Unnerving video from a bear management expert who was posted at a basecamp in the the Arctic for a five week rotation.
During his time at the basecamp, the man observed the markedly different vibe of polar bears as compared to grizzly bears. Polar bears are more studious of their prey and patiently watched from afar learning their schedules and waiting for a mistake to be made so they could pounce.
While many of the crew found this behavior disturbing, it fascinated the wildlife expert who spent his time in the far north cognizant he and his colleagues were “not the top dog on the landscape.”
Working in the northern regions of the arctic, you inherit the risk of having polar bears present. At many of these remote locations, you have to be flown in to a base and you will spend up to a six week rotation there. With next to no human activity, the bears have no habituation and will deem us a threat or a food source so it is imperative to having wildlife specialists on location. During the summer months, there are many summer work projects that put staff on the landscape with bears that are summering at these particular locations. As you get later into the season, the summer work concludes and only essential tasks are done outside as you push into the winter months. It is at this time the bears really start to stir as they await the ice to return to the seas and oceans so they can start supplementing their diets with seals. Attracted by the smells and movement will have the bold polar bears submitting to the basecamps to investigate the possibility of getting food of any kind prior to the ice being in, including human. Where this video was taken, I spent five weeks there as the bear monitor, coming across several bears without issue. I can honestly say that with polar bears there is a totally different vibe, they watch and study us, they are trying to learn our schedule and are waiting for a mistake to be made…..we are on the menu. While many found this disturbing and were always uneasy, it fascinated me and made it all that more clear, we are not the top dog on the landscape. Enjoy some footage shot by a few colleagues of mine. – The Bear Guy
