View allAll Photos Tagged Kermode
We like this pic because it shows Strawberry against the pink and purple, Barnacle and Mussel encrusted, shoreline rocks at low tide. In this area, the height of the water on this shoreline can often vary by over 15 feet.
We were asked to not give specific locations of the Spirit Bears which were shown to us by our native guide (Marven Robinson) and we will respect that request.
However, if you'd like a view of what experiencing the bears was like back in 2016, there is a very nice little book that tells you much more about the Spirit Bear viewing experience that is available on Amazon and which has an accompanying SmugMug website that shows pics and videos of Spirit Bears in action.
I bought a copy of the book ("Spirit Bear Hartley Bay") after we returned from our recent trip and it's very illuminating with regards to what it was like to interact with the Spirit Bears a decade ago.
It's changed a bit since then, not for the worse nor the better, but it has changed, as the Bears that were around a decade ago have moved on and the younger Bears are not quite as habituated to visiting photographers as the old Bears were. I'm told that the years that this trip was not offered (during the Covid pandemic) may have caused a slight regression in the "tame-ness or habituation" of both the Black and White Kermode Bears towards people.
There is an online copy of Spirit Bear Hartley Bay at this link.
A Kermode bear stopped by my yard the other day - these are actually a rare type of black bear that is not albino but has a recessive gene that turns their fur white! They are only found in Northern BC in certain areas... and they are very rare to see!
We were asked to not give specific locations of the Spirit Bears which were shown to us by our native guide (Marven Robinson) and we will respect that request.
However, if you'd like a view of what experiencing the bears was like back in 2016, there is a very nice little book that tells you much more about the Spirit Bear viewing experience that is available on Amazon and which has an accompanying SmugMug website that shows pics and videos of Spirit Bears in action.
I bought a copy of the book ("Spirit Bear Hartley Bay") after we returned from our recent trip and it's very illuminating with regards to what it was like to interact with the Spirit Bears a decade ago.
It's changed a bit since then, not for the worse nor the better, but it has changed, as the Bears that were around a decade ago have moved on and the younger Bears are not quite as habituated to visiting photographers as the old Bears were. I'm told that the years that this trip was not offered (during the Covid pandemic) may have caused a slight regression in the "tame-ness or habituation" of both the Black and White Kermode Bears towards people.
There is an online copy of Spirit Bear Hartley Bay at this link.
Strawberry moving from the forest down the seashore to feed on Salmon carcasses.
We were asked to not give specific locations of the Spirit Bears which were shown to us by our native guide (Marven Robinson) and we will respect that request.
However, if you'd like a view of what experiencing the bears was like back in 2016, there is a very nice little book that tells you much more about the Spirit Bear viewing experience that is available on Amazon and which has an accompanying SmugMug website that shows pics and videos of Spirit Bears in action.
I bought a copy of the book ("Spirit Bear Hartley Bay") after we returned from our recent trip and it's very illuminating with regards to what it was like to interact with the Spirit Bears a decade ago.
It's changed a bit since then, not for the worse nor the better, but it has changed, as the Bears that were around a decade ago have moved on and the younger Bears are not quite as habituated to visiting photographers as the old Bears were. I'm told that the years that this trip was not offered (during the Covid pandemic) may have caused a slight regression in the "tame-ness or habituation" of both the Black and White Kermode Bears towards people.
There is an online copy of Spirit Bear Hartley Bay at this link.
Strawberry walking along the seashore at sunset, catching the last of the late afternoon light, feeding on Salmon carcasses.
We were asked to not give specific locations of the Spirit Bears which were shown to us by our native guide (Marven Robinson) and we will respect that request.
However, if you'd like a view of what experiencing the bears was like back in 2016, there is a very nice little book that tells you much more about the Spirit Bear viewing experience that is available on Amazon and which has an accompanying SmugMug website that shows pics and videos of Spirit Bears in action.
I bought a copy of the book ("Spirit Bear Hartley Bay") after we returned from our recent trip and it's very illuminating with regards to what it was like to interact with the Spirit Bears a decade ago.
It's changed a bit since then, not for the worse nor the better, but it has changed, as the Bears that were around a decade ago have moved on and the younger Bears are not quite as habituated to visiting photographers as the old Bears were. I'm told that the years that this trip was not offered (during the Covid pandemic) may have caused a slight regression in the "tame-ness or habituation" of both the Black and White Kermode Bears towards people.
There is an online copy of Spirit Bear Hartley Bay at this link.
Temporarily Closed due to coronavirus pandemic
The Cameo is an Edinburgh cinema which started life as the King's Cinema on 8 January 1914 and is one of the oldest cinemas in Scotland still in use. Since becoming the Cameo in 1949, it has had a tradition of showing art house films. From 1949 onward it has been an important venue for the Edinburgh International Film Festival. It is at Tollcross, and since 1992 has been a three-screen cinema. The Cameo was an independent cinema until 2012, when it was bought by the Picturehouse chain, owned by Cineworld.
History
Behind a modern shopfront, much of the cinema's original architectural character remains. The entrance lobby has a terrazzo floor and one of the original pair of ticket kiosks. An inner foyer leads to the main cinema built within the 'back green' or 'back court' (courtyard) of a tenement block. Cinemas were once built like this elsewhere in Scotland, the biggest being the Rosevale in Partick, but the Cameo is the only one still operating.
The original screen was mirrored, the first mirrored screen in Scotland, and there were 673 seats in an auditorium showing silent films with orchestral accompaniment, supplied at one time by Madam Egger's Ladies' Costume Orchestra. In 1930 the cinema was fitted for sound and could start showing talkies. The space has been left largely unchanged structurally, but the audience now have better sightlines and more comfort with fewer than half the original number of seats. There is an abundance of ornamental plasterwork: columns, cornices, decorative mouldings on walls and ceilings.
The cinema, and the full tenement it is part of, was awarded Category B listed status by Historic Scotland in 2006.
Jim Poole
In 1949 the cinema was renamed the Cameo by the new owner, Jim Poole (1911–1998), a member of the Poole family who were known for their touring Myriorama shows and who ran cinemas in Scotland and England. He had been in charge of two of the family's cinemas in Aberdeen before the Second World War, and after a posting as army entertainments officer in the Middle East, wanted to open a venue in Edinburgh where he could show foreign films.
The Cameo included art house and 'continental' films in its repertoire and started its association with the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1949, when it presented a 'Continental Film Festival', including a screen version of Sartre's Les jeux sont faits, alongside the documentaries being shown by the Edinburgh Film Guild. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) and Annie Hall (1977) were among Poole's successes in attracting good audiences for films not being shown by the big chains.
Poole had begun by rescuing a decaying building with a leaky roof. Later he was able to take over an adjacent shop which, in December 1963, became the first licensed (to sell alcoholic drinks) cinema bar in the city, despite neighbours' objections. When Poole retired in 1982 the Cameo stayed shut until 1986.
After 1986
Once the Edinburgh Filmhouse had opened in 1979 a few hundred yards away, the Cameo was no longer the only public cinema in Edinburgh showing alternative and foreign-language films. After a new owner took possession in 1986 more neighbouring shops were acquired to create space for second and third screens which opened in the early 1990s. A 2005 renovation plan proposing to change the original auditorium into a bar-restaurant was withdrawn after a well-supported 'Save the Cameo' campaign influenced council decision-making. In September 2006 Historic Scotland upgraded the conservation status of the cinema to a B listing, thus protecting the interior from future alteration. The Cinema Theatre Association had campaigned for this after the owners, Picturehouse, put the Cameo up for sale. They have now taken it off the market, drawn up new refurbishment plans, and invited contributions from sponsors.
The first film shown at the Cameo, in March 1949, was La symphonie pastorale, a rare surviving print of which was shown again at the cinema in March 2009 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the building re-opening as the Cameo.
The Cinema was named as one of the 10 best Independent Cinemas in the Guardian in January 2010.
Famous visitors
Lillian Gish, Orson Welles, Melina Mercouri and Cary Grant all visited the cinema in one Festival season or another. Sean Connery, who was born nearby, opened the bar in 1963. More recently Quentin Tarantino was there when Pulp Fiction opened in 1994 and Irvine Welsh was at the Cameo for the World première of Trainspotting in February 1996.
Other famous visitors throughout the years include Danny Boyle, Richard E. Grant, Fred Zinnemann, Robert Carlyle, Michèle Morgan, Peter Mullan, Christine Lahti, Mark Kermode, Claire Denis, Rutger Hauer, Liam Gallagher, Patsy Kensit, Ewan McGregor, Tim Roth, Guy Ritchie, Ken Loach, Bruce Campbell, Billy Bragg, Park Chan-wook, Ray Winstone, Robyn Hitchcock, Neil Jordan, Roy Keane, Charlize Theron, Duncan Jones, Michael Redgrave, Jim Dale, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Cusack, Tommy Wiseau and Danny Dyer.
In popular culture
The cinema appears in Sylvain Chomet's film The Illusionist. While hiding from the young couple, the main character, Tatischeff, accidentally enters the cinema, where Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle is playing. This is an in-joke as Tatischeff is largely based on Tati, the film itself having been adapted from a script of his.[6] Other films with scenes filmed inside the Cameo include Helena Bonham Carter's Woman Talking Dirty and Richard Jobson's A Woman in Winter. [Wikipedia]
The tribal people of the Pacific Northwest call the rare blonde Kermode bears spirit bears or ghost bears. When you see one gleaming in a shaft of sunlight against the dark forest, it does seem like a ghost or a spirit. This one has a half-eaten salmon in its mouth.
27/12/2018 www.allenfotowild.com
This is a Spirit Bear in the vicinity of Hartley Bay, British Columbia.
Our native guide, Marven Robinson, says that this bear is named Strawberry, due to her coloring (I guess?).
Anyway, she has strolled down the shoreline (feasting on Salmon carcasses) and is now starting to head up a small river to fish for spawning Salmon, or simply for more recent Salmon carcasses, as her mood suits her.
We were asked to not give specific locations of the Spirit Bears which were shown to us by Marven and we will respect that request.
However, if you'd like a view of what experiencing the bears was like back in 2016, there is a very nice little book that tells you much more about the Spirit Bear viewing experience that is available on Amazon and which has an accompanying SmugMug website that shows pics and videos of Spirit Bears in action.
I bought a copy of the book ("Spirit Bear Hartley Bay") after we returned from our recent trip and it's very illuminating with regards to what it was like to interact with the Spirit Bears a decade ago.
It's changed a bit since then, not for the worse nor the better, but it has changed, as the Bears that were around a decade ago have moved on and the younger Bears are not quite as habituated to visiting photographers as the old Bears were. I'm told that the years that this trip was not offered (during the Covid pandemic) may have caused a slight regression in the "tame-ness or habituation" of both the Black and White Kermode Bears towards people.
There is an online copy of Spirit Bear Hartley Bay at this link.
Undoubtedly the main focus of this trip was the hope of seeing the rare Kermode (Spirit) Bear) so it was with great anticipation that we landed on Gribbell Island, for which we had a two-day permit. The first day yielded no bears so we were understandably anxious that we would also be unlucky on the second. The Spirit Bear is not an albino but a very rare variant of the Black Bear and it is estimated that there are less than 400 left in the wild. They carry a recessive gene from both parents which causes them to be born white. Gribbell Island is managed by the local Gitga’at (a First Nations) clan, who are fiercely protective of this rare and beautiful animal. Imagine our excitement when this elderly lady appeared soon after we had arrived and had started to set up our gear. She is known as Ma’ah and is believed to be over 20 years old. She is a bit arthritic now and consequently prefers to wait for dead or dying salmon rather than to dive headlong into the water and catch herself a live and wriggling one! I can’t tell you how much of a privilege it was to spend this extraordinary day being entertained by this lovely lady and another much younger female (Warrior), and it was breathtaking to be so close to them. Several times they passed so close to us that we could have touched them - knowing we were there but seemingly totally oblivious to our presence. This wonderful day will remain as one of my happiest and most memorable wildlife experiences.
A visit by Bishop Thomas to Wentworth in 1870 resulted in local pressure for the construction of a church. However, it was a time of hardship as the 1870 flood had devastated Wentworth driving out residents and checking trade. Money was elusive when in February 1871 Bishop Thomas sent the Reverend William Cocks to report on what might be done in forming a parish in Wentworth.
Reverend Cocks became the first resident Anglican minister in Wentworth. A building fund was established and over 100 community members subscribed that resulted in the construction of the church. A bazaar and auction was also held that resulted in the raising of 188 pounds. On the 23rd of May 1871 the Foundation Stone of the new church was laid by His Honour, Judge Francis.
'There might have been a race on at the time because the Catholic church's foundation stone was laid in September of the same year,' Deacon Mary-Ann Crisp said, with a laugh.
Many people of other denominations were very generous and contributed financially to the construction of the Church. In return the Reverend Cocks, with concurrence of his Bishop made the services of the Church of England available to all denominations which desired his care, because there was no other Church or Minister available. Considering that the township of Wentworth only contained 370 inhabitants and the entire district about 1200 all told, the construction of the building is of great credit to the local community.
Reverend Cocks acted as overseer and contractor of the building of Saint John's. The stone was brought to the site by barges. He gave assistance wherever he could be useful and after clerical duties he would mix mortar and he became known as 'the Reverent Mixer of Mortar'. The bricks were acquired from the Presbyterian Church Committee which had abandoned the intention of building. The building committee of the Roman Catholic Church likewise suffered a setback and as a result, Reverend Cocks acquired their stained glass windows. Mr G. Brooks of Kermode Street, North Adelaide, completed the set of twelve windows. They are elaborately constructed of stained glass with appropriate devices, with the large gable window over the altar being especially rich in ornamentation.
'The whole community came together to help with the building, making bricks' said Decon Mary-Ann Crisp.
The Church of Saint John's was opened for Worship on Christmas Day 1871 and the first service was conducted by Reverend Cocks. 'It was a community event, getting the church built, because it was the first church ever finished being built on the whole length of the Darling River' Deacon Crisp said.
On the 14th of August 1874, the Foundation Stone of the Rectory was laid by Mrs William Crozier of Moorna Station and at the same time a wooden schoolhouse and meeting room (Parish Hall) was opened.
'A lot of local families have connections' said Deacon Crisp. 'Their ancestors had something to do with it, they helped fund it, they worked on it or they've been members of the church. People just keep coming up with all sorts of memorabilia to do with the history of the church' she said. 'For many years there were deb(utante) balls every year or so... and obviously there's lots of marriages, births, and funerals, so all of those registeres are in there'. But to many, the chruch is more than just a building: 'we love it - it's a beautiful old structure', Deacon Crisp said. 'The building is just somewhere to meet and we have to remember that too: that we could just meet on the riverbank to 'sit in church''.
In 1986 the Heritage Branch was contacted in relation to a proposal to purchase the rectory for demolition to provide car park spaces for the adjoining Services Club.
On the 9th of December 1986 a section 130 order was placed over the site. On the 20th of March 1987 an Interim Heritage Order was placed over the buildings. In 1987 financial assistance of $16, 000 was made available for restoration works. A Permanent Conservation Order was placed on the 23rd of March 1989. On the 2nd of April 1999, Saint John's Anglican Church and Rectory was transferred to the State Heritage Register.
On the 23rd of May 2021 the church marked 150 years since works first started on it. The community celebrated with a morning service, a makers' market, a Delta Scout-run barbeque, a morning tea prepared by the Country Women's Association, a vintage car show, and a communion service led by Bishop Donald Kirk.
Source: New South Wales Heritage Register.
Gribbell Island, British Columbia, Canada
I'm off to Zambia very shortly so here is a final set of ten Spirit and Black Bear images from our recent trip. The Spirit (Kermode) Bear is a white variant of the Black Bear and extremely rare. It was a real privilege to spend a day in the rain with these wonderful animals.
Dutch postcard by Boomerang Freecards for H & M, no. P 20-98.
Gary Oldman (1958) is a talented English film star and character actor, renowned for his expressive acting style. He is one of the most celebrated thespians of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film, and television. Oldman is known for his roles as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), Drexl in True Romance (1993), George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017).
Gary Leonard Oldman was born in 1958 in New Cross, London, England, to Kathleen (Cheriton), a homemaker, and Leonard Bertram Oldman, a welder. He won a scholarship to Britain's Rose Bruford Drama College, in Sidcup, Kent, where he received a B.A. in theatre arts in 1979. He subsequently studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of plays throughout the early 1980s, including 'The Pope's Wedding', for which he received Time Out's Fringe Award for Best Newcomer of 1985-1986 and the British Theatre Association's Drama Magazine Award as Best Actor for 1985. Before fame, he was employed as a worker in assembly lines, and as a porter in an operating theatre. He also got jobs selling shoes and beheading pigs while supporting his early acting career. His film debut was Remembrance (Colin Gregg, 1982), though his most-memorable early role came when he played Sex Pistol Sid Vicious in the biopic Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, 1986) picking up the Evening Standard Film Award as Best Newcomer. He then received a Best Actor nomination from BAFTA for his portrayal of 1960s playwright Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (Stephen Frears, 1987).
In the 1990s, Gary Oldman brought to life a series of iconic real-world and fictional villains including Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (Oliver Stone, 1991), the title character in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Coppola, 1992), Drexl Spivey in True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993), Stansfield in Léon (Luc Besson, 1994), Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element (Luc Besson, 1997) and Ivan Korshunov in Air Force One (Wolfgang Petersen, 1997). That decade also saw Oldman portraying Ludwig van Beethoven in the biopic Immortal Beloved (Bernard Rose, 1994). Oldman tried his hand at writing and directing for Nil by Mouth (Gary Oldman, 1997), starring Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke. The film is loosely based upon his own life growing up in London. Nil by Mouth opened the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and won Kathy Burke a Best Actress prize at the festival. His problems with alcohol were well known during the early 1990s: he checked himself into rehab for alcoholism treatment in 1995. In subsequent interviews, Oldman acknowledged his problems with alcohol and called himself a recovering alcoholic in a 2001 interview with Charlie Rose. Oldman lives a teetotal lifestyle and attributes his success in beating his addiction to attending meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous, whom he has publicly praised.
Gary Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal (Ridley Scott, 2001), starring Anthony Hopkins. He then played the coveted role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón, 2004), giving him a key part in one of the highest-grossing franchises ever. He reprised that role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mike Newell, 2005) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates, 2007). Oldman also took on the iconic role of Detective James Gordon in writer-director Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), starring Christian Bale. He played the role again in The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012). Film critic Mark Kermode, in reviewing The Dark Knight, wrote, "the best performance in the film, by a mile, is Gary Oldman's ... it would be lovely to see him get a[n Academy Award] nomination because actually, he's the guy who gets kind of overlooked in all of this." Oldman co-starred with Jim Carrey in a new version of A Christmas Carol (Robert Zemeckis, 2009) in which Oldman played three roles. He had a starring role in David Goyer's supernatural thriller The Unborn (2009). In 2010, Oldman co-starred with Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli (The Hughes Brothers, 2010). He also played a lead role in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood (Catherine Hardwicke, 2011), featuring Amanda Seyfried. Oldman voiced the role of villain Lord Shen and was nominated for an Annie Award for his performance in Kung Fu Panda 2 (Jennifer Yuh Nelson, 2011).
