Though the Arctic landscape may seem barren and bleak, it is rich with life, and in some areas abundantly so. In late spring, Snow Geese colonies can carpet the tundra by the hundreds of thousands, and along sea cliffs Murres and Kittiwakes blanket every available ledge, crowding so close together that only the gap between the outstretched neck of one bird separates it from the next. For the Polar Bear, however, the time spent on land can be one of hardship, for despite the abundance of birds, most are unobtainable or provide so few calories that the effort involved is too costly compared to the return.
In areas like Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, Polar Bears may find themselves marooned on Hudson Bay’s southern shore for eight months of the year. Here, bears spend these warm months in a tundra landscape dotted with willows and spruce trees, sharing the land with foxes, wolves, caribou, and a variety of birds.
The wildlife of the tundra, seashore, and cliffs is intriguing, if ephemeral. The countless birds lining the cliffs in spring and early summer vanish by mid-summer, returning to the sea, where they spend most of their lives. Food is scarce for the Polar Bear, relieved at times only by the discovery of a dead whale or walrus that washes ashore, or an injured caribou that stumbles into the bear’s path. Hungry Polar Bears, particularly subadults that have not yet mastered their hunting skills, may get into trouble when they wander into a village or settlement looking for food. For the Polar Bear, winter cannot come too quickly.
SAXIFRAGE
In terms of actual rainfall, the high Arctic is considered a desert, as the region typically receives less than 10 inches of precipitation a year. The landscape is treeless, and most plants hug the earth. Saxifrage is one such plant.
HUNGRY & HUNTING
Photo: Tom Wester
In Churchill, Manitoba, the prevailing winds push Hudson Bay’s pack ice to the south, where it eventually melts, stranding Polar Bears along its southern shores. Some bears stay put, waiting for winter’s ice, but most begin a long migration to the northwest, where ice will return first. Most find little or nothing to eat during this long walk.
SVALBARD REINDEER
Small herds of Svalbard Reindeer share the land with the Polar Bears that find themselves land-bound through the summer months. Although an occasional calf or a sick or injured reindeer may be taken, healthy adults of these fleet-footed members of the deer family can easily outrun a hungry bear.
A SHED HORN
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
A Polar Bear cub plays with the shed antler of a caribou on Alaska’s coastal plain.
Bears will readily scavenge any reindeer or caribou carcass they find, and perhaps the lingering scent of the caribou drew this cub’s attention.
SCAVENGING REINDEER
Photo: Ivan Rothman
By pulling and tugging, two Polar Bears dismember a winter-killed caribou near Churchill, Manitoba. While not intentionally doing so, splitting carcasses in this way allows both bears to feed while lessening the chance of altercations over the meat.
CAMOUFLAGED HENS
The hens of Eider Ducks are well camouflaged, providing some protection from aerial predators. The hens pluck down from their breasts and belly feathers to line the nest, providing the most efficient form of insulation known. Local human residents often harvest Eider down, being careful to only take a small quantity from each nest so as not to endanger the eggs.
SEEKING SAFETY
In Svalbard, Norway, a large colony of Common Eider Ducks nest in the open ground around a sled dog kennel where barking dogs deter hungry foxes. In this photo, only the conspicuously patterned male Eiders are visible, although most are paired with a well-camouflaged hen sitting on her nest nearby.
EGG HUNTER
A pair of canny Arctic Foxes discovered that kenneled sled dogs posed no threat, and regularly raided the Eider colony for eggs. Two or three eggs would satisfy the appetite of any eight-pound Arctic Fox, but the foxes grabbed eggs constantly throughout the nesting season, digging holes and caching the eggs for future consumption.
TURNING WHITE
Photo: Steve Metildi
As winter approaches, Arctic Foxes molt, replacing their summer gray or bluish fur with a fluffy coat of white. In winter, Arctic Foxes scavenge from the kills of Polar Bears, as Polar Bears often consume only the seal’s blubber, leaving the rest of the seal untouched. Foxes will follow bears far out onto the pack ice.
ARCTIC WHITE
Photo: Richard Day
The fluffy, thick coat of this adult Arctic Fox protects it from the winter cold. Although Arctic Foxes have been seen over 100 miles out onto the pack ice, the foxes must return to land before the ice melts. Unlike seagoing mammals like the Polar Bear or Sea Otter, the fur of the Arctic Fox will saturate, and a fox would chill and die if exposed to cold water for any length of time.
ARCTIC TERNS
The graceful Arctic Tern is famous for having the longest migration of any bird, as birds regularly migrate to the Antarctic regions and back every year. Terns are fierce defenders of their nests and chicks, and will dive-bomb lumbering bears intent upon nest raiding, although these four-ounce birds will have little effect on a 1,000 pound bear.
THE DOVEKIE
The Dovekie, or Little Auk, nests on rocky talus slopes in the high Arctic in the hundreds of thousands. After the nesting season, Dovekies spend the rest of their time at sea, sometimes wandering as far as southern New Jersey on the United States’ Atlantic coast. Bears may, on occasion, attempt to dig or root out nesting Dovekies, but the meal doesn’t justify the effort.
