Since the polar bear research team from Environment Canada and Climate Change has been conducting their annual fall polar bear survey out of Churchill, MB for the past month, we asked them to keep an eye out for Ursula. By the time we asked they had already spotted her!
The team knew it was Ursula from the frequency of her collar. Because she is wearing a collar, there was no need to capture her to weigh or measure her, so they simply got a visual.
Ursula was spotted on September 8, alone as predicted, on the north shore of a lake roughly 60 km southeast of Churchill in Wapusk National Park.
She looked healthy, her collar fit her well, and the biologists think that she is, in fact, pregnant.
She had been feeding on a berry bush when they saw her, and seemed unconcerned that she was getting spied on by a helicopter for a few minutes.
Great news for Ursula! We will continue to monitor her as she goes into a den this fall and emerges next spring.
Until then, stay tuned for when we start following a new bear on explore and the Polar Bears International Bear Tracker this October or November.