As the Arctic warms, concern for the plight of Santa’s favourite sleigh pullers is mounting. But in one small corner of the far flung north – Svalbard – Rudolph and his friends are thriving. Warmer temperatures are boosting plant growth and giving Svalbard reindeer more time to build up fat reserves; they also appear to […]
Tag: svalbard
French woman is mauled by a polar bear after it wandered into a tour group’s campsite on remote Norwegian Arctic island
A French woman has been mauled by a polar bear which had wandered into her tour group’s campsite on a remote Norwegian Arctic island. The tourist was part of a tour group of 25 people camping at Sveasletta, in the central part of the Svalbard archipelago, more than 500 miles north of the Norwegian mainland. […]
Polar bears eating reindeer: normal behaviour or result of climate change?
Recently, scientists in Hornsund, Svalbard – a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic ocean – witnessed a polar bear pursuing a reindeer into the sea before killing it, dragging it ashore and eating it. The video that they captured was widely shared on news and social media platforms. Then, two days later, they saw the same […]
Climate crisis behind drastic drop in Arctic wildlife populations – report
A drastic drop in caribou and shorebird populations is a reflection of the dire changes unfolding on the Arctic tundra, according to a new report from the Arctic Council. The terrestrial Arctic spans approximately 2.7m sq miles (7m sq km), marked by extreme cold, drought, strong winds and seasonal darkness. Species living in this environment […]
Most polar bears to disappear by 2100, study predicts
Scientists have predicted for the first time when, where and how polar bears are likely to disappear, warning that if greenhouse gas emissions stay on their current trajectory all but a few polar bear populations in the Arctic will probably be gone by 2100. By as early as 2040, it is very likely that many […]
Hunting of polar bears must be banned if species has any chance of survival, expert warns
Hunting of polar bears for their skins and trophies must be banned or the iconic Arctic species will die out, a conservationist has warned. Not only are the animals battling to survive the impact of climate change, which is melting the ice they need to hunt on, but trophy hunters and a soaring demand for […]
Svalbard reindeer rebounding better than hoped after nearly going extinct
Reindeer and caribou populations have been declining dramatically over the past few decades. But one subspecies of reindeer seems to be doing better, anew study has found. The wild Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), which lives in the harsh archipelago of Svalbard off Norway in the Arctic Ocean, was nearly hunted to extinction in the […]
Global heating: geese shift migration stop-off northwards
Barnacle geese are shifting their migratory patterns northward in response to global heating, new research has found, in a stark indication of how wildlife is being affected by the changes in climate. In their spring journey from the UK to their breeding grounds on Svalbard, one population of the geese has been forsaking a traditional […]