Polar Bear Alley

This 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 

Today's Blog 
Hudson Bay Quest 2007
February 15-March 19, 2007
January 14-February 15, 2007
December-January12, 2007
December 1-10, 2006
November 20-30, 2006
November 5-20, 2006
October 27-Nov5, 2006
October 19-26, 2006
October 9-18, 2006
October 1-October 9, 2006
Sept 24-October 1, 2006
Sept 15-23, 2006
Sept 1-8, 2006
August 20-31, 2006
August 8-17, 2006
August 1-8, 2006  
July 25-31, 2006  
July 18-24, 2006   
July 12-17, 2006   
July 2006   
June 2006  
May 2006 
Archived articles

Polar Bear Blog - Polar Bear Encounter - September 8th, 2006

Some local Churchillians had a pretty serious polar bear encounter a few days back. They were across river at one of the cabins and a young polar bear approached them. Despite several warning shots, it continued approaching, head down and aggressive, and eventually had to be shot as it was charging.

I have seen some post-mortem pics of this bear and he fits the description of the dirty little polar bear that was terrorizing Camp Nanuq in mid-August. It kind of makes sense because he was a small bear that showed no fear. In fact, if my neighbour wouldn't have intervened (with a shotgun blast), he might have been the end of my trusty wolfdog, Milo!

He was captured by Manitoba Conservation and relocated by helicopter to the North River area, about fifty kilometres (thirty miles) north of Churchill. Looks like he made his way back...

All the more reason to carry a shotgun or travel with someone who is carrying a gun up here.

If you are wondering, I only write about a few of the polar bear encounters up here, and even then, its really only a little bit of the story. There have been A LOT this summer, offhand I can think of ten more that could each be stories unto themselves. Of course, I cannot write about all of them because without a few juicy secrets, the north just wouldn't be the same!

Polar Bear Blog - Another Day, Another Bear - September 7th, 2006

If you really tried to find a polar bear in Churchill this past summer, you could, everyday. I am touring around a couple nice Aussie dudes that are up here filming a documentary about bears, naturally. It was pretty rainy this morning so we looked at a polar bear daybed and a few local landmarks (called scrap metal in other parts of the world but up here they are 'tourist attractions'). They filmed me walking along the coast with my gun looking for bears. I walked along the coast looking for bears and worried that my fly was open. It was fun.

I dropped them off for a tundra buggy tour at 1pm and then went for a little drive on my own - after all, I am kind of a disgruntled hermit-type albeit a sociable, disgruntled hermit. Soon, I found a big old male polar bear sleeping in the lyme grass and kelp near Halfway Point which is near Bird Cove which is not too far from Camp Nanuq - got it? Good.

Anyway, this is probably the same adult male that has been living along the coast all summer. It is kind of nice, he does not bother us, we don't bother him and things are working out quite well so far (In fact, I think there are three or four bears spending the summer within one or two miles of my cabin).

I spent about an hour with him, just watching him loll around on the coast and wait out the rain. There are not many things better in this life than sitting alone watching a polar bear who is equally alone, both of us listening to the north wind and enjoying the silence.

Polar Bear Blog - Polar Bears Doing Okay, Somewhere - September 6th, 2006

Ask and ye shall receive. A few days ago, I went on a rant about the fact that nothing but bad news is being published about polar bears and all this bad news was kind of degrading for these big white beasts.

Today is a bit gloomy so I was catching up on computer work this morning, enjoying my coffee and CBC Radio. Their morning show, The Current, featured a documentary about climate change in Nunavut. One of their subjects was polar bear biologist Mitch Taylor who is currently working on year two of a three year mark-recapture study of polar bears in Davis Strait.

During his interview, conducted during his current field research on Baffin Island, he stated that the Davis Strait polar bear population is doing quite well. And despite the best efforts of the interviewer, he managed to stay away from any reference to climate change, simply saying that it is probably a result of the decline in harp seal hunting on the east coast of Canada (another equally controversial topic). Without hunting to curb their population, harp seals are now being found in much higher numbers and in places where they previously did not frequent.

Wow, a polar bear population doing quite well, that's awesome! In fact, his view, which is not often heard, is that polar bears in Nunavut are generally doing okay and not in drastic decline as the media often reports. And, in fact, scientific evidence seems to support this view.

Of course, we have to be careful here, scientific research in general shows that much of the arctic is warming (more so in the western Canadian arctic and Alaska than the eastern arctic) and that if these trends continue unabated much of the ice platforms in the Canadian arctic will be substantially altered or even disappear. It would be an understatement to say that this would be bad for polar bears.

And, this, of course, does not mean that the Beaufort Sea or Western Hudson Bay populations are not declining but it does mean that many of the generalizations heard about polar bears in the media tend towards the alarmist side of things.

But, why does it matter? Why is our current approach to climate change dangerous? Because we have reached the point where if you do not support a doomsday ethos regarding climate change then you become lost in the shuffle. And this shuffle is becoming so big that the real threats, such as consistent lack of corporate responsibility and loss of habitat, are being lost within the shuffle as well.

