Dennis, one of the original drivers, who's been leading tours out of Churchill, MB, Canada to observe polar bears since the early 80's, opens up his diary for us after he finishes another great year of polar bear watching in Churchill, MB.

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Nothing to do, so with your permission I would like to post thoughts and obsevations about the bears from this year (2003). Dennis.

Tuesday, November 11th, 2003

Minus 4, light wind from the southwest, clear skies. The weather is strange, uncommon winds from the southwest for the last four days has blown the ice far out into the bay. Bears are streched out along the coast for miles, constantly on the move.

I'm sitting in buggy 1 waiting for a call from the local doctor. I snapped the tendon from my right bicep and was choppered out to the Churchill hospital for medical attention. My muscle had bunched up under my armpit, the attending nurse, with a grin on her face exclaimed' the doctor loves wierd stuff like this' and he did. The doctor, a nice young man from South Africa, after telling me 'I never seen anything like this' attempted to contact a specialist in Winnipeg. Unable to do so he sent me home for the evening with the instructions to 'keep it elevated at 70 degrees'. So with my arm and elbow sticking out from my body like a linebacker from the green Bay Packers I cleared the way home to wait further instructions. A phone call the next morning from the doc brought the news that indeed there is a specialist in Winnipeg and yes he would be able to see me but I would have to wait four or five days. So here I wait in buggy 1.

The advance party breaking trail to the Cape came back with the news that a decent enough route exists, the camp will move tomorrow. But the weather says otherwise, a blizzard warning was issued for this area, travelling along the sea ice in white out conditions is for the foolhardy so we will wait for the storm to pass.

The cam will be shut down for the trip, I will post a notice when this happens. Dennis

North wind blowing 80kilometers an hour, white out conditions, minus 30 celcius. Winter is pounding at the door. Another storm has arrived with only a few days lull from the last one. The ice pack reaching the horizon and beyond.
Morning brings lighter winds with the sun dominating the eastern sky. Bears travelling with ease on the ice, blowing snow has filled in all the cracks and crannies smoothing the way. My pal Dancer had a day of rolling in the snow cleaning his great coat and frequent naps. Just after dark he came up and whacked my buggy for the last time then headed North across the ice. New bears around camp, they tend not to hang around for long at this stage of the game, anxious to hunt. The younger bears, not confident in thier hunting skills, wait to follow the big boys to learn and feed on scraps.
Well its Cape Churchill time.  Traditionly the camp is moved to Cape Churchill 30 kilometers to the east to take advantage of a longer season. It's the biggest gathering point for the bears and is accessible by buggy once the ice on the Bay is secure enough to travel on. That has yet to be determined. The highest tide for November happens tonight and will likley result in flooding over top of the existing ice. This flood firms up the ice and smooths over most of the cracks and ridges. As the saline content of the Bay is high it will take few days for the flood to freeze solid. To test ice conditions a buggy will 'break trail' and try to make the Cape. If successful the camp would follow the day after. This year I'm going so I hope to bring you Cape Churchill bears for the first time.
I will elaborate on what can go wrong with the trip next entry. Dennis

Thursday, November 6th 2003

WSW wind, minus 18 celcius, clear and cold, a band of heavy dark blue clouds over open water. Pieces of floating ice mirrored at the horizon inviting you to a towering city of white. The breaking sun diffused by a film of cloud gently easing us into day. Wind nudging at your cheek allowing a brief respite before the bite. Quiet morning. Mix of bears this morning close to camp. A huge male arrived last night, biggest seen so far this season. Having scattered the lesser bears in every direction the monster approached the resident big bear, Dancer. After a tense few moments of posturing the animals seemed to agree that they could get along and laid down nose to nose. Later that night in the distance a faint outline of the two titans grappling upright in the kelp.

