Polar Bears: Who Was Your First?
Posted at 9:27 am November 25, 2009 by JoAnne SimersonJoAnne is in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to study polar bears.
I am sitting out in the middle of the Churchill tundra. I am rocking back and forth in a Tundra Buggy as 44 mile-per-hour (70 kilometer-per-hour) winds blow the snow all around. I think back to my first wild polar bear sighting.
It was nine years ago, and I had just arrived to the lodge and had sat down to a nice, warm dinner. A friend I had traveled with whispered in my ear, “Do you want to see your first bear?” I grabbed my camera and ran to the outside deck. It was blowing a gale and the temperature was -20 Fahrenheit (-29 degrees Celsius). There he was: the most incredibly large male polar bear I had ever seen. His head was immense, perhaps two feet wide between his ears, his paws stretched out in front like massive dinner plates; his fur was wooly and thick, but his big gorgeous face had a huge wound where his right eye should have been.
We named him One-eyed Jack. He spent the next few days hanging around resting and waiting for the ice to form out on the Hudson Bay. We got to know each other very well, as he seemed to always come up to my window to see what I was doing. Three days later, the ice was ready and he was off. He simply stood up and began walking north; he briefly stopped and gave me a final nod goodbye. It was bittersweet, as I was sure I would never see my friend again. The eye wound was so serious that none of us thought it possible for him to survive the bitter arctic winter and be able to hunt.
I returned the following year and was watching several young males sparring when all of sudden they stopped. On a snow mound just behind walked an immense male bear. He was thin but walked with massive dinner-plate-sized paws. He had wooly fur, an immense head, and yes, that missing right eye. A friend on another buggy called over the radio “Hey, it’s JoAnne’s Jack!” Jack headed straight over to the window I was watching from, stood up on the side, and showed me the fabulous new “smile” that now replaced his right eye.
For three more years my friend Jack came to visit. Every year he was thin, and we guess he was reaching close to 20 years old the last time he came to say hello. Those last five years would have been spent with just that smile to replace his eye. Jack was a tough boy and such a privilege to know. One–eyed Jack was my first. Who was yours?
JoAnne Simerson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
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November 25th, 2009 at 10:27 am
JoAnne, what a great story, you must have made a great impression on old Jack for him to keep coming back.Maybe you”ll meet one of his off spring one day. I really never saw polar bears in a zoo, until a week ago when I was at the SDZ. Have a great time and stay warm. Happy Thanksgiving
November 25th, 2009 at 11:53 am
He wasn’t the first I saw, but my first experience with a big white male dominant male was with a bear called Goliath. Go to flickr.com and enter “polar bear” and Goliath. You’ll see him there.
There have been others that have stuck with me. This year we came across a little female who bounded up on the road and wanted us to follow her. She kept hesitating and looking back to make sure we were there. Once she came back and sniffed around the front of the vehicle. Through the windshield, I was talking to her softly and calling her “Babycakes”. She was very young, probably for the first time out on the tundra by herself without Mama there. When I thought back about it, I realized that she was behaving as she would if she were walking along with her mother. I didn’t see her, but the others all said she looked so sad when we eventually parted ways. Eventually I was able to understand that she had been lonely out there, and seeing us there had filled a need in her not to be alone. My friend has a video with my voice on it, saying “I wish you many seals.”
November 25th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Its heartbreaking about polar bears and what we human did to their enviroment…I try to stay away from blogs about polar bear in the wild…just to sad knowing that they are starving and might not survive..
the first sighting for me was 2 polar bears at SDZ ..I was so excited..I got alot of pics and videos ..I can’t tell you which polar bear was it…but one of them was so playful…Joanne thanks for your stories..Happy Thanksgiving and stay safe and please help them
November 25th, 2009 at 11:56 am
JoAnne, I’m a big softie and I’m trying not to cry here! What a wonderful thing to have happened. I’m sure Jack is looking down on you fondly from over the Rainbow Bridge. Now I’m going to go and have that (happy) cry.
You know, I think the first polar bears I saw in real life were last year when I came to the SDZ Panda and Polar Bear Breakfast. I was hooked! Still am.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.
