San Diego Zoo Arctic Ambassador Surrounded by Polar Bears!
Posted at 10:21 pm October 10, 2008 by AliciaAlicia Valencia is the San Diego Zoo’s 2008 Arctic Ambassador to the Polar Bears International Leadership Camp. She is spending a week on the tundra in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, watching polar bears and teaming up with other dynamic teens to become leaders for polar bear conservation.
Friday October 10, 2008, 10:21 pm
The past two days have been an incredible journey of new experiences, great opposites, and fun explorations. Before I arrived, I couldn’t imagine how different life on the tundra for five days would be in comparison to San Diego life. But now, after feeling the striking temperature drop from San Diego’s comfortable 98 degrees on Wednesday, I feel I’ve been able to notice the unique beauty of my surroundings. Throughout the day I have learned to love the way the wind makes the grasses ripple like the moving water. I have come to appreciate the violent waves of the Hudson Bay, crashing on the jagged coastal rocks. But of all my newfound treasures, I am in awe of a polar bear’s behavior in the wild.
We saw polar bears in the wild for the first time today! The thing most remarkable to me about the bears’ behavior was their inquisitive nature. Three polar bears, a mother and two cub bears, passed by our Tundra Buggy as we headed to the Tundra Buggy Lodge. As we frantically snapped photos of the fuzzy family, the cub bears headed to explore our buggy. They seemed unalarmed by our presence and interested in our actions. Later we were able to view the same mother polar bear’s maternal instincts when we passed the cubs nuzzled against their mother in the brush. This bear family was the second group of polar bears we saw today.
Viewing our first polar bears led the group to an interesting discussion. The first two we saw had been on private property where multiple Canadian huskies are held for dog sledding. The bears are attracted to this location because the owner feeds the dogs outside, often leaving food the polar bears devour. But when the polar bears come to eat the food, it causes the bears to associate the dogs with food. Soon the bears become dangerous to dogs and people (as dogs are usually found where people are). The bears begin to hang around populated areas. Also, the bears could severely harm the dogs when the food is not as abundant. Is it wrong for the owner to allow bears to eat the food? Can the dog owner do anything to stop the bears? If the area becomes an attraction for bear watchers, is it right for the owner to use the area for profit?
Yet with all the excitement of the day, the most memorable experience must have been watching the sunrise from our snug airplane this morning at 6:30. The night sky was still with us as we loaded the plane to Churchill. The clouds looked like shadowed people racing against the darkness. Before I notice, a thin streak of red and magenta slowly crept across the line of clouds, inching its way into vibrant oranges and yellows after time passed. I enjoyed taking in all the colors this morning and now I can only look forward to more sunrises and sunsets on the tundra. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s experiences!
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October 11th, 2008 at 11:32 am
What a great experience Alicia. It sounds so beautiful. It worries me too about the polar bears feeding in the dogs’ area. If they start attacking the dogs when food is scarce, does that mean that they will be hunted? If I was the owner of these large estates I would drive out each day and put food out for the bears a fair distance away.
Have a wonderful time and come back and tell us some more about your adventures.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:32 am
wow! Alicia congradulations on being SDZ’s 2008 artic ambassador. what a lucky girl you are to spend a whole week on the tundra in Canada 0bserving polar bears!!! this has to be the experience of your young life! you must be very observant, not only noticing the wild life, but the beauty of the sunrises and sunsets!
not all teens pay attention to these kinds of things. I am glad to hear what our young people are doing for the good of conservation, animal behavior, etc. we need to hear more of the positive things and less of the negative things that teenagers are doing with their lives. hooray for you and all the rest of the teens that are envolved with this project! let us know more about your experiences and give us a full report on what you have learned. give yourself a big A!
October 13th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Ditto, #1 and#2. Enjoy your journey of a lifttime Alicia.
You and your friends’ discussion lies at the heart of the global discussions that really are about what will be the eventual outcome of man’s exisitence if current conditions are left alone and continue unabated in the future.
What gives man the ” right” to determine that man can invade and ” conquer” all animals and territory globally. If man is pitted against animals without the intervention of ” tools” but rather must rely on brute strength and physical and mental capacity only, what will the outcome be? Animals are obviously disadvantaged because they do not have access to, or use of external tools. They must rely on their innate sense of how to survive.
I hope this experience provokes great thought in you, and in your readers, as to how we can look at this picture differently, and ensure the survival of all natural creatures to live in ” harmony.” Without that, man may ” conquer” the planet, but what value will there be if nothing natural is left to enjoy here?