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Polar Bear Alley - polar bear blog, polar bear tours, polar bear
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The truth and gossip about Churchill's polar bears.
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Tourist's guide to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada includes hotels,
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Inspired by Churchill, Lost City Chronicle is a collection
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The
Polar Blog is a collection of northern stories - polar bear,
arctic and otherwise from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada - the
polar bear capital of the world.
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 Polar
Bear Blog - April 16, 2008 - Unexpected Visitors
A
European Starling, still in speckled in winter plumage, its bear
just starting to change back to yellow for the summer, landed
on my porch this morning. Its a mostly black, meadowlarkish bird
thats about 800km north of its normal range. There has been the
occasional sighting here before but I would have to say this bird
is maybe in for a bit a tough haul if he's going to stay until
summer... or even make it through the next couple days...
Another
surprise, at least sort, was the first polar bear of the year,
track anyways. Yesterday, there were fresh tracks wandering around
Camp Nanuq, checking out the boyscout camp, cabins and eventually
right through my yard before heading back out to the sea ice.
There's been a big stretch of open water visible for a couple
weeks now and I figured there had to be some bears gathered around
there. I guess this one just decided to take a day trip to civilization,
check things out and get back to seal hunting.
In
the not so unexpected category, male ptarmigan have started staking
their territories, landing on the highest remaining snowbanks
and making their gurgling, rattling mating calls, their red eyebrow
combs standing out in the sunlight. Ravens are cruising and tumbling
in the air, fooling around in the time between winter scavenging
and spring nest raiding. Ever present Gray Jays are ever more
present, snow buntings have returned and I could swear I heard
a goose yesterday but that may have just been the ravens messing
with me.
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| Polar
Bear Blog - April 15, 2008 - Stranded!
Well,
its that time of year when the snowmobile trail has melted (due
to above average temperatures for the last couple weeks) but the
road to my house is still clogged with snow (due to below average
temperatures for the rest of the winter). Time to get back into
the swing of shovelling snow - now sticky, wet and heavy with
spring sunshine - who am I kidding, there is no swing of shoveling
snow, its more of a grind or a strain or a simple kick to the...
Its
also time to save on dog food, as the snow recedes it exposes
tundra, last year's berries and of course, dead things or at least
pieces of dead things. Each spring, an orphaned caribou leg or
moose bone mysteriously shows up on the deck, to be gnawed and
crunched and carried from April until August. Milo for his part,
doesn't come in for supper until maybe 8-8:30, in fact on sunny
days, he doesn't even really move except to reposition for maximum
shade.
Each
day, talk inevitably drifts toward geese and when exactly they
will return. One has been sighted, out on Button Bay, flying over
a group of snowmobilers - I think that was on April 12th... the
earliest record is April 10th, 1982 - at least according the gaffitied
walls of the North River cabin, which is pretty much statistically
significant enough for me.
And
there is talk of wildlife as well. Our bears are out on the ice,
raiding seals' snowy birthing lairs. Its probably a bit of a trade-off
this year, warm April temperatures overheating the bears but also
melting away seal ceilings leaving cute baby seals exposed to
equally cute polar bear cubs. All in all, I'd say its a pretty
average year for western Hudson Bay as it stands right now.
Of
course, news from the Beaufort Sea sounds pretty disastrous, cannibalization
- at least four cases of an adult male feeding upon another bear
- and a female with starving cubs wandering 400km inland. Each
of these individuallly could be explained as an errant, anti-social,
homicidal old bear to an young, unexperienced female that just
made the wrong choice. Then again, the more of these factors that
keep getting reported up there, maybe that population is in real
trouble. Considering that Manitoba Conservation rejected my 50'x75'
eco-friendly arts centre along Hudson Bay to 'save' the bears,
that probably means this news will halt future development of
the Mackenzie pipeline too. Damn! I was hoping to go up there
and work as a bus driver...
But
then again, there's some good news too. Climate change seems to
be saving Bowhead Whales and Belugas. Scientists with DFO just
re-estimated the number of Bowheads in the eastern Arctic from
3,000 to 14,400 - it seems their research methods were not expansive
enough to give a true sense of the population. I guess that means
Hudson Bay now has 3,000 bowhead instead of 300. A similar thing
happened a couple years ago when the beluga population was re-estimated
from 15,000 (i think...) to 55,000 in western Hudson Bay. This
is good for whales and nice to see that science still admits its
subjectivity sometimes (let's hope their estimate is correct this
time). Problem is I wouldn't expect the Inuit or northerners to
give science anything more than a nod in future resource conservation
planning, including polar bears. |
| Polar
Bear Blog - April 11, 2008 - Springoween
Since
it is National Poetry Month, here is the latest composition from
the Poet Laureate of Churchill's Four-way Stop Intersection, George
Power. It is an ode to Churchill's faltering spring.