November 25th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
JoAnne, I loved your story. Kind of bittersweet, but beautiful. I’m glad for you that you had that experience. Sadly, being stuck in Texas most of the time, I have not yet seen a polar bear in person. I hope to correct that void when I visit SDZ early next year. I’m also hoping to hear that Chinook is expecting, and that you all will be proud step-parents
by the time I get there. I know you are enjoying your journey, as you should. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Let’s all say a prayer that we can reverse this climate crisis in time to save the polar bears’ world, thus saving them.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Thank you for a wonderful post. Those types of experiences are truly unforgettable! I hope you are having a great trip. Spending Thanksgiving amongst the polar bears would be a treat.
I’ve never gotten to see a polar bear in the wild but I got to see polar bears at the zoo in the town where I grew up. I do remember when polar bears were indelibly imprinted on my heart as an adult: I saw a documentary. I just now tried to find it but couldn’t so I don’t know if my memory is playing tricks or not. I thought the documentary was based on Thomas Mangelsen’s excursions to photograph polar bears for his book, “Polar Dance.” (I later received the book as a gift and it is awesome!) At any rate, I’ve loved polar bears ever since. Mr. Mangelsen has a website and some of his incredible photographs can be viewed there.
Happy Thanksgiving, JoAnne!
November 25th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Very cool, heartwarming story. Thanx for sharing Joanne !
November 26th, 2009 at 8:06 am
I just went up to Churchill! My first Bear was Dancer.
November 26th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Just tuned into Polar and Panda cams, and I am treated to wonderful actions here! One polar bear is snacking merrily on the carrots, while Bai Yun is playing with Yun Zi in the sun room. I always love it when Bai Yun has the cub in her arms and rolls it around! What a fun, lovely scene these are!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
November 26th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Thanks, JoAnne for a heartwarming story about how life in the wild can be bittersweet. Jack is an example of determination and stamina that a wild animal has to have to survive. He is also a reminder of why polar bears and other endangered animals need to be helped to fend off the dangers to their habitat posed by human interventions. His coming yearly to “see” you is also a testament to his memory and trust in you. He somehow sensed your attachment and fondness for polars bears, which you have shown for so many years to Chinook and Shikari, and then Tatqiq and Kalluk after they arrived as young polar bear orphans. Jack sounds like one majestic animal, and obviously had the respect of the younger males you also witnessed. How big is Kalluk in comparison? Kalluk is a large male, but from your description, it sounds like Jack was even bigger. To live to age 20 in those harsh conditions, inspite of a serious injury, is amazing and inspiring. Thanks for sharing your real life story with us. We are happy you are having a wonderful visit with your white furry friends in the snowy north. Any signs of Santa up there?
November 27th, 2009 at 3:21 am
Thank you for sharing that wonderful story. My first experience with seeing polar bears was at the Detroit Zoo back in 1961 or 62. My parents took us on a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan where they went to college and one of the side trips was to the Detroit Zoo. Once I saw the polar bears, I was hooked. I did not want to leave. I do not remember anything else about the zoo or the trip, but the polar bears. It was an experience that has stayed with me.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:47 am
Joanne, the bears know a good soul when they see one. I witnessed the love Mei Sheng had for you when you were his keeper. I expect that Jack saw the same thing in you that Mei Sheng did.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
To #8 – my first was Dancer too, but it was 4 years ago and he was magnificent then. I have many great pictures of him. When did you see him? I heard that he was still around last year, but hadn’t heard about this year yet.
Thanks for the post.
Nancy
November 28th, 2009 at 7:52 am
To 13 I saw him on November seconed and fourth of 2009. He is alive and still huge!
November 28th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
What a great story! It is amazing that Jack seemed to gravitate to where you were each time he visited… I think Mollie is right about animals being able to identify kind souls.
I went to Churchill for the first time this year, and I don’t know what my first bear’s name was, but he came right up to the buggy and made quite an impression on all of us. I hope to return to Churchill again someday. It was one of the most awesome experiences I’ve ever had!
November 30th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
My first was the SDZ polar bears what great time. Good blog.
December 4th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Hi JoAnne, I always enjoy to read your update. Churchill is the polar bear country and is very far from my country, so I am very eager to make at trip there. You and One-eyed Jack story warm my heart. It must be a great experience to you. My first bear is Peace who is now living in Tobe Zoo of Japan. She has just turned to 10.