Maps of subpopulations of polar bears and protected areas

Map of the circumpolar distribution of the polar bear. The map is centered on the North Pole, and includes the northern coasts of Europe, Russia, and North America down to approximately the 50th parallel. The North American portion appears at the bottom of the map with Europe and Russia at the top.

Each polar bear subpopulation is delineated with a bold line, and they are shaped like various polygons. In total, there are 19 subpopulations: 5 which occur outside of Canada and 14 that occur within or overlap with Canada.

International subpopulations are as follows (clockwise, starting in the west near Alaska): Chukchi Sea (CS), Laptev Sea (LV), Kara Sea (KS), Barents Sea (BS), and East Greenland (EG).

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations): Viscount Melville Sound (VM), Norwegian Bay (NW), Kane Basin (KB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS) Southern Hudson Bay (SH), Western Hudson Bay (WH), Foxe Basin (FB), Gulf of Boothia (GB), M’Clintock Channel (MC), Southern Beaufort Sea (SB), Northern Beaufort Sea (NB) and the Arctic Basin (AB).

Map of the circumpolar distribution of the polar bear. The map is centered on the North Pole, and includes the northern coasts of Europe, Russia, and North America down to approximately the 50th parallel. The North American portion appears at the bottom of the map with Europe and Russia at the top.

Each polar bear subpopulation is delineated with a bold line. In total, there are 19 subpopulations: 5 of which occur outside of Canada and 14 that occur within or overlap with Canada.

International subpopulations are as follows (clockwise, starting in the west near Alaska): Chukchi Sea (CS), Laptev Sea (LV), Kara Sea (KS), Barents Sea (BS), and East Greenland (EG).

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations): Viscount Melville Sound (VM), Norwegian Bay (NW), Kane Basin (KB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS), Southern Hudson Bay (SH), Western Hudson Bay (WH), Foxe Basin (FB), Gulf of Boothia (GB), M’Clintock Channel (MC), Southern Beaufort Sea (SB), Northern Beaufort Sea (NB) and the Arctic Basin (AB).

Map of the distribution of polar bear subpopulations and statuses in Canada. The map focuses on the Canadian Arctic including (from the east) Newfoundland and Labrador up to the west coast of Greenland around the Arctic Basin, west to the border with Alaska and across the northern continental coasts of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec.

Each polar bear subpopulation is delineated by a bold lined polygonal shape and shaded based on the status of the population. In total, there are 14 subpopulations that are contained within or overlap with Canada.

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations and status): Viscount Melville Sound (VM) ‘data deficient’, Norwegian Bay (NW) ‘data deficient’, Kane Basin (KB) ‘increased’, Lancaster Sound (LS) ‘data deficient’, Baffin Bay (BB) ‘likely stable’, Davis Strait (DS) ‘likely declined’, Southern Hudson Bay (SH) ‘likely declined’, Western Hudson Bay (WH) ‘likely declined’, Foxe Basin (FB) ‘stable’, Gulf of Boothia (GB) ‘stable’, M’Clintock Channel (MC) ‘increased’, Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) ‘likely declined’, Northern Beaufort Sea (NB) ‘likely stable’, and Arctic Basin (AB) ‘data deficient’.

Series of three maps (2010, 2014 and 2018) denoting the status trends in the circumpolar polar bear population. The maps are centered around the North Pole, and include the northern coasts of Europe, Russia, and North America down to approximately the 50th parallel.

Each polar bear subpopulation is delineated with a bold lined polygonal shape and shaded based on the status of the population. In total, there are 19 subpopulations: 5 of which occur outside of Canada and 14 of which occur within or overlap with Canada. The series displays changes in that status of several subpopulations over the past eight years.

2010 Status map

International subpopulation statuses are as follows (clockwise, starting in the west near Alaska): Chukchi Sea (CS) 'likely declined', Laptev Sea (LV) 'data deficient', Kara Sea (KS) 'data deficient', Barents Sea (BS) 'data deficient', and East Greenland (EG) 'data deficient'.

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations and status): Viscount Melville Sound (VM) 'increased', Norwegian Bay (NW) 'declined', Kane Basin (KB) 'declined', Lancaster Sound (LS) 'declined', Baffin Bay (BB) 'declined', Davis Strait (DS) 'stable', Southern Hudson Bay (SH) 'stable', Western Hudson Bay (WH) 'declined', Foxe Basin (FB) 'data deficient', Gulf of Boothia (GB) 'increased', M'Clintock Channel (MC) 'Increased', Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) 'declined', Northern Beaufort Sea (NB) 'likely stable'', and the Arctic Basin (AB) 'data deficient'.