In 2011, Gary Oldman portrayed master spy George Smiley in the adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Tomas Alfredson, 2011), and the role scored Oldman his first Oscar nomination. In 2014, he played one of the lead humans in the Science Fiction action film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves, 2014). Also that year, Oldman starred alongside Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson in the remake of RoboCop (José Padilha, 2014), as Norton, the scientist who creates RoboCop. Also that year, Oldman starred in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as one of the leads alongside Jason Clarke and Keri Russell. Aside from acting, In 2018 he won an Oscar for best actor for his work on Darkest Hour (Joe Wright, 2017). Last year, he won accolades for his portrayal of alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz in Mank (David Fincher, 2020). Gary Oldman married five times. His first four marriages (to actress Lesley Manville, film star Uma Thurman, Donya Fiorentino, and Alexandra Edenborough) ended in a divorce. Since 2017, he is married to writer and art curator Gisele Schmidt. Oldman has three sons: Alfie Oldman (1988) from his first marriage to Lesley Manville, Gulliver Flynn Oldman (1997), and Charlie John Oldman (1999) with Donya Fiorentino.
Source: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Well after one whole year my life has settled down enough to get back to bear making. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up for a while. She'll go to eBay this evening, user name Desertmountainbear.
- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - GRANDE PRAIRIE, a post office in Yale District, B.C., 16 miles from Ducks, a station on the main line of the C.P.R., 18 miles east of Kamloops.
(from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia Directory) - GRANDE PRAIRIE - a settlement half way between Kamloops and Vernon, 20 miles from Ducks, in Kamloops Provincial Electoral District reached by stage from Ducks. Nearest telegraph station is Adelphia. Anglican church. The population in 1918 was about 350. Local resources: General farming, cattle and horses. Address mail, via Adelphi post office.
The GRANDE PRAIRIE Post Office was established - 1 December 1885 and closed - 30 April 1911.
LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the GRANDE PRAIRIE Post Office - www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/postal-heritage-philately/...;
- sent from - / GRANDE • PRAIRIE / DE 24 / 07 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A-1) was not listed in the Proof Brook - it was most likely proofed c. 1885 - (RF D).
via - / MONTE - CREEK / DE 25 / 07 / B.C / - split ring transit backstamp - this split ring hammer (A-1) is not listed in the proof book - it was most likely proofed c. 1896. A new split ring hammer (A-2) was proofed - 9 September 1926.
The Duck & Pringles post office was established on the Duck Ranch, owned by Jacob Duck - The Colonial post office opened there on June 13, 1870 - On September 1896, the name of the post office was changed to Monte Creek with William Plumm as postmaster. The Monte Creek post office became a Postal Outlet in 1991 and the Postal Outlet closed on January 30, 2004.
Message on postcard reads: Dear E. - Many thanks for letter. Will write after New Year. Much love to all your folks and best wishes for a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year - from all the folks at Grande Prairie - S (S. Jones)
Sarah (nee Kermode) Jones
Birth - 26 May 1871 at Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Death - 6 Apr 1941 (aged 69) at Kamloops, British Columbia
Burial - Westwold Cemetery Westwold, British Columbia
Her father was Edward George Kermode (1844–1918) her mother was Elizabeth (nee Newby) Kermode (1844-1892).
Her husband - William Henry Jones
Birth - 7 Aug 1859 in Warwickshire, England
Death - 13 Aug 1927 (aged 68) at Kamloops, British Columbia,
Burial - Westwold Cemetery, Westwold, British Columbia, Canada - he was the Postmaster at Grande Prairie from - 1 November 1910 until the Post Office closed - 30 April 1911. His father was Joseph Thatcher Jones (1836 - 1882) and his mother was Sarah (nee Townsend) Jones (1837 - 1887).
They were married - 3 November 1896 in Victoria, B.C. - they had four children.
Postcard was addressed to: Mrs. Olive / 25 Henry Street / Victoria / B.C.
Nicholas Trewolla Olive and Henrietta "Etta" Margaret Olive (nee Watson)
Black bears (Ursus americanus) are the most numerous type of bear in Alaska. While most of the black bears I see are black in color in other parts of Alaska and North America they can range from a blueish black, to cinnamon, even white (Kermode bears in BC).
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.
Polar bears are both terrestrial and pagophilic (ice-living) and are considered to be marine mammals due to their dependence on marine ecosystems. They prefer the annual sea ice but live on land when the ice melts in the summer. They are mostly carnivorous and specialized for preying on seals, particularly ringed seals. Such prey is typically taken by ambush; the bear may stalk its prey on the ice or in the water, but also will stay at a breathing hole or ice edge to wait for prey to swim by. The bear primarily feeds on the seal's energy-rich blubber. Other prey include walruses, beluga whales and some terrestrial animals. Polar bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups when on land. During the breeding season, male bears guard females and defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in maternity dens during the winter. Young stay with their mother for up to two and a half years.
The polar bear is considered to be a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with an estimated total population of 22,000 to 31,000 individuals. Its biggest threats are climate change, pollution and energy development. Climate change has caused a decline in sea ice, giving the polar bear less access to its favoured prey and increasing the risk of malnutrition and starvation. Less sea ice also means that the bears must spend more time on land, increasing conflicts with people. Polar bears have been hunted, both by native and non-native peoples, for their coats, meat and other items. They have been kept in captivity in zoos and circuses and are prevalent in art, folklore, religion and modern culture.
Naming
The polar bear was given its common name by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). It was known as the "white bear" in Europe between the 13th and 18th centuries, as well as "ice bear", "sea bear" and "Greenland bear". The Norse referred to it as isbjørn ("ice bear") and hvitebjørn ("white bear"). The bear is called nanook by the Inuit. The Netsilik cultures additionally have different names for bears based on certain factors, such as sex and age: these include adult males (anguraq), single adult females (tattaq), gestating females (arnaluk), newborns (hagliaqtug), large adolescents (namiaq) and dormant bears (apitiliit). The scientific name Ursus maritimus is Latin for "sea bear".
Taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus classified the polar bear as a type of brown bear (Ursus arctos), labelling it as Ursus maritimus albus-major, articus in the 1758 edition of his work Systema Naturae. Constantine John Phipps formally described the polar bear as a distinct species, Ursus maritimus in 1774, following his 1773 voyage towards the North Pole. Due to its adaptations to a marine environment, some taxonomists like Theodore Knottnerus-Meyer have placed the polar bear in its genus Thalarctos. However Ursus is widely considered to be the valid genus for the species based on the fossil record and the fact that it can breed with the brown bear.
Different subspecies have been proposed including Ursus maritimus maritimus and U. m. marinus. However these are not supported and the polar bear is considered to be monotypic. One possible fossil subspecies, U. m. tyrannus, was posited in 1964 by Björn Kurtén, who reconstructed the subspecies from a single fragment of an ulna which was approximately 20 percent larger than expected for a polar bear. However, re-evaluation in the 21st century has indicated that the fragment likely comes from a giant brown bear.
Evolution
The polar bear is one of eight extant species in the bear family Ursidae and of six extant species in the subfamily Ursinae. A possible phylogeny of extant bear species is shown in a cladogram based on complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from Yu et al. (2007). The polar bear and the brown bear form a close grouping, while the relationships of the other species are not very well resolved.
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
Ursinae
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
American black bear (Ursus americanus)
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
A more recent phylogeny below is based on a 2017 genetic study. The study concludes that Ursine bears originated around 5 million years ago and show extensive hybridization of species in their lineage.
Ursidae
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
Ursinae
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
American black bear (Ursus americanus)
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
Fossils of polar bears are uncommon. The oldest known fossil is a 130,000- to 110,000-year-old jaw bone, found on Prince Charles Foreland, Norway, in 2004. Scientists in the 20th century surmised that polar bears directly descended from a population of brown bears, possibly in eastern Siberia or Alaska. Mitochondrial DNA studies in the 1990s and 2000s supported the status of the polar bear as a derivative of the brown bear, finding that some brown bear populations were more closely related to polar bears than to other brown bears, particularly the ABC Islands bears of Southeast Alaska. A 2010 study estimated that the polar bear lineage split from other brown bears around 150,000 years ago.
More extensive genetic studies have refuted the idea that polar bears are directly descended from brown bears and found that the two species are separate sister lineages. The genetic similarities between polar bears and some brown bears were found to be the result of interbreeding A 2012 study estimated the split between polar and brown bears as occurring around 600,000 years ago. A 2022 study estimated the divergence as occurring even earlier at over one million years ago. Glaciation events over hundreds of thousands of years led to both the origin of polar bears and their subsequent interactions and hybridizations with brown bears.
Studies in 2011 and 2012 concluded that gene flow went from brown bears to polar bears during hybridization. In particular, a 2011 study concluded that living polar bear populations derived their maternal lines from now-extinct Irish brown bears. Later studies have clarified that gene flow went from polar to brown bears rather than the reverse. Up to 9 percent of the genome of ABC bears was transferred from polar bears, while Irish bears had up to 21.5 percent polar bear origin. Mass hybridization between the two species appears to have stopped around 200,000 years ago. Modern hybrids are relatively rare in the wild.
Analysis of the number of variations of gene copies in polar bears compared with brown bears and American black bears shows distinct adaptions. Polar bears have a less diverse array of olfactory receptor genes, a result of there being fewer odours in their Arctic habitat. With its carnivorous, high-fat diet the species has fewer copies of the gene involved in making amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch, and more selection for genes for fatty acid breakdown and a more efficient circulatory system. The polar bear's thicker coat is the result of more copies of genes involved in keratin-creating proteins.
Characteristics
The polar bear is the largest living species of bear and land carnivore, though some brown bear subspecies like the Kodiak bear can rival it in size. Males are generally 200–250 cm (6.6–8.2 ft) long with a weight of 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). Females are smaller at 180–200 cm (5.9–6.6 ft) with a weight of 150–300 kg (330–660 lb). Sexual dimorphism in the species is particularly high compared with most other mammals. Male polar bears also have proportionally larger heads than females. The weight of polar bears fluctuates during the year, as they can bulk up on fat and increase their mass by 50 percent. A fattened, pregnant female can weigh as much as 500 kg (1,100 lb). Adults may stand 130–160 cm (4.3–5.2 ft) tall at the shoulder. The tail is 76–126 mm (3.0–5.0 in) long. The largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing 1,002 kg (2,209 lb), was a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960.
Compared with the brown bear, this species has a more slender build, with a narrower, flatter and smaller skull, a longer neck, and a lower shoulder hump. The snout profile is curved, resembling a "Roman nose". They have 34–42 teeth including 12 incisors, 4 canines, 8–16 premolars and 10 molars. The teeth are adapted for a more carnivorous diet than that of the brown bear, having longer, sharper and more spaced out canines, and smaller, more pointed cheek teeth (premolars and molars). The species has a large space or diastema between the canines and cheek teeth, which may allow it to better bite into prey. Since it normally preys on animals much smaller than it, the polar bear does not have a particularly strong bite Polar bears have large paws, with the front paws being broader than the back. The feet are hairier than in other bear species, providing warmth and friction when stepping on snow and sea ice. The claws are small but sharp and hooked and are used both to snatch prey and climb onto ice.
Polar bear jumping on floating ice at Svalbard
The coat consists of dense underfur around 5 cm (2.0 in) long and guard hairs around 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Males have long hairs on their forelegs, which is thought to signal their fitness to females. The outer surface of the hairs has a scaly appearance, and the guard hairs are hollow, which allows the animals to trap heat and float in the water. The transparent guard hairs forward scatter ultraviolet light between the underfur and the skin, leading to a cycle of absorption and re-emission, keeping them warm. The fur appears white due to the backscatter of incident light and the absence of pigment. Polar bears gain a yellowish colouration as they are exposed more to the sun. This is reversed after they moult. It can also be grayish or brownish. Their light fur provides camouflage in their snowy environment. After emerging from the water, the bear can easily shake itself dry before freezing since the hairs are resistant to tangling when wet. The skin, including the nose and lips, is black and absorbs heat. Polar bears have a 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick layer of fat underneath the skin, which provides both warmth and energy. Polar bears maintain their core body temperature at about 36.9 °C (98 °F). Overheating is countered by a layer of highly vascularized striated muscle tissue and finely controlled blood vessels. Bears also cool off by entering the water.
The eyes of a polar bear are close to the top of the head, which may allow them to stay out of the water when the animal is swimming at the surface. They are relatively small, which may be an adaption against blowing snow and snow blindness. Polar bears are dichromats, and lack the cone cells for seeing green. They have many rod cells which allow them to see at night. The ears are small, allowing them to retain heat and not get frostbitten. They can hear best at frequencies of 11.2–22.5 kHz, a wider frequency range than expected given that their prey mostly makes low-frequency sounds. The nasal concha creates a large surface area, so more warm air can move through the nasal passages. Their olfactory system is also large and adapted for smelling prey over vast distances. The animal has reniculate kidneys which filter out the salt in their food.
Distribution and habitat
Polar bears inhabit the Arctic and adjacent areas. Their range includes Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway. Polar bears have been recorded 25 km (16 mi) from the North Pole. The southern limits of their range include James Bay and Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands of Alaska. They are not permanent residents of Iceland but have been recorded visiting there if they can reach it via sea ice. Due to minimal human encroachment on the bears' remote habitat, they can still be found in much of their original range, more so than any other large land carnivore.
Polar bears have been divided into at least 18 subpopulations labelled East Greenland (ES), Barents Sea (BS), Kara Sea (KS), Laptev Sea (LVS), Chukchi Sea (CS), northern and southern Beaufort Sea (SBS and NBS), Viscount Melville (VM), M'Clintock Channel (MC), Gulf of Boothia (GB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Norwegian Bay (NB), Kane Basin (KB), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS), Foxe Basin (FB) and the western and southern Hudson Bay (WHB and SHB) populations. Bears in and around the Queen Elizabeth Islands have been proposed as a subpopulation but this is not universally accepted. A 2022 study has suggested that the bears in southeast Greenland should be considered a different subpopulation based on their geographic isolation and genetics. Polar bear populations can also be divided into four gene clusters: Southern Canadian, Canadian Archipelago, Western Basin (northwestern Canada west to the Russian Far East) and Eastern Basin (Greenland east to Siberia).
The polar bear is dependent enough on the ocean to be considered a marine mammal. It is pagophilic and mainly inhabits annual sea ice covering continental shelves and between islands of archipelagos. These areas, known as the "Arctic Ring of Life", have high biological productivity. The species tends to frequent areas where sea ice meets water, such as polynyas and leads, to hunt the seals that make up most of its diet. Polar bears travel in response to changes in ice cover throughout the year. They are forced onto land in summer when the sea ice disappears. Terrestrial habitats used by polar bears include forests, mountains, rocky areas, lakeshores and creeks. In the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, where the sea ice breaks off and floats north during the summer, polar bears generally stay on the ice, though a large portion of the population (15–40%) has been observed spending all summer on land since the 1980s. Some areas have thick multiyear ice that does not completely melt and the bears can stay on all year, though this type of ice has fewer seals and allows for less productivity in the water.
Behaviour and ecology
Polar bears may travel areas as small as 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) to as large as 38,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi) in a year, while drifting ice allows them to move further. Depending on ice conditions, a bear can travel an average of 12 km (7.5 mi) per day. These movements are powered by their energy-rich diet. Polar bears move by walking and galloping and do not trot. Walking bears tilt their front paws towards each other. They can run at estimated speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph) but typically move at around 5.5 km/h (3.4 mph). Polar bears are also capable swimmers and can swim at up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph). One study found they can swim for an average of 3.4 days at a time and travel an average of 154.2 km (95.8 mi). They can dive for as long as three minutes. When swimming, the broad front paws do the paddling, while the hind legs play a role in steering and diving.
Mother bear and cubs sleeping
Most polar bears are active year-round. Hibernation occurs only among pregnant females. Non-hibernating bears typically have a normal 24-hour cycle even during days of all darkness or all sunlight, though cycles less than a day are more common during the former. The species is generally diurnal, being most active early in the day. Polar bears sleep close to eight hours a day on average. They will sleep in various positions, including curled up, sitting up, lying on one side, on the back with limbs spread, or on the belly with the rump elevated. On sea ice, polar bears snooze at pressure ridges where they dig on the sheltered side and lie down. After a snowstorm, a bear may rest under the snow for hours or days. On land, the bears may dig a resting spot on gravel or sand beaches. They will also sleep on rocky outcrops. In mountainous areas on the coast, mothers and subadults will sleep on slopes where they can better spot another bear coming. Adult males are less at risk from other bears and can sleep nearly anywhere.
Social life
Polar bears are typically solitary, aside from mothers with cubs and mating pairs. On land, they are found closer together and gather around food resources. Adult males, in particular, are more tolerant of each other in land environments and outside the breeding season. They have been recorded forming stable "alliances", travelling, resting and playing together. A dominant hierarchy exists among polar bears with the largest mature males ranking at the top. Adult females outrank subadults and adolescents and younger males outrank females of the same age. In addition, cubs with their mothers outrank those on their own. Females with dependent offspring tend to stay away from males, but are sometimes associated with other female–offspring units, creating "composite families".
Polar bears are generally quiet but can produce various sounds. Chuffing, a soft pulsing call, is made by mother bears presumably to keep in contact with their young. During the breeding season, adult males will chuff at potential mates. Unlike other animals where chuffing is passed through the nostrils, in polar bears it is emitted through a partially open mouth. Cubs will cry for attention and produce humming noises while nursing. Teeth chops, jaw pops, blows, huffs, moans, growls and roars are heard in more hostile encounters. A polar bear visually communicates with its eyes, ears, nose and lips. Chemical communication can also be important: bears secrete their scent from their foot pads into their tracks, allowing individuals to keep track of one another.
Diet and hunting
The polar bear is a hypercarnivore, and the most carnivorous species of bear. It is an apex predator of the Arctic, preying on ice-living seals and consuming their energy-rich blubber. The most commonly taken species is the ringed seal, but they also prey on bearded seals and harp seals. Ringed seals are ideal prey as they are abundant and small enough to be overpowered by even small bears. Bearded seal adults are larger and are more likely to break free from an attacking bear, hence adult male bears are more successful in hunting them. Less common prey are hooded seals, spotted seals, ribbon seals and the more temperate-living harbour seals. Polar bears, mostly adult males, will occasionally hunt walruses, both on land and ice, though they mainly target the young, as adults are too large and formidable, with their thick skin and long tusks.
Bear feeding on a bearded seal
Besides seals, bears will prey on cetacean species such as beluga whales and narwhals, as well as reindeer, birds and their eggs, fish and marine invertebrates. They rarely eat plant material as their digestive system is too specialized for animal matter, though they have been recorded eating berries, moss, grass and seaweed. In their southern range, especially near Hudson Bay and James Bay, polar bears endure all summer without sea ice to hunt from and must subsist more on terrestrial foods. Fat reserves allow polar bears to survive for months without eating. Cannibalism is known to occur in the species.
Polar bears hunt their prey in several different ways. When a bear spots a seal hauling out on the sea ice, it slowly stalks it with the head and neck lowered, possibly to make its dark nose and eyes less noticeable. As it gets closer, the bear crouches more and eventually charges at a high speed, attempting to catch the seal before it can escape into its ice hole. Some stalking bears need to move through water; traversing through water cavities in the ice when approaching the seal or swimming towards a seal on an ice floe. The polar bear can stay underwater with its nose exposed. When it gets close enough, the animal lunges from the water to attack.
