Settling into Life on the Tundra
Posted at 7:27 pm October 2, 2007 by Ronit AbramsonRonit is the San Diego Zoo's 2007 Arctic Ambassador. She and other teens from around the world are in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to partipate in Polar Bears International's Polar Bear Leadership Camp. Read her previous blog, Hey! There's a Caribou! And a Polar Bear! And More Polar Bears!
This morning we commenced with our " buggy chores." Today my group was assigned " cooking crew" and considering all I can confidently make are grilled cheese sandwiches, it was an adventure making pancakes and sausages for breakfast. But guess what we had for lunch?! (Hint: it goes well with tomato soup.)
It began to rain early this morning, waking me up with a pitter-patter on my window. We decided not to go out on the Tundra Buggy today because of the rainy weather; the bears and other wildlife tend to hunker down behind rocks and seek refuge from the cold rain and wind. Instead, we started working on practice presentations on various topics suggested in our required reading, Impacts of a Warming Arctic. We chose an audience in addition to our presentation topic. My team focused our presentation about the observations, consequences of, and responses to a warming arctic to engage a civic group of businesspeople. Other groups focused their talks to engage elementary school kids, senior citizens, and corporate leaders.
In the middle of the critique of the final group, however, Robert Buchanan (our valiant leader) politely interjected, " Bear Break!" and everyone scrambled to the windows to watch a curious female polar bear wander into camp. (I am learning to carry my camera 100% of the time for fear of missing out on the constantly amazing experiences!) The bear was splattered with dirt, in patterns that suggested she had been scratching her back in the soil. She was very active; entertaining us for over an hour as she busily licked the water from the sides of the Lodge and rolled playfully in the grass. She has remained beside the buggy for several hours and even now as I am writing, she is laying in the brush, scratching her belly. I was severely saddened, however, when she began to chew on a large white piece of Styrofoam that is sitting out on the tundra outside. It was a heart-wrenching reminder of how much of an impact humans are having on the daily life of these beautiful bears.
Well, I have to go for now because I am due for dinner duty"¦
More tomorrow,
From beside the Hudson Bay aboard the Tundra Buggy,
-Ronit
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October 5th, 2007 at 6:56 am
What a cool experience! I look forward to reading more of your adventures. Thanks for sharing it with those of us who will never get a chance like this.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Ronit, what an incredible experience you are having. I am happy to hear that you are also getting practice writing and presenting your experiences to a variety of " audiences." I am sure when you get back that you will all be sharing your time in the Artic with anyone and everyone you come in contact with for many weeks. When one has a life changing adventure of a lifetime, it is natural to want to share something about it with anyone who is willing to listen. Your account hopefully will change many more lives than just your own.