Polar Bears Forever?

While I consult professionally with law firms and legal service providers, my pro bono passion is advising polar bears.

The Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat (CPBH) is the world’s only non-profit centre for polar bears in need of human care. Its mission is to provide exceptional animal care, engage through education, and support polar bear conservation in the wild. 

I am privileged to serve as pro bono markets advisor to the CPBH team, volunteers, the Town of Cochrane, Ontario — and polar bears: Inukshuk, Ganuk, and Henry.

They and the nine polar bears who previously resided at the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat since it opened in 2004 were affected by human interference. This resulted in them being orphaned in the wild or born in captivity, and is why these polar bears need dedicated human care and deserve our support.

A PDF introducing the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat is attached for your review. It outlines what CPBH is, why it exists, its mission, and how as ambassadors for their wild counterparts, the polar bears and those who care for them at the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat strive to support and save polar bears in their natural habitat in the wild.

Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat’s 20^th Anniversary

The Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and our sponsorship program is going into high gear. If you would like to learn more or be involved, please be in touch with me or CPBH. You’ll be as welcome as sea ice on Hudson Bay, the hunting platform and native habitat that enables polar bears in Canada to live in the wild.

The Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat welcomes guests 363 days a year. The exceptions are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. 

Please feel free to visit in person and watch Inukshuk, Ganuk, and Henry all 365 days of the year on their live webcams. They will win your heart!

International Polar Bear Day: February 27

The Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat works alongside Polar Bears International located in Churchill, Manitoba, the polar bear capital of the world.

February 27 is International Polar Bear Day, a day when polar bear mothers and their newborn cubs are tucked into Arctic dens. This is a time when polar bears are most vulnerable because every cub is critically important to the survival of this iconic species.

In March, when polar bear families emerge from their dens, they face a perilous trek to the shores of Hudson Bay where, for the rest of their lives, they will be affected by climate warming, increasing commercial activity, conflicts with people, and pollution, disease, and over-harvesting that are the direct result of human interference.

Struggling to Survive

A new study conducted by a research team of U.S. and Canadian scientists tracked 20 adult polar bears outfitted with GPS and collar cameras during off-ice seasons between 2019 and 2022. Findings revealed that polar bears who live along the western coast of Hudson Bay and come ashore when sea ice is absent are struggling to sustain themselves.

Results of the study were published February 13, 2024 in the journal, Nature Communications. The story appears on Polar Bears International along with outstanding video proof obtained via the bears’ collar cameras. The story also appeared in The Globe and Mail.

With bears struggling to find nourishment compounded by ongoing human interference, the threat to polar bear population survival is heightening.

This is why polar bears are acknowledged as a vulnerable species.

That fault isn’t theirs, it’s ours. So is the fix.

Please join us.