Black Bear Hunting Geese in Churchill

by | Jun 8, 2016 | Churchill Photography

black bear churchill, Manitoba lesser snow goose

Black bear in Churchill with what’s left of a lesser snow goose in his mouth. Rhonda Reid photo.

This close – up photo of a black bear in Churchill with the wing of a lesser snow goose in his mouth has many people excited to see the rarely seen animal. This bear species does reach into the far north but are not often seen at this close range.

Bears of all varieties are becoming more apt at gathering food in the wild. Voracious polar bears in Churchill have been observed on seal – kills all year round and scavenging eggs and tundra berries. Occasionally a beluga whale carcass will feed a dozen bears for a few days. This recent trend in feeding is quite possibly an adaptive survival technique due to the warming climate and reduced sea ice season. Since polar bears have a shorter time on ice hunting seals they need to find alternative food sources in order to maintain a year – round body healthy body weight.

Arctic Circle Observatory Has Early Snowmelt

by | May 24, 2016 | Conservation

Barrow Observatory, an Arctic Circle research station run by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is normally a very cold place with snow lasting well into the summer months. This year is different according to researchers as snow has begun to melt a good month prior to the normal thaw time. It appears the dynamic Arctic summer is starting earlier in the far north.

Barrow Observatory Arctic Circle

Barrow Observatory run by NOAA in the Arctic Circle. NOAA photo.

The observatory, 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle, is seeing the earliest snow melt in nearly 80 years. David Douglas, a U. S. Geological Survey research biologist stated the area looks like “June or early July right now.”  May 13 marked the beginning of the snow melting this year.

The snow melt at Barrow Observatory follows one of the warmest Alaska winters on record. Temperatures were over 11 degrees above average according to NOAA. Douglas emphasizes the melting shows how the Arctic’s ice coverage has become quite fragile and forecasts record low sea ice for in the Arctic for 2016.

“Polar bears are having to make their decisions about how to move and where to go on thinner ice pack that’s mostly first-year ice,” Douglas said.

polar bear Kyriaksos Kaziras

A polar bear searching for sufficient seal – hunting ice in the Arctic. Kyriaksos Kaziras photo.

These ominous forecasts have been surfacing for years and now we are seeing harbingers of these prophesies in physical evidence all over the world and especially in the high Arctic.

Churchill Video of the Week – Belugas

by | May 7, 2016 | Videos

Wonderful images of the thousands of active beluga whales that migrate south to the Churchill River and surrounding estuaries. This amazing time of year in the north is unmatched for all around natural beauty. From the magnificent belugas to the throngs of migratory birds, tundra wildflowers, awesome polar bears and other northern wildlife species and even the possibility of viewing the iconic northern lights later in the season, Churchill has it all in the Arctic summertime!

 

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