The town of Churchill, Manitoba is the undisputed polar bear capital of the world. Every year from mid-October to late November, the town's 800 permanent residents are joined by a total of 12,000 visitors and seasonal workers, who take advantage of a unique opportunity to watch the world's largest bear species up close and personal.
The sea ice on Hudson Bay, on the coast of which Churchill is situated, melts completely every summer, forcing the bay's polar bears ashore en masse. There, they wait out the warm months in cool, earthen dens, and then, come the fall, they head back to the shores of the bay, waiting for the water to freeze again. As they journey to the coast and as they anticipate freeze-up, some wander through or past Churchill, or onto nearby tundra, in plain view of excited, camera-toting tourists.
The bears' easy accessibility also makes them an ideal population for scientists to study; nearby Cape Churchill has yielded an especially rich catalog of bear behaviors.
But no tourist or researcher at Churchill or environs during fall bear season has previously recorded the scene described here by JoAnne Simerson of San Diego Zoo:
"On November 20 here in Churchill, just east of Gordon Point, we saw the tragic loss of a 11-month-old cub and the grieving of the loss by its mother. We did not witness the actual death but the aftermath: a young adult female with her cub was attacked by an adult male polar bear. The female lost the battle as the large male overpowered her and killed her cub. Valiantly she charged him and tried to get her cub back, but it was too late.
Soon other bears arrived in the area, but the large male prevailed and began to consume the small body in a hill of willow bushes. Still the mother continued to wander the area with every hope of saving her cub. The male eventually moved the small body out to the coast where the mother had less opportunity to charge him, but he left much of the pelt behind.
The mother continued to circle the male, risking even more harm from the other bears gathering if not from the male. Eventually she moved back to the willows, desperately searching for her cub. What she found was the pelt. She picked the pelt up in her mouth, carrying it and swinging her head side to side, a behavior that bears do in extreme stress. The mother charged at the other bears, never dropping her precious possession. She wandered in this manner for a long time. We left her at dark still very unsettled, but she had finally placed her cub’s remains near a willow bush, protected from the wind."
Cases of polar bear cannibalism are not without precedent. However, there are very few documented cases in which one polar bear has killed and then consumed another; this paper describes three cases that took place within a very short period of each other on the north coast of Alaska a few years ago, but, as far as is known, much of the cannibalism that has been seen may just as likely have been of bears that had already died. Even then, known instances are very rare.
Part of the reason for that is that, when it comes to others of their kind, polar bears are quite risk-averse; as if aware of the damage they could do to each other, they seemingly never fight outside of the breeding season, when clashes can be quite severe. A polar bear would have to be extremely hungry indeed - particularly given the relatively low nutritional benefit involved - to tempt fate and a protective mother by making a move for a cub. It seems likely that it would be something of greater occurrence during times of food stress, when their true prey - ringed and bearded seals - are unavailable.
This year, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, fall sea ice levels on Hudson Bay are far lower than normal; with sea ice forming much later than usual, some of the Churchill bears, having already fasted over the summer, may have been more desperate for sustenance. Although the incident described by JoAnne was the only one in which the kill (or its immediate aftermath) was documented, researchers have reported as many as eight cases of cannibalism near Hudson Bay this fall.
more at the linkThe town of Churchill, Manitoba is the undisputed polar bear capital of the world.... more
Scientists say shrinking Arctic sea ice may be forcing some polar bears into cannibalizing young cubs.
Bears lose up to 30 per cent of their body mass in summer and autumn waiting on land for the sea ice to refreeze so they can use it as a platform to hunt seals.
They used to be able to get out on the ice of Hudson Bay by early November, but freeze-up is now weeks later. This year, as December approaches, it still isn't solid enough for the bears.
So far this fall, tour operators and scientists have reported at least four and up to eight cases of mature males eating cubs and other bears in the population around Churchill, Man. Four cases were reported to Manitoba Conservation and four to Environment Canada.Scientists say shrinking Arctic sea ice may be forcing some polar bears into... more
For the first couple of days after his flight ditched into the Hudson River, Paul Jorgenson was just glad to be alive. But then he started to need his laptop, his wallet, his car keys -- all the essentials he had stowed under his seat and left behind in the sinking plane.For the first couple of days after his flight ditched into the Hudson River, Paul... more
Canada's CBC last week broadcast this story about one Inuit community in Puvirnituq, a village on Hudson Bay in northern Quebec's Nunavik region. Although Canada marked National Aboriginal Day on June 21, CBC's Justin Hayward filed this news story about how change has marked this community. The Inuit in the area had formerly cultivated a nomadic life now live established and rooted in small towns like Puvirnituq. Dog teams have been replaced with the skidoo or snowmobile. Cultural traditions are vulnerable to change. Young people and adolescents, having lost their cultural compass, have experimented with drugs, and suicide has soared in this remote outpost. Check out video from Hayward's broadcast on CBC about how Puvirnituq is struggling to adapt to changes in culture and community.
Canada's CBC last week broadcast this story about one Inuit community in... more
Inuit hunters in Nunavut, an autonomous region in northern Canada, are unhappy with the Government of Nunavut's plan to tranquilize 300 polar bears in the Foxe Basin and clip them with radio-frequency ear tags fitted with an RFID. The plan is part of a study to track polar bear movements. Hunters oppose the plan because of a Health Canada guideline that bans the consumption of meat within a year from an animal that has tranquilized.
Further, the drug itself is subject to controversy. GN wildlife workers will tranquilize the bears with Zoletil, a powerful drug cocktail composed of teletamine -- a PCP-like anaesthetic -- and a tranquilizer similar to valium. The article mentions that although Zoletil is used widely by veterinarians and wildlife researchers working with animals, occasionally the drug finds its way into the hands of substance abusers. One former GN polar bear researcher was caught injecting Zoletil in 2000. The plan has provoked opposition from Kivalliq Wildlife Board, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., and hunters in affected communities.
The Foxe Basin is a vast area that extends to Hudson Bay, Rankin Inlet, and Nunavik to the east.Inuit hunters in Nunavut, an autonomous region in northern Canada, are unhappy with... more
