Skip to content
Click on cover to enlarge

On Moving Ice

«  page 2 of 2  »

Surviving the polar summer

by Jon Turk

Published in the November 2007:
The Arctic issue.  » BUY ISSUE     

Bookmark and Share             Facebook         Stumble      Get The Walrus on your Blackberry or Windows Mobile        RSS

“That was cute!” I said. “And, if you hadn’t scared the bear, you were right in my line of fire.”

She answered that the bear wasn’t charging. Clearly it was running toward us. But in previous encounters, bears had stood and studied us before acting. Chris thought that the bear was running toward some other destination and, like us, was concentrating on the jumbled ice. So it didn’t see us, even though it was running right at us. All three of us were just looking down, floe-hopping. Chris’s counter-charge was merely her way of announcing our existence and telling the bear to run in some other direction.

“And if your theory were wrong?” I asked, “You were in my line of fire.”

“I wasn’t wrong.”

I smiled. The moment was forever etched into my brain, joining a plethora of other such moments that have enriched my life. Another moment. We were hungry. Chris was right. Time to get going.
Previous page | Next page | SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe Today Subscribe Today

» SIGN UP FOR THE WALRUS E-NEWSLETTER

Comments (1 comments)

KarenVStefanini: I really don't understand what draws people to habitats like the Arctic where they invade this magnificent creature's domain. These majestic beauties are considered by researchers to be as intelligent as the great apes and they have complex emotions. To grab a gun is dreadful. I read that most bears are hastily killed by panic stricken people unnecessarily. I think it is only fair to wildlife for people to learn their behavior patterns and how to correctly react to them. It will save the lives of many hapless bears who deserve our respect and support. October 15, 2007 23:30 EST

Comment on this article


Will not be displayed on the site

Submit a comment online

Submit a letter to the Editor


    Cancel

The Walrus E-Newsletter

Online exclusives, events, offers:
get news of everything Walrus.


Article Tools

»    RSS Feed      Bookmark and Share

»  Printer-friendly page

»  Listen to podcast

»  Email this article

»  Comment on this article

»  More in this issue

»  More in Field Notes

»  More from Jon Turk

»  BUY THIS ISSUE

IN THE NEWS:
Law

The People’s Court

The People’s Court

Doctors are paid for through our taxes. Why not lawyers? Alex Hutchinson examines a case for universal legal care

From the archives: June 2004

Unrepentant

Between writing the classic Hollywood novel What Makes Sunny Run? in 1941 and the classic Hollywood move On the Waterfront in 1954, Budd Schulberg did one thing for which he’s still notorious, and resolutely unapologetic: in 1951, he named names bef
ADVERTISE WITH US
THE WALRUS STRAW POLL