Overview

• Researchers combined satellite tracking collars and remote cameras to document polar bear cubs leaving their dens for the first time in Svalbard, Norway.
• The study highlights the critical role of maternal dens in cub survival, with fewer than 50% of cubs typically surviving to adulthood.
• Findings indicate polar bear families are leaving their dens earlier in the spring than previously recorded, potentially due to climate change, though further monitoring is needed.
• Cubs rely heavily on their mothers during this vulnerable period, rarely venturing outside the den alone and staying close for up to 2.5 years.
• The research underscores the need to protect denning habitats as industrial activity and climate-driven changes increasingly threaten Arctic ecosystems.