Polar Bear Infanticide & Cannibalism on the Arctic Ice - Global Warming

I've just returned from a few weeks in the Arctic observing polar bears (Ursus martimus).

During the time I was on ther tundra, I observed as  many as 12 bears at any one time which included large males, females, and females with cubs (1st and 2nd year).  I also sighted Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare, Silver and Cross Fox, and Rock Ptarmigans.

Photographs were taken in an assortment of conditions ranging from almost balmy conditions in full sun to downright frigid temperatures with 50 knot blizzard winds and falling snow.

Bear Congregation Waits for Ice to Form

From October to November there are many bears that have migrated from the more southerly regions to the shores of Hudson Bay; they are very hungry and have not fed for most of the summer.  The congregation is waiting for the sea ice to form to allow them to roam widely to feed upon their favourite prey - the ringed seal. 

Lack of Sea Ice

One of the most striking observations I made was the lack of solid sea ice.   Although the ice was slowly forming, it was still what they call grease ice, which is ice that is not suitable for the bears to traverse safely any great distance from the shoreline.  The sea ice is paramount to the bear's survival as without the ice formation the bears cannot move onto the bay to track and feed on seals. 

Cannibalism

On one day we observed a male polar bear feeding upon what appeared to be some type of carrion - perhaps a seal or a other small animal.  However, upon closer inspection it was revealed that the small carcass was not a seal but rather a baby first year polar bear.  The location of the feeding male was given away by two ravens which could be seen from some distance jumping and flying about.

Circling the male was a female bear which appeared to be in obvious distress. The female was not walking as polar bears usually do - steadily and surely, but instead had a stiff gait and was walking erratically.  Further, the bear's head was swaying from side to side and the mother was making low vocalisations.

Although cannibalism is not unheard of in the animal world, it isn't commonly observed amongst polar bears.  There are several hypothesis for cannibalism, however, all are unfounded.  Perhaps the male bear is removing future competition by killing the cub, or is killing the cub to cause the female mother to become 'available" again for mating.  Although these are plausible reasons, it's more likely that the male bear was exceptionally hungry  and seized the opportunity for nutritional gain by feeding upon the cub. As mentioned earlier the bears are congregating to feed on ringed seals on the ice.  If the ice is not forming earlier enough, then the hungry bears become starved and after reaching such a poor condition may seek alternate prey such as young bear cubs or other animals. 

Of interest is that the male bear did not consume the liver of the cub.  This is because the liver of a polar bear is toxic.  How did the male know the liver was toxic?

Mother Carries Deceased Away

After the male bear had finished consuming the carcass and moved away, the female bear approached the carcass, sniffed at it, and  picking it up gently within her jaws, she proceeded to carry it away – where to is unknown as I could not follow her.

Major Concern

What's a major concern is that this cannibalistic behaviour may become more prevalent if conditions favourable for ice formation are delayed, leading to fewer recruitment of a species that is already in decline. 

Scientists have documented the gradual reduction and delay in sea ice formation for several years and although some proponents believe this to be a normal event, others believe the cause maybe global warming.  Whatever the cause, the results speak for themselves - sea ice is not forming as rapidly or as extensively as it did.

Please note that this image is being posted NOT to discriminate or advance the perception that polar bears are fearless and uncaring predators, but to highlight a concern that global warming is altering the behaviour of specific species.

As I get time I will post a series of images I have photographed of the event.

For more information on the plight of the polar bear, please visit Polar Bears International

Images top to bottom: 

1: Male polar bear holds cub carcass looking toward circling mother bear.

2: Male polar bear trots across snow ridge carrying cub carcass to avoid contact with other bears in near vicinity.

3: Cub head, entrails and uneaten liver are dragged along the ice.

4: Carcass left on ice after male polar bear had consumed most of the carcass.

5: Male polar bear eating cub carcass.

6: Polar bear waits patiently for sea ice to form.  At this time of the year the ice should be more extensive.

Update on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 7:47PM by Iain Williams

News Photographers Association of Canada (NAAC.ca) asked I write a short story of the cannibalism event we witnessed.  It can viewed on their website at http://npac.ca/?s=iain+d.+williams

Drive carefully - AVOID killing wildlife

All to often these days folks are in a hurry.  Between talking on cell phones, drinking coffee, arguing with kids and partners, and tending pets in vehicles, there seems to be little time to devote to - ah - actually driivng, let alone watching the road for wildlife.

Many native animals are attracted to road verges either to graze on the fresh grass along the side of the road, feed on dead carrion, a result of road kill, or as a natural through fare between one area and another.  Whatever the reason, it is paramount when travelling to watch out for wildlife.

Last week I was doing some work in the north of the state and came across this highly threatened Spotted Tiger Quoll ( Dasyurus maculatus maculatus).  The Spotted Tiger Quoll is a marsupial cat and inhabits the east coast of Australia and the island state of Tasmania.  Its former range in mainland Australia has been drastically reduced due to human influences and Tasmania is one of their last strongholds.

Unfortunately, the quoll in Tasmania is now becoming more difficult to find as population numbers are far less than a decade earlier.  Possible reason sited are forestry operations, land clearing, introduction of feral cats, and the reduction of Tasmanian devil numbers (by facial Tumour Disease).  Whatever the "true" reason, it's disheartening to find a road killed quoll.

So next time your out and about - keep your eyes peeled  and SLOW DOWN for wildlife.

Too Many Extinctions: Global Extinction Crisis Worse Than Thought

Too Many Extinctions: Global Extinction Crisis Worse Than Thought

Recently I received an e-mail newsletter stating we're currently undergoing the Sixth Extinction. Those of you who know me, will realize that my university post graduate studies included understanding extinction methodologies. As such, I have more than a passing interest in this topic.

Local and global extinctions occur continually in the natural world as environmental parameters change. However, global extinctions on the current scale that we are observing do not mimic the timings of natural systems - the timings and environmental cues have been skewed by human activity.

All wildlife and nature photographers should have a passion for conservation, whether it's a subject your keenly interested in or not, as ultimately your photographic subjects are at peril.

Rather than write a essay here or climb up onto my "not so high" box and preach, I though it best to copy the newsletter article below and add a link / reference to the original publisher of the information. I urge you to read on, as only then, will you hopefully understand the urgency to protect habitat to maintain genetic diversity.

ARTICLE

"The planet is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction event, the first in 65 million years -- this time, human caused -- and it's even worse than we imagined. A new report published in the international journal Conservation Biology shows that across the planet, nearly 17,000 of the 45,000 assessed species are threatened with extinction. And the crisis is hitting the Oceanic region of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands especially hard, turning some of the Earth's most prominent biodiversity hotspots into extinction hotspots. The prime extinction drivers? Habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, climate change, overexploitation, pollution, and wildlife disease. Hmm, these all seem related to overpopulation.

Another report, just published in the journal Science, shows that extinction events tend to wipe out not just individual species, but entire evolutionary lineages -- species with a common ancestor, on the same branch of the tree of life. That means an activity driving one species toward extinction -- say, global warming threatening one type of seabird -- will likely harm all similar species: all seabirds. Of course, that means protecting one species is likely to help protect related species, making conservation all the more vital.

Reining in the extinction crisis is the single greatest challenge ever faced by humanity, and it's what the Center for Biological Diversity was born to do. By battling global warming, overpopulation, overfishing, clear-cutting, strip mining, sprawl, and countless other threats, we're working to protect every branch -- in fact, every leaf -- on the evolutionary tree".

Want to read more?  Navigate here:   Centre for Biologocal Diversity and The Sixth Extinction