What We Accomplished for Polar Bears in 2024

Over the course of the past year, we made a lot of progress together on behalf of the world’s polar bears. Here are our Top 10 accomplishments from 2024, all made possible by your support and generosity.

1. Protecting Moms and Cubs

Denning is the most vulnerable time in a polar bear’s life. Thanks to your support, in 2024 we conducted the 8th year of our polar bear den study in Svalbard, Norway, where we deployed remote cameras at 5 known den sites on snowy mountain slopes. The long-term study is providing valuable insights into the needs and vulnerabilities of moms and cubs.

2. Human-Polar Bear Coexistence

Keeping polar bears and people safe is critically important as melting sea ice forces more polar bears to spend more time onshore. Because of you, we worked with 6 frontline communities in 2 countries on bear-safe initiatives. We also hosted a community exchange that allowed delegates from 3 regions (Churchill, Manitoba; Northern Ontario; and Svalbard, Norway) to share insights and information.

3. Global Education

Your generosity allowed us to reach hundreds of thousands of people around the world with information on polar bears, the threatened Arctic ecosystem, and the urgent need to take action on climate change. This outreach ranged from our top-ranked website to our Tundra Connections® broadcasts. We also engaged with visitors to our 2 interpretive centers in Churchill and Svalbard. Visit our Education Center

4. Groundbreaking Research

You made it possible for our staff scientists to publish 5 peer-reviewed papers this year that inform polar bear conservation, from ringing alarm bells on the future for Hudson Bay bears if nations fail to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement to genetics research that provides insights on which polar bear populations are most at risk in a warming Arctic. Learn more

5. International Forums

You enabled us to take part in 2 key meetings where we shared findings and helped set conservation priorities: the Polar Bear Specialist Group meeting, composed of scientists from the 5 polar bear nations, and the International Bear Association conference. We also shared 5 accreditation badges with young leaders to the COP29 climate summit and supported the attendance of a young Inuit leader from the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

6. Tech Innovations

Your generosity helped support 3 tech research projects this year. These include finalizing field research on the use of “Bear-dar” to detect approaching bears and working with partners to fine-tune the AI on our polar bear den cams. We also published a paper on our “Burr on Fur” tracking tags, a valuable new tool for monitoring adult males and young polar bears, 2 little-studied groups. Learn more

7. Amplifying Our Reach

This year, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our Arctic Ambassador Center network, composed of 49 zoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks in the U.S., Canada, and Europe that share our commitment to polar bear conservation. Thanks to your support, 16 staff from these facilities took part in this fall’s Climate Alliance training, where they learned how to communicate effectively on polar bears and climate change.

8. Shining a Spotlight on Advocacy

Because of you, we were able to create a series of 5 Civic Engagement videos that provide a roadmap to moving the dial on climate change, from voting with the climate in mind to getting involved in community projects. We also created 1 web-based toolkit for civic action and 4 “Talk About Climate Change” videos on how to hold these important conversations and connect over shared values.

9. Arctic Inspiration

Thanks to you, we touched hearts and minds through our live Polar Bear, Northern Lights, and Beluga Cams in partnership with explore.org, highlighting the Arctic and its wildlife and inspiring people to care. In 2024, these windows into the Arctic received over one million views from around the world – and they continue to attract views on archived YouTube videos!

10. Global Media Reach

In a world of misinformation, you helped us cut through the noise with accurate, science-based facts on polar bears, sea ice, and climate change — through our website, social media, outside publications, and other outreach. In 2024, we were featured in 2,912 unique media with an estimated reach of 18.2 billion people.