Man v. Nature- Polar Bear Capture and story


Posted by Cindy Marple on Sun Aug 31, 2003 3:09 pm

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I hope this is ok, as we don't have a Man and Nature category. If not the moderators can remove it. In my opinion this story is an important part of the Churchill polar bear experience, and I always include it when giving the slide show on Churchill.
One of the ways the town of Churchill deals with the Polar Bear "problem" is to trap bears who wander too close to town. The trapped bears are then either put in Polar Bear Jail (a hangar at the airport) until the bay freezes, or else they are helicoptered further northwest along their migration route so they do not come back in to town. The earlier alternative was killing the bears. The aggressive trapping and removal of "problem" bears has helped make the community safer without endangering the bears further.
This particular trap was barely outside of town up toward Cape Mary. Steve and I had wandered around near it one day then decided we were too far from the vehicle and high-tailed it back to safety. The last morning of the trip, coming back from Cape Mary, we saw the ranger vehicles parked and found that a mom and 2 cubs had been trapped. We stayed out of the way and were allowed to observe and photograph as the bears were tagged, blood samples drawn, and then helicoptered away. It was fascinating to watch!

Canon EOS 3, 28-105, hand held, Kodak E200 film pushed 1 stop. The slide was underexposed and I've done work in PS to attempt some recovery. It was very dark and you can see by the snow streaks this was a slow shutter speed. Wish I'd used some flash!
Cindy Marple
www.cindymarplephoto.com

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by Bob Ettinger on Sun Aug 31, 2003 5:29 pm
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Cindy,

As you stated an important part of life in that area. Thanks for the story and letting us know that the bears are not injured. The image speaks for itself.
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by tcgoetz on Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:35 pm
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It's not art, but it's interesting for the story it tells. I found the text you posted with it interesting too. Thanks for sharing.
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by NDCheryl on Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:40 pm
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Nice documentation and story. Definitely a good image to include in your slide shows about Churchill.
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by Lillian Roberts on Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:50 pm
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You did a great job of storytelling with this image. All the necessary elements are there to show what's going on. Well done!

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by Carol Clarke on Mon Sep 01, 2003 5:33 am
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Its all part of the bear's life in this part of the world Cindy so good to see it documented.

:)
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by Brian Hale on Mon Sep 01, 2003 7:10 am
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Thanks for posting this Cindy, its nice to know they aren't being killed. I also like how you showed the scale between man and beast.

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by Rich S on Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:13 am
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Fascinating story! Bet it was great to watch.

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