first five were fitted last year, which means that for the first time experts can cross-reference their data to find out when and how far the bears have to walk and swim to reach their hunting grounds and how long they rest in their lairs. The vet also takes a biopsy of a sliver of fat that allows researchers to test how the animal might stand up to stress and "forever chemicals", the main pollutants found in their bodies. "The idea is to best represent what bears experience in the wild but in a laboratory," said Belgian toxicologist Laura Pirard, who is testing the biopsy method on the mammals. - Eating seaweed - It has already shown that the diet of Svalbard's 300 or so bears is changing as the polar ice retreats. The first is that they are eating less seals and more food from the land, said Jon Aars, the lead scientist of the NPI's polar bear programme. "They still hunt seals, but they also take eggs and reindeer -- they even eat (sea)grass and things like that, even though it provides them with no energy." But seals remain their essential food source, he said. "Even if they only have three months to hunt, they can obtain about 70 percent of what they need for the entire year during that period. That's probably why we see they are doing okay and are in good condition" despite the huge melting of the ice. But if warming reduces their seal hunting further, "perhaps they will struggle", he warned. "There are notable changes in their behaviour... but they are doing better than we feared. However, there is a limit, and the future may not be as bright." "The bears have another advantage," said Blanchet, "they live for a long time, learning from experience all their life. That gives a certain capacity to adapt." - Success of anti-pollution laws - Another encouraging discovery has been the tentative sign of a fall in pollution levels. With some "bears that we have recaptured sometimes six or eight times over the years, we have observed a decrease in pollutant levels," said Finnish ecotoxicologist Heli Routti, who has been working on the programme for 15 years. "This reflects the success of regulations over the past decades." NPI's experts contribute to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) whose conclusions play a role in framing regulations or bans on pollutants. "The concentration of many pollutants that have been regulated decreased over the past 40 years in Arctic waters," Routti said. "But the variety of pollutants has increased. We are now observing more types of chemical substances" in the bears' blood and fatty tissues. These nearly indestructible PFAS or "forever chemicals" used in countless products like cosmetics and nonstick pans accumulate in the air, soil, water and food. Experts warn that they ultimately end up in the human body, particularly in the blood and tissues of the kidney or liver, raising concerns over toxic effects and links to cancer.
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Forbes
What An Overnight Stay In Norway's Ice Hotels Is Really Like
The honeymoon suite at Sorrisniva Ice Hotel near Alta, Norway. getty The first thing that hits you in one of Norway's ice hotels is the silence. A soft, icy hush that settles over everything, broken only by the crunch of your insulated boots on snow-packed floors. Then, you marvel at the intricate ice sculptures glowing under LED lights, including Arctic wildlife and a Viking ship. There's even a life-sized polar bear to greet guests at the front desk. At the ice bar, you sip a tart Arctic berry cocktail served in a glass made of ice, while you chat to other guests wrapped in thermal capes like medieval nobles. There's laughter, wonder and the clicking of smartphones trying to capture it all. Then, bedtime. You zip yourself into a high-tech sleeping bag rated for extreme conditions and lie down on a bed carved from solid ice. Only a reindeer pelt separates you from the cold slab below. The novelty wears off quickly. The air is crisp inside your nose. Your breath clouds in front of your face. Suddenly the fantasy is very real: you're spending the night in subzero temperatures. Will you sleep, or will you shiver through until dawn? How Norway's Ice Hotels Work Ice hotels aren't like regular hotels in design or routine. You don't simply check in mid-afternoon, head to your room, and unwind. An overnight stay is more of a guided experience, and the schedule is part of the charm. Chilled drinks await guests at Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel in Norway. David Nikel Guests typically arrive in the afternoon, check into a nearby warm cabin or main lodge, and take part in optional activities like snowmobiling, husky sledding, or northern lights chasing, depending on the location. Then, there's a hearty dinner, often featuring local Arctic ingredients such as reindeer, king crab and cloudberries. Only later do you begin your journey into the ice. There is usually a guided tour of the hotel to admire the design, learn how it was made, and get oriented. The final step is what could be described as a safety briefing. Staff explain how to dress, how to use the sleeping bag properly, and how the overnight logistics work, including where to find heated restrooms and showers, usually in the main service building. Yes, that means if you need the restroom in the middle of the night, you'll have to leave