(dis)Vernal Contemplation
Without ceremony, staving off
the pageantry of renewal,
indifferent to trees still stripped bare,
the hold Winter imposes on skin
lingers long and relentlessly twists
this sunny deception of a Spring day
into some naked late Autumn -
crisp, cold and colorless (unless
you consider browns and grays) -
leaves it leafless, in a doubtful
promise of an early green Summer;
muddied with that the snow concealed
now revealed in all its putrid honesty,
where there's a scent of something,
not love, in the air.
The levity of May, chilled and
Octoberized in Jack Frost's grip,
numbs thinking, freezes fertility
out of imagination's reach; induces
hallucinations where patterns on eggs
lose their colour and majestic designs
and assume the eerie stares and grins
of gleefully demented pumpkins,
and reveals the Easter Bunny as just some guy
namde Jack O. Lantern in drag,
dragging Spring down to the ground
where lofty allusions to lovers flutter
unnoticed behind raised collars and bowed heads
braced in the face of wind, and fall
settling into an asphalt crypt
with no more purpose than
dead fairies from forgotten myths.
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| Polar
Bear Blog - April 9, 2008 - Bio-fuelled Snow Geese
So,
here's one for the right wing bloggers, I've been thinking about
the whole biofuels movement and how it is maybe another example
of misguided government/bandwagon environmentalism - that is,
more natural pastureland is converted into grain fields, more
pesticides/fertilizer is used and more grain is moved from the
global food market into use for cars and trucks, not that I really
expected much else from George Bush's eco-policy.
But
here's a little twist on it. I've been wondering if biofuels could
spell the 'death' of Wapusk National Park. You see, on this blue
sky morning, we are now counting the days until the first geese
- first Canada then Snows - arrive, and they arrive en masse,
scouts then troops then regiments, divisions, battalions of geese
over only a week or two. In other words, there's a lot of them.
The
Snow Geese nest around La Perouse Bay east of here but just in
the northwest corner of Wapusk National Park. Starting from around
6000 geese in the early sixties, the population has ballooned
to 60,000 nesting pairs or more. They are in a perpetual 'boom'
phase, not unlike the Alberta oil industry, growing and growing
each year. The geese fly south fatten up on farm fields and grain
chaff in the southern states in the winter then come back to forage
and nest in the arctic in the summer.
Unfortunately,
when they forage in the arctic, the 'grub' plants, pulling them
out by the root, turning the area into a salt marsh and effectively
destroying an otherwise pristine landscape, again not unlike the
Alberta oil industry.
This
past season, Snow Geese were identified moving south through the
park and establishing new nesting areas, a sign that their conquest
of Wapusk is speeding up. Now, with more and more grain fields
and the price of wheat and other grains expected to stay high,
there should be more winter feeding sites available and, naturally,
an expoential growth of Wapusk's snow goose population. Making
Wapusk National Park a victim of climate change or at least our
governments' solutions to climate change. |
| Polar
Bear Blog - April 5, 2008 - No More Northern Fun
I
suppose each newspaper editor faces some adversity in the continuing
struggle for freedom of speech and the pursuit of truth, happiness
and distribution outlets. And such is my plight, on this sunny
subarctic weekend.
In
my last issue of the Post, I did a two page spread under the News
& Gossip section of the paper. It is a collection of snippets
of life and such in Churchill and points north. Everything from
bad gas to mines to light bulbs and the end of everything as we
know it... you know, the usual.
Anyways,
I put a paragraph in there about how the Northern Store was giving
sub-par meat to the Royal Canadian Legion for their weekly meat
draw. It was kind of a gag entry and its not like its not true,
I mean bacon ends and frozen fried chicken is not exactly gourmet
entree.
Now,
due to my audacity of writing a true if unflattering paragraph
about the Northern Store, they have pulled the Hudson Bay Post
from their shelves! Yes, Churchill's newspaper is no longer available
for free distribution at our grocery store. The Northern Store
is safe once again - at least, until I write my price comparison
article in the Summer Issue... I just hope that they don't ban
me from the store after that one! I still need my $7 jug of milk
and $5 red pepper!