Anthropomorphize.....to attribute human form or personality to things not human. We do think highly of ourselves don't we. Inuit legends and beliefs are based on creatures taking on human form, humans becoming creatures. The polar bear being the most reviered forms the basis of many legends. One belief that defines the Inuit's understanding of the creatures they share the land with is that when hunters leave the encampment it is understood by women and caregivers left behind to keep the young ones from crying as the female polar bear might hear causing her to come to the camp to nurture the crying child. Another legend tells of a Inuit hunter following bear tracks to this large igloo, the hunter cautiously cuts a small looking hole into the side. What he sees confirms what the elders have been telling. Inside the igloo was a group of men sitting naked, close by was the bear skins that they just shed and put by the lamp to dry. I wonder who would appear if Dancer decided to dry his suit of fur, I'm thinking John Candy.
cheers.  Dennis

Wednesday, November 5th, 2003

Storm raging outside, weather report says winds at 50 kilometers per hour gusting to 70, but it must be gusting closer to 100. Absolute whiteout conditions.
I love it. The night cam just barely picks up the ghostly outline of Dancer sleeping in the lee of my buggy. There has been another seal kill just west of camp so the bears have concentrated their efforts on getting a share. Four or five big males still hanging around along with a mother and yearling. Sub adults back in the willows.

Good Morning, winds have diminished leaving behind fresh snow, so much for the four day storm forecast. Clear and cold this morning with a glorious sunrise. The area surrounding camp has transformed from fall colors of dark browns and reds to a more arctic setting of pastel blue and grey amongst the white of ice and snow. Mother and first year cub just came through camp. Her nuzzle a dark red from her share of the seal kill. To put herself and cub in the middle of all the big males surrounding the kill shows her courage and determination in obtaining nourishment at this critical time.

I see the ice is making fast along the coast. Bears are out to the edge this morning. A little more edge in their behavior is showing. The transition from a summer of near fasting, energy conservation mode to that of an alert hunter is taking place. I keep an eye on the older experienced bears looking for a change in behavior. They're relaxing in the kelp beds not bothered by the increased urgency of others.

South winds are forcast. If so the ice will be blown out into the bay prolonging the freeze until the wind shifts back to the north. This is not uncommon and results in larger concentrations of bears along the spits of land jutting into the bay, like the one I'm on now.
coffee time    Dennis.

Monday, November 3rd, 2003

Very cold this morning, the forecast is for winds from the north blowing forty to sixty kilometers for the next four days. Milky white ice starting to form along the edges of the Bay. Locals call it grease ice, not yet in a solid state and slippery to the touch. By the end of the week, with the strong north winds, the bears should start showing interest in testing the ice. They really don't like to get their feet wet at this stage of the game. Its quite comical watching a young bear gingerly make his way across unstable ice. The stance taken is one of a worried house cat who got caught halfway up the curtains, not sure what to do next, can't go forward and can't turn around. Entertainment for the older bears watching from shore. 

A dozen or so bears around with sets of mothers and cubs passing through. The frequency of bouts of sparring has increased, the visitors on the buggies are delighted and amused with all action in the area.

Dennis

 Monday/Tuesday October 27th/28th, 2003

Zero degrees, light south wind, overcast skies...no northern lights tonight, seems we will be missing out on quite a light show.

Bears, bears, bears...I'm surrounded by bears, thirteen...fourteen..fifteen and counting. An old friend is amongst them, Dancer showed up early the other morning, it was good to see him again. He didn't waste anytime and got right into it with another large bear, standing toe to toe, battling and bumping like sumo wrestlers gone mad. There's also a mother with a set of first year cubs and a mother with a second year cub make part of the gathering around camp. After a long bout of sparring the combatants like to cool off by flopping down on the ice or fresh snow, Dancer was doing just that when I turned the camera on him resting as only he does stretched out on his side with front paws crossed and back legs crossed when the Timber Wolf came into view. Wolfs are spotted along the coast but rarely. When we do spot them they are moving quite quick and never have time to capture them on camera. This wolf was standing still. What an opportunity. Dancer was lying 30 meters away and the chance of capturing a wolf and bear in a single frame was there. But I missed it. By the time the camera was on the wolf and focused he was moving. Gillian Eckhardt the researcher with me on the buggy was much more poised and calmly captured the wolf trotting past Dancer's head. 

