Illinois Global Review

Lying between Norway and the North Pole, it’s no surprise Svalbard’s meaning in Old Norse translates to “cold coast”. With short, cold summers and long, brutal winters, the Arctic archipelago is barely home to two thousand people– an evident representation of the harsh living conditions that batter the island’s inhabitants. However, another resident, one much-better equipped for life in Svalbard’s sub-zero climate, dominates the region: the polar bear. Prepared with thick, white fur and a layer of blubber, the largest terrestrial carnivore on Earth has adapted to bear the brunt of the Arctic’s frigid conditions.

A common myth persists about Svalbard: the population of polar bears outnumbers the population of humans on the archipelago. In reality, only around 300 polar bears remain in Svalbard year-round. However, around 3,000 frequent the surrounding Barents Sea area to search for prey, utilizing the ice edge to hunt ringed, bearded, and harp seals. Yet as temperatures rise across the planet, causing record levels of glacial melting, Svalbard’s polar bears have been forced to adapt to their rapidly-changing circumstances.

On July 23, 2024, Svalbard experienced a new record of surface melting, expelling more than fifty millimeters of water equivalent in a single day. A month later, the capital of Longyearbyen felt its highest temperature of August ever recorded, 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Although seemingly low, this statistic shot past previous highs by multiple degrees, reflecting a serious level of warming in a corner of the globe known for its gelid environment.

These alarming patterns can be attributed to overall rising temperatures across the planet. Unusually high air temperatures trigger the melting of ice caps, causing overall ice coverage to decrease. Glacial melting subsequently results in the emission of stored methane, further contributing to the greenhouse gas effect in a vicious cycle that threatens to be devastating for polar regions. And far more tangible than atmospheric changes, the ecosystem of Svalbard is heavily disrupted by the altering landscape, in turn affecting the livelihoods of polar bears.

The shrinking ice coverage impacts polar bears across the region. For year-round inhabitants, the lack of ice forces the bears to hunt on land, often for unusually lengthened periods of time, atypical of previous behavior. These shortened hunting seasons on ice can result in less fat storage and sustenance for bears in the winter, limiting how much food they have to survive in the colder months. For bears that frequent the Barents Sea area , the lack of ice makes it difficult to traverse to key locations, such as dens. Historically, female polar bears made their dens in east Svalbard. Without large sheets of sea ice, they are forced to either swim lengthy distances to reach their usual grounds, a demanding, energy-expending task, or navigate to further locations, such as the Franz Josef Land archipelago. Both avenues represent the impact of the changing landscape on these creatures, creating additional obstacles that upend their normal routines.

Despite their newfound hardships, Svalbard’s polar bear population has remained steady, unlike observed polar bear decline in various other habitats, including northeastern Alaska and Canada. A number of factors contribute to the resourcefulness of these animals. First, competition for food remains low throughout the archipelago. Common contenders to the polar bear, from wolves to wolverines, are not found in Svalbard, allowing for an abundance in prey. The bears have also chosen to deviate from traditional food sources. Rather than relying on the ringed seal, Svalbard’s apex predators have been seen eating reindeer and walrus, in addition to attacking bird colonies for eggs, all uncommon prey. These strategies enable Svalbard’s polar bears to maintain steady nourishment in the face of increasingly difficult hunting measures.

As Svalbard continues to warm, the future of its polar bears remains to be seen. Despite their resourcefulness, the continuation of melting ice will only further hinder hunting efforts, lowering body fat and consequently survival through the winter. Without adequate attention given to rising temperatures, the presence of these magnificent animals in the Norwegian archipelago remains at risk.