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| Polar
Bear Blog - March 30, 2008 - Hudson Bay Quest 5
Its
the final day of the Hudson Bay Quest and it looks like David
Ooolooyak of Rankin Inlet is running away with it. He has a 3.5
hour lead on Daryl Baker's second place team. Dave Daley and Ernest
Azure of Churchill are another hour behind Baker. Local favourite,
Charlie Lundie, has just dropped out of the race, despite running
in the Top Five for most of the race... when your dogs don't want
to run anymore then you don't have much choice either... Its too
bad, he still had about four hours of leeway before the next grouping
of mushers leaves the halfway point and mandatory six hour layover.
Tune in to www.hudsonbayquest.com
for race updates and standings. (That's what I'll be up to for
the next couple days...)
Its
a big event for Churchill, a pretty good thing too. Its was 'born'
at the Churchill's BS table at Gypsy's five years ago and this
year, the race hit its maximum number of participants and highest
level of interest and sponsorship yet. Everyone kind of gets together
to follow the race and cheer for local favourites. Not to mention
this year's purse is $30,000 plus all the benefits to the community
and you can't really go wrong... |
| Polar
Bear Blog - March 26, 2008 - Ptons of Ptarmigan
Get
it? The 'P' is silent... eh?... Help me... please.
Yes,
winter is dragging on a bit but there are signs of reprieve. About
fifty or sixty ptarmigan are flying around Camp Nanuq these days,
the flock lifting and setting in non-quite unison movements across
the snow and trees, some skittering, some lifting, some landing
in willows, trees or on the ground, other nibbling on buds, twigs
or not much of anything at all.
Still
keeping occupied chopping ice for water, so far, I have chopped
about 50 gallons of water I figure, enough to keep the water system
going anyways, probably enough to give me 'beaver fever' (it could
be said that I already have a bad case of that but then again
that's another blog...) and even enough, to have the inaugural
shower at Camp Nanuq! This would have been a much more relaxing
and satisfying event if the shower drain would not have been pre-frozen,
signalling another trip underneath the cabin, and into the ever
deepening snowdrift that surrounds said cabin. Speaking of which,
that's a good excuse to get off this computer! |
| Polar
Bear Blog - March 21, 2008 - First Day of Spring
Spring
is here, we're still mired in snowdrifts but officially spring
is here. I can't complain its only -19C today, good weather for
getting yard work done and digging out the lumber for this year's
batch of cabin renovations. You can tell its warming up, there's
more wildlife activity, arctic hares are more visible and yesterday,
I saw a Gyrfalcon cruising fast, flying only one or two feet above
the ground then lifting above the hydro poles, turning and diving
back to continue his grid pattern over the tundra.
You
can also tell its spring because its that time of year when cabin
fever is... how to describe this... kind of here and there. Its
a schizophrenic time of year, where you waffle between depression
and excitement, inspiration and stagnation, where too many projects
are still undone after the winter and more are piling up for the
summer but anxiety still hangs about what this year will bring.
Its a time where winter truly has gotten the better of you whether
you admit it or not (unfortunately, our truck admitted it freely
last week and my chequebook is soon to follow...) And then of
course, everything ends up working out as it should and, by June,
you shake your head at your late winter neuroses and say 'I'm
not going to do that again' and you don't.. until next March. |
Polar
Bear Blog - March 19, 2008 - Paper Boy
Well,
the papers out and this was my first time venturing into town
after the latest issue slash mispelled articles slash misinformation.
Of course, this is no different from any paper, except that its
my paper and as soon as I open it, my brain heads straight for
the most glaring error - at least to my brain, that is.
But,
doing a small newspaper in a small town is kind of nice (once
its done), lots of people give complements or grab the paper and
say 'thanks' or point out errors in articles - of course, this
all means that people are actually reading the paper and that's
all any editor/writer ever wants really.
It
also points out what pride Churchillians place on this place and
its history, its an unspoken, casual and sort of sarcastic patriotism
but patriotism nonetheless and that's something that is maybe
a little lacking in the greater Canada. I doubt you would ever
find anyone in Churchill who is apologetic for anything good or
bad in this community, its pretty much take it or leave it, its
a hard and tolerant town and if you don't like it, that's okay,
just don't ask anyone to change. |
| Polar
Bear Blog - March 18, 2008 - Back to...
So,
I just re-read my last entry and I seemed so hopeful about the
van. Of course, this one didn't work out but that's business and
its a beautiful day at Camp Nanuq, the land of foxes and hares
and ptarmigan and not-so-much strip malls and asphalt.
 The
latest issue of the Hudson Bay Post is finally online here.
It spotlights the upcoming Hudson Bay Quest, trapping history,
ravens, gossip and that sort of thing...
Of
course, some of the news and gossip covered is already old. The
bad gas in town has been replaced by a new shipment and vehicles
seem to be running better, although I think a grand total of seven
gas tanks exploded, yes exploded, in town, likely thanks to this
latest epic of octane-deficient gas. Oh well, might as well pretend
it didn't happen and wait for the next batch of bad gas in two
years.