During a limited time in spring, polar bears will search for ringed seal pups in their birth lairs underneath the ice. Once a bear catches the scent of a hiding pup and pinpoints its location, it approaches the den quietly to not alert it. It uses its front feet to smash through the ice and then pokes its head in to catch the pup before it can escape. A ringed seal's lair can be more than 1 m (3.3 ft) below the surface of the ice and thus more massive bears are better equipped for breaking in. Some bears may simply stay still near a breathing hole or other spot near the water and wait for prey to come by. This can last hours and when a seal surfaces the bear will try to pull it out with its paws and claws. This tactic is the primary hunting method from winter to early spring.
Bear with whale carcass
Bears hunt walrus groups by provoking them into stampeding and then look for young that have been crushed or separated from their mothers during the turmoil. There are reports of bears trying to kill or injure walruses by throwing rocks and pieces of ice on them. Belugas and narwhals are vulnerable to bear attacks when they are stranded in shallow water or stuck in isolated breathing holes in the ice. When stalking reindeer, polar bears will hide in vegetation before an ambush. On some occasions, bears may try to catch prey in open water, swimming underneath a seal or aquatic bird. Seals in particular, however, are more agile than bears in the water. Polar bears rely on raw power when trying to kill their prey, and will employ bites and paw swipes. They have the strength to pull a mid-sized seal out of the water or haul a beluga carcass for quite some distance. Polar bears only occasionally store food for later—burying it under snow—and only in the short term.
Arctic foxes routinely follow polar bears and scavenge scraps from their kills. The bears usually tolerate them but will charge a fox that gets too close when they are feeding. Polar bears themselves will scavenge. Subadult bears will eat remains left behind by others. Females with cubs often abandon a carcass when they see an adult male approaching, though are less likely to if they have not eaten in a long time. Whale carcasses are a valuable food source, particularly on land and after the sea ice melts, and attract several bears. In one area in northeastern Alaska, polar bears have been recorded competing with grizzly bears for whale carcasses. Despite their smaller size, grizzlies are more aggressive and polar bears are likely to yield to them in confrontations. Polar bears will also scavenge at garbage dumps during ice-free periods.
Reproduction and development
Polar bear mating takes place on the sea ice and during spring, mostly between March and May. Males search for females in estrus and often travel in twisting paths which reduces the chances of them encountering other males while still allowing them to find females. The movements of females remain linear and they travel more widely. The mating system can be labelled as female-defence polygyny, serial monogamy or promiscuity.
Upon finding a female, a male will try to isolate and guard her. Courtship can be somewhat aggressive, and a male will pursue a female if she tries to run away. It can take days for the male to mate with the female which induces ovulation. After their first copulation, the couple bond. Undisturbed polar bear pairings typically last around two weeks during which they will sleep together and mate multiple times. Competition for mates can be intense and this has led to sexual selection for bigger males. Polar bear males often have scars from fighting. A male and female that have already bonded will flee together when another male arrives. A female mates with multiple males in a season and a single litter can have more than one father.
Polar bear cubs
When the mating season ends, the female will build up more fat reserves to sustain both herself and her young. Sometime between August and October, the female constructs and enters a maternity den for winter. Depending on the area, maternity dens can be found in sea ice just off the coastline or further inland and may be dug underneath snow, earth or a combination of both. The inside of these shelters can be around 1.5 m (4.9 ft) wide with a ceiling height of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) while the entrance may be 2.1 m (6.9 ft) long and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) wide. The temperature of a den can be much higher than the outside. Females hibernate and give birth to their cubs in the dens. Hibernating bears fast and internally recycle bodily waste. Polar bears experience delayed implantation and the fertilized embryo does not start development until the fall, between mid-September and mid-October. With delayed implantation, gestation in the species lasts seven to nine months but actual pregnancy is only two months.
Mother polar bears typically give birth to two cubs per litter. As with other bear species, newborn polar bears are tiny and altricial. The newborns have woolly hair and pink skin, with a weight of around 600 g (21 oz). Their eyes remain closed for a month. The mother's fatty milk fuels their growth, and the cubs are kept warm both by the mother's body heat and the den. The mother emerges from the den between late February and early April, and her cubs are well-developed and capable of walking with her. At this time they weigh 10–15 kilograms (22–33 lb). A polar bear family stays near the den for roughly two weeks; during this time the cubs will move and play around while the mother mostly rests. They eventually head out on the sea ice.
Cubs under a year old stay close to their mother. When she hunts, they stay still and watch until she calls them back. Observing and imitating the mother helps the cubs hone their hunting skills. After their first year they become more independent and explore. At around two years old, they are capable of hunting on their own. The young suckle their mother as she is lying on her side or sitting on her rump. A lactating female cannot conceive and give birth, and cubs are weaned between two and two-and-a-half years. She may simply leave her weaned young or they may be chased away by a courting male. Polar bears reach sexual maturity at around four years for females and six years for males. Females reach their adult size at 4 or 5 years of age while males are fully grown at twice that age.
Mortality
Polar bears can live up to 30 years. The bear's long lifespan and ability to consistently produce young offsets cub deaths in a population. Some cubs die in the dens or the womb if the female is not in good condition. Nevertheless, the female has a chance to produce a surviving litter the next spring if she can eat better in the coming year. Cubs will eventually starve if their mothers cannot kill enough prey. Cubs also face threats from wolves and adult male bears. Males kill cubs to bring their mother back into estrus but also kill young outside the breeding season for food. A female and her cubs can flee from the slower male. If the male can get close to a cub, the mother may try to fight him off, sometimes at the cost of her life.
Subadult bears, who are independent but not quite mature, have a particularly rough time as they are not as successful hunters as adults. Even when they do succeed, their kill will likely be stolen by a larger bear. Hence subadults have to scavenge and are often underweight and at risk of starvation. At adulthood, polar bears have a high survival rate, though adult males suffer injuries from fights over mates. Polar bears are especially susceptible to Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm they contract through cannibalism.
Conservation status
In 2015, the IUCN Red List categorized the polar bear as vulnerable due to a "decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat". It estimated the total population to be between 22,000 and 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown. Threats to polar bear populations include climate change, pollution and energy development.
In 2021, the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group labelled four subpopulations (Barents and Chukchi Sea, Foxe Basin and Gulf of Boothia) as "likely stable", two (Kane Basin and M'Clintock Channel) as "likely increased" and three (Southern Beaufort Sea, Southern and Western Hudson Bay) as "likely decreased" over specific periods between the 1980s and 2010s. The remaining ten did not have enough data. A 2008 study predicted two-thirds of the world's polar bears may disappear by 2050, based on the reduction of sea ice, and only one population would likely survive in 50 years. A 2016 study projected a likely decline in polar bear numbers of more than 30 percent over three generations. The study concluded that declines of more than 50 percent are much less likely. A 2012 review suggested that polar bears may become regionally extinct in southern areas by 2050 if trends continue, leaving the Canadian Archipelago and northern Greenland as strongholds.
The key danger from climate change is malnutrition or starvation due to habitat loss. Polar bears hunt seals on the sea ice, and rising temperatures cause the ice to melt earlier in the year, driving the bears to shore before they have built sufficient fat reserves to survive the period of scarce food in the late summer and early fall. Thinner sea ice tends to break more easily, which makes it more difficult for polar bears to access seals. Insufficient nourishment leads to lower reproductive rates in adult females and lower survival rates in cubs and juvenile bears. Lack of access to seals also causes bears to find food on land which increases the risk of conflict with humans.
Reduction in sea ice cover also forces bears to swim longer distances, which further depletes their energy stores and occasionally leads to drowning. Increased ice mobility may result in less stable sites for dens or longer distances for mothers travelling to and from dens on land. Thawing of permafrost would lead to more fire-prone roofs for bears denning underground. Less snow may affect insulation while more rain could cause more cave-ins. The maximum corticosteroid-binding capacity of corticosteroid-binding globulin in polar bear serum correlates with stress in polar bears, and this has increased with climate warming. Disease-causing bacteria and parasites would flourish more readily in a warmer climate.
Oil and gas development also affects polar bear habitat. The Chukchi Sea Planning Area of northwestern Alaska, which has had many drilling leases, was found to be an important site for non-denning female bears. Oil spills are also a risk. A 2018 study found that ten percent or less of prime bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea is vulnerable to a potential spill, but a spill at full reach could impact nearly 40 percent of the polar bear population. Polar bears accumulate high levels of persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides, due to their position at the top of the ecological pyramid. Many of these chemicals have been internationally banned due to the recognition of their harm to the environment. Traces of them have slowly dwindled in polar bears but persist and have even increased in some populations.
Polar bears receive some legal protection in all the countries they inhabit. The species has been labelled as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act since 2008, while the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada listed it as of 'Special concern' since 1991. In 1973, the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was signed by all five nations with polar bear populations, Canada, Denmark (of which Greenland is an autonomous territory), Russia (then USSR), Norway and the US. This banned most harvesting of polar bears, allowed indigenous hunting using traditional methods, and promoted the preservation of bear habitat. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna lists the species under Appendix II, which allows regulated trade.
Relationship with humans
Polar bears have coexisted and interacted with circumpolar peoples for millennia. "White bears" are mentioned as commercial items in the Japanese book Nihon Shoki in the seventh century. It is not clear if these were polar bears or white-coloured brown bears. During the Middle Ages, Europeans considered white bears to be a novelty and were more familiar with brown- and black-coloured bears. The first known written account of the polar bear in its natural environment is found in the 13th-century anonymous Norwegian text Konungs skuggsjá, which mentions that "the white bear of Greenland wanders most of the time on the ice of the sea, hunting seals and whales and feeding on them" and says the bear is "as skillful a swimmer as any seal or whale".
Over the next centuries, several European explorers would mention polar bears and describe their habits. Such accounts became more accurate after the Enlightenment, and both living and dead specimens were brought back. Nevertheless, some fanciful reports continued, including the idea that polar bears cover their noses during hunts. A relatively accurate drawing of a polar bear is found in Henry Ellis's work A Voyage to Hudson's Bay (1748). Polar bears were formally classified as a species by Constantine Phipps after his 1773 voyage to the Arctic. Accompanying him was a young Horatio Nelson, who was said to have wanted to get a polar bear coat for his father but failed in his hunt. In his 1785 edition of Histoire Naturelle, Comte de Buffon mentions and depicts a "sea bear", clearly a polar bear, and "land bears", likely brown and black bears. This helped promote ideas about speciation. Buffon also mentioned a "white bear of the forest", possibly a Kermode bear.
Exploitation
Polar bears were hunted as early as 8,000 years ago, as indicated by archaeological remains at Zhokhov Island in the East Siberian Sea. The oldest graphic depiction of a polar bear shows it being hunted by a man with three dogs. This rock art was among several petroglyphs found at Pegtymel in Siberia and dates from the fifth to eighth centuries. Before access to firearms, native people used lances, bows and arrows and hunted in groups accompanied by dogs. Though hunting typically took place on foot, some people killed swimming bears from boats with a harpoon. Polar bears were sometimes killed in their dens. Killing a polar bear was considered a rite of passage for boys in some cultures. Native people respected the animal and hunts were subject to strict rituals. Bears were harvested for the fur, meat, fat, tendons, bones and teeth. The fur was worn and slept on, while the bones and teeth were made into tools. For the Netsilik, the individual who finally killed the bear had the right to its fur while the meat was passed to all in the party. Some people kept the cubs of slain bears.
Norsemen in Greenland traded polar bear furs in the Middle Ages. Russia traded polar bear products as early as 1556, with Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land being important commercial centres. Large-scale hunting of bears at Svalbard occurred since at least the 18th century, when no less than 150 bears were killed each year by Russian explorers. In the next century, more Norwegians were harvesting the bears on the island. From the 1870s to the 1970s, around 22,000 of the animals were hunted in total. Over 150,000 polar bears in total were either killed or captured in Russia and Svalbard, from the 18th to the 20th century. In the Canadian Arctic, bears were harvested by commercial whalers especially if they could not get enough whales. The Hudson's Bay Company is estimated to have sold 15,000 polar bear coats between the late 19th century and early 20th century. In the mid-20th century, countries began to regulate polar bear harvesting, culminating in the 1973 agreement.
Polar bear meat was commonly eaten as rations by explorers and sailors in the Arctic. Its taste and texture have been described both positively and negatively. Some have called it too coarse with a powerful smell, while others praised it as a "royal dish". The liver was known for being too toxic to eat. This is due to the accumulation of vitamin A from their prey. Polar bear fat was also used in lamps when other fuel was unavailable. Polar bear rugs were almost ubiquitous on the floors of Norwegian churches by the 13th and 14th centuries. In more modern times, classical Hollywood actors would pose on bearskin rugs, notably Marilyn Monroe. Such images often had sexual connotations.
Conflicts
Road sign warning about the presence of polar bears. The Norwegian text translates into "Applies to all of Svalbard".
When the sea ice melts, polar bears, particularly subadults, conflict with humans over resources on land. They are attracted to the smell of human-made foods, particularly at garbage dumps and may be shot when they encroach on private property. In Churchill, Manitoba, local authorities maintain a "polar bear jail" where nuisance bears are held until the sea ice freezes again. Climate change has increased conflicts between the two species. Over 50 polar bears swarmed a town in Novaya Zemlya in February 2019, leading local authorities to declare a state of emergency.
From 1870 to 2014, there were an estimated 73 polar bear attacks on humans, which led to 20 deaths. The majority of attacks were by hungry males, typically subadults, while female attacks were usually in defence of the young. In comparison to brown and American black bears, attacks by polar bears were more often near and around where humans lived. This may be due to the bears getting desperate for food and thus more likely to seek out human settlements. As with the other two bear species, polar bears are unlikely to target more than two people at once. Though popularly thought of as the most dangerous bear, the polar bear is no more aggressive to humans than other species.
Captivity
The polar bear was a particularly sought-after species for exotic animal collectors due to being relatively rare and remote living, and its reputation as a ferocious beast. It is one of the few marine mammals that can reproduce well in captivity. They were originally kept only by royals and elites. The Tower of London got a polar bear as early as 1252 under King Henry III. In 1609, James VI and I of Scotland, England and Ireland were given two polar bear cubs by the sailor Jonas Poole, who got them during a trip to Svalbard. At the end of the 17th century, Frederick I of Prussia housed polar bears in menageries with other wild animals. He had their claws and canines removed to perform mock fights. Around 1726, Catherine I of Russia gifted two polar bears to Augustus II the Strong of Poland, who desired them for his animal collection. Later, polar bears were displayed to the public in zoos and circuses. In early 19th century, the species was exhibited at the Exeter Exchange in London, as well as menageries in Vienna and Paris. The first zoo in North America to exhibit a polar bear was the Philadelphia Zoo in 1859.
Polar bear exhibits were innovated by Carl Hagenbeck, who replaced cages and pits with settings that mimicked the animal's natural environment. In 1907, he revealed a complex panoramic structure at the Tierpark Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg consisting of exhibits made of artificial snow and ice separated by moats. Different polar animals were displayed on each platform, giving the illusion of them living together. Starting in 1975, Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich housed its polar bears in an exhibit which consisted of a glass barrier, a house, concrete platforms mimicking ice floes and a large pool. Inside the house were maternity dens, and rooms for the staff to prepare and store the food. The exhibit was connected to an outdoor yard for extra room. Similar naturalistic and "immersive" exhibits were opened in the early 21st century, such as the "Arctic Ring of Life" at the Detroit Zoo and Ontario's Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat. Many zoos in Europe and North America have stopped keeping polar bears due to the size and costs of their complex exhibits. In North America, the population of polar bears in zoos reached its zenith in 1975 with 229 animals and declined in the 21st century.
Polar bears have been trained to perform in circuses. Bears in general, being large, powerful, easy to train and human-like in form, were widespread in circuses, and the white coat of polar bears made them particularly attractive. Circuses helped change the polar bear's image from a fearsome monster to something more comical. Performing polar bears were used in 1888 by Circus Krone in Germany and later in 1904 by the Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie in England. Circus director Wilhelm Hagenbeck trained up to 75 polar bears to slide into a large tank through a chute. He began performing with them in 1908 and they had a particularly well-received show at the Hippodrome in London. Other circus tricks performed by polar bears involved tightropes, balls, roller skates and motorcycles. One of the most famous polar bear trainers in the second half of the twentieth century was the East German Ursula Böttcher, whose small stature contrasted with that of the large bears. Starting in the late 20th century, most polar bear acts were retired and the use of these bears for the circus is now prohibited in the US.
Several captive polar bears gained celebrity status in the late 20th and early 21st century, notably Knut of the Berlin Zoological Garden, who was rejected by his mother and had to be hand-reared by zookeepers. Another bear, Binky of the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, became famous for attacking two visitors who got too close. Captive polar bears may pace back and forth, a stereotypical behaviour. In one study, they were recorded to have spent 14 percent of their days pacing. Gus of the Central Park Zoo was prescribed Prozac by a therapist for constantly swimming in his pool. To reduce stereotypical behaviours, zookeepers provide the bears with enrichment items to trigger their play behaviour. Zoo polar bears may appear green due to algae concentrations.
Cultural significance
Polar bears have prominent roles in Inuit culture and religion. The deity Torngarsuk is sometimes imagined as a giant polar bear. He resides underneath the sea floor in an underworld of the dead and has power over sea creatures. Kalaallit shamans would worship him through singing and dancing and were expected to be taken by him to the sea and consumed if he considered them worthy. Polar bears were also associated with the goddess Nuliajuk who was responsible for their creation, along with other sea creatures. It is believed that shamans could reach the Moon or the bottom of the ocean by riding on a guardian spirit in the form of a polar bear. Some folklore involves people turning into or disguising themselves as polar bears by donning their skins or the reverse, with polar bears removing their skins. In Inuit astronomy, the Pleiades star cluster is conceived of as a polar bear trapped by dogs while Orion's Belt, the Hyades and Aldebaran represent hunters, dogs and a wounded bear respectively.
Nordic folklore and literature have also featured polar bears. In The Tale of Auðun of the West Fjords, written around 1275, a poor man named Auðun spends all his money on a polar bear in Greenland, but ends up wealthy after giving the bear to the king of Denmark. In the 14th-century manuscript Hauksbók, a man named Odd kills and eats a polar bear that killed his father and brother. In the story of The Grimsey Man and the Bear, a mother bear nurses and rescues a farmer stuck on an ice floe and is repaid with sheep meat. 18th-century Icelandic writings mention the legend of a "polar bear king" known as the bjarndýrakóngur. This beast was depicted as a polar bear with "ruddy cheeks" and a unicorn-like horn, which glows in the dark. The king could understand when humans talk and was considered to be very astute. Two Norwegian fairy tales, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" and "White-Bear-King-Valemon", involve white bears turning into men and seducing women.
