Maps of Global and Canadian Sub-populations of Polar Bears and Protected Areas

Map 1: Global Sub-populations of Polar Bears

Map of the circumpolar distribution of the polar bear. The map is centered around the North Pole.

Text version of the map:

Map of the circumpolar distribution of the polar bear. The map is centered around the North Pole, and includes includes the northern coasts of Europe, Russia, and North America down to approximately the 50th parallel.  The North American portion appears at the bottom of the map with Europe and Russia at the top. 

Each polar bear subpopulation is delineated with a bold line, and they are shaped like various polygons.  In total, there are 19 subpopulations: 6 which occur outside of Canada and 13 that occur within or overlap with Canada.

International subpopulations (clockwise, starting in the west near Alaska): Chukchi Sea, Laptev Sea, Kara Sea, Barents Sea, East Greenland and the Arctic Basin.

Canadian subpopulations (abbreviations): Viscount Melville Sound (VM), Norwegian Bay (NW), Kane Basin (KB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS) Southern Hudson Bay (SH), Western Hudson Bay (WH), Foxe Basin (FB), Gulf of Boothia (GB), M’Clintock Channel (MC), Southern Beaufort Sea (SB), and Northern Beaufort Sea (NB).

Source: IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (2006).

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Map 2: Canadian Sub-populations of Polar Bears & Protected Areas

Map of Canada’s polar bear sub-populations, and the protected areas that are found within the ranges of these sub-populations with marine components.

Text version of the map:

Map of Canada’s polar bear subpopulations, and the protected areas that are found within the ranges of these subpopulations.  Political boundaries, and the names of provinces, territories and major cities are indicated.  Each polar bear subpopulation is delineated by a polygon.  The subpopulations are: Viscount Melville Sound, Norwegian Bay, Kane Basin, Lancaster Sound, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Southern Hudson Bay, Western Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin, Gulf of Boothia, M’Clintock Channel, Southern Beaufort Sea, and Northern Beaufort Sea.

A legend appears in the bottom left corner of the map which describes the symbols for the different protected areas. 

The 5 National Wildlife Areas, which occur in Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound, are denoted by a filled red circle.  The 11 National Parks are denoted by a filled green triangle, or a green polygon when they are sufficiently large. These National Parks occur in 7 different subpopulation areas.  The 2 Marine Protected Areas, found in Newfoundland and Labrador in the Davis Strait subpopulation area, are denoted by filled blue squares.  And finally, the 58 Provincial and Territorial Parks are denoted by a filled yellow diamond, or a yellow polygon when they are sufficiently large.  These occur primarily in Southern Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin and Davis Strait.