Polar bear maternal dens where females give birth and nurse cubs are sensitive sites requiring protection from disturbance during the critical winter denning period.
Denning polar bear females are physiologically committed to the denning process - they do not eat or drink while nursing cubs through winter. Den abandonment from disturbance leaves cubs in life-threatening conditions - they cannot survive outside the den before their development is complete. Industrial disturbance that causes abandonment is a welfare catastrophe for the helpless cubs and creates enormous additional physiological stress for the already-fasting mother. FLIR technology enabling non-invasive den location without ground disturbance is a valuable welfare-protective tool.