Drawings of polar bears have been featured on maps of the northern regions. Possibly the earliest depictions of a polar bear on a map is the Swedish Carta marina of 1539, which has a white bear on Iceland or "Islandia". A 1544 map of North America includes two polar bears near Quebec. Notable paintings featuring polar bears include François-Auguste Biard's Fighting Polar Bears (1839) and Edwin Landseer's Man Proposes, God Disposes (1864). Polar bears have also been filmed for cinema. An Inuit polar bear hunt was shot for the 1932 documentary Igloo, while the 1974 film The White Dawn filmed a simulated stabbing of a trained bear for a scene. In the film The Big Show (1961), two characters are killed by a circus polar bear. The scenes were shot using animal trainers instead of the actors. In modern literature, polar bears have been characters in both children's fiction, like Hans Beer's Little Polar Bear and the Whales and Sakiasi Qaunaq's The Orphan and the Polar Bear, and fantasy novels, like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. In radio, Mel Blanc provided the vocals for Jack Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael on The Jack Benny Program. The polar bear is featured on flags and coats of arms, like the coat of arms of Greenland, and in many advertisements, notably for Coca-Cola since 1922.
As charismatic megafauna, polar bears have been used to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change. Aurora the polar bear is a giant marionette created by Greenpeace for climate protests. The World Wide Fund for Nature has sold plush polar bears as part of its "Arctic Home" campaign. Photographs of polar bears have been featured in National Geographic and Time magazines, including ones of them standing on ice floes, while the climate change documentary and advocacy film An Inconvenient Truth (2006) includes an animated bear swimming. Automobile manufacturer Nissan used a polar bear in one of its commercials, hugging a man for using an electric car. To make a statement about global warming, in 2009 a Copenhagen ice statue of a polar bear with a bronze skeleton was purposely left to melt in the sun.
The Great Bear Rainforest is considered a spiritual place, and I could sense that feeling when all the surrounding elements seem to act in harmony. Its extremely quiet out there, and besides the calming sound of the stream flowing beside me there is practically no noise. Its as if the stage is set for something magical to happen.
Before the Kermode (Spirit) Bear arrives on scene, a Raven seems to introduce its presence. What seemed to be an amazing phenomenon, is an act that actually goes back tens of thousands of years to the first known recorded story "Raven, The Creator".
The legend states that the Raven and the Black bear have made a pact. The agreement, "given huge assurances from the Raven, Black Bear could live in peace and safety for all time, by letting one out of every ten Black Bears turn white".
Is it possible that the Raven's spirit and the Black Bear's spirit are still connected on a higher level out there in the Great Bear Rainforest? I saw, and experienced it with my own eyes for days. I truly believe they are in fact connected and that there is a force in nature that somehow keeps these 2 Spirits connected and hopefully keeps the Spirit Bears protected, as the legend states, for years to come.
The harsh reality out there is that there are way less Salmon in the streams the last few seasons. Bears regulate their reproduction based on the availability of food to help assure them of a healthy diet for their young. There are no reports of new cubs for the last 2 years. Enlightened
The monument commemorates those from the District who died in service or were killed in action in the various conflicts in which Australia has been involved. The monument is a marble World War One soldier on a limestone and granite obelisk, who stands at ease, left foot slightly forward, holding a bayoneted rifle.
It was originally erected to commemorate those from Terowie District Council Area who died in service or were killed in action in World War One. The names of those who died in service or were killed in action during World War Two were added at a later date, as were plaques to commemorate the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
According to documents from Trove (trove.nla.gov.au) on the 28th of October 1921, the Times and Northern Advertiser (Peterborough, SA) newspaper reported:
For some time the residents of Terowie have been working hard to raise funds for the erection of a suitable memorial to the memory of those men, from the Terowie District Council area, who made the supreme sacrifice in the great war 1914 - 1918. That their efforts were successful was amply demonstrated on Friday afternoon last, when the beautiful marble monument was unveiled by the Hon. T. Pascoe in the presence of a very large gathering of residents from all parts of the district, who, with the school children sang "The Song of Australia" at 3 pm.
Daniel Garlick:
Daniel Garlick (1818 - 1902), architect, was baptised on the 22nd of January 1818 at Uley, Gloucestershire, England, son of Moses Garlick, plasterer and weaver, and his wife Rachel, née Smith. His father had seen active service at Vittoria, Salamanca, and Corunna in the Peninsular wars; after his wife died he decided to migrate to South Australia with his sons Daniel, Thomas, and William. They sailed in the Katherine Stewart Forbes and arrived in the new colony on the 17th of October 1837.
Daniel and his father ran a business as builders and timber merchants in Kermode Street, North Adelaide, until the early 1850s when a deterioration in Daniel's health led to a change. His father bought some 450 acres (182 ha) east of Smithfield, about fifteen miles (24 km) from Adelaide, and with his three sons grew wheat, planted a vineyard and made wine. After their father died about 1860, Thomas and William remained on the farm but Daniel began business as an architect in Gawler. About 1862 he married Lucy King; she died on the 26th of July 1871 leaving three sons.
Garlick designed many churches and banks in townships north of Adelaide and in 1864 was described as an architect and land and estate agent with offices in Adelaide. Among the buildings which he designed in and around Adelaide in the 1860s and 1870s are the original buildings of Prince Alfred College, St Barnabas College, part of the Collegiate School of St Peter where the original buildings had been designed by others, and the south wing of Adelaide Town Hall. The colleges are in the fashionable neo-Gothic of the time but elsewhere his designs reveal an ability to turn to other styles then current. As the practice expanded, Herbert Louis Jackman, who had served his apprenticeship with Garlick, was his partner until 1899. In 1891 Daniel's son Arthur (b 1863) joined the firm, 'the business to be carried on at the present offices of H. L. Jackman in Argent Street, Broken Hill'. When the South Australian Institute of Architects was established in 1886, Daniel was prominent among those who founded it. He was its second president, holding office in 1892 - 1900.
Garlick gave brief service in local government. He was chairman of the district council of Munno Para East in 1855 - 1860 and represented Robe ward in the Adelaide City Council in 1868 - 1870, but he was obliged to discontinue this work to devote all his time to his practice. He was a sidesman of Christchurch, North Adelaide, where he attended for many years. Garlick died aged 84 in North Adelaide on the 28th of September 1902. He was survived by his second wife Mary Rebecca (1832? - 1912), a widow whom he had married on the 29th of September 1877, and by a son and a daughter. He left an estate worth £1150.
A bust sculptured by Jackman is held by Jackman, Gooden, Scott & Swan, architects of Adelaide.
Daniel Garlick (1818 - 1902), architect, was baptised on the 22nd of January 1818 at Uley, Gloucestershire, England, son of Moses Garlick, plasterer and weaver, and his wife Rachel, née Smith. His father had seen active service at Vittoria, Salamanca, and Corunna in the Peninsular wars; after his wife died he decided to migrate to South Australia with his sons Daniel, Thomas, and William. They sailed in the Katherine Stewart Forbes and arrived in the new colony on the 17th of October 1837.
Daniel and his father ran a business as builders and timber merchants in Kermode Street, North Adelaide, until the early 1850s when a deterioration in Daniel's health led to a change. His father bought some 450 acres (182 ha) east of Smithfield, about fifteen miles (24 km) from Adelaide, and with his three sons grew wheat, planted a vineyard and made wine. After their father died about 1860, Thomas and William remained on the farm but Daniel began business as an architect in Gawler. About 1862 he married Lucy King; she died on the 26th of July 1871 leaving three sons.
Garlick designed many churches and banks in townships north of Adelaide and in 1864 was described as an architect and land and estate agent with offices in Adelaide. Among the buildings which he designed in and around Adelaide in the 1860s and 1870s are the original buildings of Prince Alfred College, St Barnabas College, part of the Collegiate School of St Peter where the original buildings had been designed by others, and the south wing of Adelaide Town Hall. The colleges are in the fashionable neo-Gothic of the time but elsewhere his designs reveal an ability to turn to other styles then current. As the practice expanded, Herbert Louis Jackman, who had served his apprenticeship with Garlick, was his partner until 1899. In 1891 Daniel's son Arthur (b 1863) joined the firm, 'the business to be carried on at the present offices of H. L. Jackman in Argent Street, Broken Hill'. When the South Australian Institute of Architects was established in 1886, Daniel was prominent among those who founded it. He was its second president, holding office in 1892 - 1900.
Garlick gave brief service in local government. He was chairman of the district council of Munno Para East in 1855 - 1860 and represented Robe ward in the Adelaide City Council in 1868 - 1870, but he was obliged to discontinue this work to devote all his time to his practice. He was a sidesman of Christchurch, North Adelaide, where he attended for many years. Garlick died aged 84 in North Adelaide on the 28th of September 1902. He was survived by his second wife Mary Rebecca (1832? - 1912), a widow whom he had married on the 29th of September 1877, and by a son and a daughter. He left an estate worth £1150.
A bust sculptured by Jackman is held by Jackman, Gooden, Scott & Swan, architects of Adelaide.
Terowie:
The town of Terowie was established in the early 1870s as a service centre for northbound traffic. Terowie owes its birth to one man, John Aver Mitchell; and its subsequent growth and success to its position on a major South Australian transport route, and later, to its important position within the South Australian rail network. John Aver Mitchell (1833 - 1879) is widely acknowledged to be the founder of Terowie. He and his family arrived in South Australia in 1847, and settled in the Marrabel area. Mitchell turned his hand to many things and lived in many places, including Kapunda and Hallett, before establishing himself in the Terowie area.
In 1872, Mitchell selected Section 158 from the recently proclaimed Hundred of Terowie. This land had previously been part of McCulloch's Gottlieb's Well sheep run, the lease of which had been resumed by the Government and opened for credit selection. Mitchell planted wheat on his land, but soon turned to other ideas for a livelihood. The growing amount of northward traffic passing through his section required services, and he is believed to have established an underground store or possible sly-grog shop at the side of the track as early as 1872.
He soon built two substantial stone buildings close to one another, the Hotel which was licensed on the 7th of May 1874; and a chapel which probably served a variety of functions including as a general meeting place. The hotel and chapel are considered to be Terowie's earliest buildings, but it was not long before a smithy and store were also constructed near the hotel. To ensure the growth and success of his infant town, Mitchell donated land and money for a school and a Methodist Chapel, both of which were erected in 1877.
The fact that the young town of Terowie offered much needed services to the northward traffic, as well as to the growing number of local settlers, secured its future prosperity. By the end of the 1870s over 500 people had settled in the town. Subsequent fluctuations in population had two main causes: the times of depression which affected local production, state-wide production and hence local services; and the rise and fall of railway operations, which reached high points in the 1880s (with the Silverton/Broken Hill Traffic), the 1940s (Military manoeuvres) and the 1950s (Leigh Creek Coal). The 1970 bypassing of the Terowie break-of-gauge sounded the death knell for the town's prosperity.
This history, of massive boom and prosperity in the 1880s, but then a subsequent dip in popularity followed by later peaks of a similar height has, to a large extent, dictated the face of Terowie today. Almost all of the buildings in the core of the town were constructed before the turn of the century. Lack of a steadily rising population led to there being no necessity for new buildings to be built after the 1880s, as the old ones were built during a wave of optimism, and then rarely outgrown.
Therefore, within the core of the town, very few twentieth century buildings have been built, and few modern alterations and additions have been required. Terowie survives as a fascinating nineteenth century commercial and residential time capsule. However, it is also a living town, with a small number of interested residents trying to retain their unique heritage.
Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography & Monument Australia & Department for Environment & Heritage, District Councils of Mount Remarkable, Orroroo/Carrieton & Peterborough, Regional Council of Goyder, Northern Areas Council, and Port Pirie Regional Council "HERITAGE OF THE UPPER NORTH - Volume 2 - Regional Council of Goyder "
Nekite River - Great Bear Rainforest | BC, Canada
A message to my few faithful Flickr followers
Over the past few days I’ve been posting photos of the main bit-part players from this trip, as I’ve been concentrating on the star of the show and prime purpose of going to BC, which was the bears - Grizzly (brown), American Black, and the rare Kermode (subspecies) more commonly known as the ‘Spirit Bear’. The sorting, culling and developing has been challenging, particularly when so many shots were taken at ISO6400, but the time taken has been worth it as I now have the portfolio of images I wanted. Ideally the ‘quality’ of some of the shots could be better, but it’s the subject and setting that’s important - high ISO’s are a necessity when you’re shooting in poor light and, not surprisingly, when you’re in the rainforest you have lots of tree cover and dull wet days!
Hopefully I will be uploading a number of images to my website in due course. I say hopefully, simply because at the moment www.tickspics is undergoing some enforced background adjustments to make it ‘mobile friendly’, which has destroyed the layout and functionality! I’ll resist further comment other than to say the task of getting it back to how it looks today appears daunting so it could be a while until I’m in a position to add new content. In the meantime, I’ll probably post more photos to Flickr than I would normally have done!
However, there will now be a lull in proceedings as I’ll be off Flickr for a few days, but when I’m back normal service will be resumed, including getting back to commenting!
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite Grizzly shots from the trip. I suppose it could be regarded as the iconic photo as the bear charges through the shallows in pursuit of a salmon. We’ve all seen these shots but, unless you’re on the beach in Alaska, getting one is far from easy! It was one of the photos I really wanted, but thought I’d missed out on as the conditions weren’t conducive, primarily because it was a poor salmon run and there were not that many fresh fish in the river for the bears to chase. Most of the time the bears were taking dead or discarded remains, so any photos of them with a live salmon were few and far between. But right at the end of our final session on this river a bear started charging through the water towards me - fortunately I was in the right place at the right time, the bear was at distance and kept coming, the mid-morning light was as good as it gets, and I had just put the long lens on the faster D500 body. I took the longest burst of shots I think I’ve ever taken - just short of a hundred and, incredibly, to my surprise all but three were sharp. Happy days!
90% of the Kermode bears are black in color but may be carrying a recessive gene that can produce a white "Spirit" bear offspring when mating with another bear with the MC1R gene.
Two cubs going to the same owner named in memory of her late sister and brother. They are both black bear cubs. Black bears come in more colors than any other North American animal. The white is a Kermode, and the other a cinnamon colored cub. In the wild they could have both been born to a black mother.
ADELAIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
ANGAS BUILDINGS
There was a large assemblage of ladies and gentlemen to witness the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the Angas buildings in connection with the Adelaide Children's Hospital on Friday, April 29. As is well known, the Hon J H Angas is responsible for the erection of the additions, and the speeches which were delivered were full of eulogistic references to his generosity and keen interest in respect to philanthropic work.
The spirited strains of the Police Band and the floating flags which were suspended across Kermode Street attracted a large crowd of spectators, who evinced the greatest interest in the proceedings.
Comfortable seating accommodation was provided for the invited guests. His Excellency the Governor, with Captain Milner, drove up at about half-past 3 o'clock, and he was received by the President (the Chief Justice). Among those present were Sir John Colton, the Hons Dr Campbell MLC, J H Angas MLC, A R Addison MLC, His Worship the Mayor (Mr C Willcox), Dean Marryat, Revs W S Milne and J Lyall, Drs Lendon, Swift, Hayward, and Powell, Messrs J H Finlayson, C S Leader, L P Lawrence, Lyons, M Salom, W Isbister, A Wells (architect of the building), and W Howchin (Secretary). The Matron (Miss Hill) and the nurses were accommodated with special seats.
The building, which will be two stories in height, is designed to harmonize with the main building. The main entrance will be approached by a wide flight of marble steps, with encaustic tiled risers, 21 ft in width, diminishing to a landing 13 ft in width, and will open into a tiled vestibule 13 ft in width, giving access on the left to a consulting room, and on the right to the Secretary's office, and through a handsome pair of polished cedar folding doors, glazed with lead lights, to the staircase hall. They will be lighted through a well hole, skirted by a gallery on the first floor, by a lantern light glazed with lead lights. To the right of the staircase hall is placed the staircase rising behind three arches, which feature is repeated on the first floor. Off the staircase hall and through a lobby will be placed the House Surgeon's sitting-room (occupying the south-western corner of the front) and bedroom, with bathroom, &c, opening off the same.
A passage to the rear, off the staircase hall, will be approached by a flight of slate steps, which will be continued as a landing, supported on arches, giving access to two nurses' bedrooms, off which are situated their bathroom, &c.
The Outdoor Dispensary Department, which will be placed on the north aide of the building, will be approached on the north side by a slope leading to the porch of the waiting-room. The waitingroom, having separate boys' and girls' lavatory accommodation, will be connected with two consulting rooms, having dressingroom and emergency ward, all being fitted up with lavatory accommodation. The dispensary will be in conjunction with the above, and connected with the staircase hall.
The above accommodation is placed on the ground floor, which is raised 3 ft above the level of the street footpath, and owing to the sudden fall of the site to the rear gives a height under the floor at the south-eastern corner of over 10 ft.
The accommodation thus provided is to be utilized as a dairy, &c.
The first floor, which is approached by means of the staircase from the ground floor landing on a gallery skirting the hall on four sides, gives accommodation as follows: Operating theatre with tiled floor: lavatory accommodation is lighted by a lantern in the roof and three windows at the side, and opening off same is the surgeon's and instrument room and special ward. The medical ward will be situated on the southwestern corner with light on three sides, having accommodation for ten beds, with a nurses' room adjoining, having access to a balcony in front over tbe vestibule on ground floor. The medical ward is approached from a balcony in the rear through a lobby, and a passage leads to the ward, kitchen, bathroom, and lobby. It will have accommodation for fourteen beds situated on the north-western corner of the building, and will be provided with a nurses' room similar in every respect to the medical ward. A balcony to the rear seven feet wide, whioh gives access to the wards, will be connected with the main building by an overway.
The building will be constructed with Glen Osmond slate stone to the underside of the plinth course in squared random courses. The walling over will be finished in Mitcham freestone in random courses, squared and punched on face, the dressings being executed by Mr E Atkinson under contract in South Australian Portland cement and sand pressed into blocks, boasted on face, the internal walls being built with Metropolitan bricks. The walls throughout internally are finished in polished King's Windsor cement, rendering a surface impervious to all infection, the rooms on tbe first floor being devoid of all woodwork that is not absolutely necessary, all skirtings and architraves being dispensed with.
Tobin's system of ventilation has been adopted for the introduction of fresh air, with exhausts in the ceiling to carry off the vitiated air, and the sanitary work throughout has been carried out on tbe latest sanitary principles, all sanitary accommodation being isolated by means of cross passages, &o.
The building, which is to be finished in September, 1893, is being carried out by Mr William Rogers, contractor, with Mr G S Martin as Clerk of Works, under the superintendence of Messrs Withall & Wells.
Ref: Adelaide Observer (SA) Saturday 6 May 1893.
Temporarily Closed due to coronavirus pandemic
The Cameo is an Edinburgh cinema which started life as the King's Cinema on 8 January 1914 and is one of the oldest cinemas in Scotland still in use. Since becoming the Cameo in 1949, it has had a tradition of showing art house films. From 1949 onward it has been an important venue for the Edinburgh International Film Festival. It is at Tollcross, and since 1992 has been a three-screen cinema. The Cameo was an independent cinema until 2012, when it was bought by the Picturehouse chain, owned by Cineworld.
History
Behind a modern shopfront, much of the cinema's original architectural character remains. The entrance lobby has a terrazzo floor and one of the original pair of ticket kiosks. An inner foyer leads to the main cinema built within the 'back green' or 'back court' (courtyard) of a tenement block. Cinemas were once built like this elsewhere in Scotland, the biggest being the Rosevale in Partick, but the Cameo is the only one still operating.
The original screen was mirrored, the first mirrored screen in Scotland, and there were 673 seats in an auditorium showing silent films with orchestral accompaniment, supplied at one time by Madam Egger's Ladies' Costume Orchestra. In 1930 the cinema was fitted for sound and could start showing talkies. The space has been left largely unchanged structurally, but the audience now have better sightlines and more comfort with fewer than half the original number of seats. There is an abundance of ornamental plasterwork: columns, cornices, decorative mouldings on walls and ceilings.
