The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was founded in 1961 as an independent organisation for the protection of endangered species. It works in over 90 countries. Its 2006 annual report shows that WWF Germany was able to increase the number of its supporters by 5.5 percent, to 324,000. In 2006, the German section supported 53 conservation projects all over the world, with 20.8 million Euros.
Since 1992, WWF International has supported an Arctic Programme, with its headquarters in Oslo. Seven WWF offices are involved in this programme –Canada, Alaska, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The programme comprises research on marine ecosystems and their diversity of species, and exploration of the fresh water deposits in the extreme North. Further focus is on climate change, pollution of the seas, the dangers of crude oil and natural gas extraction and establishing reservations for endangered species.
WWF Polar Bear Research
Polar bear research is an important aspect. "We want to find out how the bears react to climate change", says Stefan Ziegler, of WWF Germany's department for the protection of endangered species. WWF supports the Norwegian Polar Institute and its long-term research project on Spitsbergen.
Unfortunately, mammals are not as easy to observe in the Arctic as elsewhere. You cannot track a polar bear for weeks and months, least of all without being noticed. The animals are therefore tagged with a collar containing a satellite tracking device which transmits precise position information. This method, however, only works for the females. "The males have no neck", jokes Ziegler. They would be able to strip off the collar far too easily. "The polar bears' satellite collars on Spitsbergen, unfortunately only last for about a year", says Ziegler. Because of the high purchase and maintenance costs, only very few animals can be tagged with tracking devices. In order to attach the collar, the bears must first be anaesthetised with an anaesthetic gun firing an arrow from a helicopter. "And one flight hour in the Arctic costs more than 500 Euros."
When tagging, the researchers also take blood and tissue samples. The anaesthetised bear is measured and her overall state of health is checked. A small premolar is extracted for age determination. This does not hurt the animal, but provides valuable data for the scientists. In summer, polar bears produce more tooth cementum than in winter so their teeth show "annual rings", similar to trees, which you can count with a microscope.
First Results of the Long-Term Study
First results of the long-term study seem to show that the female polar bears respond to climate change with two different strategies. "The so-called long-distance runners follow the retreating ice and cover great distances a year. Other females stay 'loyal' to a particular location", reports Ziegler. They stay on land in summer and try to get by somehow.
The current migratory movements of four female polar bears on the Svalbard islands (Spitsbergen) are being observed with the WWF Polar Bear Tracker. Since the animals don't treat their tagging collars with tender loving care and the signal can be distorted by rocks or weather conditions, the data is not always easy to interpret.
In particular, the female Bouba Le Blanc has been puzzling researchers. In the late autumn of 2007, she retreated into a snow den, but suddenly left it for the fjord, and some time later looked for a new winter quarter.
The scientists assume that the first den did not offer sufficient protection because of inferior snow conditions. But a lot more observations are needed in order to understand when, where and according to which criteria females build a snow den. Certainly, the most important reason is a future birth, but sometimes female bears also retreat to their "igloo" in unfavourable weather conditions.
Polar Bears as Ambassadors for Climate Protection
The WWF uses polar bears as a kind of flagship for its work on climate protection. "Polar bears are charismatic animals of the north, and they can rouse emotions", says Ziegler. Snow foxes and snowy owls would also fit this role, but their habitat is not so strongly focused on the eternal ice.
Ziegler, an expert on the protection of endangered species, cannot quite understand the enthusiasm for polar bear cub Knut in Berlin Zoo. He does, however, regret that nearly 90 percent of the media hype is concerned with this particular polar bear. "It would be nice, if Nuremberg Zoo and Flocke succeeded in drawing more attention to the biology and habitats of polar bears", says Ziegler.
Mathias Orgeldinger
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