There is a small herd of around three thousand Caribou, that sustains a pack of wolves in the area, this being the northern end of their range. I suspect by the size and condition of the wolf we saw, that it's place in the pack might be that of the alpha male, the pack leader. The footprint left behind measured over 15 centimeters, I guessed the weight to be over 70 kilos. 

A healthy Moose population also contributes to their well being.
But nature does not teach complacency and hard times does befall the wolves and all creatures. One extremely cold winter with heavy snow a few years back saw the town of Churchill in a state of panic, well... as panicky as a bunch of hardened northerners can get, which isn't that panicky, when a pack of wolves boldly entered town and were helping themselves to helpless dogs who were unfortunately chained. A call to arms was sent out and the wolves were quickly killed. Great debates followed at the coffee shop as to why these wolves invaded the town, every theory was brought to the table and analyzed thoroughly..... at least until dinner time...hardened northerners never miss dinner.

The consciences was that a few days prior, a group of moose hunters had success and hauled their kill back to town. The wolf pack was hunting the moose at the same time and followed the blood trail. Finding no moose at the end of the trail and near starvation the wolves fed on the dogs. Its the way it is.  Dennis

Saturday/Sunday October 25th/26th, 2003

Weather is continuing to be above normal, hovering around zero degree Celsius during the day and dropping to a low of minus eight in the evening.

The bears were quiet Saturday during the day, things heated up during the evening and was down right exciting early Sunday morning. Bears that have been around camp for the last week or so were being bullied and driven away replaced by a new wave of bears from the east. Bigger bears, familiar bears with scars I recognize. I Study their behavior and disposition ,looking for a sign of recognition. 

These are the bears I know. It's easy to be entertained by the play of sub adults, the gift shop bears. The ones visitors, giddy with excitement, capture a thousand times on film to show the kids. But its the ones who come in the night, huge silent males, faces etched with battles won and lost that only a few see, shadow bears that vanish with the dawn. True hunters who have mastered stealth and stalking. Survivors at the top of the food chain with no time for foolishness. Eyes that never let you in, try and you are punished by fear and humility in an instant. 

Monday morning, soft pastels paint the eastern sky, hoar frost sparkles on the willows and lime grass. New day and new bears, no more hurried activity from younger bears, no sense of urgency. The older bears are more tolerant of each other, mother and cub still cautious but not burdened by the bravado of distant younger bears.

One of the most revered privileges is that of a mother allowing you to see her nursing her young. This happened this morning. A rare occasion. The mother will distance herself from the others, find a deeper patch of snow or bed of kelp dig a hollow and sit with her back to the wind, she accepts the nudging cub between her arms. Its a fleeting time of peace and contentment for the mother, the graceful arc of her head and neck as she watches her cub nurse transcends all species, universal in the message to all who care. Humbling to all who see. It was a morning of firsts.

As I was trying to finish this entry I looked up through the window and seen a wolf. And Dancer is back. more next time.  Dennis

Thursday October 23rd, 2003

Brisk 25K north wind, minus 2C still overcast.

Sparring out my window this morning, first I've seen this year. A couple of sub adults wandered in checked things out, tussled a bit and left. Big male sleeping along the coast, mother and yearling visited for a few hours. All in all ten bears around the area. A couple of good old boys from Louisiana were on board last night and had gone up in the helicopter earlier in the day ,just to the east of us they seen a fresh seal kill and one happy bear. I suspect bears moving in from the east would linger around the kill area until it's pretty much cleaned up before continuing on this way. Which wont take long.

The bears are white, the fox is white, snowy owl and gyrfalcon....white, arctic hare is white, a flock of ptarmigan...white, white, white, white, white. The Raven, well the raven is black. A deep black with purple highlights, coal black eyes with an indifferent stare and condescending attitude. Thinkers and schemers, dark tricksters, confidence in their intelligence and I'm at war with them, both of them. I know I'm smarter than them.

Dawn breaks in the east, I watch it every morning through the big windows in front of my buggy, enjoying a hot cup of coffee and basking in the solitude and quiet before the camp comes to life. The corner of my eye catches a slight movement low on the horizon to the south-east, a black moving dot that splits into two as I focus. In the back of my head the bell rings signaling the start of round one, shifting my brain out of neutral into first gear mentally preparing myself for this days battle of wits with the fast approaching Ravens.