The cinema, and the full tenement it is part of, was awarded Category B listed status by Historic Scotland in 2006.
Jim Poole
In 1949 the cinema was renamed the Cameo by the new owner, Jim Poole (1911–1998), a member of the Poole family who were known for their touring Myriorama shows and who ran cinemas in Scotland and England. He had been in charge of two of the family's cinemas in Aberdeen before the Second World War, and after a posting as army entertainments officer in the Middle East, wanted to open a venue in Edinburgh where he could show foreign films.
The Cameo included art house and 'continental' films in its repertoire and started its association with the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1949, when it presented a 'Continental Film Festival', including a screen version of Sartre's Les jeux sont faits, alongside the documentaries being shown by the Edinburgh Film Guild. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) and Annie Hall (1977) were among Poole's successes in attracting good audiences for films not being shown by the big chains.
Poole had begun by rescuing a decaying building with a leaky roof. Later he was able to take over an adjacent shop which, in December 1963, became the first licensed (to sell alcoholic drinks) cinema bar in the city, despite neighbours' objections. When Poole retired in 1982 the Cameo stayed shut until 1986.
After 1986
Once the Edinburgh Filmhouse had opened in 1979 a few hundred yards away, the Cameo was no longer the only public cinema in Edinburgh showing alternative and foreign-language films. After a new owner took possession in 1986 more neighbouring shops were acquired to create space for second and third screens which opened in the early 1990s. A 2005 renovation plan proposing to change the original auditorium into a bar-restaurant was withdrawn after a well-supported 'Save the Cameo' campaign influenced council decision-making. In September 2006 Historic Scotland upgraded the conservation status of the cinema to a B listing, thus protecting the interior from future alteration. The Cinema Theatre Association had campaigned for this after the owners, Picturehouse, put the Cameo up for sale. They have now taken it off the market, drawn up new refurbishment plans, and invited contributions from sponsors.
The first film shown at the Cameo, in March 1949, was La symphonie pastorale, a rare surviving print of which was shown again at the cinema in March 2009 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the building re-opening as the Cameo.
The Cinema was named as one of the 10 best Independent Cinemas in the Guardian in January 2010.
Famous visitors
Lillian Gish, Orson Welles, Melina Mercouri and Cary Grant all visited the cinema in one Festival season or another. Sean Connery, who was born nearby, opened the bar in 1963. More recently Quentin Tarantino was there when Pulp Fiction opened in 1994 and Irvine Welsh was at the Cameo for the World première of Trainspotting in February 1996.
Other famous visitors throughout the years include Danny Boyle, Richard E. Grant, Fred Zinnemann, Robert Carlyle, Michèle Morgan, Peter Mullan, Christine Lahti, Mark Kermode, Claire Denis, Rutger Hauer, Liam Gallagher, Patsy Kensit, Ewan McGregor, Tim Roth, Guy Ritchie, Ken Loach, Bruce Campbell, Billy Bragg, Park Chan-wook, Ray Winstone, Robyn Hitchcock, Neil Jordan, Roy Keane, Charlize Theron, Duncan Jones, Michael Redgrave, Jim Dale, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Cusack, Tommy Wiseau and Danny Dyer.
In popular culture
The cinema appears in Sylvain Chomet's film The Illusionist. While hiding from the young couple, the main character, Tatischeff, accidentally enters the cinema, where Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle is playing. This is an in-joke as Tatischeff is largely based on Tati, the film itself having been adapted from a script of his.[6] Other films with scenes filmed inside the Cameo include Helena Bonham Carter's Woman Talking Dirty and Richard Jobson's A Woman in Winter. [Wikipedia]
Clover is a Kermode bear (also known as a spirit bear) housed at the BC Wildlife Park.
Kermode bears are a subspecies of the black bear and about 1 in 10 of them exhibits this white fur color (it's due to a double recessive gene). It is thought that about 400 live in the wild and Clover is the only one in captivity. It is the official animal of British Columbia, Canada.
According to the page about him on the BC Wildlife Park website, Clover was orphaned and started to seek human company, and multiple attempts to rehabilitate him failed. I also recall reading that he's quite the escape artist and has escaped the enclosure before.
He's been visible at his new enclosure for about a week or so. Seems like the best time to see him is early morning when it's not too hot, as when I went he spent most of the day laying with his belly up behind a tree :)
Scientific name: Ursus americanus kermodei
Taken at the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Their website is at www.bczoo.org
I took this shot after he was completely shed out in the fall. He was bedded down in a small meadow right at the tree line. He was always very easy to work with. Never aggressive. He loved to play with other bears. One evening while I was photographing him, he couldn't find anyone to wrestle with. Since, I was the only living thing around besides him, he came bounding towards me. I remember yelling No, No, No, and waving my free hand to distract him. I am not sure how that would have ended if he would have tackled me. He veered off at the last second and headed down to the stream for a swim.
N722FR A321-211
Xavier the Mountain Goat
N229FR A320-214
Peachy the Fox
N366FR A320-251N
Kit the Kermode Bear
Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) | Official Red Band Trailer | Utopia
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OYQNAk_krQ
During the 1960s and 70s some of the most innovative photography was appearing on vinyl album covers. Much of it was the responsibility of two men: Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell. They met at Cambridge and took a liking to each other’s creativity immediately. They were friends of David Gilmour and Roger Waters and this led to a longstanding relationship with Pink Floyd. Floyd fans all know the sad story of Syd Barrett (an early member of the band whose mind was destroyed by LSD). Rumour has it that one day Syd paid a visit and scrawled the word “hipgnosis” on the wall.
Powell and Thorgerson had just started a business partnership in creative design and were looking for a name: Hipgnosis was just perfect. Hip for “cool”, gnosis for “knowledge”. Po Powell was the photographer and Storm the design genius. For more than a decade their partnership produced some of the most memorable images of the times for some of the greatest rock musicians: Floyd of course, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, 10CC and even the Sex Pistols.
In this day of Photoshopping with generative AI we don’t realise how good these design artists had to be. Everything was pieced together manually (think of those brilliant Terry Gilliam cartoons that featured in every episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus – no CGI for 40 years – thank God). The advent of the CD marked the death knell for creative album covers and then with streaming the game was over completely.
The brilliant music educator and historian Rick Beato says that today very few people can name all the members of even the most popular bands because they do not have liner notes to read. But in the days of vinyl album covers you would not only know all the band, but the session musicians who played on the albums and a whole lot more. Albums were often themed and the artwork was built around that.
What are some of the most memorable album covers in modern music history? If I say Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon almost all of you will picture it instantly. How about the burning man on Wish You Were Here (the tribute to Syd Barrett)? Was there a more striking album cover than the children crawling up the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland on Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy? What about my personal favourite from Pink Floyd’s Animals of the old Battersea Power Station with a floating giant pink pig in the air? Or Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run with its group of celebrities as escaped criminals? All of these were created by Hipgnosis, and many many more.
So this full length documentary film by Dutchman Anton Corbijn is a glorious romp down memory lane, reminding us older folks of our youth, but bringing to the fore the creative work that has so easily been overlooked in this day when humans are progressively ceding their creative instincts to the machine. Yes, just another “brick in the wall” that we are building between ourselves and the true human soul.
If you want inspiration for your photography or artistic design, watch this film!
Mark Kermode reviews Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)
title: The BC Spirit Bear
artist: Mandy Boursicot
sponsor: Province of BC
location: Inner Harbour Upper Causeway (Belleville St at Government St)
trail map #: 20
visit order: 14
visit time: 3:44p
provenance:
"BC Spirit Bear" is the Kermode Bear of BC, with capital letters. He is a bear without a doubt. Painted to represent a pure Kermode, he looks like he has real fur, real claws and all the typical markings of a real Kermode Bear. BC Spirit Bear has distinct chevrons of golden brown on his chest and on his back, while a major part of his fur is a light blonde. If you were fortunate enough to meet a real Kermode in the wild, this is what he would look like. And BC Spirit Bear is now the new official mascot of British Columbia.
A large and beautiful sandstone church, St George's Battery Point is one of the earliest Anglican churches in Tasmania. The story of St George's begins in 1834 when the city of Hobart was just 30 years old. That year a petition was presented to the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land that a Church should be built for the residents of Queenborough. The site chosen was the highest point of Battery Point, then known as Kermode's Hill. The Trustees paid Mr Kermode, who owned most of the land in the area, £250 for the site. The building of St George's began in 1836 and services commenced 26 May 1838. The church was consecrated on 26 May 1838 by the Rt. Rev. W. G. Broughton, the first and only Bishop of Australia, assisted by the Ven. Archdeacon W. Hutchins, Archdeacon of Van Diemen’s Land, and the Rev. W. Bedford of St. David's
St George's was designed in the Neo-Classical style then current in London. The Government architect, John Lee Archer, designed the body of the building; the tower and porch were designed by convict architect, James Blackburn. The church has an unusual layout, with two side aisles instead of a single central aisle. It still has its original cedar box pews.
Having completed the initial work, it was decided in 1841 to proceed with the tower. The Government was asked for assistance, and agreed to grant convict labour, stone and timber, on the basis that the subscribers were to supply cartage, lime, lead and other materials. Work began on building the tower, but it was soon found that the tower basement, which had been put in at the time of the original building, was badly built and insufficient to bear the weight of the tower. It was found necessary to remove this basement, as well as the vestibule and the two vestries on either side of it. For various reasons, one of which was the inability to supply suitably skilled convict labour, the work was frequently interrupted and left for long periods. By 1847 the tower was finally completed, but the porch and the rooms at the basement of the tower were left unfinished. For five years “the Church was more or less exposed to the weather and great inconveniences were occasioned to the congregation” Erected to serve as a mark for shipping, the tower of St George’s has been a landmark for sailors ever since 1847. Back in the nineteenth century when St George’s was built, Battery Point was home to master mariners, shipwrights, seamen, fishermen, shipping agents and many others who worked in the shipbuilders' yards and on the wharves. These connections earned St George's the name of "The Mariners' Church".
In October 1862 Mr Hore had a tender of £462 accepted for finishing “two wings of the Church”. These are quite substantial side buildings in a style similar to that of the Church. Though the Tower was built very soon after the main auditorium, St George’s porch was not added until 1888. The stone for its fine fluted Grecian columns was quarried at Bellerive.
In 1873 land adjacent to the church was bought for a parsonage at a cost of £163, the money being raised from rent of the School Room, subscriptions and surplus of Parish Funds. It was not until May 1895 that a decision was taken to build the Parsonage, to contain 3 living rooms, a study, 4 bedrooms, a kitchen, servant's room and usual offices. A tender of £735 was accepted, and the building was finished in September 1896.
One of the reasons for the long delay was that the Rector, Canon Banks Smith, lived in his own house opposite the church (now 27 Cromwell Street). As he did not wish to move into the newly completed Rectory, the house was let.
In January 1906 it was decided to build a new Sunday School on land recently bought adjoining the old Sunday School. This very substantial building was erected in 1914. In November 1918 the church records note that the new Sunday School was not sufficient to contain all the scholars and the old Sunday School was having to be used.
But despite its history and architecture St George's is no museum - although it has one! It is home to a living, worshipping congregation who are always ready to welcome newcomers, whether as visitors or as new members.
Source: Church website
The Rainforest Coast of British Columbia encompasses the largest remaining intact temperate rainforest in the world. While it is often the beauty of BC’s coastal rainforests which enthral visitors from throughout the world, it is the productiveness of these forests that intrigue scientists. BC’s coastal rainforests feature the highest biomass (the total amount or mass of organisms in a given area) per hectare of any ecosystem on earth. Trees here can often live more than 1,000 years, reaching hundreds of feet into the air, with diameters exceeding 9.4m.
Coastal rainforests provide critical habitat for incredibly varied populations of animals. Well-known species include grizzly bears, eagles, and the rare Kermode or Spirit bear, an unusual snow-white variation of the black bear.
The coastal rainforests are among the rarest and most productive ecosystems on the planet; they are also disappearing before we know almost anything about them. It’s as if we are burning the library before we have read the books. Only in the last 10 years have scientists begun to learn about the fragile system of interrelationships that makes up the beautiful web of life in these “green cathedrals”. In the meantime salmon, which our fisheries as well as a multitude of other animals depend upon, are disappearing forever along with many other species that can live only in coastal rainforests.
The temperate rainforest is very rare, originally covering less than 0.2% of the earth's land surface. Now, over one half of that limited original temperate rainforest has been logged and altered; of that which remains worldwide, over one quarter is found on BC's coast.
Recently environmental organizations have been able to turn the spotlight of international concern to BC’s rainforests. Efforts to protect such ‘Great Spaces’ as the Kitlope and Great Bear Wilderness, have become internationally known as have the Queen Charlotte Islands’ Gwaii Haanas, and the Walbran Valley.
But time is running out. So far only 5.8% of BC’s ancient rainforests have been protected and much of the rest has been scheduled to be clearcut in the next decade.
(From Great Wild Spaces.)
This forest along Chapman Creek was logged (by hand) about a century ago. You can still see notched stumps scattered through the forest, with new trees sprouting from their tops.
I didn’t realize it when I was taking this panorama, but there was a black bear at the top of the slope! I took the shots for this panorama and one more, rushing a bit because I wanted to finish before other hikers arrived in the picture, but the noises I had heard turned out to be a bear. Fortunately it ignored me as I grabbed my tripod and backed quietly away.
This High Dynamic Range 360° panorama was stitched from 76 bracketed photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, processed in Color Efex, and finally touched up in Aperture. (It’s not really as complicated as it sounds, just a matter of using one tool for each job.)
Original size: 20000 × 10000 (200.0 MP; 1.07 GB)
Location: Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada.
Temporarily Closed due to coronavirus pandemic
The Cameo is an Edinburgh cinema which started life as the King's Cinema on 8 January 1914 and is one of the oldest cinemas in Scotland still in use. Since becoming the Cameo in 1949, it has had a tradition of showing art house films. From 1949 onward it has been an important venue for the Edinburgh International Film Festival. It is at Tollcross, and since 1992 has been a three-screen cinema. The Cameo was an independent cinema until 2012, when it was bought by the Picturehouse chain, owned by Cineworld.
History
Behind a modern shopfront, much of the cinema's original architectural character remains. The entrance lobby has a terrazzo floor and one of the original pair of ticket kiosks. An inner foyer leads to the main cinema built within the 'back green' or 'back court' (courtyard) of a tenement block. Cinemas were once built like this elsewhere in Scotland, the biggest being the Rosevale in Partick, but the Cameo is the only one still operating.
The original screen was mirrored, the first mirrored screen in Scotland, and there were 673 seats in an auditorium showing silent films with orchestral accompaniment, supplied at one time by Madam Egger's Ladies' Costume Orchestra. In 1930 the cinema was fitted for sound and could start showing talkies. The space has been left largely unchanged structurally, but the audience now have better sightlines and more comfort with fewer than half the original number of seats. There is an abundance of ornamental plasterwork: columns, cornices, decorative mouldings on walls and ceilings.
The cinema, and the full tenement it is part of, was awarded Category B listed status by Historic Scotland in 2006.
Jim Poole
In 1949 the cinema was renamed the Cameo by the new owner, Jim Poole (1911–1998), a member of the Poole family who were known for their touring Myriorama shows and who ran cinemas in Scotland and England. He had been in charge of two of the family's cinemas in Aberdeen before the Second World War, and after a posting as army entertainments officer in the Middle East, wanted to open a venue in Edinburgh where he could show foreign films.
The Cameo included art house and 'continental' films in its repertoire and started its association with the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1949, when it presented a 'Continental Film Festival', including a screen version of Sartre's Les jeux sont faits, alongside the documentaries being shown by the Edinburgh Film Guild. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) and Annie Hall (1977) were among Poole's successes in attracting good audiences for films not being shown by the big chains.
Poole had begun by rescuing a decaying building with a leaky roof. Later he was able to take over an adjacent shop which, in December 1963, became the first licensed (to sell alcoholic drinks) cinema bar in the city, despite neighbours' objections. When Poole retired in 1982 the Cameo stayed shut until 1986.
After 1986
Once the Edinburgh Filmhouse had opened in 1979 a few hundred yards away, the Cameo was no longer the only public cinema in Edinburgh showing alternative and foreign-language films. After a new owner took possession in 1986 more neighbouring shops were acquired to create space for second and third screens which opened in the early 1990s. A 2005 renovation plan proposing to change the original auditorium into a bar-restaurant was withdrawn after a well-supported 'Save the Cameo' campaign influenced council decision-making. In September 2006 Historic Scotland upgraded the conservation status of the cinema to a B listing, thus protecting the interior from future alteration. The Cinema Theatre Association had campaigned for this after the owners, Picturehouse, put the Cameo up for sale. They have now taken it off the market, drawn up new refurbishment plans, and invited contributions from sponsors.
The first film shown at the Cameo, in March 1949, was La symphonie pastorale, a rare surviving print of which was shown again at the cinema in March 2009 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the building re-opening as the Cameo.
The Cinema was named as one of the 10 best Independent Cinemas in the Guardian in January 2010.
Famous visitors
Lillian Gish, Orson Welles, Melina Mercouri and Cary Grant all visited the cinema in one Festival season or another. Sean Connery, who was born nearby, opened the bar in 1963. More recently Quentin Tarantino was there when Pulp Fiction opened in 1994 and Irvine Welsh was at the Cameo for the World première of Trainspotting in February 1996.
Other famous visitors throughout the years include Danny Boyle, Richard E. Grant, Fred Zinnemann, Robert Carlyle, Michèle Morgan, Peter Mullan, Christine Lahti, Mark Kermode, Claire Denis, Rutger Hauer, Liam Gallagher, Patsy Kensit, Ewan McGregor, Tim Roth, Guy Ritchie, Ken Loach, Bruce Campbell, Billy Bragg, Park Chan-wook, Ray Winstone, Robyn Hitchcock, Neil Jordan, Roy Keane, Charlize Theron, Duncan Jones, Michael Redgrave, Jim Dale, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Cusack, Tommy Wiseau and Danny Dyer.
In popular culture
The cinema appears in Sylvain Chomet's film The Illusionist. While hiding from the young couple, the main character, Tatischeff, accidentally enters the cinema, where Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle is playing. This is an in-joke as Tatischeff is largely based on Tati, the film itself having been adapted from a script of his.[6] Other films with scenes filmed inside the Cameo include Helena Bonham Carter's Woman Talking Dirty and Richard Jobson's A Woman in Winter. [Wikipedia]
The Rainforest Coast of British Columbia encompasses the largest remaining intact temperate rainforest in the world. While it is often the beauty of BC’s coastal rainforests which enthral visitors from throughout the world, it is the productiveness of these forests that intrigue scientists. BC’s coastal rainforests feature the highest biomass (the total amount or mass of organisms in a given area) per hectare of any ecosystem on earth. Trees here can often live more than 1,000 years, reaching hundreds of feet into the air, with diameters exceeding 9.4m.
Coastal rainforests provide critical habitat for incredibly varied populations of animals. Well-known species include grizzly bears, eagles, and the rare Kermode or Spirit bear, an unusual snow-white variation of the black bear.