2014 Status map

International subpopulation statuses are as follows (clockwise, starting in the west near Alaska): Chukchi Sea (CS) 'data deficient', Laptev Sea (LV) 'data deficient', Kara Sea (KS) 'data deficient', Barents Sea (BS) 'data deficient', and East Greenland (EG) 'data deficient'.

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations and status): Viscount Melville Sound (VM) 'likely stable', Norwegian Bay (NW) 'data deficient', Kane Basin (KB) 'data deficient', Lancaster Sound (LS) 'data deficient', Baffin Bay (BB) 'likely declined', Davis Strait (DS) 'likely increased', Southern Hudson Bay (SH) 'stable', Western Hudson Bay (WH) 'likely stable', Foxe Basin (FB) 'stable', Gulf of Boothia (GB) 'likely stable', M'Clintock Channel (MC) 'likely increased', Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) 'likely declined', Northern Beaufort Sea (NB) 'likely stable', and the Arctic Basin (AB) 'data deficient'.

2018 Status map

International subpopulation statuses are as follows (clockwise, starting in the west near Alaska): Chukchi Sea (CS) 'data deficient', Laptev Sea (LV) 'data deficient', Kara Sea (KS) 'data deficient', Barents Sea (BS) 'data deficient', and East Greenland (EG) 'data deficient'.

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations and status): Viscount Melville Sound (VM) 'data deficient', Norwegian Bay (NW) 'data deficient', Kane Basin (KB) 'increased', Lancaster Sound (LS) 'data deficient', Baffin Bay (BB) 'likely stable', Davis Strait (DS) 'likely increased' Southern Hudson Bay (SH) 'likely declined', Western Hudson Bay (WH) 'likely declined', Foxe Basin (FB) 'stable', Gulf of Boothia (GB) 'data deficient', M'Clintock Channel (MC) 'data deficient', Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) 'likely declined', and Northern Beaufort Sea (NB) 'likely stable', and the Arctic Basin (AB) 'data deficient'.

2022 Status map

International subpopulation statuses are as follows (clockwise, starting in the west near Alaska): Chukchi Sea (CS) ‘likely stable’, Laptev Sea (LV) 'data deficient', Kara Sea (KS) 'data deficient', Barents Sea (BS) ‘like stable', and East Greenland (EG) 'data deficient'.

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations and status): Viscount Melville Sound (VM) ‘data deficient’, Norwegian Bay (NW) ‘data deficient’, Kane Basin (KB) ‘increased’, Lancaster Sound (LS) ‘data deficient’, Baffin Bay (BB) ‘likely declined’, Davis Strait (DS) ‘likely declined’, Southern Hudson Bay (SH) ‘likely declined’, Western Hudson Bay (WH) ‘likely declined’, Foxe Basin (FB) ‘stable’, Gulf of Boothia (GB) ‘stable’, M’Clintock Channel (MC) ‘increased’, Southern Beaufort Sea (SB) ‘likely declined’, Northern Beaufort Sea (NB) ‘likely stable’, and Arctic Basin (AB) ‘data deficient’.

Map of Canada’s polar bear subpopulations and the protected areas that are found within the subpopulations. Each polar bear subpopulation in Canada is delineated by a polygon. The subpopulations are: Viscount Melville Sound, Norwegian Bay, Kane Basin, Lancaster Sound, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Southern Hudson Bay, Western Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin, Gulf of Boothia, M’Clintock Channel, Southern Beaufort Sea, Northern Beaufort Sea, and Arctic Basin.

A legend appears in the bottom left corner of the map which describes the symbols for the different protected areas.

There are over 231 Provincial and Territorial Parks which occur primarily in the Southern Hudson Bay, Western Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin, and Davis Strait subpopulations. There are 19 areas of shared governance which occur in the Southern Beaufort Sea, Northern Beaufort Sea, Foxe Basin, and Davis Strait subpopulations. There are 55 areas governed by Non-Profit Organizations in the Davis Straight subpopulation. There is 1 Individual Land Owner Area in the Davis Strait subpopulation. There are 55 National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, which occur in the Southern Beaufort Sea, Northern Beaufort Sea, M’Clintock Channel, Lancaster Sound, Foxe Basin, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Western Hudson Bay, and Southern Hudson Bay subpopulations. There are 26 National Parks and National Marine Conservation Areas, which occur in the Southern Beaufort Sea, Northern Beaufort Sea, Lancaster Sound, Foxe Basin, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Western Hudson Bay subpopulations. There are 22 Marine Protected Areas and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures that occur in the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay subpopulations.