Kong Karls Land is a group of small islands in eas­tern Spits­ber­gen and a very important den­ning place for polar bears. In the past, up to 50 dens have been found within cer­tain are­as.

In recent years, howe­ver, the deve­lo­p­ment is more fluc­tua­ti­ve, with a nega­ti­ve over­all trend. Last spring, only 2 dens were found during a count car­ri­ed out by the Nor­we­gi­an Polar Insti­tu­te. The direct reason appears to be a lack of sea ice. The amount and timing of sea ice has beco­me signi­fi­cant­ly more varia­ble, with a strong nega­ti­ve trend which is expec­ted to con­ti­nue in the future.

Sea ice is neces­sa­ry to reach the islands and to rai­se the off­spring suc­cessful­ly. The femails that used to den on Kong Karls Land may have used other are­as for den­ning this year.

Source: Nor­we­gi­an Polar Insti­tu­te