The coastal rainforests are among the rarest and most productive ecosystems on the planet; they are also disappearing before we know almost anything about them. It’s as if we are burning the library before we have read the books. Only in the last 10 years have scientists begun to learn about the fragile system of interrelationships that makes up the beautiful web of life in these “green cathedrals”. In the meantime salmon, which our fisheries as well as a multitude of other animals depend upon, are disappearing forever along with many other species that can live only in coastal rainforests.
The temperate rainforest is very rare, originally covering less than 0.2% of the earth's land surface. Now, over one half of that limited original temperate rainforest has been logged and altered; of that which remains worldwide, over one quarter is found on BC's coast.
Recently environmental organizations have been able to turn the spotlight of international concern to BC’s rainforests. Efforts to protect such ‘Great Spaces’ as the Kitlope and Great Bear Wilderness, have become internationally known as have the Queen Charlotte Islands’ Gwaii Haanas, and the Walbran Valley.
But time is running out. So far only 5.8% of BC’s ancient rainforests have been protected and much of the rest has been scheduled to be clearcut in the next decade.
(From Great Wild Spaces.)
This forest along Chapman Creek was logged (by hand) about a century ago. You can still see notched stumps scattered through the forest, with new trees sprouting from their tops.
This High Dynamic Range 360° panorama was stitched from 72 bracketed photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, processed in Color Efex, and finally touched up in Aperture. (It’s not really as complicated as it sounds, just a matter of using on tool for each job.)
Original size: 20000 × 10000 (200.0 MP; 1.07 GB)
Location: Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada.
Daniel Garlick (1818 - 1902), architect, was baptised on the 22nd of January 1818 at Uley, Gloucestershire, England, son of Moses Garlick, plasterer and weaver, and his wife Rachel, née Smith. His father had seen active service at Vittoria, Salamanca, and Corunna in the Peninsular wars; after his wife died he decided to migrate to South Australia with his sons Daniel, Thomas, and William. They sailed in the Katherine Stewart Forbes and arrived in the new colony on the 17th of October 1837.
Daniel and his father ran a business as builders and timber merchants in Kermode Street, North Adelaide, until the early 1850s when a deterioration in Daniel's health led to a change. His father bought some 450 acres (182 ha) east of Smithfield, about fifteen miles (24 km) from Adelaide, and with his three sons grew wheat, planted a vineyard and made wine. After their father died about 1860, Thomas and William remained on the farm but Daniel began business as an architect in Gawler. About 1862 he married Lucy King; she died on the 26th of July 1871 leaving three sons.
Garlick designed many churches and banks in townships north of Adelaide and in 1864 was described as an architect and land and estate agent with offices in Adelaide. Among the buildings which he designed in and around Adelaide in the 1860s and 1870s are the original buildings of Prince Alfred College, St Barnabas College, part of the Collegiate School of St Peter where the original buildings had been designed by others, and the south wing of Adelaide Town Hall. The colleges are in the fashionable neo-Gothic of the time but elsewhere his designs reveal an ability to turn to other styles then current. As the practice expanded, Herbert Louis Jackman, who had served his apprenticeship with Garlick, was his partner until 1899. In 1891 Daniel's son Arthur (b 1863) joined the firm, 'the business to be carried on at the present offices of H. L. Jackman in Argent Street, Broken Hill'. When the South Australian Institute of Architects was established in 1886, Daniel was prominent among those who founded it. He was its second president, holding office in 1892 - 1900.
Garlick gave brief service in local government. He was chairman of the district council of Munno Para East in 1855 - 1860 and represented Robe ward in the Adelaide City Council in 1868 - 1870, but he was obliged to discontinue this work to devote all his time to his practice. He was a sidesman of Christchurch, North Adelaide, where he attended for many years. Garlick died aged 84 in North Adelaide on the 28th of September 1902. He was survived by his second wife Mary Rebecca (1832? - 1912), a widow whom he had married on the 29th of September 1877, and by a son and a daughter. He left an estate worth £1150.
A bust sculptured by Jackman is held by Jackman, Gooden, Scott & Swan, architects of Adelaide.
Terowie:
The town of Terowie was established in the early 1870s as a service centre for northbound traffic. Terowie owes its birth to one man, John Aver Mitchell; and its subsequent growth and success to its position on a major South Australian transport route, and later, to its important position within the South Australian rail network. John Aver Mitchell (1833 - 1879) is widely acknowledged to be the founder of Terowie. He and his family arrived in South Australia in 1847, and settled in the Marrabel area. Mitchell turned his hand to many things and lived in many places, including Kapunda and Hallett, before establishing himself in the Terowie area.
In 1872, Mitchell selected Section 158 from the recently proclaimed Hundred of Terowie. This land had previously been part of McCulloch's Gottlieb's Well sheep run, the lease of which had been resumed by the Government and opened for credit selection. Mitchell planted wheat on his land, but soon turned to other ideas for a livelihood. The growing amount of northward traffic passing through his section required services, and he is believed to have established an underground store or possible sly-grog shop at the side of the track as early as 1872.
He soon built two substantial stone buildings close to one another, the Hotel which was licensed on the 7th of May 1874; and a chapel which probably served a variety of functions including as a general meeting place. The hotel and chapel are considered to be Terowie's earliest buildings, but it was not long before a smithy and store were also constructed near the hotel. To ensure the growth and success of his infant town, Mitchell donated land and money for a school and a Methodist Chapel, both of which were erected in 1877.
The fact that the young town of Terowie offered much needed services to the northward traffic, as well as to the growing number of local settlers, secured its future prosperity. By the end of the 1870s over 500 people had settled in the town. Subsequent fluctuations in population had two main causes: the times of depression which affected local production, state-wide production and hence local services; and the rise and fall of railway operations, which reached high points in the 1880s (with the Silverton/Broken Hill Traffic), the 1940s (Military manoeuvres) and the 1950s (Leigh Creek Coal). The 1970 bypassing of the Terowie break-of-gauge sounded the death knell for the town's prosperity.
This history, of massive boom and prosperity in the 1880s, but then a subsequent dip in popularity followed by later peaks of a similar height has, to a large extent, dictated the face of Terowie today. Almost all of the buildings in the core of the town were constructed before the turn of the century. Lack of a steadily rising population led to there being no necessity for new buildings to be built after the 1880s, as the old ones were built during a wave of optimism, and then rarely outgrown.
Therefore, within the core of the town, very few twentieth century buildings have been built, and few modern alterations and additions have been required. Terowie survives as a fascinating nineteenth century commercial and residential time capsule. However, it is also a living town, with a small number of interested residents trying to retain their unique heritage.
Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography & Department for Environment & Heritage, District Councils of Mount Remarkable, Orroroo/Carrieton & Peterborough, Regional Council of Goyder, Northern Areas Council, and Port Pirie Regional Council "HERITAGE OF THE UPPER NORTH - Volume 2 - Regional Council of Goyder "
A round up of some visits from nearly a decade ago when I just posted general shots, to my surprise I took shots of details too, and didn't post them at the time.
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Monday 10th September 2012
I can now reveal that being on Holiday is officially better than being at work. It is a Monday morning, and we have bottled another batch of beer, and i have mopped the floor as we did manage to mess it up, slightly. The house now smells like a brewery, which would not be a bad thing only it was just eight in the morning, and it is a tad early for beer, even for me. In an exciting move, we are heading to Tesco in a while to get ingredients for out Christmas cakes.
Yes, cakes. One is never enough. A couple of years ago, we tried one in November and had to bake another one to replace it. We don't marzipan or ice them, and just leave them with their cakey goodness and Christmas spiciness.
Friday seemed to go on forever until it got to five to four and it was time to head home. The technicians had come ashore early and gone home, so I had the office to myself, therefore my hearty laughing at the Kermode and Mayo film review went unheard except by me.
So, off to Tesco for a week's shopping, and ended up getting enough stuff to last the weekend. And once that was done and paid for, loaded up the car and back home and now the holiday could really begin.
And Friday night was spent watching football. Yes, now the Olympics and Paralympics are coming to an end, it means we must return, ashamed like a unfaithful lover to the old dependable. And England began their World Cup qualifying campaign with an away game against Moldova. I did have to ask Jools to Google Moldova to find where it was, as I really didn't have a clue.
Anyway, it is behind the fridge just to the lest of Romania, apparently.
And England strung together at least 5 passes, played well, and scored 5 goals; and yet managed to look unconvincing switching off several times, just before half time and in the second half and could have easily conceded goals. Just to remind you, by some quirk, England are currently ranked the third best team IN THE WORLD, which I suppose goes to show just how much you should trust information coming out of FIFA towers.
Saturday morning after breakfast we headed to Mongeham for some foraging action, so we can make jam and jellies. We knew of a footpath behind a garage that is just lined with plum and greengage trees. We picked a couple of pounds and then headed on up the A20 and M20 to head to The Weald for a tour of 'interesting' churches.
Each year English Heritage organises a long weekend where many buildings are open for people like us to visit and photograph. Last spring we visited St Lawrence at Mereworth; and while is it a wonderfully beautiful church, the doors were locked and we wanted to see inside.
First of all we headed inside the M25 to a tiny, but beautiful village on the edge of the Weald where stockbrokers and hedge fund managers have their homes with fine views onto the Garden of england. All along the main road huge gates with security cameras guarded the mock-Tudor mansions hidden behind mature trees.
We turned off down a narrow lane and headed towards to small village of Trottiscliffe; which is not pronounced the way it is spelt so to make the unwary visitor appear stupid. It is pronounced 'Trozli', if Wiki is to be believed.
At the end of a long dead end road leading to a row of cottages and an old stable block is the church. I don't think i have ever seen a church in a more perfect location, it is one of those places that you have to be going as you'll never just pass it.
There was a churchwarden waiting at the door and happy to answer questions and tell us the history of the church. Dominating the tiny church is, what I now know to be from Westminister Abbey is the biggest pulpit I have seen outside a er, cathedral.
We take our leave and head to Mereworth.
We were the only visitors at the church, we parked the car on the verge outside, took in the glorious design of the church before going in. First thing you do see is a pair of spiral staircases; one to the gallery and the other to the bell tower. And straight ahead is a simple wooden door leading to the main body of the church.
I won't try to describe the church, please use the link on the pictures to go to my Flickrstream. The design is glorious, and looking pristine as it has just been restored to its former glory. Or original glory.
Once again there was a churchwarden to greet us, offer us refreshments and answer any questions.
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One of the few eighteenth-century churches in Kent, built in 1746 by the 7th Earl of Westmoreland. Surprisingly for so late a date the name of the architect is not known although it is in the style of Colen Campbell who designed the nearby castle, but as he died in 1722 it is probably by someone in his office. The main feature of the church is a tall stone steeple with four urns at the top of the tower, whilst the body of the church is a plain rectangular box consisting of an aisled nave and chancel. Inside is an excellent display of eighteenth-century interior decoration - especially fine being the curved ceiling which is painted with trompe l'oeil panels. At the west end is the galleried pew belonging to the owners of Mereworth Castle - it has organ pipes painted on its rear wall. The south-west chapel contains memorials brought here from the old church which stood near the castle, including one to a fifteenth-century Lord Bergavenny, and Sir Thomas Fane (d. 1589). The latter monument has a superb top-knot! The church contains much heraldic stained glass of sixteenth-century date, best seen with binoculars early in the morning. Of Victorian date is the excellent Raising of Lazarus window, installed in 1889 by the firm of Heaton, Butler and Bayne. In the churchyard is the grave of Charles Lucas, the first man to be awarded the Victoria Cross, while serving on the Hecla during the Crimean War.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Mereworth
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MEREWORTH.
EASTWARD from West, or Little Peckham, lies Mereworth, usually called Merrud. In Domesday it is written Marourde, and in the Textus Roffensis, MÆRUURTHA, and MERANWYRTHE.
THE PARISH of Mereworth is within the district of the Weald, being situated southward of the quarry hills. It is exceedingly pleasant, as well from its naturalsituation, as from the buildings, avenues, and other ornamental improvements made throughout it by the late earl of Westmoreland, nor do those made at Yokes by the late Mr. Master contribute a little to the continued beauty of this scene. The turnpike road crosses this parish through the vale from Maidstone, towards Hadlow and Tunbridge, on each side of which is a fine avenue of oaks, with a low neatly cut quick hedge along the whole of it, which leaves an uninterrupted view over the house, park, and grounds of lord le Despencer, the church with its fine built spire, and the seat of Yokes, and beyond it an extensive country, along the valley to Tunbridge, making altogether a most beautiful and luxuriant prospect.
Mereworth house is situated in the park, which rises finely wooded behind it, at a small distance from the high road, having a fine sheet of water in the front of it, being formed from a part of a stream which rises at a small distance above Yokes, and dividing itself into two branches, one of them runs in front of Mereworth house as above mentioned, and from thence through Watringbury, towards the Medway at Bow-bridge; the other branch runs more southward to East Peckham, and thence into the Medway at a small distance above Twiford bridge.
Mereworth-house was built after a plan of Palladio, designed for a noble Vicentine gentleman, Paolo Almerico, an ecclesiastic and referendary to two popes, who built it in his own country about a quarter of a mile distance from the city of Venice, in a situation pleasant and delightful, and nearly like this; being watered in front with a river, and in the back encompassed with the most pleasant risings, which form a kind of theatre, and abound with large and stately groves of oak and other trees; from the top of these risings there are most beautiful views, some of which are limited, and others extend so as to be terminated only by the horizon. Mereworth house is built in a moat, and has four fronts, having each a portico, but the two side ones are filled up; under the floor of the hall and best apartments, are rooms and conveniences for the servants. The hall, which is in the middle, forms a cupola, and receives its light from above, and is formed with a double case, between which the smoke is conveyed through the chimnies to the center of it at top. The wings are at a small distance from the house, and are elegantly designed. In the front of the house is an avenue, cut through the woods, three miles in length towards Wrotham-heath, and finished with incredible expence and labour by lord Westmoreland, for a communication with the London road there: throughout the whole, art and nature are so happily blended together, as to render it a most delightful situation.
In the western part of this parish, on the high road is the village, where at Mereworth cross it turns short off to the southward towards Hadlow and Tunbridge, at a small distance further westward is the church and parsonage, the former is a conspicuous ornament to all the neighbouring country throughout the valley; hence the ground rises to Yokes, which is most pleasantly situated on the side of a hill, commanding a most delightful and extensive prospect over the Weald, and into Surry and Sussex.
Towards the north this parish rises up to the ridge of hills, called the Quarry-hills, (and there are now in them, though few in number, several of the Martin Cats, the same as those at Hudson's Bay) over which is the extensive tract of wood-land, called the Herst woods, in which so late as queen Elizabeth's reign, there were many wild swine, with which the whole Weald formerly abounded, by reason of the plenty of pannage from the acorns throughout it. (fn. 1)
¶The soil of this parish is very fertile, being the quarry stone thinly covered with a loam, throughout the northern part of it; but in the southern or lower parts, as well as in East Peckham adjoining, it is a fertile clay, being mostly pasture and exceeding rich grazing land, and the largest oxen perhaps at any place in this part of England are bred and fatted on them, the weight of some of them having been, as I have been informed, near three hundred stone.
THIS PLACE, at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, was part of the possessions of Hamo Vicecomes, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in that book.
In Littlefield hundred. Hamo holds Marourde. Norman held it of king Edward, and then, and now, it was and is taxed at two sulings. The arable land is ninecarucates. In demesne there are two, and twenty-eight villeins, with fifteen borderers, having ten carucates. There is a church and ten servants, and two mills of ten shillings, and two fisheries of two shillings. There are twenty acres of meadow, and as much wood as is sufficient for the pannage of sixty hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth twelve pounds, and afterwards ten pounds, now nineteen pounds.
This Hamo Vicecomes before-mentioned was Hamo de Crevequer, who was appointed Vicecomes, or sheriff of Kent, soon after his coming over hither with the Conqueror, which office he held till his death in the reign of king Henry I.
¶In the reign of king Henry II. Mereworth was in the possession of a family, which took their surname from it, and held it as two knights fees, of the earls of Clare, as of their honour of Clare.
Roger, son of Eustace de Mereworth, possessed it in the above reign, and then brought a quare impedit against the prior of. Leeds, for the advowson of the church of Mereworth. (fn. 3)
William de Mereworth is recorded among those Kentish knights, who assisted king Richard at the siege of Acon, in Palestine, upon which account it is probable the cross-croslets were added to the paternal arms of this family.
MEREWORTH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester and deanry of Malling.
The church was dedicated to St. Laurence. It was an antient building, and formerly stood where the west wing of Mereworth-house, made use of for the stables, now stands. It was pulled down by John, late earl of Westmoreland, when he rebuilt that house, and in lieu of it he erected, about half a mile westward from the old one, in the center of the village, the present church, a most elegant building, with a beautiful spire steeple, and a handsome portico in the front of it, with pillars of the Corinthian order. The whole of it is composed of different sorts of stone; and the east window is handsomely glazed with painted glass, collected by him for this purpose.
In the reign of king Henry II. the advowson of this church was the property of Roger de Mereworth, between whom and the prior and convent of Ledes, in this county, there had been much dispute, concerning the patronage of it: at length both parties submitted their interest to Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, who decreed, that the advowson of it should remain to Roger de Mereworth; and he further granted, with his consent, and that of Martin then parson of it, to the prior and convent, the sum of forty shillings, in the name of a perpetual benefice, and not in the name of a pension, in perpetual alms, to be received yearly for ever, from the parson of it. (fn. 13)
The prior and the convent of Ledes afterwards, anno 12 Henry VII. released to Hugh Walker, rector of this church, their right and claim to this pension, and all their right and claim in the rectory, by reason of it, or by any other means whatsoever.
In the reign of king Henry VI. the rector and parishioners of this church petitioned the bishop of Ro chester, to change the day of the feast of the dedication of it, which being solemnized yearly on the 4th day of June, and the moveable seasts of Pentecost, viz. of the sacred Trinity, or Corpus Christi, very often happening on it; the divine service used on the feasts of dedications could not in some years be celebrated, but was of necessity deferred to another day, that these solemnities of religion and of the fair might not happen together. Upon which the bishop, in 1439, transferred the feast to the Monday next after the exaltation of the Holy Cross, enjoining all and singular the rectors, and their curates, as well as the parishioners from time to time to observe it accordingly as such. And to encourage the parishioners and others to resort to it on that day, he granted to such as did, forty days remission of their sins.
Soon after the above-mentioned dispute between Roger de Mereworth and the prior and convent of Ledes, the church of Mereworth appears to have been given to the priory of Black Canons, at Tunbridge. (fn. 14) And it remained with the above-mentioned priory till its dissolution in the 16th year of king Henry VIII. a bull having been obtained from the pope, with the king's leave, for that purpose. After which the king, in his 17th year, granted that priory, with others then suppressed for the like purpose, together with all their manors, lands, and possessions, to cardinal Wolsey, for the better endowment of his college, called Cardinal college, in Oxford. But four years afterwards, the cardinal being cast in a præmunire; all the estates of that college, which for want of time had not been firmly settled on it, became forfeited to the crown. (fn. 15) After which, the king granted the patronage of the church of Mereworth, to Sir George Nevill, lord Abergavenny, whose descendant Henry, lord Abergavenny, died possessed of it in the 29th year of queen Elizabeth, leaving an only daughter and heir Mary, married to Sir Thomas Fane, who in her right possessed it. Since which it has continued in the same owners, that the manor of Mereworth has, and is as such now in the patronage of the right hon. Thomas, lord le Despencer.
