Tracking polar bears in northern Manitoba

New technology tested at Assiniboine Park Zoo has arrived in Churchill to help track polar bears.

The AI ​​tracking device was set up at the zoo this summer to help the technology learn what was and wasn’t a polar bear.

Now the device has reached Churchill, where it will track bears in northern Manitoba.

“It is intended to detect polar bears and be able to distinguish between polar bears and people or other animals or vehicles,” said Kieran McIver, manager of Churchill Field Operations at Polar Bears International.

The “beardar” in Churchill on top of one of the tundra buggies. Uploaded on November 6, 2024. (Polar Bears International)

“The idea is to hopefully deploy it up north in communities where polar bears are found, creating what you could think of as a virtual fence. So it could act as an early detection system, alerting people when polar bears enter an area. “

McIver said once a bear is identified, the AI ​​can fully track the bear’s whereabouts and even send a text message or email alert to alert people to the situation.

With the decline of sea ice, there are more interactions between communities and bears. The tracking would help keep people and bears safe through early detection.

The “beardar” spots a polar bear far away in Churchill. Uploaded on November 6, 2024. (Polar Bears International)

“There’s always the possibility that the bear may need to be destroyed because it might end up in a community and possibly hurt someone or get into something it shouldn’t be doing,” said Raymond Friesen, research support specialist at Polar Bears International.

“Those bears would ideally be deterred before they enter the community, go to a landfill or go to a dog yard.”

Now that he’s in his new environment, Friesen says they need to calibrate the AI ​​and tell it when it correctly identifies a polar bear.

“The hope is that if it gets really good at that, the human element will no longer be part of that check and balance,” he said.

Friesen said it’s already working well, and he recently experienced tracking bears late at night.

“I had the computer open and we could see a bear and two cubs coming from a distance in the middle of the night. You couldn’t see it with your naked eyes, but suddenly this alarm came on the screen. I pointed a camera at it, ( and with) the night vision you could see a mother and two cubs all the way outside and it followed them all the way in, all the way to the lodge.

A polar bear in northern Manitoba. Uploaded on November 6, 2024. (Erinn Hermsen/Polar Bears International)

Although it is currently used for polar bears, McIver and Friesen say this technology could be used to track other animals and conduct research around the world.

“There’s no doubt that you could train it on other species or other animals and apply it in similar ways in other parts of the world,” says McIver.

“The technology is there to expand its use to other animals. It would be a matter of training what that animal looks like on the radar,” Friesen said.

They said the hope is that it will eventually be permanently stationed in the north to monitor polar bears year-round.