Winfield woman studies polar bears in Arctic

A polar bear strolls along the ice-free shores of Hudson Bay near the Canadian town of Churchill waiting for the freeze-up that's critical to its survival.

It's early October and the animal hasn't eaten in months.

Agnes Kovacs watches the scene with the knowledge that the polar bear's wait is far from over.

Kovacs, a Chicago Zoological Society employee, knows the sea ice that polar bears use as a platform to hunt seals won't return for weeks, which is later than usual. She also realizes climate change is causing the delayed freeze of the sea ice.

Combined with an earlier-than-normal breakup of the sea ice, polar bears are being forced to fast for a longer period of time.

“It was very different seeing them on land knowing they had not eaten since July,” Kovacs recalled of that October moment. “They literally were waiting for the ice to freeze so they could go eat. The dinner bell was ringing, but the path was not there.”

The experience has motivated the Winfield resident to use her role as Brookfield Zoo's manager of school groups and teacher programs to educate others about what everyday actions can be taken to help reverse the climate change threatening the polar bears' habitat.

It's the inspiration to act that the not-for-profit group Polar Bears International was hoping for when it chose Kovacs and 17 other educators and public relations professionals from the United States and Canada for its Communicators Leadership Camp.

Camp participants spent a week learning about polar bears during the fall migration on the tundra near Churchill in Manitoba, Canada.

They received that instruction while staying in an all-terrain structure on wheels called the Tundra Buggy Lodge. The lodge is composed of large modular units on massive tires that are linked together like train cars.

Because the Tundra Buggy Lodge is so high off the ground, people onboard can safely observe polar bears while it moves across the tundra landscape. Kovacs said the mobile classroom allowed her to make an emotional connection with the polar bears.

She recalled one instance in which a polar bear approached the Tundra Buggy Lodge.

“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Kovacs said. “The female came up, put her paw on the side of the Tundra Buggy and looked up. I was looking down at her, and she looked into my eyes. I was like, ‘Wow.' You can't do that anywhere else.”

Steve Pine, another Brookfield Zoo staff member who participated in the camp with Kovacs, agrees that seeing polar bears in their natural habitat is a transforming experience.

“There is nothing like being there,” said Pine, the zoo's communications manager.

Like Kovacs, Pine said the moments that had the biggest impact on him were seeing polar bears wandering through the wild and waiting for the ice to freeze.

“It's made a real emotional, lasting impression,” he said. “When you get back, it makes you want to grab people and shake them going, ‘We've got to move now.'”

A recently published study says it's not too late to prevent the total loss of the sea ice that polar bears need for survival. But the world must dramatically change its steadily increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, the study suggests.

Pine and Kovacs are working with other Brookfield Zoo representatives to develop an action plan on how to further educate the public through the zoo's website and events, including its annual Party of the Planet.

“The good news is that we already have signage in place here at the Great Bear Wilderness that demonstrates the connection between polar bear conservation and climate change,” said Pine, referring to the 7.5-acre exhibit that opened in May.

Zoo officials said the state-of-the-art naturalistic habitat features a strong connection with polar bear conservation, along with other iconic North American animals. Great Bear Wilderness includes a 3,600-square-foot underwater viewing area that immerses guests in an Arctic setting and provides face-to-face encounters with polar bears.

Pine said the zoo has partnered with Polar Bears International for several years and is an arctic ambassador center, which is part of PBI's effort to connect zoos with climate change education and polar conservation.

So when the Great Bear Wilderness exhibit opened, it incorporated information about the connection.

“In the future,” Pine said, “we're hoping to move people toward daily actions that they can take to lower their carbon footprint.”

In the meantime, Pine said there are plenty of little things people can do reduce their carbon footprint. Those actions include turning down the thermostat a bit in the winter and not cranking up the air conditioner so high in the summer. Carpooling, taking public transportation and using a bike more also can help reduce vehicle emissions.

Kovacs says one of her goals is to make people understand they must be “hopeful and purposeful” and know that one person can make a difference.

“The future of polar bears and many species and animals truly are in our hands,” she said. “The time to act is now.”