the ice hotel and visit the main building. It might only be a minute's walk, but it's enough to make you rethink that after-dinner coffee. Guests at Sorrisniva receive a drink served in an ice glass. David Nikel Although the rooms are made entirely of ice and snow, you do not store luggage there or spend much time relaxing inside. The ice suite is essentially a sleeping chamber. Guests leave their belongings in a heated area, change into the right gear, and enter the cold room only when they are ready to sleep. Inside, the temperature stays around 19°F to 25°F, regardless of the weather outside. Everything from the bed to the walls to the artwork is sculpted from snow and ice, often with impressive artistic detail. You are given a thermal sleeping bag and extra layers if needed, but once you zip up and settle onto a mattress covered with reindeer hides, it is just you, the crisp air, and the complete stillness of your frozen room. Popular Ice Hotels In Norway Located just a few miles from the Russian border, Kirkenes Snowhotel is a true anomaly. It stays open 365 days a year, offering visitors a winter experience even in the height of summer. This is made possible by a purpose-built, refrigerated structure that maintains a constant indoor temperature even at the height of summer. Its location makes it especially convenient. Kirkenes serves as a turnaround port for Norway's famous coastal voyage, meaning guests on northbound or southbound sailings can add on a night at the ice hotel, while roundtrip passengers often drop by for a daytime visit. Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel hosts weddings at its ice hotel chapel. David Nikel Near the 'northern lights town' of Alta, Sorrisniva offers a more seasonal take on the ice hotel experience. Known as the world's northernmost ice hotel, Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel is constructed anew every winter on the banks of the Alta River. The build takes around five weeks and uses snow and ice harvested locally. The hotel usually opens before Christmas and welcomes guests through early April. Inside, visitors will find around 30 rooms, including themed suites, a dramatic ice bar, a snow chapel, and a gallery of frozen art. Ice Hotels Beyond Norway Visiting somewhere else on your Scandinavian adventure? No problem! While Norway's ice hotels are impressive, you'll also find unforgettable experiences elsewhere in the region. Sweden's original Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, near Kiruna, is perhaps the most famous, with art suites created by international ice sculptors and a permanent ice bar open year-round. In Finland, several resorts offer glass igloos for Northern Lights viewing alongside ice bars and hotels. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes This Winter Cruise Offered So Much More Than Just Northern Lights By David Nikel Forbes Why You Should Plan A Northern Lights Trip To Scandinavia In 2025 By David Nikel Forbes Norway Proposes 3% Tourist Tax As Visitor Numbers Soar By David Nikel
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I visited Europe's largest wilderness - where it's illegal to go outside without a weapon and seal is on the menu
Improbable, measureless and beautifully sinister, Svalbard is a natural film set - it's no wonder parts of Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning were filmed here. The size of Ireland, the Norwegian archipelago is the largest wilderness in Europe - just 400 miles from the North Pole. Most of it is rock and ice and only one island, Spitsbergen, is inhabited, home to 2,600 souls in five tiny settlements. I'm here for a week - joining a snowmobile expedition. Here's how it went... Ultra cold at base camp Svalbard never thaws and is frozen to a depth of more than 330ft (100m). At the heart of this icy world is Longyearbyen, a former coal mining town. In spring the temperature hovers at about -15C. This is the world's most northerly town, featuring the most northerly library, pub, schools and a handful of 'Scandi cool' hotels. Seal features on menus. Snowmobiles are sold at the Co-op. Reindeer patrol the tundras. It's illegal to leave Longyearbyen without weapons. 'Polar bears can appear anywhere,' warns our guide, Elise, who carries a rifle. The previous week a group was stalked (luckily, without incident). Typically they're 7ft-plus and can weigh more than 100 stone (630kg). There are more than 3,000 in Svalbard. You can spot stuffed bears all over town: in the airport, pub and even the church. Out on the ice there are six in our group, each with a snowmobile. For eight hours we ride up frozen rivers, through ice fields and on to glaciers, the temperature dropping to -27C. We're wearing polar suits and the handlebars are heated. For sustenance we have freeze-dried curry. The size of Ireland, the Norwegian archipelago is the largest wilderness in Europe - just 400 miles from the North Pole After Longyearbyen we see no one else. It's an unforgettable ride, with mountains as white as clouds below a cobalt-blue sky. Cliffs arise in the distance looking like stacks of iced pink coins. On one occasion, at Horbyebreen, we enter a natural tunnel beneath the glacier. The silence is enormous. After 84 miles we reach the improbably stylish Nordenskiold Lodge, with leather armchairs, panoramic windows and even a sauna. Here