Polar bear researcher Ian Stirling showed how climate change was harming polar bears in landmark studies which connected adult bear health problems and fewer offspring to changing climate and the earlier breakup of sea ice, where they hunt.Daniel J. Cox/naturalexposures.com/Supplied
In the 1990s, when climate change was often dismissed outright, or thought to be merely about rising temperatures, biologist Ian Stirling showed that global warming was harming polar bears.
In a 1995 study, after tracking bears for a quarter-century, he revealed that they were getting thinner and having fewer cubs. By 1999, he connected adult bear health problems and fewer offspring to climate change and the earlier breakup of sea ice, where they hunt.
Dr. Stirling died on May 14 at age 82 of complications related to lymphoma. He spent 37 years as a research scientist for the Canadian Wildlife Service.
The Montana-based conservation group Polar Bears International called him the “grandfather of polar bear biologists” in its tribute to his life, saying he “laid the foundation for our understanding of polar bear ecology and almost single-handedly made the polar bear an icon of global warming.”
Journalist Edward Struzik interviewed Dr. Stirling in 1991 for an article about the changing Arctic. “Virtually every quote in that story came true,” Mr. Struzik says.
Steve Amstrup, chief scientist emeritus at Polar Bears International, where Dr. Stirling served as a scientific adviser, says, “One of his most significant contributions was his devotion to long-term studies. Early on, he realized that if you’re going to understand the complexities of ecosystems, within every ecosystem there are seasonal variations.” While securing funding for such ongoing work was a challenge, Dr. Stirling resourcefully found a way.
He started doing field work with polar bears in the 1970s, and documented a pack for decades in western Hudson Bay. “Even though it’s one population, much of what we still know to this day about polar bears, we know because of that work,” Dr. Amstrup says. Dr. Stirling also tracked bears in the Beaufort Sea and Baffin Island.
University of Alberta professor Andrew Derocher completed his PhD under Dr. Stirling, who served as an adjunct professor for more than 30 years, lecturing on Arctic ecology and taking on graduate students. Prof. Derocher says his mentor and colleague was a pioneer in field studies.
“Ian was involved in some of the very early work on estimating polar bear abundance in the Canadian Arctic, and that was critical to understanding things down the road, such as reproductive rates and survival rates,” Prof. Derocher says.
Dr. Stirling observed polar bears in the wild, documenting their behaviour over weeks. “This was very novel at the time,” Prof. Derocher says, noting that it’s still not commonly done, as this research approach generates data slowly.
Arctic field work is dangerous, but Dr. Stirling was a master survivalist. “He did his preparation and he cared a lot about safety. When things happened, he was ready,” his son, Ross Stirling, says.
During a winter storm on an Alberta highway, Dr. Stirling told his son their truck was going to roll over. He coached him exactly when and how to crouch down to stay safe, shielded his son with his body and grabbed the dog’s collar. No one got hurt.
Another time, Prof. Derocher, Dr. Stirling and others were approaching a bear they had shot with a tranquillizer. The others heard the bear’s warning blowing sounds, but hard-of-hearing Dr. Stirling did not, and had to be pulled out of harm’s way. “That bear needs more drugs,” he deadpanned afterward.
Dr. Stirling was a highly productive scientist, publishing more than 250 articles in science journals and five books.
Stirling looks over two tranquilized polar bears at the Beaufort Sea in 2004.Andrew Derocher/Supplied
In 1973, when Canada signed the international Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, Dr. Stirling committed himself to the animals’ protection, coming at the problem from a data-driven perspective. “We try to manage based on the best available science, and Ian was a strong advocate for the importance of science in managing polar bears,” Prof. Derocher says.
He had a reputation for holding himself to a high standard in his work. “He was so honest, and ethical in what he did,” Mr. Stirling says of his father.
Long before it was common practice, he worked closely with Inuit, gathering information from hunters and sharing his discoveries with Indigenous communities, too. He also adopted technology early on, using a computer starting in the 1980s to meticulously write down his field notes, and later embraced tracking animals’ movements with satellite telemetry.
While Dr. Stirling was best known for his work with polar bears, he did his PhD on Antarctic Weddell seals, and became interested in polar bears as a predator of Arctic seals. “I think at the heart of it, he really loved seals. He worked on seals for his PhD and I think that was really one of the loves that stayed with him forever,” Prof. Derocher says.
While doing his PhD, he invented a method of trapping seals that is still used, called bagging, which entails putting a bag fitted with ropes over their heads.
Dr. Stirling was the first Canadian to be elected president of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, was a contributing member of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
He was named an officer of the Order of Canada and his other honours include the Northern Science Award, the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award, the Weston Family Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Northern Research, and the Ice Bear Lifetime Achievement Award from Polar Bears International.
Ian Grote Stirling was born on Sept. 26, 1941 in what was known as Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) to Andrew and Margaret Stirling. His father, a mining engineer, had found work there during the Depression. The family, which included sister Helen, moved to Kimberley, B.C., in 1946.
The small community had a strong Scout program and young Ian would spend time with his father and neighbours doing outdoor activities. He was independent from a young age, and lived away as early as age 15 for a summer job.
He enrolled in the University of British Columbia at age 18, studying zoology and graduating in 1963. Next came a master’s in which he wrote about the calls of the blue grouse.
It was around this time, in the UBC outdoor club, that he met Stella Barbour, who was doing a bachelor of arts with a major in zoology. One of their early dates took a pivot when Ian stopped the car to dash off and record grouse, his son says.
They married and moved to New Zealand for his PhD studies at the University of Canterbury. Ross Stirling says his father organized the position merely by writing a letter and receiving a favourable reply.
He did field work in Antarctica, studying Weddell seals, and then completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Adelaide in Australia, on fur seals. At one point, when the family’s first child, Lea, was tiny, she, Stella and Dr. Stirling lived for six weeks in a shack they built themselves on one of the Neptune Islands in Australia. They brought with them only the most basic of foods while he did research on a nearby seal colony and spearfished for many of their meals.
In 1970, Dr. Stirling got a job offer from the Canadian government and the family moved to Ottawa. In 1972, the Canadian Wildlife Service relocated to Edmonton. By 1975, they were a family of five, as Claire was born in Australia and Ross was born in Edmonton.
Dr. Stirling spent a lot of time in the field, and his son recalls him coming home from work at a reasonable hour, making dinner for the family, and then working again at night. “When he was home, he was home. He took that seriously.”
He spent time with his kids in the outdoors – the family had a cabin on Columbia Lake, B.C. – and often taught them survival skills. He would pretend to be lost and quiz the kids about how to get back to safety.
Throughout his long career, Dr. Stirling had many opportunities to go elsewhere, move into management or spend more time in academia, but he remained devoted to his role as a research scientist focused on conservation.
He formally retired in 2007 but kept working. Even while ill, he was writing papers on polar bears, taking his laptop to the hospital while he received blood transfusions.
“He was really dedicated to his work, and always improving the understanding of not only polar bears, but high-latitude ecosystems and understanding how everything fits together,” Dr. Amstrup says. “His dedication to that work is demonstrated in the fact that he was still working on manuscripts when he died.”
Dr. Stirling leaves his wife, three children, their partners and six grandchildren.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Ian Stirling's daughter Claire was born in New Zealand. She was born in Australia. This version has been updated.
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