Volume 24-25, 1976-7 - The Arctic Circle - Home

PACE 9SCIENIISTS TO STUDY trT'ECIIS OF I\4AN I S${CROACIIME}JT Ol'I ARCTIC lilAMl4AiSThe effects of civilization's ercr()achnent on high arctic nramnals andtheir habitat will be studied by Utriversity of lbntana scientists urder a$233,0@ grant received today from the Nationel Science For-:ndation (NSF) .Ttre 3Gnrrnth study will focus on the 5n1ar bear, considered a threatenedspecies and protected r.nder international law. Their research is e4)e:tedto evaluate the trnlar bear's future as it faces new incursions from oilexploration arxl pipeline and shipp Lng activities.Ttre Iulontana researchers will colldrrate wittr Canadian, Danish, Ncr:wegianand Soviet scientists in the project wh-ich is opected to provide a pfanfor nranaging lnlar bears in the arctic basin and produce infornation forr:nderstanding man's pressure on bear populations,Dr. Ckrarles Jorkel, an authority on grtzzLy, black and polar bears, whowifl head the pncgram, said ttre study will include research on nnnyaspects of the polar bear's life, including polar bear-rnan relationships."Al1 species of Ncrth Anerican bears attack people, especially when peopleand bears inadvertently get too close to each other--the potar bear mayattack," Dr. Jonkel said.. "Sone attacks seem to indicate unusual behaviorby thre bear o possibly precipitated by an attractive odor, sor:nd or actionof the person".lVhratever the case, he said, intormation on thre behavior or action vfrich maybe provocative to bears i,vould be of great help to those who operatenational parks, oil cafips, Iand developers, campers and to those who livein northern settl-erpnts.Increased economic activity throughout thre polar basin presents environnentaland biological problems not only to the .polar bears but also toarctic seals and the entire food chaln. Ttre polar bear, dt the top ofthe food chain, survives by e>