I made the fateful error of taping a ten pound bag of rice to the camera mounted on the roof to cut down on the shake on windy days. I quickly discovered my mistake while trying to focus the camera on the sleeping bear close to the buggy. The image in the camera was bouncing around furiously yet looking out the window there wasn't a breath of wind. What's going on! Out the door onto the rear deck climbing onto the roof to find Mr. Raven pecking away at the bag of rice perched on top of the camera. Now these are big tough birds that weigh as much as a dog and he was working away at the bag of rice, pecking at it and bouncing around like a prize fighter. Shooing him away I went back to the camera, the bear was getting up, the image was a blur, he was back at the rice, once again I chased him off and again he was back at it before I sat down. I ran to the kitchen to salvage scraps from the garbage, smug in the plan I had quickly formulated to out smart these annoying feathered Blackbirds. With a meaty bone in hand I climbed up the bars on the camp to tape the tasty decoy to a railing. This will keep them busy for a while I thought as the bear did a somersault in the snow. Settled back at the monitor, working the controls to bring the antics of the bear to the world a shadow crossed my widow and the bear on the screen was being slammed against all four corners. They devoured the decoy and were back. I need a bigger piece of meat and I have to make it difficult for them to get at, so I wired the equivalent of a small cow to the railing. This gave me a bit more time but soon they were back. I went through the process a few more times not wanting to admit my plan wasn't working the way it should. So I got rid of the bag of rice, but it was to late the damage was done.

I sit here now as the birds swoop down low to look through the window to see if I'm up then arc skyward over the top of the buggy, pause in mid air before setting down on top of the camera. Knowing all they have to do is hop around on top of this thing long enough, ignore the strange sounds coming from the creature with the red face and duck the snowballs , a nice piece of meat will appear tied to that railing over there. But I have a plan.

Dennis

Tuesday/Wednesday October 21st/22nd, 2003

Minus 4C this morning, light north wind with overcast skies. A blanket of fresh snow on the ground.

One of the big males who arrived yesterday has established himself as camp boss and is flaunting his authority demanding the other bears adhere to the strict boundary line he set up. The mother and cub have been missing for a few days, the big males in the area have kept them back in the willows somewhere. The mother is extremely wary of the bigger males, her biggest nightmare. I was witness to this nightmare, a drama that took days to unfold between a mother with two cubs and a determined brute of a bear at Cape Churchill a few years back.

We came across the mother and cubs crossing a frozen bay early morning. First year cubs are determined to keep as close as possible to their mother when travelling but noticed one cub was too far behind and struggling. A we watched, the trailing cub sat unable to continue. The mother stopped and encouraged the cub to catch up. With a valiant effort the cub got up and ran a short distance then slowed to a painful walk. A spot of red marked the ice where the cub sat. Without any visible injuries on the cub we guessed something was not right internally. The mother continued on towards the coast, the healthy cub at her heels the other fighting all the way. By nightfall the distraught mother and cubs reached the coastline. With the last bit of light we left the family knowing that she had a rough night ahead as the coast was spotted with big males.

First light we were back to see how she was doing. Sure enough a huge male was facing her off and it was apparent from the red slash on her shoulder she had been fighting him off all night. The injured cub was lying down with only enough strength to raise it's head. The snow and ice around him blackened from the blood.

Other males had gathered but kept their distance watching and waiting. From all sides the male would approach the downed cub, retreating only when the mother attacked, each time sapping what little energy the mother had left. It was hard to watch but nothing we could do. Another long day and night lay ahead for the mother.

