Critical polar bear chase in the name of science

Posted on 25. April 2025 by Rolf Stange

A photo and a report have been doing the rounds on social media for days: Joshua Holko from Australia, owner of Wild Nature Photo Travel, was travelling with a group of photographers on the small (12-passenger) MS Freya in the Van Mijenfjord when they observed a helicopter from the research vessel Kronprins Haakon chasing a polar bear at a distance of around three kilometres. This is a common procedure used by scientists to get within shooting range to tranquilise, examine and tag polar bears.

Holko describes the process as follows (the original text from 20 April can be found on Holko’s Facebook profile): “I documented this disgusting scene of so called ‘researchers’ harrassing, and chasing a Polar Bear with their helicopter. This bear we had observed from more than 3 km away resting peacefully and walking on the ice. When the helicopter came, they panicked the bear. They then chased it incessantly at low altitude for more than thirty minutes before successfully darting the now utterly exhausted bear. This bear was terrified, running for its life.”

Polar bear and helicopter, photographed by Joshua Holko during the described incident in Van Mijenfjord from a distance of about three kilometres.

Further comments follow in the original article.

The practice of chasing and stunning polar bears with helicopters for scientific purposes has been criticised many times over the years, but so far without any consequences. The current case is now attracting widespread media attention, including in the editorial media, such as NRK and, of course, Svalbardposten.

Incidents of this kind are rarely publicised as they take place in very remote regions and are therefore rarely observed by bystanders. Holko’s description and picture would have attracted a lot of attention also years ago. However, the incident now seems all the more strange as the very strict distancing rules from polar bears that otherwise apply to everyone (500 metres from February to June, otherwise 300 metres) were introduced in Svalbard this year. Holko himself explained in a later article that his aim was not to use one grievance to claim the right to another grievance, but that the aim must always be to ensure the protection of and respect for the polar bear, for which the new rules for the general public would not have been necessary. However, one can certainly ask critical questions about scientific practice. The author of this article agrees.

Holko formulated this as follows in another article on Facebook from 24 April: “Wildlife photography of Polar Bears doesn’t need a wide angle lens to be powerful, emotive and dramatic. What is required is an understanding and respect for the wildlife. Wildlife FIRST. Photography second. This is not a comparison between Science and Tourism. That is not the intent. This is a comparison between methodologies. How Polar Bears can be engaged with, with respect, or as in the case of the recent helicopter incident by researchers, without respect that unduly stresses the animal. I am not against the Science of Polar Bears. I am against invasive, stressful methods such as chasing bears from helicopter.”

The distance rules apply to everyone and this is unlikely to change any time soon, nor is a more ethically based approach to research in sight. But the debate about this is once again in the world, and anyone who wants to help make it effective can now even sign a petition at Change.org that was started after the current case.

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