Polar Bears International, a nonprofit dedicated to wild polar bears and sea ice, holds Polar Bear Week (this year through Nov. 5) to coincide with the Hudson Bay bear migration. The goal is to educate people about the bears and their melting sea ice habitats and encourage them to get involved to protect them.

Treehugger spoke to John Whiteman, chief research scientist for Polar Bears International and assistant professor of biology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He addressed the annual migration, the interesting things researchers observe, and how people can get involved to help the animals.