Tag Archives: Jon Aars
RANT: Rumor persists the bear killed on New Year’s isn’t the one that visited in 2016. It’s utterly absurd, unless it’s the biggest and stupidest conspiracy by officials in modern times

First, to the naysayers: yes, the lip tattoo and ear marker on the bear are a match. Unless two different official agencies are telling an easily-discoverable lie for reasons beyond comprehension.
Unlike certain parts of the world where leaders are spouting non-stop “alternative facts,” claims of “fake news” and – in a new classic uttered just yesterday – “no one said this wasn’t photoshopped,” even nonconformists at this newspaper tend to trust public officials are truthful about facts regarding major incidents such as the highly controversial killing of a polar bear on New Year’s Day.
Cue the climate change skeptics: Census of Svalbard’s polar bear population shows large increase since 2004

In the spirit of Christmas, some good news about Svalbard’s healthy and growing polar bear population is likely to bring joy to climate change alarmists and denalists alike.
A census at this summer by the Norwegian Polar Institute indicates there are about 975 polar bears in the Norwegian region of the Barents Sea, up from about 685 during the last census in 2004, despite several years with poor sea ice cover during the intervening period.