Dr. Tom Smith, professor of biological sciences at Brigham Young University and a polar bear denning expert, spends a great amount of time in the field studying maternal dens and polar bears in different parts of the Arctic. B.J. Kirschhoffer, Field Operations Manager for Polar Bears International, worked with Dr. Smith this winter as he conducted den emergence studies in the Arctic. What happened on one of their daily trips to the maternal dens left B.J. with memories he’ll never forget. Below is B.J.’s journal entry from that day. I think you’ll find the entry interesting in several ways. It documents some of the procedures that are followed in field studies to insure the safety of the researchers. And, it also shows that surprises and discoveries are around every corner and happen when they are least expected!
From B.J.:
“Yesterday Rusty and I drove about a half mile beyond mile marker 14 on the Badami ice road to investigate a den and bear sighting. Fish and Wildlife along with Exxon was curious about the bears in the area. When we arrived we met with Zane of Savant who thought the female was gone, and a male had been sniffing around the den. Fish and Wildlife instructed us to take our normal precautions about approaching a den and make measurements of the cavity.
Zane pointed out the den location which was in an embankment about 120 meters off the road. We unloaded our snow machines and loaded the firearms as if we were going out to any of our other den locations. When ready Zane, jumped on the back of Rusty’s machine, and the 3 of us made a quick perimeter around the den structure in search of bears. We parked our machines pointing away from the den, but close to where we would be working. Zane, Rusty, and I began looking at the den entrance, which was a steep near–vertical hole descending 3/4 of a meter down into the snow. The diameter was quite small, and I know for a fact I could not have fit into its small chute.
As Rusty held the bear spray, I probed the suspected den in a semi–circular pattern around the entrance. After feeling nothing but snow we began digging a second opening in the snow. After excavating a .5 meter hole, Rusty looked into the opening, feeling a little more confident that nothing was inside. We decided that our second hole was in the wrong place. We repositioned and began digging a new hole. After a few minutes of snow removal, I tired and Rusty took the shovel. At this point, he returned the bear spray to me. As our hole began to grow, we punctured the wall of the inner den. Rusty again looked into the entrance as I took the shovel from him. He said the den appeared to retreat more then 10 feet back into the snow behind the hole. I started removing some loose snow inside the cavity below.
Between shovel–loads of snow, I looked down to a set of large eyes attached to a familiar large head. “Bear, Bear, Bear!” I hollered as I shot to my feet and backed away from the opening. Rusty asked, “Really?” “Not even kidding,” I replied. I grabbed our loose equipment that was on the ground, picked up Rusty’s coat, and sped away for the truck 120 meters away, leaving nothing behind.
No cell phone coverage existed in the area, so we loaded all of our gear and followed Zane to the Badami facility to make some phone calls. Once we arrived and our duck ponds were in place, we headed inside. At once, I called Tom Smith at his office to leave him a message about the events that just occurred. We then gathered in a conference room with Zane, Rusty, and Eric Opstad. The four of us called Tom Evens with Fish and Wildlife to report the situation. After our conversation with Tom Evens the four of us chatted a bit, then Rusty and I headed back to PBOC for the night.”
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Needless to say, field research is often not only very, very cold (B.J. can definitely attest to that), but it comes with other risks as well. B.J.’s version of the story above is very calm compared to hearing him tell the story himself! It is yet another reminder that while the polar bears look so cute and cuddly, they are, after all bears. And, safety precautions and procedures are critical when field research on polar bears and their maternal dens is being conducted. I can’t wait to hear of B.J.’s next big adventure! Trust me, he has a whole book of them that he could write! Stay safe out there, B.J.! We need you on the buggy!
