Picture by Kjetil Sagerup

Polar bear encounters

HomePolar bear encounters

Polar bear encounters

Have you had a closer bear encounter? Please share your observation and/or encounter by filling out this form. We define a closer encounter as meeting a bear causing you to change your way / behaviour. E.g. you are on fieldwork and have to leave the island because you see a bear. Or a bear approached your cabin and had to scare off the bear.The goal of this documentation is to identify safety hazards and trends in human-bear encounters. Yearly reports based on data from this form are presented to NySMAC and shared to the local people in Ny-Ålesund.

Date of sighting / encounter(Required)
Time of the encounter
:
If you don’t know the name of the place, try to describe it. (e.g. approx. 5 km west of Ny-Ålesund)
Did (one of) the bear(s) have a collar around the neck?
Your form of transportation when observing/encountering the bear(s)?

Did you change your field plans due to the encounter?
E.g. “at a cabin” or “during fieldwork on the coastline”.
What was your group size?
Please mention anything you think is relevant for others to know. There is no judgement about your own behavior and this form is anonymous. Any information on the reaction of both the bear(s) as the human(s) gives us insights and important lessons learned. By sharing your experience, you help increase the field safety in the Arctic.
What is your role in Ny-Ålesund? (you can choose several)
Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.

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