Other
stuff that I missed includes the new RCMP building, construction
officially started yesterday but we likely won't see real progress
until mid-April or so. The Churchill Northern Studies Centre is
also a lot closer to its $13 million project with Omnitrax and
the Province of Manitoba stepping up to the so-called funding
plate. If the Federal Government follows suit, an announcement
for a new research centre should be made this summer.
Hudson
Bay Quest and Churchill's Aurora Winterfest are coming up soon.
This year, the Winterfest will feature a snow sculpture workshop
in the week leading up to the festival which sounds pretty neat.
And, the Hudson Bay Quest ended up with 21 teams this year, actually
one over their official limit but who's counting...
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| Polar
Bear Blog - March 5, 2008 - And I Live in Churchill Because...
So,
this polar bear blog is from sunny and warm Vancouver, at the
Granville hostel where there is running water, telephones, falafels
and most importantly no blizzards. Getting away from winter feels
a little like someone lifted an 800lb gorilla, or say polar bear,
off my back This is a much needed break for sure.
Flying
over the Canadian Rockies was brilliant, perfect light and only
a few clouds drowning the occasional mountain valley. For stretches,
it seems like Canada has barely been touched (which is kind of
the truth) but then again there is no shortage of clear cuts and
logging roads delineating the wilderness. Then comes Vancouver,
after so much land and so little people, it is surreal to dive
into an eclectic surf of cultures, colours and crowds. Everyone
stuffed into one little corner of the country, buildings growing
more up than out, but growing nonetheless. Blizzards versus buildings...
right now, I am waffling but give me a couple days and I'll be
ready for the blizzards again.
Of
course, I am out here on business, continuing the quest for a
4x4 van, soon to be converted to run on used vegetable oil and
the next step in growing my guiding business. I am one day away
from either owning one or square one, as in 'back to'. Should
work out okay, for once, everything seems to be falling into place...so
far anyway. Too sunny to write much more today... |
| Polar
Bear Blog - March 3, 2008 - What Do You Want Me To Say...
I
think my entries are now just going to read... another blizzard.
the end. There's really not much to write after a while except
that March is definitely coming in like a lion which is probably
good news for the Hudson Bay Quest dog sled race at month's end,
unless of course, the lamb has rabies...
The
winter edition of the Hudson Bay Post is finally done, for better
or worse, and will be posted in a few hours, theoretically. I
just can't put off 'dragging' the road - or what's left of it
- any longer. You can actually see the sun today so that's a good
sign, this is just wind now not snow and wind. Not to mention,
I am hoping to fly south today or tomorrow and then head west
to pick up a 4x4 tour van! But, I don't want to jinx that too
much until its in my hands.... so that's it, heading out for road
repairs, shovelling, cursing and frostbite, that is, if I can
squeeze by the four foot snowdrift outside the door.. |
| Polar
Bear Blog - February 28, 2008 - Another Day in Churchill
So,
I was a little stressed last night. Milo disappeared as he occasionally
does but this time did not show up for supper and was gone for
about twelve hours or so, still missing this morning. So with
there being wolves around and that sort of thing, we headed out,
a little disconcerted, on a search for hopefully more than bones
and blood.
Of
course, Milo being Milo, it was more of a gong show than high
drama. It seems that he broke in to one of the cabins on neighbouring
Spruce Ridge, much like polar bears do, accidentally knocked the
door shut and panicked, turning the place into a disaster, much
like polar bears do. By the time we found him, he had jammed his
head out one of the windows and was howling until he honed in
on his whimpers, not so much like polar bears do.
So,
that was pretty early and once all was said and done, I still
had a meeting with town council about updating the community website.
Trouble is, I have been trying to clear out my ears with olive
oil - getting a little tired of being mostly deaf - and had accidentally
plugged them worse then ever. To top things off, I proceeded to
back off my winter road into a big snowdrift and get stuck, on
a day where it is pretty impossible to get stuck. So exhausted
and deaf, I went to the meeting and proceeded to read lips, nod
at appropriate times and try to be as professional as I could,
in work overalls and snowboots.
It
occurred to me that these events probably do not comprise that
of a typical newspaper publishing business. |
| Polar
Bear Blog - February 25, 2008 - Up on the Downside
Photographers
and staff headed out to Wat'Chee Lodge on Saturday, boarding the
train to head up the tracks to an old siding called McClintock
where Wat'Chee now occupies a former 'spur' and old military building
once part of the Churchill Rocket Research Range. For me, this
is usually a sign that winter is more than half over; really November,
December, January and February are the only tough months, other
than that winter is a cakewalk up here, except for a few blizzards
in March, April or May and sometimes June.
