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June 30, 2001 7:30
pm - L. David Mech and Walter Medwid are currently in
Resolute and awaiting information on their flight out that
will take them approximately 300 miles further north (80 degrees
N. latitude) -hopefully tomorrow a.m.
Medwid:The weather is overcast
in Resolute (a community of 200 Inuit people) on Cornwallis
Island; light drizzle; temperature in the upper 30's/low 40's.
We're overlooking Resolute Bay which is still frozen. The
snow cover is about 10% in the surrounding area. We're staying
at an Inuit lodge called Qausuitttuq, but are hoping to fly
out tomorrow am. We did a quick tour of the village this afternoon
and saw that the Inuit have returned from a hunt and taken
a dozen seals.
July 1, 2001 4:00 pm - Mech and Medwid were able to
fly further into the arctic today, near the home of the weather
station that is closest to the North Pole.
Mech and Medwid: Our last night in
Resolute brought snow flurries; for dinner we enjoyed musk
ox stew-it was great! Musk oxen is an important for food source
for the Inuit.
We arrived at our base today; just missing
a big snowstorm which has made things quite muddy. En route
from Resolute we saw only 22 musk oxen from the air in over
a hundred square miles-the number of musk oxen is lower than
we had anticipated. The fjord is still frozen in; a polar
bear was seen here about two weeks ago. There have been a
few wolf sightings in the last few weeks giving us hope that
we may see them for ourselves.
July 2, 2001 1:00am
- An empty den, disappointing but not discouraging.
Mech and Medwid- We travelled out to
the traditional den this evening and found it unoccupied.
Although a big disappointment this does not necessarily mean
that the wolves aren't around or they don't have pups; they
could have had them elsewhere. We will begin to start searching
for them in other places later today. We did see an arctic
fox, two other groups of musk oxen from the ground and found
the remains of one eaten by wolves this past winter.
July 3, 2001 7:00pm
- Very little wolf sign so far, but still a large area to
check.
Mech and Medwid: Fresh snow has covered
the nearby mountains. Temperatures are in the low 40's with
strong winds producing a windchill that requires us to dress
like Minnesota in January.
Very little wolf sign; track of one wolf that
appeared to be about a week old; no sign of any at any of
the dens we've checked; we still have a large area to check;
very few musk oxen or arctic hares seen. It appears that the
population of both species are at a 15 year low. We saw polar
bear tracks that appeared quite recent-within the last few
weeks. We've seen several arctic foxes;
red knots at two nests with eggs; lots of long-tailed
jaegers; a raven,
arctic terns,
snow buntings; and
ruddy turnstones.
Our camp consists of two tents and spectacular
views of the fjord. Rain has been frequent although it appears
to be clearing as we write. Despite the feel of winter many
plants are in full bloom-willow, dryas, arctic poppy, heather,
and purple saxifrage are all adding touches of bright color.
Happy Fourth of July to all!
July 5, 2001 9:30pm
- No sign of Explorer yet. Hare and Musk Oxen scarce too -
wolves may be elsewhere in the thousand square miles considered
their territory. See photos.
Mech and Medwid: After spending 4 and
a half days of searching for wolf track/droppings we have
begun to become pessimistic about finding Explorer. We have
checked all the usual travel routes along the creek bottoms
and other areas and have found only the sign of one
wandering wolf that shows signs of not being familiar
with the area. For example it passed within 1/8th to 1/4 mile
of two intact musk ox carcasses without even checking them,
as if it did not know they were there. We believe that if
Explorer and her mate had been frequenting this area as they
usually do at this time of the year, they would have found
the carcasses and fed on them. However their
territory covers a thousand square miles or more and maybe
they are elsewhere in it. We have not seen any more hares
than the one reported earlier, and not many more musk oxen
so this may explain the wolves' absence. During this past
winter the snow was particular deep and seems to have had
a very detrimental effect on the prey. We have now found a
total of 5 musk ox carcasses. Two of them were eaten by wolves
in fall or winter but the other three died in late winter
or spring and are still intact. Samples
of the bone marrow fat on two of the three indicate that
they starved to death.
This is an especially cold year. Last night
almost broke the low temperature record for the day and it
snowed
in camp last night and this morning. Pockets of last winter's
snow remain throughout the area with fresh snow lingering
in the higher elevations.
There appears to be a greater than usual number
of arctic foxes in the area and one has been a regular visitor
to camp.
Despite the colder than normal temperatures
the various arctic flowers bloom brightly in widely scattered patches. We
discovered an outcropping with petrified wood from trees that
lived some 50 million years ago when the climate was vastly
warmer. Fossils of marine organisms abound here. Signing off......
July 7, 2001 8:15pm
- Some wolf tracks found. More investigation warranted.
Images of Arctic Flowers added to site.
Mech and Medwid: Yesterday we found
four additional musk oxen carcasses with numerous old and
new wolf tracks; these were located some 10 to 15 miles from
the traditional den. We will try to investigate the area further
in the next few days. Two of the carcasses were eaten by wolves
and the other two had apparently
died of starvation and decomposed and were only recently
found by wolves.
Yesterday morning we awoke to sunny skies
and relatively warm temperatures and mosquitoes! But in an
hour or so the skies clouded over bringing temperatures down
and also doing in the mosquitoes at least for the moment.
Arctic
foxes continue to visit camp daily and we spotted one
fox pup.
The sun has been out all day today. We've
seen 5 arctic hares in a hike of 5 miles today. Our vantage
points gave us a view of 10 to 20 square miles with no other
sightings of wildlife.
July 9, 2001 11:00pm
- No new wolf sign. Odds of finding Explorer slim.
Mech and Medwid:We found 4 new starved
musk ox carcasses; two calves and two adults. Saw a herd of
seven yesterday and a herd of 6 today plus a single. The total
for the trip is about 22 live and 13 dead. Total arctic hares
seen is 8. So not much for the wolves to eat. No new wolf
sign.
It is clear that Explorer has left the area
or died over winter. We may never find out which.
On an exploratory hike today we had the unusual
experience of having mosquitoes swarming around us at the
same time a brief snow shower fell. Some alpine meadows are
greening up so there will be ample food for the musk oxen
that are left.
We are beginning to make preparations for
returning to Minnesota and will be leaving the study area
at the end of the week. Further updates will be forthcoming.
July 11, 2001 11:00pm
-The final update from the High Arctic.
Mech and Medwid:No more wolf sign,
but four new musk ox carcasses for a total of 17 for the trip,
most of them starved. On a more positive note we did see three
groups totalling 16 including one calf in an area where once
you could see over 100. No new arctic hares seen.
We did find a spectacular eyrie of a gyrfalcon
located in a rocky outcropping overlooking a large river basin.
The "nest" -actually a rocky ledge-looked like it had been
used for an extremely long period of time.
We're flying out tomorrow to Resolute Bay
and on Saturday from there to Edmonton. On Sunday we return
home.
Thanks for looking in on our progress as we
searched to find Explorer. We can only hope that some day
the prey population will increase and a new wolf pack will
again inhabit this area.
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