Monday, October 30, 2017

Mapping Lonely Polar Bears


The Polar Bear Census is an interactive map showing the location of all the polar bears currently living in North American zoos. There are currently 70 different bears living in 33 zoos in North America. Using the interactive map you can learn about each of these polar bears, including information about their place of birth and if they have any brothers or sisters.

The map was created to support The Oregonian's series Project Nora: The Loneliest Bear. In this long-form web documentary The Oregonian follows Nora, a baby polar bear, for one year. Nora is herself being raised in a zoo. In the series The Oregonian explores the role of zoos but also examines the fate of polar bears in the Arctic and the impact that humans are having on their natural environment.

There are other maps in Project Nora. They include maps of some of the locations mentioned in the documentary but also an impressive animated map of how sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk over recent years.

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