Polar bear dead after anaes­the­ti­sa­ti­on by sci­en­tists

Sci­en­ti­fic field work on polar bears is usual­ly any­thing but ani­mal-fri­end­ly. Fotos and vide­os from polar bears being cha­sed by heli­c­op­ters have more than once been seen and met with cri­ti­zism. As a per­so­nal obser­va­ti­on, we hard­ly see polar bears any­mo­re that have not been mark­ed by sci­en­tists. Near-cont­act with sci­en­tists, which can safe­ly be assu­med by be a very stressful, if not trau­ma­tic expe­ri­ence, is thus likely to be the rule rather than the excep­ti­on for Spitsbergen’s polar bears.

Recent­ly, a polar bear did not sur­vi­ve the sci­en­ti­fic tre­at­ment. A young male, 2 or 3 years old and phy­si­cal­ly in good shape, was found dead 2 days after anaes­the­ti­sa­ti­on by sci­en­tists at Meodden on Edgeøya. A pos­si­ble expl­ana­ti­on is that the ani­mal has moved from a side­way posi­ti­on. It was found lying on the sto­mach and had suf­fo­ca­ted. Anaes­the­ti­sa­ted polar bears are left behind lying on the side to pre­vent suf­fo­ca­ti­on, but they are not moni­to­red. Suf­fo­ca­ti­on after chan­ging the posi­ti­on or pre­da­ti­on by other bears can accor­din­gly never be excluded.

Source: Sval­bard­pos­ten

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