Related article from CBC interview with Dr. Mitch Taylor

Polar Bear Blog - Harvest Moon - September 5th, 2006

Not sure how long my journal entries are going to be this week. I am finishing my business plan for Polar Bear Alley Expeditions, finishing my application/abstract for my Master's Thesis and finishing an article for Routes North Roots magazine (a nice little northern Manitoba mag). And of course, I am way behind on everything.

But, I did have time to watch the moon rise tonite. We are two days away from the full moon and I was taking a break on the deck, when I noticed a red ribbon emerging from the treeline. The moon does not so much rise as ooze, much like a lava lamp. In those first minutes, you can actually see it moving herky jerky up into the sky, large and bloody and beautiful.

Or it could just be that I was listening to Eric Burdon and the Animals today. But, I better go, I need to get back to work like Aretha Franklin needs to sing.

Polar Bear Blog - Feeling Restless - September 4th, 2006

Another nice weekend at the cabin, weather continues to alternate between impending winter and 'Indian summer'. A lot of birds were passing through and over and around this weekend. At this time of year, a lot of the juvenile birds are old enough to attempt their first migration and the adults are anxious to take head south on the first good north wind.

There is something called 'pre-migratory restlessness' that is going through the birds right now. They basically go a little crazy, eating constantly and fattening up for the trip, fighting with each other for buds et al, and just flittering and tittering about. This restlessness is most apparent in our little troop of White-crowned Sparrows that live at Camp Nanuq.

Usually content to lurk amidst the willows, occasionally making a dash from one clump of leaves to the next, they are now a highly visible, noisy and raucous bunch. Whether it is the change in daylight or weather or whatever that signals this heightened level of awareness and excitement, no one is quite sure. But it is very nice to watch - one last blast of birds for the summer.

This whole idea of 'pre-migratory restlessness' is really neat and it is part of my own pet theory of polar bear sparring in October and November near Churchill. Several research projects have studied and theorized about why polar bear spar with each other in the fall when really they should be conserving energy, not to mention it also occurs at a time in the year when their testosterone is running pretty low. I think it is just another form of this 'restlessness', something akin to excitement in the air that triggers these bouts of playfighting.

And finally, a couple highlights from this weekend included a juvenile Harris' Sparrow and a Short-eared Owl. The Harris' Sparrow showed up amidst the White-crowned Sparrows and hung out in a branch right outside our neighbours bay window. The Harris' (originally called a Mourning Sparrow) is one of Churchill top three rare birds. Birders come from around the world to hopefully glimpse the Harris' Sparrow, Boreal Chickadee and a Ross's Gull.

As for the owl, it was hunting right off our deck. Late Saturday night, it showed up flying in the darkness and making eery clicking noises, likely attempting to locate prey. Short-eared owls are my favourite owls. Their wings seem to beat heavy and slow yet they perform the most crazy acrobatics, like some sort of giant moth. (not as big as Mothra but a big moth nonetheless)

Polar Bear Blog - Not Much of an Entry - September 1st, 2006

Sitting on the veranda that I just finished building, drinking a smoothie made from wild blueberries and currants, watching my dogs run around the yard, enjoying the changing rainbows as the sun and clouds fight for control of the sky, listening to the Top 100 Rolling Stones songs on Sirius Satellite Radio and dreaming of buying a Pinzgauer offroad vehicle.

Paradise.

Photos posted for JT.

Polar Bear Blog - Hot Spot in Manitoba - September 1st, 2006

Hey! I hear that we are the hot spot in Manitoba, sitting at a balmy 17C (63F). Then why is it freezing cold when I step out the door? A strong wind is slowly has been blowing from the south for a few days now and is slowly shifting west. Partnered with cool, intermitent rain, it makes for a good day to catch up on my website.

There is a very strange forecast for this week, temperatures are slated to stay in the high teens and even twenties (60-70F) but the wind is also going to shift to the northwest, meaning that it will feel about ten degrees cooler than it says on paper.

Strange how many beautiful sunny days this summer we were the cold spot in Manitoba.

Polar Bear Blog - Another Summer Down - August 31, 2006

Well, the last day of August, time for a trip to Twin Lakes to get some firewood. Actually, this was just a scouting trip, an evening cruise to pick up enough logs to officially finish my veranda (although I still will insist that it is 'finished, it just that it is 'churchill finished' or, as we call it in the industry, good enough).

Fall colours are out in full force just south of Churchill. A lot of tamarack are already bright yellow and some are even losing their needles. Aside from spruce, tamarack is our only other evergreen up here. Actually, it is a deciduous coniferous tree - which pretty much means that is an evergreen that is not an evergreen. Also called larch, it is a hardy tree that can survive farther north than any other, surviving temperatures lower than -60C. It is also just a little harder than spruce, making it a clean burning wood that is in high demand by woodstove owners and veranda builders.

It was also used as a medicinal plant by Cree and Dene peoples. Mostly, the inner bark was ground into a poultice to treat everything from cuts and infected wounds to frostbite and boils. The outer bark and roots were part of a mixture that, after being boiled twice, was used to ease arthritis, colds and general aches and pains (see Aboriginal Plant Use in Canada's Northwest Boreal Forest - published by UBCPress)

Tamarack are a real highlight of fall even if this year, they are signs of an early winter.