Oh what a day!!!
We finally had a day off today. We went on a road tour in an old school bus with our very knowledgeable guide “Sheldon”. We had high hopes of seeing a polar bear of course, as well as other animal life. We saw huge mounds of land pushed up from the earth about 2-4 feet due to frozen permafrost underneath them. While driving on trails in the tundra, we stopped to take a picture of snow geese, tundra swan and red foxes. Sheldon had seen a polar bear the day before along the Hudson Bay in an area new his house. So we went there and sure enough, there was the 1,000lb bear walking along the bay. From what I could see….he was a massive mound of muscle with creamy fur. I couldn’t believe I was finally looking at a real live polar bear! We decided to move on in our drive and then the big moment occurred…Mr. Doug spotted the ever elusive white mass in the forest. High up on the rocky cliff, along the tree line of the boreal forest, there roamed a polar bear! I couldn’t believe my eyes. For a week now we have been going out on to the land hoping, praying, to see one. It was an “awe” inspiring moment. We sat and watched him for a while. We could tell he was really involved in something, perhaps eathing a dead beluga or seal carcass from the bay and dragged it up the cliff. On our way to lunch it started to snow flurries in the air. It only lasted about 15 minutes or so, but it was so beautiful. I couldn’t believe it snowed while we were up here. We stopped and ate lunch at Gypsey’s deli for lunch….ymm ymmm! Then we took off for some more sight seeing on foot, shopping, the Eskimo museum, and finally dinner at Tundra. We made one more stop at the Hudson Bay for Verdi and his pals; Curious George and Dr. Foo Foo to go swimming. We put them all into a plastic bag (their swimming suit) and sent them on their way. It was a perfect day in Churchill.
Question:
How cold is the Hudson Bay at this time of year?
How does the Hudson Bay effect the weather in Churchill?
Do Polar Bears hibernate?
When are polar bear cubs born?
posted by Cari @ 7:20 PM
6 Comments:
Hello from Hubbard's Heroes. We all want to know if Verdi, Curious George and Dr. Foo Foo are still swimming in the bay, or did they only stay in the water a few minutes.
What kind of creatures does the polar bear eat? (Ronald)
We were fascinated by the rocks in the top photo above the blue mushroom and forest. About how big are they? (Jacob) Do you know if the blue mushrooms are safe to eat?
We thought we could see a couple of wolves in the first polar bear photo. Are we right?
Mrs. Hubbards class, what kind of person do you take me for????
"The Kids", as they are well known around here, are safe and sound. The bay was cold so they were only in there for a short while.
Ronald, Polar Bears are the largest land predators in the world, preying mostly on seals. They eat mostly ring seals up here. If they can find a dead whale carcass they'll feast on that as well. In winter, they patiently wait beside seal breathing holes in the ice. If a seal raises its head to breath, the bear pulls it from the water. In the summer, bears gradually sneak up on seals while they sleep. When a bear is within 20 feet of a seal, it pounces on its victim. Polar Bears have been known to track and take down humans for food. Polar bears overheat very quickly and will not chase at high speeds for long.
Jacob - those rocks were enormous - I'd say they rise about 50+ feet up into the air. Sometimes water gets trapped in cracks and then freezes. This is what causes the rocks to crack. There are a lot of mushrooms up in the forest. They are all edible and there are none that are toxic. That doesn't mean they won't make you sick, but they won't kill you. I am not willing to test that out. Instead I'll just take pics of the colorful fungi.
No - those are not wolves by the polar bear. The bear is on private property in which the land owner owns about 80+ sled/working dogs. They have just learned to work and live together while the polar bear is in town.
Dear Mrs. Carlson,
How did you spot that bear?
Enrique
HELLO MRS CARLSON,
WE SAW YOUR BUNNY VIDEO. WHERE ARE THOSE SLED DOGS? DID YOU GO FISHING YET? HAVE YOU PETTED A SLED DOG? DID YOU GET THOSE TOYS OUT OF THE WATER?
NEJRA
Enrique - I didn't spot the polar bear, my friend Mr. Doug did. He has better eyes then me. I would pick out white objects in the distance that I thought was bear and when I'd look at it through the binoculars, it'd be a rock, so I was pretty much useless when it came to spotting.
There is a whole story behind those sled dogs, I'll tell the story later. But they live on a private property on the Hudson bay. The guy owns about 160+ dogs and he sells them to Inuit and other mushers as sled dogs. They cost about $1,800 a piece. They are not pets, they are working dogs and are treated as so. This means they live outside at all times away from human contact. They are wild animals and are not tame enough to approach unless you show them you have a lot of confidence in yourself. They are such pretty dogs, but you couldn't pay me to pet one, unless it had been domesticated.
I did not to fishing here. It was cold enough on land. Couldn't imagine being on the water. No thanks!
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