Hello Everyone. What a great weekend. So many positive things happened this weekend in Churchill and in Milwaukee. First of all, GO BREWERS! Secondly, I heard my friend and former student Lauren Molitor is getting better. You go Lauren! Lastly, WE SAW POLAR BEARS. Wow, what an amazing sight. We went on a road a trails tour and ended up seeing two polar bears, a red fox, snow geese, arctic hare, tundra swan, Canadian Eskimo Dogs, and it even snowed. The polar bears make our black bears look like babies. One of the polar bears that we saw was estimated at 1000lbs. Our guide on the trip is a local of Churchill and also hunts the land. Therefore, I trust his judgment on the size of the bear. One of my students asked about what species of animals are protected or endangered. I was able to ask Carly (our protector from bears) and she informed me that it is really hard to answer that question in Churchill. The reason for that is because the numbers constantly change. There may be a time that the numbers of one species goes down which puts it goes on the protected list. Then, within a few years the numbers go back up and that animal may be taken off the list. Some animals on the list right now are the Polar Bear, the Tundra Swan, and some species of whales. See if you can find any other animals on the protected or endangered list in Churchill, Manitoba. On the trip we also saw the “Polar Bear Jail”. This is a building where they hold problem polar bears. If a polar bear enters the “control area” then the bear is trapped and put in jail. Once in jail they do not feed the bear, they tag it, record size and weight, and they keep it in a cage for up to three weeks. After this time they harness the bear to a helicopter and transport it to the north. If the bear returns, they do this process again. If it returns a third or fourth time they then make a decision to put the bear down. The jail is supposed to give the bear a bad experience and hopefully discourage him from returning. After we saw all the wildlife on the tour we went to town to see the Eskimo Museum. We were able to learn a lot about the Inuit people and Dene people. We were also given lots of information on the tour about the Inuit people. Many of the hunters in this culture still eat raw caribou meat and build igloos for shelter. Many of the Inuit people still live a traditional way of life. We were able to see the Canadian Eskimo Dogs. These dogs are very cool looking. Look at the cool eyes these dogs have. They are also pretty scary looking. (I think Mr. Sommerville should buy one. Tell him they are only $1800.00) These dogs are not like the dogs we think of back in the United States. These dogs are used for racing and work. They are a special breed and the history of these dogs is long and in depth. I have attached a video of the large group of dogs chained up. We were told that we can’t look at these dogs as we do our own pets because these dogs are working and racing dogs. The tour guide said we need to view these dogs like we would view a horse back at home. Not something you want in your house, but rather something you keep for work, recreation, or sport. Tell me what you think! Also, I want you to visit the site http://www.canadianeskimodog.com/history.htm. Write in your journal your thoughts on the video and some information from the web site. Cudahy Kids: 1. Find out what animals are on the endangered or the protected list in Churchill, Manitoba. 2. Define or describe the bold letter words. 3. Go to the link about and read about the Canadian Eskimo Dog. Watch the video and write a 1pg reaction to the video and what you read about the dogs. 4. Write me a comment about my weekend, and if you have time visit the other teachers pages. Keep having fun!! Remember, you do not need to hear the video.