The polar bear patrol

In the Arctic, there’s a small village called Vankarem. About 200 people live there.

In recent years, the people of Vankarem have noticed that the number of polar bears in the area has increased.

The bears don’t usually eat from mid-summer through to autumn. They wait to go out hunting on the sea ice when it forms at the start of winter.

Climate change means that the winter ice is taking longer to form, so the bears can’t go out on the ice to hunt until later in the year. They’re trapped in the area around Vankarem, and they’re hungry.

In 2006, there were around 200 polar bears running around the Vankarem area looking for something to eat – there were as many bears as local people!

WWF, together with the Vankarem locals, set up the polar bear patrol (or the umky patrol which is Chukchi for polar bear) to help protect both people and bears.

Thanks to the work of the polar bear patrol, the local people of Vankarem and the bears have been living safely as neighbours.