23.08.2023 and 24.08.2023 Herschel Island or Qikiqtaruk in Inuit, and What makes a Bear a Bear
Well I am having to put 2 days together because my writer forgot that things did happen on the 23rd as well. In fact we had a very interesting lecture about Humans in the Artic and What Makes a Bear a Bear.
Firstly the humans in the Artic. With climate change and the visible ancient shorelines, it has been discovered that there were humans in the artic 5000 years ago. The Sivullirmiut were the first people to live in the Artic, this was pre Dorset and the climate was warmer. With perma frost melting and erosion, various stones were coming to the surface and they found evidence of habitation from 2500 years ago on Banks Island. These were nomadic people who moved season to season using pack dogs. A skeleton of one of these dogs was found and it had a very flattened backbone, this was caused by carrying items from site to site. Hearths were also found. About 1000 years ago the climate cooled and people disappeared from this area. The next people to move in were the Thule, they arrive between 1200-800 years ago the climate may have been warmer again as there was less Sea Ice at this time. They used wood and Whalebone to make houses, but also made houses out of snow. The Inuit arrived 200 years ago and used the same available materials for their houses as the Thule. The Inuit were the first to have contact with the Peoples from other lands. Whalers, Fur Traders etc. Sadly, many succumbed to the various diseases brought by these people.
Today we put on our 2 coats insulated and Red Shell and we walked 10 laps of the 150m circuit on Deck 11. 1.5km.
I went to the talk about What Makes a Bear a Bear this afternoon. Gosh it was scary, all the bears are huge compared to me. We found out what makes them suitable for the habitat they live in. The Polar Bear Skull was twice the size of me and they have 42 teeth. They can also smell seals through the ice, and break through and capture them. Also they can swim great distances and capture small whales. That why their latin name is Ursa maritimus. They also have huge feet for walking quietly on the snow and ice. Grizzly or Brown bears are the next biggest but they tend to inhabit further inland, woods and Salmon Rivers, they are also very big . The smallest bears are Black Bears but they are also much bigger than me.
In the afternoon we went to deck 10 to look at the clouds with Liam and Emily from the expedition team, and to make a report to the NASA Cloud app. They showed us how to do it. We still can't download the app though. Afterwards Master managed to stop the staff behind the bar from clearing the Norweign Waffles away and we all had some to eat. Every day chef Malek, makes a special dish and it is served for half an hour on Deck 10 in the bar. If it is savoury it is served in the morning and if it is sweet it is served in the afternoon. The Caribou Chilli con carne was also very tasty.
24.08.2023
The first news we had today was that Canadian Customs would not be conducting interviews by zoom today, so our transit back to Canadian territory is sorted, me not happy though, still haven't had my passport stamped!
Well we drew back the curtains this morning to see a large lump of land, my carer the missus informs me that it is Herschel Island (Inuit name too difficult for me). The ship is in the process of mooring just out to sea at Simpson Point. We gathered up binos and had a look at the place where the buildings are. It looked very different to the pictures we saw in the lecture yesterday. The buildings looked very close to the water almost as if they were floating. A Zodiac went out from our ship to pick up the Head Ranger to come and give a talk before we all went ashore.
When the Ranger came on board we went to the lecture to hear some bad news. We would not be landing. It is all due to climate change the water levels are rising and they are having to raise the buildings (we thought they looked quite low). Also the Permafrost is melting rapidly and massive landslides are taking place regularly on the main part of the island. They were very visible. It would be too dangerous to walk the high hiking route. It is a sad sight to see. So the Rangers were taken back to the island and left some leaflets for us to look at and so a plan B is being hatched.
However, wildlife on the Island though consists of 30 Muskox, 2 male Grizzly Bears, 1 Female Grizzly with cubs and some Caribou. Although the Inuit still use the island for subsistance hunting the last of the permanent population moved out in 2005.
Went to a talk on the amazing Bow Head Whale. Its a strange looking beast. it is capable of going under ice to escape predators and breaking through 2 feet of ice cover. Amazing fact about the young is they stay with the mother for a year and feed on her milk, but then they leave the mother and don't feed for 5 years. During this time they grow the Baleen they will eventually filter food through. Their bodies go through a type of metamorphosis.
It took at least 2 hours for our ship to get permission to sail, from Hershel Island. So we weighed anchor and headed into the Beaufort sea. Once we had got out of the coastal waters regulations area, the Captain put his foot down and we charged forth into the Beaufort Sea. At this point the sea got quite rough and the ship became very quiet as people took to their cabins. The Master was feeling quite delicate and took some travel pills and sat quietly in a chair while they take effect and then went to bed. There was plenty of Pitch and Yaw and the wind was howling outside. I wondered if the storm that had been talked about had caught up with us.
The Missus had gone to the science centre to do a competition of 'ID what's on the microscopes'. There were 6 items to id and she got 4 right on the first time round and re looked at the other 2 and got them right as well. It was the next morning that she found a shiny certificate tucked into the door.
Another talk we went to was called Understanding Earth as a System. this was give by 2 PhD students from Chicago University and was very interesting. They were studying carbon take up and carbon release and also Micro plastics and their impact. One noticeable change in habitat is the Shrubification of the Tundra. This was a specific type of open grassland which is now giving way to shrubby type plants like Dewberry, which having a broader leaves is more efficient at taking up carbon dioxide than the narrow leaves of the grasses.
But as the clocks had gone forward an hour we all went to bed early to ride out the storm. Master slept well and I did get some sleep but was woken up by a terrible noise from deck 10 open pool area and bar, it sounded like the furniture was being pulled around, I wondered if it were being tied down. Suddenly though the sea calmed a little and by 6.55am on 25th it was calm again, and so begins another day.
Comments
Post a Comment