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

Photographing Polar Bears in the Arctic in Canada for 3 weeks

Title says it all.  I am away for roughly 4 weeks photographing polar bears.  During this time, for most part, I will be without internet access.  Therefore, there probably won't be updates until I return.

On return I will post a few entries on my experiences.

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.

BLOG Action Day 2009 - Climate Change Affects Local Marine Species

When the phrase climate change is heard, many people think about large scale effects such as sea level rise or the reduction in the size and thickness of polar ice caps.  These occurrences are significant, however, what about the smaller, often hidden, but no less significant events that can and are occurring in many countries.  Often these are overlooked.

KELP FORESTS ON THE DECLINE

One problem happening in Tasmania is the reduction of kelp forests (Macrocystis pyrifera) that used to grace the shores of this island state.  When I first dived in Tasmania (2001 thereabouts) you could SCUBA dive through stunningly beautiful kelp forests that were so thick you could loose yourself within them.  Despite the aesthetic beauty of the underwater forests, they provided the background template for a thriving marine ecosystem, in addition to being a haven for a variety of marine life, from the small and inconspicuous nudibranch to various fish species and the giant octopus.

Unfortunately this ecosystem is disappearing from Tasmania's coastline at an alarming rate, due to the increase in water temperature.  Kelp forests need temperate waters to survive and grow to the size they are (some kelp reaches 20 meters or 60 feet in length).  Water temperatures over the last few years have been warmer than usual which has resulted in kelp forests declining in size and abundance.

ENDEMIC SPOTTED HANDFISH THREATENED WITH EXTICTION

The Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsustus) is found in water up to 8 meters deep (24 feet) in the Greater Hobart area.  This species is found nowhere else on planet Earth.  Its habitat is the sandy stretches of sea bottom that can be found adjacent to some of the headlands and coves along the Derwent River.  Habitat destruction due to construction activities and water temperate fluctuations threaten the extinction of this species.  The spotted Handfish can only reproduce within a certain water temperature range and an increase in this range causes reproduction to cease.  Contemporary scientific research indicates that although river water temperatures fluctuate, overall temperature has been increasing over the last decade which if continued will threaten the survival of this endemic species.

Often the small animals and less "showey" plants are forgotten when discussing climate change.  These are but two of the myrid of flora and fauna species that are being currently affected by climate change globally.

Shadowing the Tasmania Devil Task Force

I’ve just spent the last week or so photographically documenting the activities of the Tasmania Government Devil Task Force (DTF) while they have been working on what they call a “Rolling Disease Suppression Line”. This has been in association with The Devi Task Force belonging to Tasmania State Government.  It's intended in due course to produce several articles on the team and the devil to raise awareness of the devil's plight in Tasmania.

Devil Task Force Team

The field component of the DTF comprises 3 groups of 3 individuals and each group is allocated different areas to work within the state of Tasmania.  Each group consists of a Field Zoologist, Field Officer, and a volunteer.  Supplemental to this is a separate team comprising two veterinarians. 

Through field monitoring (capture & release) the DTF strives to determine the extent and prevalence of Facial Tumour Disease (FTD) within populations of Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus harrisii).  Broadly speaking, FTD is more prevalent in eastern populations than western populations and determining which devil populations are affected can assist in the management and quarantine of the disease.

Most of the week involved an early wake up and rendezvous with one of the DTF teams to shadow their activities whilst they checked, cleaned and reset devil traps.  Devils captured in traps the evening before (Tasmania Devils are nocturnal) were removed from the trap, weighed and inspected for the FTD before being released.  If FTD was suspected or observed a call was made to the roving veterinarian unit who attended the animal to obtain further information for analysis which included a biopsy and blood taking.  Each captured devil then had a digital ID chip inserted beneath its skin between the shoulder blades.  The chip can be read by a supermarket style scanner gun.

Additional to this process was the collection of information on each captured devil which included sex, sexual maturity, carried young, age and any obvious deformities.  The information collected is then collated at a later date and added to a database to assist in the management of disease free devil populations. 

DTF personnel work a busy day starting at dawn and only ending after sunset.  Up to 20 traps are set along a pre-allocated line within the forest, forest coup or farmland.  Much of the work is off the main road and along forest trails and four wheel drive tracks involving the use of four wheel drive vehicles. 

Just because you set a trap doesn’t mean you will capture a devil; often traps were left unsprung and at other times they were sprung by other animals such as the Tasmania Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus maculates).  In the 5 days I worked with DTF we drove 1700 kilometres (1056 miles) in rain, hail, sleet and sunshine!

Thanks is due to the Devil Task Force Team (Phil, Holly & Anton), Veternarians (Michelle & Kim) and staff administration (Caroline & Kim) for allowing access.

Images top to bottom:  Devil Task Force Zoologist Holly Devereaux (Field Officer) releases captured devil, Anton (Volunteer) & Phil (Team Leader) take biopsy for tumour desease, Phil (Zoologist) inspects devil to determine age from teeth.

For further information on the facial tumour disease and the Devil Task Force please go to http://tassiedevil.com.au/

To see a short video of the Tasmania devil taken in the wild, click here to view on U-Tube.