My name is Jenny Stern and I am a scientist at the University of Washington that studies polar bears. You all have asked some amazing questions!

 

I’ve done my best to answer some of them below:

 

Understanding the movement pattern of an animal provides a lot of really interesting information. We can look at how long polar bears can swim, what food is available to them, and where they start their families. We can also see if where they spend their time changes as there is less and less ice available. 

 

Polar bears catch seals on the ice. Seals are very fast swimmers so catching a seal in water would be really hard.

Seals create breathing holes in the ice with their claws. They come to the breathing holes to get air after swimming under water. Polar bears will locate the breathing holes with their sense of smell and then will wait hours for the seals to emerge. Polar bears will also look find seal pups in lairs (caves in the snow) and use their front legs to collapse the roof. 

 

What can humans do to save polar bear habitat? How can we help the polar bears from the effects of global warming? 

Polar bears depend on the ice for feeding, mating, and giving birth. Seals also depend on the ice for pupping (giving birth). In order to save polar bear habitat, humans need to slow the rate at which the planet is warming which would slow the rate at which the ice is melting. Global warming is caused by humans, which also means that we can slow it down! You can help by reducing your energy use. Reducing energy use includes making sure lights are turned off, electronics that aren’t in-use are unplugged, or biking to school. Additionally, keep learning about animals & the environment so that you can advocate for the importance of protecting our planet!

 

Looking forward to eventually meeting you all on Skype!

 

-Jenny