we're looked after by a proper Arctic couple: Trond, a former trapper, and his partner, Ragna, who served up a superb reindeer stew. Plumbing is tricky in the tundra, so men have to pee outside. Doing so involves taking an armed guard (Trond) who keeps an eye out for polar bears with his .44 Magnum. Eight miles away is the Russian mining town of Pyramiden. Under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, Moscow is permitted to extract coal, and the town is a relic of Soviet times. Due to sanctions, we don't visit, but we do skirt the sea-ice around the town. It's a gloomy place of scabby tower blocks and rusting cranes that during its heyday (1975-85) was home to 900 miners. Now only 20 remain - plus a statue of Vladimir Lenin. On our final day we walk across a frozen bay to the bottom of Nordenskiold Glacier. Here great columns of ice sheer off and collapse with a boom. From afar the glacier wall looks like a torrent of smashed up skyscrapers. But close up it's more like a rampart made of turquoise marble. In the evening, Ragna drops chunks of this prehistoric ice in our whiskies. On Spitsbergen there are more huskies than humans. Before snowmobiles, dogs were the only way to travel. On our return I try what's known as mushing, any sport powered by dogs. With names like Ravioli, Stinky and Twix, they're strong, affectionate and eager to please. Compared with zipping in a snowmobile it's slow going. Not everyone survives Svalbard. Some missions prove truly impossible. The North Pole Museum in Longyearbyen is like a gallery of mishaps. It's all here: an aviator's maroon suit, bits of Roald Amundsen's plane and the doomed Italia airship. The city museum also has a 'catastrophe section'. One exhibit concerns the rifle of trapper Georg Nilsen, who vanished in 1921. His skeleton was discovered in 1965, crunched up by polar bears... his rifle jammed. John Gimlette is the author of The Gardens Of Mars: Madagascar, An Island Story, published by Head of Zeus.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
DeAPlaneta Teams With China's Alpha Group To Relaunch Animated Polar Bear Character ‘Bernard'
Barcelona-based DeAPlaneta Entertainment and Chinese licensing and merchandising company Alpha Group, which is also a producer of children and family content, have signed an agreement to jointly relaunch animated series Bernard globally. The dialogue-free, animated TV series about a bumbling polar bear called Bernard, was first launched out of Spain in 2006 and went on to win fans at home and internationally, with the character known as Backkom in Asia. More from Deadline Andy Serkis' Animated Film 'Animal Farm' Sets Sales With Goodfellas Animation - Cannes Market Annecy Unveils 2025 Line-Up With Matt Groening Honor; First Looks For 'Animal Farm'; Netflix's 'Stranger Things'; DreamWorks' 'Bad Guys 2'; Sony's 'Goat' & Disney's 'Zootopia 2' Shout! Studios Takes North America For Animated Feature 'Into The Wonderwoods' By 'Persepolis' and 'Zombillenium' Directors DeAPlaneta Entertainment announced the partnership ahead of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival next week where the company will be out in force at the MIFA market. The company acquired the Bernard IP in 2023 when it bought the catalogue of Madrid-based children's content company BRB International, in a deal including broadcast rights and operating licences for a number of popular animated shows. Prior to the deal, Alpha Group had acquired Chinese rights to the Bernard IP and produced three feature films devoted to the polar bear and his entourage: Backkom Bear: Agent 008 (2017), Agent Backkom: Kings Bear (2021), and Backkom Bear: Mars Mission (2024). Under the agreement with the Alpha Group, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, the owner of all Bernard-related content previously produced by BRB International in Western markets, will distribute both new seasons and future productions created around the Bernard brand outside of Asia. The agreement also includes the global distribution in Western countries by DeAPlaneta Entertainment of the new animated feature film Bernard: Mars Mission, which enjoyed a successful theatrical release in Group is one of China's top family and children's content companies, with other credits including Petronix Defenders, Super Wings, Katuri and Quantum Heroes: is currently broadcast in more than 180 countries through linear channels such as Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Televisa, BBC, Televisión Española, KIKA, M6/Gulli, Nickelodeon, and Canal Panda, as well as VOD platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten, and has also gained digital traction with a dedicated Bernard YouTube channel, which as a subscriber base of 6.7 million; a total of 2.648 billion views, and monthly viewership of two Bernard IP has also generated licensing partnerships with Universal, Ravensburger, Famosa, Panini, Clementoni, Warner Bros., and Comansi, among others. 'Bernard has achieved unparalleled global brand maturity. Both DeAPlaneta Entertainment and Alpha Group are pleased to offer new content to the fans of this unforgettable character,' said Carlos Biern, Content and Media Sales Director of DeAPlaneta Kids & Family. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Stranger Things' Season 5 So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