It is valued in the king's books at 14l. 2s. 6d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 8s. 3d.
¶It appears by a valuation of this church, and a terrier of the lands belonging to it, subscribed by the rector, churchwardens, and inhabitants, in 1634, that there belonged to it, a parsonage-house, with a barn, &c. a field called Parsonage field, a close, and a garden, two orchards, four fields called Summerfourds, Ashfield, the Coney-yearth, and Millfield, and the herbage of the church-yard, containing in the whole about thirty acres, that the house and some of the land where James Gostlinge then dwelt, paid to the rector for lord's rent twelve-pence per annum; that the houses and land where Thomas Stone and Henry Filtness then dwelt, paid two-pence per annum; that there was paid to the rector the tithe of all corn, and all other grain, as woud, would, &c. and all hay, tithe of all coppice woods and hops, and all other predial tithes usually paid, as wool, and lambs, and all predials, &c. in the memory of man; that all tithes of a parcel of land called Old-hay, some four or five miles from the church, but yet within the parish, containing three hundred acres, more or less; and the tithe of a meadow plot lying towards the lower side of Hadlow, yet in Mereworth, containing by estimation twelve acres, more or less, commonly called the Wish, belonged to this church.
The parsonage-house lately stood at a small distance north-eastward from Mereworth-house; but obstructing the view from the front of it, the late lord le Despencer obtained a faculty to pull the whole of it down, and to build a new one of equal dimensions, and add to it a glebe of equal quantity to that of the scite and appurtenances of the old parsonage, in exchange. Accordingly the old parsonage was pulled down in 1779, and a new one erected on a piece of land allotted for the purpose about a quarter of a mile westward from the church, for the residence of the rector of Mereworth and his successors.
The Rainforest Coast of British Columbia encompasses the largest remaining intact temperate rainforest in the world. While it is often the beauty of BC’s coastal rainforests which enthral visitors from throughout the world, it is the productiveness of these forests that intrigue scientists. BC’s coastal rainforests feature the highest biomass (the total amount or mass of organisms in a given area) per hectare of any ecosystem on earth. Trees here can often live more than 1,000 years, reaching hundreds of feet into the air, with diameters exceeding 9.4m.
Coastal rainforests provide critical habitat for incredibly varied populations of animals. Well-known species include grizzly bears, eagles, and the rare Kermode or Spirit bear, an unusual snow-white variation of the black bear.
The coastal rainforests are among the rarest and most productive ecosystems on the planet; they are also disappearing before we know almost anything about them. It’s as if we are burning the library before we have read the books. Only in the last 10 years have scientists begun to learn about the fragile system of interrelationships that makes up the beautiful web of life in these “green cathedrals”. In the meantime salmon, which our fisheries as well as a multitude of other animals depend upon, are disappearing forever along with many other species that can live only in coastal rainforests.
The temperate rainforest is very rare, originally covering less than 0.2% of the earth's land surface. Now, over one half of that limited original temperate rainforest has been logged and altered; of that which remains worldwide, over one quarter is found on BC's coast.
Recently environmental organizations have been able to turn the spotlight of international concern to BC’s rainforests. Efforts to protect such ‘Great Spaces’ as the Kitlope and Great Bear Wilderness, have become internationally known as have the Queen Charlotte Islands’ Gwaii Haanas, and the Walbran Valley.
But time is running out. So far only 5.8% of BC’s ancient rainforests have been protected and much of the rest has been scheduled to be clearcut in the next decade.
(From Great Wild Spaces.)
This forest along Chapman Creek was logged (by hand) about a century ago. You can still see notched stumps scattered through the forest, with new trees sprouting from their tops.
This High Dynamic Range 360° panorama was stitched from 68 bracketed photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, processed in Color Efex, and finally touched up in Aperture. (It’s not really as complicated as it sounds, just a matter of using one tool for each job.)
Original size: 20000 × 10000 (200.0 MP; 1.07 GB)
Location: Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada.
Gribbell Island, British Columbia, Canada
I'm off to Zambia very shortly so here is a final set of ten Spirit and Black Bear images from our recent trip. The Spirit (Kermode) Bear is a white variant of the Black Bear and extremely rare. It was a real privilege to spend a day in the rain with these wonderful animals.
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.
Polar bears are both terrestrial and pagophilic (ice-living) and are considered to be marine mammals due to their dependence on marine ecosystems. They prefer the annual sea ice but live on land when the ice melts in the summer. They are mostly carnivorous and specialized for preying on seals, particularly ringed seals. Such prey is typically taken by ambush; the bear may stalk its prey on the ice or in the water, but also will stay at a breathing hole or ice edge to wait for prey to swim by. The bear primarily feeds on the seal's energy-rich blubber. Other prey include walruses, beluga whales and some terrestrial animals. Polar bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups when on land. During the breeding season, male bears guard females and defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in maternity dens during the winter. Young stay with their mother for up to two and a half years.
The polar bear is considered to be a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with an estimated total population of 22,000 to 31,000 individuals. Its biggest threats are climate change, pollution and energy development. Climate change has caused a decline in sea ice, giving the polar bear less access to its favoured prey and increasing the risk of malnutrition and starvation. Less sea ice also means that the bears must spend more time on land, increasing conflicts with people. Polar bears have been hunted, both by native and non-native peoples, for their coats, meat and other items. They have been kept in captivity in zoos and circuses and are prevalent in art, folklore, religion and modern culture.
Naming
The polar bear was given its common name by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). It was known as the "white bear" in Europe between the 13th and 18th centuries, as well as "ice bear", "sea bear" and "Greenland bear". The Norse referred to it as isbjørn ("ice bear") and hvitebjørn ("white bear"). The bear is called nanook by the Inuit. The Netsilik cultures additionally have different names for bears based on certain factors, such as sex and age: these include adult males (anguraq), single adult females (tattaq), gestating females (arnaluk), newborns (hagliaqtug), large adolescents (namiaq) and dormant bears (apitiliit). The scientific name Ursus maritimus is Latin for "sea bear".
Taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus classified the polar bear as a type of brown bear (Ursus arctos), labelling it as Ursus maritimus albus-major, articus in the 1758 edition of his work Systema Naturae. Constantine John Phipps formally described the polar bear as a distinct species, Ursus maritimus in 1774, following his 1773 voyage towards the North Pole. Due to its adaptations to a marine environment, some taxonomists like Theodore Knottnerus-Meyer have placed the polar bear in its genus Thalarctos. However Ursus is widely considered to be the valid genus for the species based on the fossil record and the fact that it can breed with the brown bear.
Different subspecies have been proposed including Ursus maritimus maritimus and U. m. marinus. However these are not supported and the polar bear is considered to be monotypic. One possible fossil subspecies, U. m. tyrannus, was posited in 1964 by Björn Kurtén, who reconstructed the subspecies from a single fragment of an ulna which was approximately 20 percent larger than expected for a polar bear. However, re-evaluation in the 21st century has indicated that the fragment likely comes from a giant brown bear.
Evolution
The polar bear is one of eight extant species in the bear family Ursidae and of six extant species in the subfamily Ursinae. A possible phylogeny of extant bear species is shown in a cladogram based on complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from Yu et al. (2007). The polar bear and the brown bear form a close grouping, while the relationships of the other species are not very well resolved.
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
Ursinae
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
American black bear (Ursus americanus)
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
A more recent phylogeny below is based on a 2017 genetic study. The study concludes that Ursine bears originated around 5 million years ago and show extensive hybridization of species in their lineage.
Ursidae
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
Ursinae
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
American black bear (Ursus americanus)
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
Fossils of polar bears are uncommon. The oldest known fossil is a 130,000- to 110,000-year-old jaw bone, found on Prince Charles Foreland, Norway, in 2004. Scientists in the 20th century surmised that polar bears directly descended from a population of brown bears, possibly in eastern Siberia or Alaska. Mitochondrial DNA studies in the 1990s and 2000s supported the status of the polar bear as a derivative of the brown bear, finding that some brown bear populations were more closely related to polar bears than to other brown bears, particularly the ABC Islands bears of Southeast Alaska. A 2010 study estimated that the polar bear lineage split from other brown bears around 150,000 years ago.
More extensive genetic studies have refuted the idea that polar bears are directly descended from brown bears and found that the two species are separate sister lineages. The genetic similarities between polar bears and some brown bears were found to be the result of interbreeding A 2012 study estimated the split between polar and brown bears as occurring around 600,000 years ago. A 2022 study estimated the divergence as occurring even earlier at over one million years ago. Glaciation events over hundreds of thousands of years led to both the origin of polar bears and their subsequent interactions and hybridizations with brown bears.
Studies in 2011 and 2012 concluded that gene flow went from brown bears to polar bears during hybridization. In particular, a 2011 study concluded that living polar bear populations derived their maternal lines from now-extinct Irish brown bears. Later studies have clarified that gene flow went from polar to brown bears rather than the reverse. Up to 9 percent of the genome of ABC bears was transferred from polar bears, while Irish bears had up to 21.5 percent polar bear origin. Mass hybridization between the two species appears to have stopped around 200,000 years ago. Modern hybrids are relatively rare in the wild.
Analysis of the number of variations of gene copies in polar bears compared with brown bears and American black bears shows distinct adaptions. Polar bears have a less diverse array of olfactory receptor genes, a result of there being fewer odours in their Arctic habitat. With its carnivorous, high-fat diet the species has fewer copies of the gene involved in making amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch, and more selection for genes for fatty acid breakdown and a more efficient circulatory system. The polar bear's thicker coat is the result of more copies of genes involved in keratin-creating proteins.
Characteristics
The polar bear is the largest living species of bear and land carnivore, though some brown bear subspecies like the Kodiak bear can rival it in size. Males are generally 200–250 cm (6.6–8.2 ft) long with a weight of 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). Females are smaller at 180–200 cm (5.9–6.6 ft) with a weight of 150–300 kg (330–660 lb). Sexual dimorphism in the species is particularly high compared with most other mammals. Male polar bears also have proportionally larger heads than females. The weight of polar bears fluctuates during the year, as they can bulk up on fat and increase their mass by 50 percent. A fattened, pregnant female can weigh as much as 500 kg (1,100 lb). Adults may stand 130–160 cm (4.3–5.2 ft) tall at the shoulder. The tail is 76–126 mm (3.0–5.0 in) long. The largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing 1,002 kg (2,209 lb), was a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960.
Compared with the brown bear, this species has a more slender build, with a narrower, flatter and smaller skull, a longer neck, and a lower shoulder hump. The snout profile is curved, resembling a "Roman nose". They have 34–42 teeth including 12 incisors, 4 canines, 8–16 premolars and 10 molars. The teeth are adapted for a more carnivorous diet than that of the brown bear, having longer, sharper and more spaced out canines, and smaller, more pointed cheek teeth (premolars and molars). The species has a large space or diastema between the canines and cheek teeth, which may allow it to better bite into prey. Since it normally preys on animals much smaller than it, the polar bear does not have a particularly strong bite Polar bears have large paws, with the front paws being broader than the back. The feet are hairier than in other bear species, providing warmth and friction when stepping on snow and sea ice. The claws are small but sharp and hooked and are used both to snatch prey and climb onto ice.
Polar bear jumping on floating ice at Svalbard
The coat consists of dense underfur around 5 cm (2.0 in) long and guard hairs around 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Males have long hairs on their forelegs, which is thought to signal their fitness to females. The outer surface of the hairs has a scaly appearance, and the guard hairs are hollow, which allows the animals to trap heat and float in the water. The transparent guard hairs forward scatter ultraviolet light between the underfur and the skin, leading to a cycle of absorption and re-emission, keeping them warm. The fur appears white due to the backscatter of incident light and the absence of pigment. Polar bears gain a yellowish colouration as they are exposed more to the sun. This is reversed after they moult. It can also be grayish or brownish. Their light fur provides camouflage in their snowy environment. After emerging from the water, the bear can easily shake itself dry before freezing since the hairs are resistant to tangling when wet. The skin, including the nose and lips, is black and absorbs heat. Polar bears have a 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick layer of fat underneath the skin, which provides both warmth and energy. Polar bears maintain their core body temperature at about 36.9 °C (98 °F). Overheating is countered by a layer of highly vascularized striated muscle tissue and finely controlled blood vessels. Bears also cool off by entering the water.
The eyes of a polar bear are close to the top of the head, which may allow them to stay out of the water when the animal is swimming at the surface. They are relatively small, which may be an adaption against blowing snow and snow blindness. Polar bears are dichromats, and lack the cone cells for seeing green. They have many rod cells which allow them to see at night. The ears are small, allowing them to retain heat and not get frostbitten. They can hear best at frequencies of 11.2–22.5 kHz, a wider frequency range than expected given that their prey mostly makes low-frequency sounds. The nasal concha creates a large surface area, so more warm air can move through the nasal passages. Their olfactory system is also large and adapted for smelling prey over vast distances. The animal has reniculate kidneys which filter out the salt in their food.
Distribution and habitat
Polar bears inhabit the Arctic and adjacent areas. Their range includes Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway. Polar bears have been recorded 25 km (16 mi) from the North Pole. The southern limits of their range include James Bay and Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands of Alaska. They are not permanent residents of Iceland but have been recorded visiting there if they can reach it via sea ice. Due to minimal human encroachment on the bears' remote habitat, they can still be found in much of their original range, more so than any other large land carnivore.
Polar bears have been divided into at least 18 subpopulations labelled East Greenland (ES), Barents Sea (BS), Kara Sea (KS), Laptev Sea (LVS), Chukchi Sea (CS), northern and southern Beaufort Sea (SBS and NBS), Viscount Melville (VM), M'Clintock Channel (MC), Gulf of Boothia (GB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Norwegian Bay (NB), Kane Basin (KB), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS), Foxe Basin (FB) and the western and southern Hudson Bay (WHB and SHB) populations. Bears in and around the Queen Elizabeth Islands have been proposed as a subpopulation but this is not universally accepted. A 2022 study has suggested that the bears in southeast Greenland should be considered a different subpopulation based on their geographic isolation and genetics. Polar bear populations can also be divided into four gene clusters: Southern Canadian, Canadian Archipelago, Western Basin (northwestern Canada west to the Russian Far East) and Eastern Basin (Greenland east to Siberia).
The polar bear is dependent enough on the ocean to be considered a marine mammal. It is pagophilic and mainly inhabits annual sea ice covering continental shelves and between islands of archipelagos. These areas, known as the "Arctic Ring of Life", have high biological productivity. The species tends to frequent areas where sea ice meets water, such as polynyas and leads, to hunt the seals that make up most of its diet. Polar bears travel in response to changes in ice cover throughout the year. They are forced onto land in summer when the sea ice disappears. Terrestrial habitats used by polar bears include forests, mountains, rocky areas, lakeshores and creeks. In the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, where the sea ice breaks off and floats north during the summer, polar bears generally stay on the ice, though a large portion of the population (15–40%) has been observed spending all summer on land since the 1980s. Some areas have thick multiyear ice that does not completely melt and the bears can stay on all year, though this type of ice has fewer seals and allows for less productivity in the water.
Behaviour and ecology
Polar bears may travel areas as small as 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) to as large as 38,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi) in a year, while drifting ice allows them to move further. Depending on ice conditions, a bear can travel an average of 12 km (7.5 mi) per day. These movements are powered by their energy-rich diet. Polar bears move by walking and galloping and do not trot. Walking bears tilt their front paws towards each other. They can run at estimated speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph) but typically move at around 5.5 km/h (3.4 mph). Polar bears are also capable swimmers and can swim at up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph). One study found they can swim for an average of 3.4 days at a time and travel an average of 154.2 km (95.8 mi). They can dive for as long as three minutes. When swimming, the broad front paws do the paddling, while the hind legs play a role in steering and diving.
Mother bear and cubs sleeping
Most polar bears are active year-round. Hibernation occurs only among pregnant females. Non-hibernating bears typically have a normal 24-hour cycle even during days of all darkness or all sunlight, though cycles less than a day are more common during the former. The species is generally diurnal, being most active early in the day. Polar bears sleep close to eight hours a day on average. They will sleep in various positions, including curled up, sitting up, lying on one side, on the back with limbs spread, or on the belly with the rump elevated. On sea ice, polar bears snooze at pressure ridges where they dig on the sheltered side and lie down. After a snowstorm, a bear may rest under the snow for hours or days. On land, the bears may dig a resting spot on gravel or sand beaches. They will also sleep on rocky outcrops. In mountainous areas on the coast, mothers and subadults will sleep on slopes where they can better spot another bear coming. Adult males are less at risk from other bears and can sleep nearly anywhere.
Social life
Polar bears are typically solitary, aside from mothers with cubs and mating pairs. On land, they are found closer together and gather around food resources. Adult males, in particular, are more tolerant of each other in land environments and outside the breeding season. They have been recorded forming stable "alliances", travelling, resting and playing together. A dominant hierarchy exists among polar bears with the largest mature males ranking at the top. Adult females outrank subadults and adolescents and younger males outrank females of the same age. In addition, cubs with their mothers outrank those on their own. Females with dependent offspring tend to stay away from males, but are sometimes associated with other female–offspring units, creating "composite families".
Polar bears are generally quiet but can produce various sounds. Chuffing, a soft pulsing call, is made by mother bears presumably to keep in contact with their young. During the breeding season, adult males will chuff at potential mates. Unlike other animals where chuffing is passed through the nostrils, in polar bears it is emitted through a partially open mouth. Cubs will cry for attention and produce humming noises while nursing. Teeth chops, jaw pops, blows, huffs, moans, growls and roars are heard in more hostile encounters. A polar bear visually communicates with its eyes, ears, nose and lips. Chemical communication can also be important: bears secrete their scent from their foot pads into their tracks, allowing individuals to keep track of one another.
Diet and hunting
The polar bear is a hypercarnivore, and the most carnivorous species of bear. It is an apex predator of the Arctic, preying on ice-living seals and consuming their energy-rich blubber. The most commonly taken species is the ringed seal, but they also prey on bearded seals and harp seals. Ringed seals are ideal prey as they are abundant and small enough to be overpowered by even small bears. Bearded seal adults are larger and are more likely to break free from an attacking bear, hence adult male bears are more successful in hunting them. Less common prey are hooded seals, spotted seals, ribbon seals and the more temperate-living harbour seals. Polar bears, mostly adult males, will occasionally hunt walruses, both on land and ice, though they mainly target the young, as adults are too large and formidable, with their thick skin and long tusks.
Bear feeding on a bearded seal
Besides seals, bears will prey on cetacean species such as beluga whales and narwhals, as well as reindeer, birds and their eggs, fish and marine invertebrates. They rarely eat plant material as their digestive system is too specialized for animal matter, though they have been recorded eating berries, moss, grass and seaweed. In their southern range, especially near Hudson Bay and James Bay, polar bears endure all summer without sea ice to hunt from and must subsist more on terrestrial foods. Fat reserves allow polar bears to survive for months without eating. Cannibalism is known to occur in the species.
