WWF Experts
Geoff York
Geoff York
Polar Bear Conservation Coordinator
Education
- MS – Biology, University of Alaska – Fairbanks
- BA – English, University of Notre Dame
Areas of Expertise
- Polar bear biology
- Arctic conservation
- Radio telemetry
- Limnology
- Aquatic Entomology
- Alaska
"The conservation of polar bears is much more than protecting a single species in a faraway place, it is also about the conservation of the world as we know it today."
About Geoff York:
It was supposed to be a round-trip ticket to Alaska - a gift from his mother when he graduated from college. That was 19 years ago and Geoff is now WWF’s leading expert on polar bears. A search for adventure has turned into a lifelong passion for the people, animals and landscapes of Alaska.
Geoff has 12 years of field experience in the Arctic, most recently as a biologist and project manager for the U.S. Geological Survey's Polar Bear Program, the leading polar bear research team in the US. His work included leading field efforts in the capture and handling of polar bears, tagging some with radio telemetry devices and tracking their movements over the sea ice.
Based in Anchorage, Geoff works with all eight of WWF’s Arctic country offices on polar bear conservation issues including habitat protection, immediate threats, human-wildlife conflict, and climate change – all of which are having a tremendous impact on the future of this iconic species.
For Geoff, it is easy to see how they are inter-related, “Global warming is causing the Arctic sea ice to melt, the fundamental habitat for polar bears and their primary prey. This habitat loss forces bears to travel farther for food and denning. Increasingly it has also resulted in more bears spending time on land. Food is harder to come by and chances of human-wildlife conflict are on the rise. We’re starting to see negative effects on body condition, reproduction, and in some cases, population declines.”
What he enjoys most, though, is being out in the field. There is a small window of time – about two months each year – when the bears can be collared and studied. He’ll tell you they used to go out in the spring and the fall but there’s not enough ice in the fall anymore. There’s too much open water, making it too risky for everyone involved and reducing the window scientists have to study this amazing animal.
When they are able, Geoff and his team sedate and collar female bears to track hunting ranges, breeding habits and the health of the bears themselves. He’s even investigated his share of denning sites. It’s extremely physical work in one of the world's most challenging environments but there’s no place Geoff would rather be.
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