On September 6th, Kathy and Jim Bricker gave an interesting
presentation entitled Caribou Summer. They provided us with information about many of
the secrets that unfolded during their stay on the tundra near the Artic Circle
in Canada. Kathy and Jim explored a
domain that was blessed with many forms of wildlife and plant life. They spent an entire summer traveling by canoe
to various parts of this region. I have
to commend them for their fortitude and foresight in doing so. They prepared an
excellent colorful rendition of this adventure in narrative and video form. It
was quite evident that they both shared a desire to learn as much as they can
about the wonders nature had to offer. A
sea plane dropped them off and they were on their own until the plane was
scheduled to pick them up.
They demonstrated how they prepared their food for their
venture by drying fruits and vegetables and storing their food in a large
cylinder type container. The fish they
caught served as the main source of their protein. There was lake trout and
Artic Grayling that were plentiful. They
stored water which was used for drinking, washing their bodies, hair and
clothes and preparing lots of soup. How
did they know how much they would need?
When they came across snow, they prepared snow cones with gator aid and
snow.
Caribou can weigh up to 275 pounds, and their antlers are
the fastest growing material in the world, up to one inch per day. Their main
form of communication is through smelling. Caribou produce specific chemicals
to portray various messages such as when danger is approaching. White wolves are considered their enemies. White
wolves, which are considered our friends by Kathy and Jim and many others, are known to help keep a healthy eco
balance. The wolves only eat the weakest
and oldest of the caribou. They save the strongest to procreate and make new
caribou. Beautiful white wolves were
shown in the video. A wolf cub was
calling out to his mother. The narrators
recommended respecting and honoring the territory of wolves.
Another amazing fact that Jim and Kathy portrayed was that
the Grizzlies’ diet consist of 80 to 90% plant life even though they are considered
carnivores. Grizzlies need to gain at
least 100 pounds to prepare them for hibernation. Jim needed to shoot a rifle
to scare off a Grizzly Bear during the wee hours of the morning. Caribou need
to eat up to two large bushels of leaves a day.
They are usually found foraging. Kathy and Jim told us about a lot of
the plant life they discovered on their journey: Dwarf Willows; the Artic Bumblebee flower;
and the Mountain Sorrel are a few examples.
Some of the large birds discovered in this area were Rough
Legged Hawks, sandpipers, and falcons and some of the smaller birds were the
Savannah Sparrow, and a medium size bird called the Parasitic Jaeger who got
its name because they steal food from other birds. The bigger siblings eat the
smaller siblings. I never heard of that
before with birds.
Some of the animals they discovered besides the caribou were
foxes, and the unique Muskox with their curly horns and fur that is ten times
warmer than wool. I thought I stepped
back in time when I saw the picture of the Muskox. Some of the smaller animals consisted of the
Artic Ground Squirrel. There were berries available for the Inuit such as
crowberries, blueberries, and rock cranberries.
Kathy and Jim visited Nadluk Island, the only place in the
world in which the inhabitants used caribou antlers to build their homes. Were they used as tools or part of the
building materials? I wished I would
have asked. They visited an Inuit grave
site and found out that they could not bury their dead so there were a lot of
artifacts left on top of the ground such as human remains and the things they
were laid to rest with. Was the custom
of not burying their dead because of the permafrost or due to some tradition?
Kathy and Jim took an adventure that I could only dream
taking for many reasons. Part of it
would be the vast separation I would feel from civilization and another reason
would be that I have to admit my reliance on the modern conveniences. As a result of their exploration, they have
brought us into a world of exploration.
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