This polar bear is participating in the research — although not quite voluntarily. Scientists had to anesthetize the animal first. A Russian study is currently in its main stage to measure the effects of climate change on Arctic wildlife. Polar bears are a focal point of the project.

The project aims to keep an eye on the health and behavior of the polar bears, and find out more about how they are reacting to the changes in their habitat — changes largely linked to the climate.

The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet. This has gravely afflicted the area's wildlife. Despite being the land’s largest predators, polar bears are one of the most vulnerable species to climate change.

Polar bears rely on the sea ice around the Arctic Ocean to hunt for seals and fish. As sea ice shrinks, the apex carnivore is forced to swim for long distances or roam the shore to find food. Paleontologists say that polar bears have maintained their diet for centuries, even during the last period of Arctic warming that occured 1000 years ago.

The bear's diet maintains the balance between seals and fish poplulation, but this is changing. A recent study at the Canadian University of Windsor revealed that the hungry predator has increasingly resorted to foraging for seabird eggs. This, in turn, can eventually trigger a chain of damages to the environment that starts with endangering the seabird species.

To better understand the impact of climate change on polar bears and how to mitigate its damages, scientists joined the UMKA2021 expedition. It takes place in Russia's Franz Josef Land, an archipelago of almost 200 islands joined together via sea ice, the polar bears' hunting grounds.

After capturing the bears, scientists measure and record factors such as their weight, reserve body fat and blood pressure. This helps them find out more about their diet and energy consumption.

The bears are then released with GPS tags on their ears that send regular messages to the researchers containing information about their health. Scientists receive the messages in form of emails everyday, The tags also make it possible to track the bears with helicopters and drones.

The scientists believe that closely tracking the polar bears could help prevent their extinction. The bear's number is rapidly decreasing and several studies project that they could vanish by the end of the century unless more is done to slow climate change.

Every time a polar bear dies, its GPS tag stops sending messages. The scientists will no longer receive news from the animal. Only one bear off the mailing list it may be, but for the planet's biodiversity, the decline in the population of this Arctic predator is much more alarming.