And
while the rest of Manitoba, even Thompson et al, saw above normal,
-3 or -4C temperatures yesterday and we still wallowed in minus
thirties, it was okay. Not to mention, the winter road is still
open, we have enough water in the tank (barely, but still...)
and even though, we have been going through firewood like crazy,
there's still enough of the woodpile exposed that I don't have
to shovel for three hours before cutting more. I would call this
winter a victory so far...
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| Polar
Bear Blog - February 23, 2008 - Winter is Okay... I guess
Its
amazing how quickly you can forget a cold snap. Temperatures have
risen enough (still between -15 and -30C but that's fine with
me) to allow for snowmobiling and snowshoeing without grinding
your teeth or staring at your feet, hiding from the windchill.
Winter is all of a sudden kind of nice in Churchill.
Doing
daily trips these days to chop ice from Stygge Lake behind the
cabin, bringing sled loads to fill up our water barrel or just
snowmobiling on a seemingly never-ending mission to mark a trail
which I end up losing seemingly every day. For some reason, I
thought heading to town on a snowmobile for the day and returning
after dark. It is surprising how easily you can accidentally plow
into a 15' tall snowbank of willows at 2am and how quickly panic
rises when you realize you are hammering through a maze of gnarled
branches and the snowdrifts are somehow now at eye-level. But,
then again, all's well that ends well, so what the hey...
Snowshoeing
is a little easier, naturally, again to Stygge Lake and again
to a willow-laden snowbank. This time, there's a nice hard crust
so its maybe my version of mountain climbing, hiking along the
tops of ancient willows, fifteen or twenty feet about the edge
of the lake. There are a couple spots where the airport buildings
are hidden by trees and you can fool yourself into thinking that
the antenna towers and old rocket launchers are spindly trees
and all of a sudden you are five hundred miles from anywhere.
That's something else for an afternoon 'coffee break' from the
laptop... |
Polar
Bear Blog - February 20, 2008 - Lunar Eclipse
Just
waiting on the lunar eclipse tonight, somewhere between 8 and
9pm, I think. Next one is 2010 and by then, I'll be full on into
preparations for the Mayan end of the world in 2012 so I better
head out and catch this one. More
on the eclipse here...
Plus,
Saturn is supposed to be following the moon across the sky. As
in, 'What's that bright star in the sky? ...That's Saturn. ...Oooh,
I see. Wow, that's Saturn...' Hopefully, it clears up a bit, snowing
right now and clouds have gloomed up the sky but that's okay,
its -15C and that's minus fifteen not fifty, so that's good.
Thought
I would put the snowmobile trail in to town today but for some
reason, I have this mental block towards my GPS. I just won't
carry it and I am not sure why, it would make life a lot easier.
I've got about half the trail pretty much down in my head and
then there's one spot where I sort of drift off into a new trail
every time I've tried it. I took an axe as my survival kit today,
maybe GPS tomorrow. Should have things nice and packed and marked
by May though...
Lots
of tracks between here and town, ptarmigan, least weasel and other
random rodents, probably poking around this morning looking for
food in the nice weather. There were signs of my wolf following
the hydro line closer to town and, of course, signs of foxes;
tracks and otherwise. There is a great looking silver fax living
near Goose Creek these days and at least one or two traditional
red foxes kicking around, hopefully staying away from the community
trapline. For now, they're using the snowmobile trail more than
us, apparent by the pee marks underneath my axe marks on each
of my lobstick trees. |
| Polar
Bear Blog - February 19, 2008 - Red Aurora
There
must have been a good solar storm this weekend. Around 11pm last
night, there was throbbing red aurora over Hudson Bay. I don't
think I have really seen aurora like that before where the purple
looks red and there is only a sliver of green, if any at all.
Usually, it is quite the opposite. All of that while the moon
was shining bright, lighting up the landscape, pretty impressive
even if I was in a bad mood.
Yesterday
was my first down day of 2008, I'm into the crunch time for the
newspaper and the books and I'm starting to want to throw my laptop
out the window. Too many things 68% done... I think.
Still
very cold here today but its a nice, clean, clear day - better
for everyone's psyche... Can't believe its almost the end of February...
starting to hear some old-time Churchillians talk about how they
don't remember that many, if any, winters being this cold for
this long. I, for one, am hoping that in thirty five years, I
can say that we never had another winter like od'eight and then
maybe I'll tell a story about a greenland shark or about the times
when we all thought the bears were going to disappear. |
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