Using electronic devices attached to a polar bear, scientists have found that it swims at least 46 miles (74 km) each day, and possibly up to 62.5 miles (100 km). This is the first evidence showing that bears can swim such long distances.
Each year, bears typically swim about 625 miles to hunt for prey, such as seals, leading to various anecdotes about them swimming from one island to another or across vast bays.
“The new aspect this time is that we have data showing the time the bear spent in the water,” said Jon Aars, a researcher from the Norwegian Arctic. “This is the first time such a long swim has been recorded by a satellite measurement device attached to a polar bear.”
The female bear, equipped with a satellite tracking device, entered the waters east of Spitsbergen, a part of the Arctic waters in Norway, on the morning of July 20, swimming northeast and appearing on Edgeøya Island a day later. A sensor device on the bear’s collar emits different signals when it is in saltwater compared to when it is on land or on ice.
Aars mentioned that the bear may have swum nearly 62.5 miles because it did not travel in a straight line between the two points that are 46 miles apart. The bear’s average speed was 1.9 – 2.5 miles per hour (3-4 km/h), which is equivalent to a walking pace.
