Live Broadcast With World-class Polar Bear Ecologist Ian Stirling

For those interested in the work I do with Polar Bears International, today I had the honor to share a Live Broadcast from Buggy One with world-renowned polar bear ecologist Ian Stirling. Dr. Stirling has studied polar bears for over 40 years and has been instrumental in not only collecting reams of polar bear data himself but also training those who have taken his place in the field.

Dr. Ian Stirling world’s leading authority of polar bear research

I first became aware of Ian’s work (he’s corrected me several times for calling him Dr. Stirling) through the pages of Polar Bears, a book he collaborated on with the late Dan Guravich. With Dan’s great photos and Ian’s immense knowledge of all things dealing with polar bears, it fast became a well known classic in the field of wildlife and animals.

The wildlife classic Polar Bear by Ian Stirling and Dan Guravitch.

My part of the webcast revolved around the Arctic Documentary Project. I explained briefly what the ADP is all about and how it relates to Ian’s long term science studies. My goal and the goal of PBI is to document the changes we’re seeing in the north as well as use images from the past to make comparisons. All of these materials, both stills and video, are available free of charge to all 40+ Arctic Ambassador centers associated with PBI. The images and video footage help them produce quality exhibits for educating the millions of people coming to visit their facilities each year.

Ian Stirling’s newest book on Polar Bears.

All in all it was a great opportunity to reach out to additional groups of educators via the power of the Internet. I was fortunate to be a part of this powerful medium and honored to share the table with one of the north’s most dedicated and respected scientists. Join PBI in all their efforts to bring more of these programs to the general public.