Two Down for International Polar Bear Day!

by giraffe keeper, Vicki Hodge

Hi all! February 27 is International Polar Bear Day. A few years ago, the Buffalo Zoo launched an initiative for local schools to help celebrate the day, and do some conservation for polar bears at the same time. We called it Bundle up for Polar Bears! The challenge was to raise awareness about climate change which affects polar bears, by reducing carbon emissions through the simple act of lowering the thermostat a few degrees. If every school in Western New York participated, the combined amount would be significant. Polar Bears International liked our idea so much that they adopted it and changed the name to the Thermostat Challenge which they now do on the every International Polar Bear Day!

We want to do our part to help the cause, so here is what were asking everyone to do. Along with our schools and the Zoo, you can turn the heat down 1 or 2 degrees at home or in your work place this Saturday, February 27. For example, we will turn the heat down from 65°F to 63°F in the giraffe house and other places throughout the Zoo.

All you need to do to take part is set your thermostat down and put on an extra sweater or sweat shirt for the day. You probably won't even notice the difference in temperature. It's easy! Then you can say you helped save the polar bears and their sea ice! If that is not incentive enough, on average if you turn back your heat 2 degrees for 8 hours, you can save 1% on your fuel usage and that means more $$$$ in your pocket!

My Trip to the Polar Bear Capitol of the World – Part 2

by Caitlyn Bruce, Keeper at the Buffalo Zoo

(Read Part 1 Here)

Even though I work with polar bears every day at the Buffalo Zoo, there was a huge difference for me between that and seeing wild bears in their natural environment.  The thing that had the greatest impact on me though, was seeing the Aurora Borealis the first night we were in Churchill.  We were in the middle of a class discussion around 8:30pm when we were interrupted with “the northern lights are outside!” 

We were lucky enough to be staying at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a LEED gold certified building constructed to house researchers conducting studies in the Churchill area.  One of the many benefits of staying there was the second story outdoor observation deck.  Being in the heart of polar bear country, you certainly don’t want to go outside on the ground at night, but having a second story deck made viewing the Aurora outside possible. I will never forget standing outside in the freezing cold, gazing straight up and watching the sky swirl and shimmer, changing colors from green to red and back again. It is truly something you have to see first hand to appreciate. 

Leadership Camp was a once in a life time experience that taught me so much.  The knowledge and skills I gained will definitely help me in my new role as a “community change agent” as we ALL work towards a future that includes the existence of polar bears.  After all, I want to live in a world where it will be possible for my future children and grandchildren to have the same experience I had, seeing the magnificent wild polar bear roaming the arctic tundra.  

My Trip to the Polar Bear Capitol of the World – Part 1

by Caitlyn Bruce (Keeper at the Buffalo Zoo)

From October 6^th to October 13^th of this year, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to the western Hudson Bay area to Churchill, Manitoba with the Polar Bears International  Leadership Camp. Seeing polar bears in the wild was especially intriguing for me as a polar bear keeper at the Buffalo Zoo, but nothing could have prepared me for the experience I was going to have in the sub-arctic. There were 24 participants from a variety of backgrounds including other zoo keepers from across North America, high school teachers, communicators and education department staff from other zoos, and even an agent from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

The main function of Leadership Camp was to educate us about global climate change and, more importantly, what we can personally do and how we can educate others on how to reduce their energy consumption.  From when we woke up at 7am until we went to bed at 10pm, we were participating in classes, group discussions, Skype sessions with world renowned climate change scientists, and a variety of other activities. We learned how to be more proficient in communicating how climate change is affecting polar bear populations, and will ultimately lead to their extinction if nothing changes. What we learned and the skills we developed were an important part of camp, but the real excitement was in what we saw while we were there. Everything from the tundra landscape, to the structure of the town of Churchill, to the tundra flora and fauna was fascinating. We spend two days out on tundra in a Tundra Buggy©, which is like a very large, all-terrain school bus with giant wheels. This allowed us a safe vantage point for viewing, while still keeping us incredibly close and engaged with our surroundings.  While we were there, we saw a variety of arctic wildlife including tundra swan, an arctic fox, beluga whales, ptarmigan, and arctic hares, but obviously the most thrilling were the polar bears. We saw a total of five bears (although we believe one was the same bear, seen two different days). 

Polar bear sighting in Churchill, Manitoba