The population size is unknown. This subpopulation is a geographic catch-all to account for polar bears outside of the polar bear nations’ jurisdictions.
Status table outtake
|
Aerial survey / Mark-recapture analysis |
Additional / Alternative Analysis |
|||||||||||
| Number (year of estimate) |
±2 SE or 95% CI |
Number (year of estimate) |
±2 SE or min-max range |
Sim | TEK | Historical annual removals (5 yr mean) | Potential maximum annual removals | Status | Current trend | Estimated risk of future decline | ||
| Unknown | N/A | 0 | Data deficient | Data deficient | Data deficient | |||||||
Table comment: Geographic catchall for bears in the region which do not belong to other subpopulations; the region is characterized by low density of bears and low productivity.
The Arctic Basin subpopulation (AB) is a geographic catchall to account for polar bears that may be resident in areas of the circumpolar Arctic that are not clearly part of other subpopulations. Polar bears occur at very low densities here and it is known that bears from other subpopulations use the area (Durner and Amstrup 1993). As climate warming continues, it is anticipated that this area may become more important for polar bears as a refuge but a large part of the area is over the deepest waters of the Arctic Ocean and biological productivity is thought to be low. Polar bears with cubs have recently been observed from icebreakers in this region.