Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are legally harvested for subsistence (i.e., nutritional, cultural, and economic) purposes by Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Greenland, and the United States. As sea-ice loss due to climate warming continues, ensuring that subsistence harvest remains sustainable is a primary conservation priority. This paper,...

The PBSG is releasing resolutions passed at the Group’s 20th Working Meeting (held in Seattle, WA in June 2024) in advance of the publication of the Proceedings, which are expected sometime in late 2025. The first resolution is in reference to a change in harvest management in Nunavut, Canada that has conservation implications. In...

Following the recent recognition of Southeast Greenland (SE) as a new subpopulation, the PBSG Status Table and Status Narratives were updated. The SE subpopulation was recognized by the Government of Greenland in 2023 and by the PBSG at its 20th working meeting in June 2024. Click here to view the latest status table....

The 20th working meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) was held at the School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, 10-14 June 2024. The PBSG met to review and discuss current science informing the status of the world’s polar bear subpopulations. New scientific information...

The five polar bear range states met in a virtual format, 29 October – 2 November 2023, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears. As the Scientific Advisor to the Range States, the PBSG provided updates on its activities including the updated subpopulation …...

Following the recent release of new abundance estimates for the Davis Strait, Southern Hudson Bay, and Western Hudson Bay subpopulations, the PBSG reviewed and updated its status table incorporating this new information.  Short-term trends for the 19 subpopulations were that 2 had likely increased, 5 were likely stable, 3 had likely...