Polar bears: proceedings of the 18th working meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group, Anchorage, Alaska, 7-11 June 2016

The material within these proceedings represents a summary for 2009–2016 on the state of knowledge and conservation concerns for polar bears throughout their range. The difficulties in studying a species that ranges widely, at low densities, and in one of the world’s most remote and environmentally challenging regions is evident in these proceedings. This report describes the current and future challenges and the conservation efforts needed to ensure the survival of polar bears.