Wildlife photography trips are full of long hours with nothing to do.
Our ship was steaming away to the next place. We were in one of those phases where the last spot where we were looking for subjects was behind us and we were now headed for the next potential hot spot. We were in open waters, land was far away on either side.
In other words, there was no chance of any subject popping up, there was not much of a landscape to gawk at in awe. Most of the time would be spent looking at the books on wildlife that were lying around or indulging in lazy banter.
Two days were especially memorable. The first was when we all got together to see Polar Bear. It’s a 90 minute film that shows the journey of a young female polar bear from her infancy to motherhood. I had watched it before but its one of those movies that you will never tire of.
It’s absolutely brilliant full of scenes that make you gasp in awe at the sheer beauty of the landscape that had been captured and, of course, in admiration at the brilliance of the cameraperson. Watch it…its on Disney Hotstar in India.
The second was when Vide gave a talk.
Now, let me tell you a little bit about Vide. If ever the Encyclopedia Brittanica were to take human form, it will be in the form of Vide. ( Or… maybe that epochal event has already happened )
Vide was one of our guides and someone who knew everything about…well, everything. He can spend hours talking about the habits of polar bears, move off to talk about the details of an exciting misadventure by some explorers a century ago full of specific dates and seamlessly switch to giving scientific reasons on why some of the glacier ice are blue in colour.
This was our second trip with him and we, in our naïveté, had wondered what else can he add to what he had elaborated last year. Well. We had apparently just scratched the surface of his knowledge.
No, this post is not about Vide though there is much to write about the man.
Vide’s talk was about polar bears. It was a fascinating session, punctuated with theories about their origin, known facts about their habits and stories of personal encounters.
I was furiously taking notes and here are some of the more interesting points that I had noted. Any error here could be put down to my note taking. ( My school teachers will vehemently nod in agreement here )
ORIGIN & EVOLUTION
1. The polar bear originated from the brown bears.
2. A few brown bears migrated to the north over the frozen Arctic, got isolated by massive glaciers etc and slowly adapted to the environment there
3. Some of the changes in them over time :
a. They lost their brown colour and blended with the environment
b. Their paw sizes became much larger to allow them to walk on ice
c. Their claws became much smaller since they used claws differently from brown bears
d. The shape of their faces turned conical to allow them to jump into ice holes in search of seals
e. They developed nictitating eyes and they can see well under water
Wow…evolution never ceases to stun me !
The paw sizes are much broader to enable them to walk on snow
Bears dive into ice holes to hunt for seals...hence... conical faces
Unlike brown bears, polar bears take to water very easily...their eyes have evolved to help this
COURTSHIP, MATING
4. Polar bears can smell each other from 20km of each other
5. When in heat, the female bears lose the hair on their feet which smell divine for the males and drives them crazy
6. When the male is searching for the female, he doesn’t even bother to hunt. Focussed.
7. When the females stop releasing their pheromones, the males walk away !! How easy to get rid of pesky males !!!
8. Females can delay implantation till they are in the right condition to deliver.
9. Dens where the female will give birth are made on mountain sides in such a manner that it acts as an incubator
10. The cubs are around 300-500 GRAMS when they are born !!! ( To give you a contrast, when these cubs are adults, they could weigh from 300-500 KGS !!! )
11. They stay for 2 to 2.5 years with their mom before moving out.
Males can be relentless in chasing females in heat
Cubs of the Year are those cubs who are spending their first year out in the world
( Yes we saw COYs too !!! )
The wide new world that the cubs would now inquisitively explore ( COYs are adorable !! )
CHALLENGES
12. Polar bears can identify seals under ice from 5km away and ice is critical for it to move, to wait on
13. Lack of ice would mean curtains for the polar bear
14. Climate accelerated changes have happened to their diet…they eat eggs of eiders, ducks, geese. There have been many instances of polar bears climbing up steep cliffs in search of eggs and slipping and falling down
15. Reindeers are the latest addition to their diet, again driven by climate change led reduction of their regular diet.
16. Reindeers don’t have much blubber on them, like whales, walruses, so the bears usually eat up only the neck which is where whatever blubber exists, resides
17. While climate change threats are real and there is a risk of the ice vanishing in the next 15 years, today, the biggest cause for polar bear deaths are…bullets.
Ice is possibly the polar bear's best friend
By the way on that last point, I saw a couple of books that outlined the vastly misunderstood and ignored extent of threat that hunting very eloquently. But that’s a topic for another day.
The polar bear is such a magnificent creature. To see it walking unhurriedly, yet covering vast distances speedily, nose turned up, looking for familiar and unfamiliar scents is a good fortune that I shall be forever thankful for.
I hope they continue to give a similar thrill for many more generations.
Enjoyed this ? Don't want to miss more posts like this ? If you would like to get them delivered straight into your mail box, then click the button below
Thank you for the information and lovely images as always.