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Milestone Systems collaborating to protect polar bears in Manitoba 

Each year, around 10,000 tourists visit Churchill to view the polar bears that migrate along Hudson Bay. Milestone Systems says climate change is forcing more and more polar bears to enter populated areas in search of food. In 2016, there were over 300 polar bear response calls.

Milestone partner NMS Security from Anchorage, Alaska had experience protecting oil pipeline employees from contact with polar bears. They worked with SpotterRF to deploy an intrusion detection radar system as a solution at Churchill.

A Canon VB-R10VE vandal-resistant, outdoor PTZ dome camera and two SpotterRF units were installed. A Dell server runs the Milestone VMS with the Spotter XProtect plug-in interface installed. The radar units provide warning about 200 meters out from the shoreline, giving people enough time to get into the community centre and away from the bear. When a bear is detected, the system is triggered to automatically send out email alerts and sound a bear warning alarm throughout the community.

Through the Milestone Mobile client application, the system can send notifications directly to the bear alert system and to wildlife officers, so they can see the radar screen and camera views on their smart phones.

“We’re very happy with all the elements of the project. The radar units, the cameras, the Milestone video management software, everything is working well,” said BJ Kirschhoffer, director of field operations, Polar Bears International. “NMS Security did a fantastic job of getting us set up. All the pieces are pretty complex, and it’s important to have a partner like that when doing these projects.”