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.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.
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 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.
Long before it was common practice, he worked closely with Inuit people, 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.
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.
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.