A DANGEROUS PERCH
Photo: Adam Rheborg
High on a sea cliff, a Polar Bear attempts to raid the nests of Brünnich Guillemots. The sheer cliffs provide security for the birds, and potentially instant death for a bear that slips from these narrow, precarious ledges. The caloric benefit for such risky efforts is minimal, but still tempting, for a Polar Bear marooned on a seal-less island for several months.
“BEARS MAY, ON OCCASION, ATTEMPT TO DIG OR ROOT OUT NESTING DOVEKIES, BUT THE MEAL DOESN’T JUSTIFY THE EFFORT.”
WING TO WING
Brünnich Guillemots nest tightly together, with some birds perched on snowbanks still covering their nest sites from previous years. Here, birds are safe from most potential predators. When the nestlings fledge, the young birds will launch themselves on still-developing wings, gliding and flapping as they attempt to reach the sea hundreds of feet below. Many fall short, crashing into the shoreline rocks where Arctic Foxes wait, grabbing every chick they can.
PATIENTLY WAITING
Photo: Steve Metildi
In the southernmost extension of the Polar Bear’s range, on the shores of James and Hudson Bays, stunted spruce trees poke into the sky. This area in Manitoba and northern Ontario is one of the few places where one can see both Polar Bears and trees, as most of the bear’s range is either ice, treeless tundra, or rocky shorelines.
ARCTIC HARE
As winter nears, Arctic Hares shed their brown summer coat to one of white. This molt is determined by the photo period, the length of daylight, and not by local weather conditions. As the climate warms and snow falls later in the season, hares and Willow Ptarmigan, a bird that also molts from brown to white, may sport a conspicuous white coat long before this camouflage plays any effective role, exposing both to predators.
A LUCKY BEAR
Photo: Steve Metildi
On the shores of Hudson Bay, a Polar Bear feeds on a seal kill. Such opportunities are quite rare before freeze-up, when the entire Bay is covered with ice and bears can target seal holes and small leads of open water where seals are likely to frequent.
A RED FOX?
Photo: Steve Metildi
The Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, is found across the Northern Hemisphere and demonstrates a wide range of color variations. One is the striking Silver Fox, sometimes seen around Churchill, Manitoba. Another variant is called the Cross Fox, where dark fur on the shoulders and along the back resembles a cross, at least when a fox is skinned and drying on a fur trapper’s rack.
COLOR MORPH
Photo: Steve Metildi
The typical color morph of a Red Fox gives this fox its common name. Red Foxes may, on occasion, scavenge along the pack ice close to shore. Arctic and Red Foxes and Gray Wolves share portions of their range with Polar Bears. In some locales, Wolves prey upon Polar Bear cubs, with one or more wolves harassing and distracting a mother bear while others attack and kill a cub.
SEAWEED ON THE MENU
While waiting for freeze-up, a Polar Bear on the shores of Hudson Bay munches on seaweed washed ashore from a previous storm. The seaweed offers little if any nutritional value, although rarely some crustaceans or fish may be consumed in the process. Seaweed may help fill an empty stomach during a fast that may last four or five months.
A WELCOME BOUNTY
Photo: Adam Rheborg
Occasionally, a large whale dies and is washed ashore, providing a ready food source that may continue for a year or more. Bears will even dive underwater to grab hunks of meat, preserved somewhat in the cold Arctic waters. Normally solitary, Polar Bears may congregate peacefully at a large food source, and upward of twenty bears have been recorded at one time on a whale carcass.
FLOATING FOOD FEST
Photo: Adam Rheborg
Washed into the shallows of a bay in Svalbard, this Baleen Whale provides both a meal and a feeding platform. Frigid waters preserve the meat, which may provide meals in the ice-free summer for two years.
SMORGASBORD FOR ALL
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
The remains of a Bowhead Whale on the shores of the Arctic Ocean provides a welcome feast for over a dozen Polar Bears. Native American Inuit kill a few whales each year, providing food for the community and leftovers for hungry bears. Bowheads are likely the longest-living mammal, reaching over 100 years of age.
ON THIN ICE
Photo: Hugh Rose/hughrosephotography.com
The first cold weather coats a quiet bay in ice that is still too thin to support the weight of an adult Polar Bear. This subadult tests the ice but is likely to return to solid ground until the growing cold makes the ice thick enough for easy walking.
AWAITING FREEZE-UP
Photo: Steve Metildi
As winter nears, Hudson Bay begins to freeze and Polar Bears sense the change. Ice along the shoreline may form first, as the seas are calmer, but within days, the entire bay may be covered in a sheet of ice.
ONTO THE ICE
Photo: Steve Metildi
When I first visited Churchill, Manitoba, in the mid-1980s freeze-up occurred somewhere between the last week of October and the first week of November. Today, freeze-up of Hudson Bay occurs three weeks later, and the spring thaw, as ice disappears from the Bay, occurs earlier in the year. This has reduced the amount of time Polar Bears have to hunt seals, and this has resulted in a higher mortality of Polar Bear cubs, and in smaller litter sizes. This trend is likely not only to continue but to become worse.
THE BEARS’ FUTURE HUNTING GROUNDS
Photo: Richard Day
A Polar Bear patrols a stretch of smooth fresh ice, watching for Ringed Seals that will be busy keeping breathing holes open as the first fast ice forms along the rocky shorelines.