The cub had died during the evening, when we returned the next morning the mother was nudging the body, gently pulling at his ear, the cub had frozen to the ice. The sibling lying next to him licking his face. The mothers attention was divided between beating off the male and comforting and encouraging the lifeless body of the cub. She wouldn't give up, clearly exhausted and in great distress she continued protecting her cubs from the male who knew the mother would soon have to relinquish one of her offspring. We stayed late into the evening, the male was waiting in the dark out of our sight. Finally the mother and only cub started moving off only to rush back and charge the male when he moved towards the body frozen in the ice. Each time she would move further away, the male waiting longer . Then she was gone. Our emotions were exhausted and all felt numb at what took place in front of us. We watched as the big male moved towards the body, but it was not to be, a bigger male watching and waiting, letting the lesser male wear the mother down, moved quickly, chasing him off the corpse claiming the prize.   Dennis

Sunday/Monday October 19/20, 2003

Rain Sunday morning, something we don't need. What little snow we have on the ground is going fast. Mild weather forecasted for the next four days with temperatures just under the freezing point. Minus 4C this morning with a slight wind from the West.

For those watching this site yesterday you may have noticed interruptions in the stream and refresh. A series of mishaps plagued us on Sunday starting at 4 in the morning. Two species of animal were responsible for the mishaps, one Homo sapien the other Ursus maritimus. Both young, one well meaning but slightly overconfident the other nasty and a regular pain in the butt. Both major problems were rectified by mid afternoon. Thanks Paul (mighty mouse) Clifford.

Four new bears showed up since yesterday afternoon, Two large males, a feisty female and a nervous two year old. One of the large males gave my buggy a wallop just after six this morning, standing on his hind legs he was looking me square in the eye through the window. I've been waiting for my old friend Dancer to show up. He announces his arrival in the same manner. This bear is as big as Dancer but not as old. It will be a happy day when Dancer does show up then I'll know he survived another winter.

I have a researcher on board the buggy with me during the day studying bear reaction in the presence of humans and machinery. Armed with all sorts of gadgets including optical measuring device, global positioning systems, digital camera's, two way radio's, lap top and others I can't guess their use, she goes about calibrating, measuring, clicking, snapping, writing and dictating every nuance of the bears. I'm still wondering if the black case in the corner contains the mobile DNA testing kit. I'm glad to help in this research if only by sharing my space with them.   Dennis

October 18th, 2003

Incredible sunrise this morning, with a band of clouds low in the east, the reflected rays from the sun on the bottom of the clouds, just before it breaks the horizon, are a blaze of orange and red heralding the arrival of Ra himself. I can almost hear the trumpets. Minus 3C this morning with a slight wind from the south west, a few low clouds on all horizons, a perfect morning.

Mother and cub are in the kelp bed this morning, the bad boy is patrolling and holding the perimeter of the camp and the sub adult is watching from the eastern willows.

It has been thought that the bears needed a platform of ice to hunt from and I'm sure this is true for most Polar Bears. The bears of Hudson Bay Lowlands don't have the ice to hunt from year round. This being the southern most limit the bears habituate these bears have to adapt to living on land for five or six months. This leaves these bears with no alternative but to develop new hunting skills. Over the years I have seen bears emerge from the water with a fresh seal kill in their mouth and not a bit of ice to be seen. How they did it is beyond me. I do know of one wise bear who developed an unique technique for catching Beluga Whales.

One summer afternoon a friend and I were sitting by the Churchill River close to where it empties into Hudson Bay. The river is very wide at this point and is in the tidal zone. It was one of those rare days, no wind and sun shining, not a ripple on the water other than the breaching of hundreds of beluga whales scattered across the wide mouth. We were watching this disturbance in the middle of the river, first it looked like a flat piece of ice floating with the tide and next it was a flurry of water, a wild thrashing that lasted for a few seconds. We slipped the Zodiac into the water and went for a look. Keeping our distance, what we seen was a big adult male Polar Bear floating amongst the breeching whales like a Hugh Hefner rug. The curious whales were swimming up to the belly of the bear for a closer look, when the opportunity presented itself the bear would attempt to grab the unsuspecting whale in a (sorry) bear hug. After watching this for an hour or so the bear trap worked, the bear had a whale in its grip and his jaws clamped around the whales head. Surprisingly the whale didn't put up much of a struggle and was most likely killed quickly by the bears powerful crushing jaws. The bear then swam to shore towing the beluga by the tail having secured a week or two of food. A wise old bear.  Dennis

October 17th, 2003

Minus 6C this morning and the winds have dropped off from 50 to 70 kilometers per hour down to 8. More sun in the forecast for the next three or four day's.

