Blog entry from October 20, 2009 – Bill McClain, Environmental Science Teacher, St. George’s Independent School, Memphis, TN – on the tundra in Churchill, Manitoba
Word on the tundra is that the bears are looking really good this year. Due to a mild spring the ice broke up around the time is was breaking up 30 years ago. This is about 3 weeks later than they have seen in recent years. This allowed the bears to stay out a little longer and catch just a few more seals. That extra fat storage last spring is showing up this fall as healthier bears wait for the ice to freeze so they can go back out. Unfortunately, the ice is not freezing at the time it was 30 years ago so the bears are still here waiting. As soon as that ice freezes, however, the bears hightail it out of here.
On a scale of one to five, with one being skinny and 5 being obese, most bears we are seeing are classified with a three. This is an improvement over years past. This doesn’t mean that polar bears are out of trouble, because the time of ice melt each year depends on weather and not climate. Weather is the day to day changes we see in temperature and precipitation, while climate deals with averages and extremes. If we average the temperatures across the globe, temperatures are still on the rise, but fortunately, the bears in this area are doing well this year.
The bear on the left showed up shortly after all the tourists left the lodge this morning. The scientists on the buggy were excited about her condition. I like this picture because it shows the beautiful colors of the tundra. We got a fair amount of snow this afternoon so the terrain looks a little different now, but it is neat to see the area with the brilliant colors of the different types of lichen that grow out here. The bear walked up very close to the buggy and as I took the picture below, I was reminded that these animals are wild and curious. The bears I have seen in the past pay no attention to humans because they are acclimated to our presence, but this girl looked right into my eyes. WOW!
Other than the bears, the highlight of my day was the way my St. George’s kids represented our school during our videoconference this morning. The panelist were particularly impressed with the kids’ interest in what is happening to our planet and their desire to make a difference. Their attention to global citizenship was evident as they asked intriguing questions! I am very proud of these juniors and seniors and know that they will make a difference.
Tags: Animals, arctic, bears, churchill, Climate Change, Ecology, endangered, Endangered Species, environmental, global warming, Hudson Bay, PBI, polar bears, threatened, tundra, warming
