Distribution and Abundance of Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus) Dens in Chukotka (Based on Inquiries of Representatives of Native Peoples)

Abstract

Research on the project “Traditional Knowledge of Chukotka Native Peoples on the Polar Bear and Its Habitat” was carried out in the years 1999–2003. One of the main objectives of the project was to collect information about the location of polar bear dens. The studies were based on individual interviews with the most active hunters and elders from native villages located within the polar bear range. Fifty-three people from 20 villages were questioned. Data on 278 den locations in the period from 1943 to 2002, as well as on the pattern of denning area use, were obtained. All dens and denning areas were mapped. Based on this information, 17 areas with regular and relatively high den densities were outlined. The total number of females that annually reproduced on the Chukotka mainland and offshore islands in the 1990s was estimated to be approximately 100–200 individuals. Possible options for changes in the reproductive strategy of females from the Alaska–Chukotka subpopulation against the background of an increase in the rate of loss of the sea ice habitat in the Pacific part of the Arctic are considered.