November 6, 2013

  • Polar Bear Update

    For those of you who followed my Polar Bear Adventure, there are several updates that have occurred in the past week.

    1. At the beginning of the trip, we were warned that polar bears are wild animals, and as such could attack, or even kill, people.  We were told how to behave if we encountered a polar bear -- face it, make noise, and back up out of its way.  It was also explained that climate change has lengthened the time at the end of the summer before Hudson's Bay freezes enough for the polar bears to go out on the ice and hunt for the seals that are their food.  Thus, the polar bears we saw are anxious for the cold weather, and the freeze -- and they are extra hungry.  Over the weekend there was a serious attack by a polar bear on two Churchill residents, one taken by surprise, and the other a neighbor who came to her rescue.  Both will survive, and one has been released from the hospital at this time.  However, two bears were killed and a cub orphaned in the process.  This was the second attack in a month (earlier, a man thwarted an attack by startling the polar bear with the light on his cell phone followed by throwing the phone at the bear's face!), and the 4th this year in Churchill.  An article describing this incident can be found at this link:  www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/04/polar-bear-attacks-scientists-warn-warming-arctic.
    2. There are now two web-cams watching polar bears.  They are sponsored by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organization doing extensive research on polar bears.  One is in conjunction with Tundra Buggy Tours (Frontiers North), and is attached to their Lodge, and the other is positioned at Cape Churchill, farther east on the route of the polar bears.  They are streaming live during the day, and one replays the days videos during the evening.  If you are interested in watchng the polar bears, they are very much like what we saw -- I watched some play-sparring last evening, and you can see how the bears move around on the now-snowy tundra.  The links are:  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/05/live-webcams-polar-bears-hudson-bay-canada  and the one that replays the day's activity is:  http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/myplanetmypart?utm_source=News+from+the+North+Subscribers&utm_campaign=9b32950984-October_2013_Newsletter10_30_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_384370ffc2-9b32950984-413961925 (if the links don't work, try copy/pasting them to your browser's address line).
    3. The temperature in Churchill has been hovering around 0C (32F) since I was there three weeks ago -- tomorrow it is predicted to go down 10-15 degrees, which should help the formation of ice, and get the polar bears out to the ice more quickly.

Comments (36)

  • The videos were fun to watch even though I didn't watch the entire length. I am glad the bear finally reached some firmer snow. I felt so bad for it when it kept stepping on to thin ice each time.

    • It turned a lot colder there this evening -- I hope that helps speed up the ice formation so the bears can go and do their hunting on the ice. It's been pretty slushy up to now!

  • Kind of scary! The bears look nice from a distance bit I wouldn't want to get any closer than a telephoto lens...

    • It's been very scary in Churchill. Before I went, I had read about the guy turning on his cell phone -- I voiced that I was half-way between very excited and very terrified! A camera lens is a good distance from which to see the bears -- in a tundra buggy, a regular lens works well, although I was glad to have the longer lens!

  • What's good for the polar bears is bad for the seals. I guess that's life. It would be interesting to watch them.

  • the first thing I think is WHY DON'T THEY FEED THE BEARS!!!! I know it's not that simple, but it hurts my feelings thinking about them starving...thanks for the links, they worked perfectly!

    • Unfortunately, it's not the natural order of things to feed the bears! In fact we were told very strongly NOT to feed them! In Churchill, they have actually moved the town dump indoors so as not to encourage the bears to come around. It IS sad, but unfortunately we're likely to see more situations like this as the climate change continues.

    • I'm glad the links worked well -- I know you'll enjoy them.

  • I guess Ive been away from xanga a lot longer than I realized. It looks like you had a fabulous trip. I will have to go back and do some catching up.

    • It was a quick but wonderful trip -- and I learned a lot about climate change and polar bears! A good follow-up to the Antarctic trip I did a few years ago!

  • I did enjoy them, in fact I bookmarked the live cams...thanks. and it is a sad situation. =(

    • So very sad -- it's interesting, though -- we encroached on bear territory, but it wouldn't have been so disastrous had the ice come earlier, as the bears could have expected!

  • The cams are great. Thanks. I copied the sites - all of them - and sent them to my son for the boys. They will be thrilled. I'll watch with them again when I go to visit in a couple of weeks. You are so nice to share all this.

    • I always enjoy sharing things that fascinate me -- this trip was one of those things on many fronts! Glad youo enjoyed the cams!

  • Those experiences are made more real after visiting a place like that. Shortly after we went to Katmai, Alaska, to watch grizzly bears someone was mauled and killed by a grizzly - not far from where we were.

    • We were warned about bears being wild animals -- and that they could attack or even kill people! It was a little scary even being there and doing things like walking back to the hotel from dinner -- but we did that in groups, and not late at night!

  • RYC: I am forever grateful that Saadi lives on the same street as I do, even though it is several blocks away; there are six houses between us; and Sayeed our son is six minutes away. I too hope that the radiation has been beneficial, and please God, I pray that Dave has defeated the cancer. A couple of weeks later there will be some blood tests, and I hoping that they will show good results. Amen.

  • It's sad to read that they killed the bears. I mean, it is their territory and when they get hungry, they will roam around looking for food.

    • You're right -- and the Conservation people (animal control) do all they can to avoid killing bears. But when they are attacking people and reluctant to be scared off otherwise, sometimes it's the only thing to do.

  • Very interesting. I haven't looked at a webcam in a while. :)

  • That was quite and adventure, Janet. I think I learned more about polar bears from you than anyone. They are amazing animals.

    • It was truly an amazing adventure -- in a lot of ways! I love the bears, and am glad you learned from my posts!

  • Polar bears are magnificent but it's so true - they are wild animals who are really concerned about their own survival. The live cam is pretty cool :-) . peace always

  • Thanks for the links! When I'm up late tonight I'll go watch!
    Sad about the bear attacks...but it is understandable.
    We have lots of wildlife here and I always remember that mankind encroached upon their territory (homes) years ago building houses and buildings. It's hard for the animals to realized the human are around.
    HUGS!!!

    • It's a most interesting feeling to realize that there are places where we're not the top of the food chain! I'm sorry they had to kill the bears, but I also know that they do everything they can to keep them alive first, and killing them is the last resort.

  • Bears in the wild are why men live in houses. I have encountered several black bears while hiking and that was unnerving enough for me.

    • Wow -- I'm not sure I'd want to have an encounter with any type of bear! Glad you've survived those encounters! I like your comment that the bears are why we live in houses -- so true!

  • I saw it on the national news and recognized the polar bears and the bus ya'all road on.
    I told my husband -I've seen that place on one of my friend's blog.

    • That was an interesting piece -- I wish it was longer and more inclusive, but they did a good job with it, although we weren't allowed on the tundra to take photos like they were!

  • How are you doing this week?
    Hope all is well!
    Mine has been a busy week, that flew by! I'm on a lunch break now and playing catch-up on Xanga!
    HUGS and Happy Weekend!!! :-)

    • Am doing well -- after 2 weeks of evaluatons and re-evaluations, my offending tooth came out on Wednesday, and I'm regaining my strength after that. Glad to get it over with -- it almost caused me to cancel the polar bear trip!

  • Wow, sounds quite exciting, Janet!

Comments are closed.

Post a Comment