Connect to Polar Bears
| Watch the story of a young polar bear mum, Violet, who is making her way in a warming world with her cubs. Violet is in Svalbard, Norway. Watch Violet: A Polar Bear Story on YouTube |
Making the Connection to Polar Bears
A conservationist – I can’t recall who – said recently that to want to care for something, you need to know about them. You need to know how they live and what conditions they need to survive and really thrive.
You need – or I’ve found it makes a huge difference – to have them link in your head, as I found with my polar bear, Nanuk. Then you know what they need and you can make a connection with them in your heart. Once you’ve got that connection with them in your heart, you want to help them – it’s difficult not to.
Feel that connection, and it’s almost like they have stepped into their world. Your heart has the will to help and make a difference. Your head will help you decide which next steps you should take.
So how can you connect to polar bears?
There are lots of ways to do it. Learning about one polar bear and following their life as closely as you can is one. You can do this by adopting a polar bear, as I did, or just following one on a charity’s tracker, such as Polar Bears International do on polar bears. It helps polar bear charities find out what the bears are doing, how long they are staying in one spot, how far they are swimming to find new sea ice and so forth.
Adopt a polar bear!
Polar Bears International have e-adoptions so it doesn’t matter where you live. They are solely dedicated to helping polar bears and researching sea ice, vital habitat for our wonderful polar bear. It's a great way to learn about one bear and form a sort of bond with them - I did this with "my" bear, Nanuk.
Watch Polar Bears!
Take a look at real polar bears in the wild – you can see them on YouTube and also on Polar Bear International’s website. Watch them and imagine what it would feel like to know that you are helping them, even from wherever it is you are right at that moment. Connect with polar bears in the wild from home!
You can also share the live cams of the polar bears from the website so that you can help people connect with nature and see how amazing polar bears are! .
There are also lots of You Tube videos you can watch and share.
For polar bear lovers, how about a
Polar Bears 2025 Calendar from the Calendar Club for a gift??
Track a polar bear!
Pick a polar bear from Polar Bears International’s tracking page and track your bear! Get a feel for where they are, see what the terrain looks like – you can get a picture of the life the bear faces. What would the temperature be now? What do the surroundings look like? Google maps can help here.
Join in online events
Polar Bears International have lots of online events you can get involved with or watch, especially at key events in the year such as Polar Bears Week (27th October to 2nd November 2024) and Arctic Sea Ice Day (15 July) and International Polar Bears Day (27 February). They give you a great chance to learn from the incredibleh scientists and conservationists to discover what they are doing to help polar bears and how you can help.
The Loneliest Polar Bear:
A True Story of Survival and Peril on the Edge of a Warming World
This e-book is available from Hive.co.uk
Learn more about polar bears
What are the conservation challenges facing them? Is it the same for all populations of polar bears? Polar bears live in Norway, Russia, Greenland, the US, Canada, What can you and I do about it? Both the Arctic WWF and Polar Bears International have lots of information.
Your heart will tell you how you feel about this beautiful animals.
Your head will tell you how you can help polar bears.
Connect your heart’s will to help with your head’s ability to make decisions and move yourself to action. Connect your heart and head and start your own journey to make a difference for them.