723537A

© Norwegian Polar Institute

Age
approx. 5-years-old
Weight
165 kg
Length
204 cm
Most recent location
2023-09-01

This female was captured and tagged for the first time this spring, on the 8th of April in Hinlopen, east in the Svalbard archipelago. She is about 5 years old, 204 cm long and 165 kg. Her body condition (fat stores) was a bit on the low side (a 2 on a scale from 1-5) but she seemed to be strong and healthy. Being a young adult, it was not surprising that she did not have cubs this year. Female polar bears in our region typically first mate at age 5, and give birth for the first time when 6 years old. In the months after we tagged her, she has moved south-east to the ice edge and then stayed with the drifting ice in the eastern parts of Svalbard. Currently she is on land on Kongsøya, and that probably means that she may stay there the coming summer, because sea ice is now retreating north quickly as it melts.

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