Polar bears are impressive creatures. They are the world’s largest land carnivores, whose habitat is dispersed over the annual ice in Polar Regions. An average adult male weighs between 500 to 900 pounds. Females weigh 330 to 350 pounds. Their thick under fur is about 2 inches thick, and guard hairs are about 6 inches long. There are five toes on each paw with short, sharp non-retractable claws. The preferred feeding choice is ringed seals and bearded seals. Although polar bears are the most predatory of the three North American bears, their threat to human life has been low. Considerable attention has been given to reducing the number of polar bear-people conflicts in order to increase the safety of people living and working in the Arctic. Recommended methods that are being used here by our field team are numerous and varied.
The tents are surrounded by electric ‘bear-proof’ tents. Pencil flare guns are carried at all times, to serve as an initial warning system for both the bear and the rest of camp. Trained guard dogs ‘guard’ the camp all day, although they have turned into seemingly harmless puppy dogs begging to be petted and hugged. Three big game rifles; 30-06, carried in field ready position and loaded with 5 bullets, are taken by anyone traversing to and from the colony. At least one is positioned in the tent area if a team member is napping there. The methods must be working, for we have seen no sign of any large terrestrial mammal.
The greatest danger, and the greatest source of anxiety on my part, is crossing the steep-sloped boulder fields. These fields, each a rock causeway from hill top to sea front, provide nesting habitat for our target species. Through eons of settling, and periodic moments of restructuring, at least three of these seemingly precariously balanced piles of rock must be traversed with each colony visit and return. "Step here tenuously, place only the tips of your toes here, firmly plant another shoe on that one-no, don’t – it teeters and slips, maybe the rocks just up there are more stable…”, are the only thoughts being considered for up to 20 minutes at a stretch as each field is navigated.
The biggest fear is...
It looks gentle, but tilt it, spray it and balance each piece on its edge, and you may find...danger.
The boulder fields we cross daily: looks gentle, but tilt it, spray it and balance each piece on its edge, and you may find...danger.
On a clear, dry sunny morning the trek brings some danger and always caution. Periodically, with the calls of Little auks the only background melody, a distant rock fall can heard as fields shift and resettle. Little auk nests are crushed, and natures sieve sorts the rocks once again. The only real fear for me has been these fields, and even more so in the rain. Several varieties of lichen grow over, around and throughout most rocks, become a clinging slime when moist, offering only more danger. One 2 am trip back to the cabin after snow, rain and wind was the worst. An observation shift in the forage trip duration study plot, ended about then, as Ann’s shift began. Retreating with a backpack and rifle slung over the shoulders only increased the hazard as each inopportunely slipped off the shoulder and altered the balance of weight on my back. Grassy slopes were slick and steep providing few footholds and a vertical slide of 100-200 feet. Any stop would only be provided by sea ice or more boulders.
This hardy, scrappy lichen, when wet, becomes a slimy mass, to be avoided by both foot and hand.
This hardy, scrappy lichen, when wet, becomes a slimy mass, to be avoided by both foot and hand.
The boulder fields could not be avoided if one wanted to return to warmth, so it was required that they be navigated. The length seemed much longer in the mist, with only small footholds planted. Each step could have resulted in a collapse of the slope. Each inch forward took an eternity; each look up brought a view no closer than minutes before. Does the heart stop completely, or beat so fast it feels like only one solid beat, when the body is so focused on survival? Time was measured in boulders left behind, boulders seen ahead and the lichen that clung menacingly at every spot in the path.
Forever later, grassy hummocks’ left spongy by the downpour, provided relief and a chance to inhale deeply again. Time restarted and a down filled sleeping bag was a much deserved reward. Many researchers over the past three years have passed through the boulder fields many times. All have survived, but no doubt, have aged prematurely due to the anxiety that must have surfaced as the commute was taken daily, and daily the survival instinct took over.