University of Saskatchewan researchers have collected footage of polar bears near Churchill, Man. to better understand the relationship between humans and the animals.

U of S Professor Doug Clark set up cameras in Wapusk National Park seven years ago to learn how people can avoid conflict with the bears.

“What we're really trying to figure out is what the factors are that drive situations where people and polar bears get to close to each other,” Clark said.

The footage shows exactly when the bears come ashore from the sea ice, and the demographic of bears most likely to interact with people.

Clark said he is trying to move quickly in his research because polar bears’ winter habitat is melting quickly.

“As the arctic warms up and loses sea ice, which is happening at an accelerated rate, we don't have a whole lot of time to figure this out,” Clark explained.

The images and videos have debunked the idea that polar bears mostly come out at night. The majority of the footage shows the bears showing up from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The footage also shows few teenage cubs. Clark said that could mean there is a decline in sub-adult bears in the population, or show there is a behavioural shift in this generation of bears.

The researchers are consulting Indigenous people about their experience with the animals.

“Their knowledge of polar bears and their behaviour in the wild has really deep application to this polar bear research. They could be able to look at a polar bear picture and determine its body condition and perhaps give us some indication on why it’s visiting the camp,” Brady Highway, a U of S student working on the project, said.

The researchers say the information they have about how polar bears interact with humans is about 40 years behind information about grizzly bears and humans.