No sign of Explorer yet. Hare and Musk Oxen scarce too -
wolves may be elsewhere in the thousand square miles considered
their territory.
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......
No comments:
Post a Comment