Calling all shutterbugs! Time to round up your best wildlife shots and enter the 2017 Wildlife Photo Contest! Enter by May 31 for the chance to win a trip to photograph polar bears in Canada or grizzlies in Alaska! Enter here:https://dailywildlifephoto.nathab.com/contests/2-2017-wildlife-photo-contest/?src=fb
Dorota Walkoski of Great White Bear Tours captured this harbinger of spring image in Churchill. Caribou, snow geese and Canada geese fill the landscape and feed on the bounty which the north provides this time of year! Bountiful Churchill summer will be upon us soon and avid explorers will flock to town for birding excursions, beluga whale charters and tundra exploring in search of fox, polar bears, Arctic hare and even wolves. This summer on the Hudson Bay is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent years. Stay posted for all the news and photos from the north!
Want to win an epic photography safari with Natural Habitat Adventures? Enter our 2017 Wildlife Photo Contest by submitting up to three of your best wildlife shots by May 31! Enter here:https://dailywildlifephoto.nathab.com/contests/2-2017-wildlife-photo-contest/?src=fb
Ava Ningeocheak ice fishing near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Daisy Melissa Panika photo.
This Churchill Arctic Photo of the Week comes from the ice around Rankin Inlet where the little things are what make up a way of life in the north. This shot of Ava Ningeocheak ice fishing brings a sense of calm and longing for the old days when things moved a little more slowly in the south. Enjoy!
For decades the the extruded tusk, actually tooth, of the male narwhal has been thought to be for mating purposes. Now, Canadian researchers have filmed incredible video footage in the high Arctic showing the real purpose of their tusks; feeding. This short documentary highlights four researchers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada describing how they were able to capture the never before recorded evidence of this narwhal behavior. Fascinating!
The Global Seed Vault in Norway will undergo improvements. Getty Images photo.
Norway will make critical improvements to the Global Seed Vault located on Svalbard Island in the Arctic. Melting permafrost in an unusual Arctic summer caused water to enter the front section of the vault. No stored seeds were damaged though safeguards will be taken to prevent future incidents of risk.
The storage facility lies predominantly inside a mountain with consistent cool temperatures ideal for preserving seeds from around the world.
Ironically the protected storage facility stores seeds in case a country sustains a disaster of some sort that necessitates replanting of key vegetation and plants. Nobody anticipated that the facility would have its own near – disaster. Water from melting permafrost seeped into the entry tunnel though never made it further into the storage area.
Plans to waterproof the walls as well as install drainage ditches outside the vault entrance are underway to ensure the precious seeds are safe. Scientists describe the vault as the most important room in the world.
When the vault was constructed, the idea of permafrost melting this far north was unheard of. In a short period of time we have seen climate changes of an extreme measure. Last October temperatures rose from a normal of -10C to around 0 C…causing meltwater to appear.
Statsbygg, the agency that administers the vault, are committed to conduct research to monitor the permafrost on Svalbard and the surrounding Arctic.
The vault stores seeds from nearly 5,000 crop species from all over the planet. The dried and frozen specimens can be preserved for hundreds of years in the vault. Most countries on Earth have their own emergency supply of seeds though they also store back-ups at the Global Seed Vault.