We like the sun. One bad but entertaining bear here at camp. The helicopter landed near the lodge to drop off Ernie and John, there was around 40 meters of space between the helicopter and lodge that the boys had to cover on foot. Usually the bears give the helicopter a very wide birth, not this time. As soon as the boys got their feet on the ground the bear went right at them. They didn't waste any time in fact probably broke the record in getting back into a helicopter as quick as you can. The bear didn't stop and was approaching the helicopter without hesitation. The pilot of the helicopter Len Joa showed skill and patience as he lifted off and hovered 10 meters over the bear who showed no fear. Hudson Bay Helicopters are not only an exceptional arial tour company but offer the needed assurance of a quick response to situations that may develop out here in no mans land including air medi-vac service.

A mother and "coy" or cub of the year pay us a visit a few times a day, she is residing in the willows south of camp and would come around more but can't put up with the bad boy for very long. A newcomer to the camp arrived last night and is now sitting below my window, a young sub adult. He will probably stick close enjoying the smells until "bad boy" returns from the kelp beds. Five bears in the immediate area as the migration starts. Bear numbers will increase daily with the drop in temperature and the prevailing North wind settles in for the long winter.

We seem to be approaching the top of the life cycle for all species, other than the polar bear, living in this environment. Lemmings are seen scurrying about everywhere, Snowy Owls, Gyr Falcons and Willow Ptarmigan are sited daily, the ever present Arctic Fox is busy as always and to every ones delight Arctic Hare have moved into the area and are (as expected) multiplying.

Well the stage is set, the supporting cast is here, we now wait for the principle players to arrive, the big guys from Cape Churchill.  Dennis

October 16th, 2003

First the weather this morning....minus 4celcius...winds from the North 41 gusting to 60 kilometers. Sunrise at 7:54AM,sunset 6:07PM.CDT.

I saw something yesterday I never seen before, these bears continue to amaze me. There's this one bear who arrived at camp a few day's ago, a bit of a troublemaker, constantly pestering the mother and cub and delighting in running the smaller bear back into the willows, anyway this bear ,as all bears do, was preparing to going through the often painful ritual of relieving himself. This can be quite an episode for the bears this time of the year as there really isn't much to relieve unless you have been dining on kelp as this bear has. 

Anyway he took up the standard position of all four paws drawn tightly together like some circus elephant and quickly calculating the correct leverage needed to counter balance the ponderous behind polar bears have against the long serpentine neck and head got right down to business.. The evolution of the polar bear species has given them the profile suited for the hardships of existing in Arctic climes. The long neck and tapered head to the bibulous behind is perfectly suited for grabbing seals out of their breathing holes in the ice. The bear stands motionless with unlimited patience over a breathing hole, a slight ripple in the water alerts the bear of a emerging seal, with an explosion of power the bear will thrust his slender head into the hole clamping his jaws over the head of the seal then using all the weight of his rear end as counter weight the bear levers the doomed seal out of the hole.

Back to the main story, the bear who is 20 meters from my window has done his business and left me with an unsightly blotch on the fresh snow, using mental telepathy I told the bear that I was disgusted by his apparent lack of consideration and bad judgment on where he did his business. Up until now after a quick glance back a bear would trundle off somewhere unconcerned about the business left behind. This is the amazing part, the offending bear turned, glanced at the mess and proceeded to cover it up, he drew snow from all around the blotch and carefully covered the mess completely giving it a few final pats on top. Of course there can be all kinds of reasons for this rare behavior and I'm sure those in the know will offer well calculated explanations but I think the bear simply got the message.

I'm finally settled in on the new and improved Buggy1, after six weeks of fixing , modifying, tinkering and cursing we are ready for another season of live polar bear action and drama. There has been a lot of changes from last year and with a considerable team effort it all came together quite nicely. The bears are here and so am I.  Dennis

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