February 19, 2026
Paws up! Here’s Twelve ways to celebrate International Polar Bear Day
By Juliana, Social Media and Content Assistant
Manitoba is home to the largest concentration of polar bears in the world. Around this time every year is a critical point for polar bears. Mother polar bears begin emerging from hibernation and the safety of their snowy dens to bring their cubs out into the cold, open Arctic.
Established by Polar Bears International, every year on February 27, we recognize International Polar Bear Day to celebrate these majestic Arctic creatures and raise awareness about the challenges they face.
Here are 12 ways you can celebrate polar bears in the city, at home, or in the classroom:
1. Check out the Assiniboine Park Zoo’s Polar Bear Weekend activities
Dates: February 28 and March 1
Location: Journey to Churchill at Assiniboine Park Zoo
Cost: Activities are FREE with admission unless otherwise indicated
Join the Zoo to celebrate polar bears, explore polar bear research, and discover how we can all help protect bears and the Arctic.
P.S: Visit CPAWS in the Gateway to the Arctic from 11-3 for a polar bear activity! Don’t forgot to sign a postcard to help protect polar bear habitats!
2. Join Ocean Wise’s free virtual session, International Polar Bear Day: Melting Ice, Mighty Bears
When: Feb. 27 from 12pm to 1pm
Step onto the frozen Arctic seas (without leaving your classroom) to meet the largest bear on Earth, the polar bear. This session takes students through icy hunting grounds, explains how shrinking sea ice changes their way of life, and invites them to think like Arctic scientists.
3. Sign our campaign postcards for polar bear habitat conservation
Sign a Hudson Bay postcard here and sign a Hudson Bay Lowlands postcard here.
4. Watch a LIVE polar bear trail cam in Cape South, Wapusk National Park
Wapusk National Park in Canada protects one of the world’s largest concentrations of polar bear maternity dens (where female bears give birth). Tune in during the months of October and November, when polar bears congregate here at Cape Churchill waiting for the sea ice to form.
5. Watch and listen to Indigenous Knowledge of the Polar Bear
A storywork research project explores the distant past, past, present, and future visions of human-polar bear coexistence with Swampy Cree, Sayisi Dene, Métis, and Caribou Inuit Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
Watch Episode 1 on Youtube: https://youtu.be/BxLd0by7hyI?si=5WQb241_pYxNZ-MT
6. Click through an interactive map to learn about Protecting Manitoba’s Wild Spaces
Northern communities are working to establish Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in the region. These initiatives could protect the lands south of Hudson Bay, where polar bears dig their dens and raise their cubs. Conserving the Hudson Bay Lowlands would also help mitigate climate change and safeguard critical habitats for threatened birds and a wide array of wildlife.
7. Watch our TikTok on polar bear facts
8. Colour a polar bear colouring page
Check out our #ProtectPolarBears Colouring Contest blog.
9. Watch: Polar Bears in a Warming Arctic: Why Manitoba’s Melting Sea Ice Matters
Learn what the melting arctic sea ice means for Manitoba’s polar bears in this CPAWS Manitoba webinar with Dr. Andrew Derocher, professor of biology at the University of Alberta and long-time scientific advisor to Polar Bears International, in this webinar on Manitoba’s polar bear population.
He highlights more than 30 years of arctic research, including what changing climate conditions mean for polar bears and other Arctic species. Dr. Derocher is an engaging, knowledgeable speaker and enhances his presentation with photos, maps, and easy-to-read graphs and charts
10. Track a polar bear as it travels across Canada’s Arctic Ocean
See polar bear movements and follow Polar Bears International’s ongoing research projects.
Each autumn, a sampling of female polar bears are fitted with GPS collars in Western Hudson Bay (by the University of Alberta and Environment and Climate Change Canada) and Southern Hudson Bay (by York University and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources). These research programs have been active for several decades, providing some of the best long-term monitoring datasets for polar bears in the world.
11. Educate students with 4 engaging polar bear activities
Explore the Arctic through Education with our Winter 2025 Environmental Education Polar Bear Program, complete with activity descriptions and learning outcomes.
More than 25,000 children and students were connected to nature through 1,284 CPAWS Manitoba outdoor education programs from May 2021 to March 2025. Learn more about CPAWS Manitoba’s environmental education programming.
12. Learn more polar bear facts!
Welcome to the exciting world of the polar bear! From their origin story and characteristics to their habitat and diet, Polar Bear International gives you an in-depth look into the life of a polar bear.
This blog was made possible through the generous support of the National Audubon Society. We’re grateful for their partnership, collaboration, and shared commitment to protecting the lands, waters, and wildlife we all cherish.