The Great Polar Bear Feast

A yearly ritual takes place in the small northern Alaskan village of Kaktovik: villagers are each permitted to harvest three bowhead whales (ordinarily protected) and, after taking the meat they need, residents "share" their bounty with polar bears, who migrate to the “bone pile” to feast on the fat rich blubber they need to sustain them during the long, harsh arctic winter. This PBS-aired documentary, directed by Nick Clarke Powell and Andrew Graham Brown, describes the bear's feeding ritual, as well as the life or death choices the bears are forced to make: staying to feed on whale remains and scavenging in the town (which poses risks for man and beasts), or mother bears taking their cubs on a dangerous swim out to the thinning sea ice to hunt ring seals. While polar bears are normally solitary animals, they gather in numbers up to 80 at the bone pile, discouraging competition with fierce displays of "mouth venting." Tagged by researchers, recent population studies show the bears to be declining in number and deteriorating in body condition, nutrition, and overall health. Dwindling food supplies have a negative effect on reproduction, and many cubs aren't strong enough to survive lengthy treks to distant, disappearing sea ice. The Great Polar Bear Feast is a tribute to the survival skills of polar bears, who are superb swimmers and crafty, resourceful predators, but face threats posed by climate change and offshore oil exploration. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)