Polar bears hunt their prey in several different ways. When a bear spots a seal hauling out on the sea ice, it slowly stalks it with the head and neck lowered, possibly to make its dark nose and eyes less noticeable. As it gets closer, the bear crouches more and eventually charges at a high speed, attempting to catch the seal before it can escape into its ice hole. Some stalking bears need to move through water; traversing through water cavities in the ice when approaching the seal or swimming towards a seal on an ice floe. The polar bear can stay underwater with its nose exposed. When it gets close enough, the animal lunges from the water to attack.
During a limited time in spring, polar bears will search for ringed seal pups in their birth lairs underneath the ice. Once a bear catches the scent of a hiding pup and pinpoints its location, it approaches the den quietly to not alert it. It uses its front feet to smash through the ice and then pokes its head in to catch the pup before it can escape. A ringed seal's lair can be more than 1 m (3.3 ft) below the surface of the ice and thus more massive bears are better equipped for breaking in. Some bears may simply stay still near a breathing hole or other spot near the water and wait for prey to come by. This can last hours and when a seal surfaces the bear will try to pull it out with its paws and claws. This tactic is the primary hunting method from winter to early spring.
Bear with whale carcass
Bears hunt walrus groups by provoking them into stampeding and then look for young that have been crushed or separated from their mothers during the turmoil. There are reports of bears trying to kill or injure walruses by throwing rocks and pieces of ice on them. Belugas and narwhals are vulnerable to bear attacks when they are stranded in shallow water or stuck in isolated breathing holes in the ice. When stalking reindeer, polar bears will hide in vegetation before an ambush. On some occasions, bears may try to catch prey in open water, swimming underneath a seal or aquatic bird. Seals in particular, however, are more agile than bears in the water. Polar bears rely on raw power when trying to kill their prey, and will employ bites and paw swipes. They have the strength to pull a mid-sized seal out of the water or haul a beluga carcass for quite some distance. Polar bears only occasionally store food for later—burying it under snow—and only in the short term.
Arctic foxes routinely follow polar bears and scavenge scraps from their kills. The bears usually tolerate them but will charge a fox that gets too close when they are feeding. Polar bears themselves will scavenge. Subadult bears will eat remains left behind by others. Females with cubs often abandon a carcass when they see an adult male approaching, though are less likely to if they have not eaten in a long time. Whale carcasses are a valuable food source, particularly on land and after the sea ice melts, and attract several bears. In one area in northeastern Alaska, polar bears have been recorded competing with grizzly bears for whale carcasses. Despite their smaller size, grizzlies are more aggressive and polar bears are likely to yield to them in confrontations. Polar bears will also scavenge at garbage dumps during ice-free periods.
Reproduction and development
Polar bear mating takes place on the sea ice and during spring, mostly between March and May. Males search for females in estrus and often travel in twisting paths which reduces the chances of them encountering other males while still allowing them to find females. The movements of females remain linear and they travel more widely. The mating system can be labelled as female-defence polygyny, serial monogamy or promiscuity.
Upon finding a female, a male will try to isolate and guard her. Courtship can be somewhat aggressive, and a male will pursue a female if she tries to run away. It can take days for the male to mate with the female which induces ovulation. After their first copulation, the couple bond. Undisturbed polar bear pairings typically last around two weeks during which they will sleep together and mate multiple times. Competition for mates can be intense and this has led to sexual selection for bigger males. Polar bear males often have scars from fighting. A male and female that have already bonded will flee together when another male arrives. A female mates with multiple males in a season and a single litter can have more than one father.
Polar bear cubs
When the mating season ends, the female will build up more fat reserves to sustain both herself and her young. Sometime between August and October, the female constructs and enters a maternity den for winter. Depending on the area, maternity dens can be found in sea ice just off the coastline or further inland and may be dug underneath snow, earth or a combination of both. The inside of these shelters can be around 1.5 m (4.9 ft) wide with a ceiling height of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) while the entrance may be 2.1 m (6.9 ft) long and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) wide. The temperature of a den can be much higher than the outside. Females hibernate and give birth to their cubs in the dens. Hibernating bears fast and internally recycle bodily waste. Polar bears experience delayed implantation and the fertilized embryo does not start development until the fall, between mid-September and mid-October. With delayed implantation, gestation in the species lasts seven to nine months but actual pregnancy is only two months.
Mother polar bears typically give birth to two cubs per litter. As with other bear species, newborn polar bears are tiny and altricial. The newborns have woolly hair and pink skin, with a weight of around 600 g (21 oz). Their eyes remain closed for a month. The mother's fatty milk fuels their growth, and the cubs are kept warm both by the mother's body heat and the den. The mother emerges from the den between late February and early April, and her cubs are well-developed and capable of walking with her. At this time they weigh 10–15 kilograms (22–33 lb). A polar bear family stays near the den for roughly two weeks; during this time the cubs will move and play around while the mother mostly rests. They eventually head out on the sea ice.
Cubs under a year old stay close to their mother. When she hunts, they stay still and watch until she calls them back. Observing and imitating the mother helps the cubs hone their hunting skills. After their first year they become more independent and explore. At around two years old, they are capable of hunting on their own. The young suckle their mother as she is lying on her side or sitting on her rump. A lactating female cannot conceive and give birth, and cubs are weaned between two and two-and-a-half years. She may simply leave her weaned young or they may be chased away by a courting male. Polar bears reach sexual maturity at around four years for females and six years for males. Females reach their adult size at 4 or 5 years of age while males are fully grown at twice that age.
Mortality
Polar bears can live up to 30 years. The bear's long lifespan and ability to consistently produce young offsets cub deaths in a population. Some cubs die in the dens or the womb if the female is not in good condition. Nevertheless, the female has a chance to produce a surviving litter the next spring if she can eat better in the coming year. Cubs will eventually starve if their mothers cannot kill enough prey. Cubs also face threats from wolves and adult male bears. Males kill cubs to bring their mother back into estrus but also kill young outside the breeding season for food. A female and her cubs can flee from the slower male. If the male can get close to a cub, the mother may try to fight him off, sometimes at the cost of her life.
Subadult bears, who are independent but not quite mature, have a particularly rough time as they are not as successful hunters as adults. Even when they do succeed, their kill will likely be stolen by a larger bear. Hence subadults have to scavenge and are often underweight and at risk of starvation. At adulthood, polar bears have a high survival rate, though adult males suffer injuries from fights over mates. Polar bears are especially susceptible to Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm they contract through cannibalism.
Conservation status
In 2015, the IUCN Red List categorized the polar bear as vulnerable due to a "decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat". It estimated the total population to be between 22,000 and 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown. Threats to polar bear populations include climate change, pollution and energy development.
In 2021, the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group labelled four subpopulations (Barents and Chukchi Sea, Foxe Basin and Gulf of Boothia) as "likely stable", two (Kane Basin and M'Clintock Channel) as "likely increased" and three (Southern Beaufort Sea, Southern and Western Hudson Bay) as "likely decreased" over specific periods between the 1980s and 2010s. The remaining ten did not have enough data. A 2008 study predicted two-thirds of the world's polar bears may disappear by 2050, based on the reduction of sea ice, and only one population would likely survive in 50 years. A 2016 study projected a likely decline in polar bear numbers of more than 30 percent over three generations. The study concluded that declines of more than 50 percent are much less likely. A 2012 review suggested that polar bears may become regionally extinct in southern areas by 2050 if trends continue, leaving the Canadian Archipelago and northern Greenland as strongholds.
The key danger from climate change is malnutrition or starvation due to habitat loss. Polar bears hunt seals on the sea ice, and rising temperatures cause the ice to melt earlier in the year, driving the bears to shore before they have built sufficient fat reserves to survive the period of scarce food in the late summer and early fall. Thinner sea ice tends to break more easily, which makes it more difficult for polar bears to access seals. Insufficient nourishment leads to lower reproductive rates in adult females and lower survival rates in cubs and juvenile bears. Lack of access to seals also causes bears to find food on land which increases the risk of conflict with humans.
Reduction in sea ice cover also forces bears to swim longer distances, which further depletes their energy stores and occasionally leads to drowning. Increased ice mobility may result in less stable sites for dens or longer distances for mothers travelling to and from dens on land. Thawing of permafrost would lead to more fire-prone roofs for bears denning underground. Less snow may affect insulation while more rain could cause more cave-ins. The maximum corticosteroid-binding capacity of corticosteroid-binding globulin in polar bear serum correlates with stress in polar bears, and this has increased with climate warming. Disease-causing bacteria and parasites would flourish more readily in a warmer climate.
Oil and gas development also affects polar bear habitat. The Chukchi Sea Planning Area of northwestern Alaska, which has had many drilling leases, was found to be an important site for non-denning female bears. Oil spills are also a risk. A 2018 study found that ten percent or less of prime bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea is vulnerable to a potential spill, but a spill at full reach could impact nearly 40 percent of the polar bear population. Polar bears accumulate high levels of persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides, due to their position at the top of the ecological pyramid. Many of these chemicals have been internationally banned due to the recognition of their harm to the environment. Traces of them have slowly dwindled in polar bears but persist and have even increased in some populations.
Polar bears receive some legal protection in all the countries they inhabit. The species has been labelled as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act since 2008, while the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada listed it as of 'Special concern' since 1991. In 1973, the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was signed by all five nations with polar bear populations, Canada, Denmark (of which Greenland is an autonomous territory), Russia (then USSR), Norway and the US. This banned most harvesting of polar bears, allowed indigenous hunting using traditional methods, and promoted the preservation of bear habitat. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna lists the species under Appendix II, which allows regulated trade.
Relationship with humans
Polar bears have coexisted and interacted with circumpolar peoples for millennia. "White bears" are mentioned as commercial items in the Japanese book Nihon Shoki in the seventh century. It is not clear if these were polar bears or white-coloured brown bears. During the Middle Ages, Europeans considered white bears to be a novelty and were more familiar with brown- and black-coloured bears. The first known written account of the polar bear in its natural environment is found in the 13th-century anonymous Norwegian text Konungs skuggsjá, which mentions that "the white bear of Greenland wanders most of the time on the ice of the sea, hunting seals and whales and feeding on them" and says the bear is "as skillful a swimmer as any seal or whale".
Over the next centuries, several European explorers would mention polar bears and describe their habits. Such accounts became more accurate after the Enlightenment, and both living and dead specimens were brought back. Nevertheless, some fanciful reports continued, including the idea that polar bears cover their noses during hunts. A relatively accurate drawing of a polar bear is found in Henry Ellis's work A Voyage to Hudson's Bay (1748). Polar bears were formally classified as a species by Constantine Phipps after his 1773 voyage to the Arctic. Accompanying him was a young Horatio Nelson, who was said to have wanted to get a polar bear coat for his father but failed in his hunt. In his 1785 edition of Histoire Naturelle, Comte de Buffon mentions and depicts a "sea bear", clearly a polar bear, and "land bears", likely brown and black bears. This helped promote ideas about speciation. Buffon also mentioned a "white bear of the forest", possibly a Kermode bear.
Exploitation
Polar bears were hunted as early as 8,000 years ago, as indicated by archaeological remains at Zhokhov Island in the East Siberian Sea. The oldest graphic depiction of a polar bear shows it being hunted by a man with three dogs. This rock art was among several petroglyphs found at Pegtymel in Siberia and dates from the fifth to eighth centuries. Before access to firearms, native people used lances, bows and arrows and hunted in groups accompanied by dogs. Though hunting typically took place on foot, some people killed swimming bears from boats with a harpoon. Polar bears were sometimes killed in their dens. Killing a polar bear was considered a rite of passage for boys in some cultures. Native people respected the animal and hunts were subject to strict rituals. Bears were harvested for the fur, meat, fat, tendons, bones and teeth. The fur was worn and slept on, while the bones and teeth were made into tools. For the Netsilik, the individual who finally killed the bear had the right to its fur while the meat was passed to all in the party. Some people kept the cubs of slain bears.
Norsemen in Greenland traded polar bear furs in the Middle Ages. Russia traded polar bear products as early as 1556, with Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land being important commercial centres. Large-scale hunting of bears at Svalbard occurred since at least the 18th century, when no less than 150 bears were killed each year by Russian explorers. In the next century, more Norwegians were harvesting the bears on the island. From the 1870s to the 1970s, around 22,000 of the animals were hunted in total. Over 150,000 polar bears in total were either killed or captured in Russia and Svalbard, from the 18th to the 20th century. In the Canadian Arctic, bears were harvested by commercial whalers especially if they could not get enough whales. The Hudson's Bay Company is estimated to have sold 15,000 polar bear coats between the late 19th century and early 20th century. In the mid-20th century, countries began to regulate polar bear harvesting, culminating in the 1973 agreement.
Polar bear meat was commonly eaten as rations by explorers and sailors in the Arctic. Its taste and texture have been described both positively and negatively. Some have called it too coarse with a powerful smell, while others praised it as a "royal dish". The liver was known for being too toxic to eat. This is due to the accumulation of vitamin A from their prey. Polar bear fat was also used in lamps when other fuel was unavailable. Polar bear rugs were almost ubiquitous on the floors of Norwegian churches by the 13th and 14th centuries. In more modern times, classical Hollywood actors would pose on bearskin rugs, notably Marilyn Monroe. Such images often had sexual connotations.
Conflicts
Road sign warning about the presence of polar bears. The Norwegian text translates into "Applies to all of Svalbard".
When the sea ice melts, polar bears, particularly subadults, conflict with humans over resources on land. They are attracted to the smell of human-made foods, particularly at garbage dumps and may be shot when they encroach on private property. In Churchill, Manitoba, local authorities maintain a "polar bear jail" where nuisance bears are held until the sea ice freezes again. Climate change has increased conflicts between the two species. Over 50 polar bears swarmed a town in Novaya Zemlya in February 2019, leading local authorities to declare a state of emergency.
From 1870 to 2014, there were an estimated 73 polar bear attacks on humans, which led to 20 deaths. The majority of attacks were by hungry males, typically subadults, while female attacks were usually in defence of the young. In comparison to brown and American black bears, attacks by polar bears were more often near and around where humans lived. This may be due to the bears getting desperate for food and thus more likely to seek out human settlements. As with the other two bear species, polar bears are unlikely to target more than two people at once. Though popularly thought of as the most dangerous bear, the polar bear is no more aggressive to humans than other species.
Captivity
The polar bear was a particularly sought-after species for exotic animal collectors due to being relatively rare and remote living, and its reputation as a ferocious beast. It is one of the few marine mammals that can reproduce well in captivity. They were originally kept only by royals and elites. The Tower of London got a polar bear as early as 1252 under King Henry III. In 1609, James VI and I of Scotland, England and Ireland were given two polar bear cubs by the sailor Jonas Poole, who got them during a trip to Svalbard. At the end of the 17th century, Frederick I of Prussia housed polar bears in menageries with other wild animals. He had their claws and canines removed to perform mock fights. Around 1726, Catherine I of Russia gifted two polar bears to Augustus II the Strong of Poland, who desired them for his animal collection. Later, polar bears were displayed to the public in zoos and circuses. In early 19th century, the species was exhibited at the Exeter Exchange in London, as well as menageries in Vienna and Paris. The first zoo in North America to exhibit a polar bear was the Philadelphia Zoo in 1859.
Polar bear exhibits were innovated by Carl Hagenbeck, who replaced cages and pits with settings that mimicked the animal's natural environment. In 1907, he revealed a complex panoramic structure at the Tierpark Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg consisting of exhibits made of artificial snow and ice separated by moats. Different polar animals were displayed on each platform, giving the illusion of them living together. Starting in 1975, Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich housed its polar bears in an exhibit which consisted of a glass barrier, a house, concrete platforms mimicking ice floes and a large pool. Inside the house were maternity dens, and rooms for the staff to prepare and store the food. The exhibit was connected to an outdoor yard for extra room. Similar naturalistic and "immersive" exhibits were opened in the early 21st century, such as the "Arctic Ring of Life" at the Detroit Zoo and Ontario's Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat. Many zoos in Europe and North America have stopped keeping polar bears due to the size and costs of their complex exhibits. In North America, the population of polar bears in zoos reached its zenith in 1975 with 229 animals and declined in the 21st century.
Polar bears have been trained to perform in circuses. Bears in general, being large, powerful, easy to train and human-like in form, were widespread in circuses, and the white coat of polar bears made them particularly attractive. Circuses helped change the polar bear's image from a fearsome monster to something more comical. Performing polar bears were used in 1888 by Circus Krone in Germany and later in 1904 by the Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie in England. Circus director Wilhelm Hagenbeck trained up to 75 polar bears to slide into a large tank through a chute. He began performing with them in 1908 and they had a particularly well-received show at the Hippodrome in London. Other circus tricks performed by polar bears involved tightropes, balls, roller skates and motorcycles. One of the most famous polar bear trainers in the second half of the twentieth century was the East German Ursula Böttcher, whose small stature contrasted with that of the large bears. Starting in the late 20th century, most polar bear acts were retired and the use of these bears for the circus is now prohibited in the US.
Several captive polar bears gained celebrity status in the late 20th and early 21st century, notably Knut of the Berlin Zoological Garden, who was rejected by his mother and had to be hand-reared by zookeepers. Another bear, Binky of the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, became famous for attacking two visitors who got too close. Captive polar bears may pace back and forth, a stereotypical behaviour. In one study, they were recorded to have spent 14 percent of their days pacing. Gus of the Central Park Zoo was prescribed Prozac by a therapist for constantly swimming in his pool. To reduce stereotypical behaviours, zookeepers provide the bears with enrichment items to trigger their play behaviour. Zoo polar bears may appear green due to algae concentrations.
Cultural significance
Polar bears have prominent roles in Inuit culture and religion. The deity Torngarsuk is sometimes imagined as a giant polar bear. He resides underneath the sea floor in an underworld of the dead and has power over sea creatures. Kalaallit shamans would worship him through singing and dancing and were expected to be taken by him to the sea and consumed if he considered them worthy. Polar bears were also associated with the goddess Nuliajuk who was responsible for their creation, along with other sea creatures. It is believed that shamans could reach the Moon or the bottom of the ocean by riding on a guardian spirit in the form of a polar bear. Some folklore involves people turning into or disguising themselves as polar bears by donning their skins or the reverse, with polar bears removing their skins. In Inuit astronomy, the Pleiades star cluster is conceived of as a polar bear trapped by dogs while Orion's Belt, the Hyades and Aldebaran represent hunters, dogs and a wounded bear respectively.
Nordic folklore and literature have also featured polar bears. In The Tale of Auðun of the West Fjords, written around 1275, a poor man named Auðun spends all his money on a polar bear in Greenland, but ends up wealthy after giving the bear to the king of Denmark. In the 14th-century manuscript Hauksbók, a man named Odd kills and eats a polar bear that killed his father and brother. In the story of The Grimsey Man and the Bear, a mother bear nurses and rescues a farmer stuck on an ice floe and is repaid with sheep meat. 18th-century Icelandic writings mention the legend of a "polar bear king" known as the bjarndýrakóngur. This beast was depicted as a polar bear with "ruddy cheeks" and a unicorn-like horn, which glows in the dark. The king could understand when humans talk and was considered to be very astute. Two Norwegian fairy tales, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" and "White-Bear-King-Valemon", involve white bears turning into men and seducing women.
Drawings of polar bears have been featured on maps of the northern regions. Possibly the earliest depictions of a polar bear on a map is the Swedish Carta marina of 1539, which has a white bear on Iceland or "Islandia". A 1544 map of North America includes two polar bears near Quebec. Notable paintings featuring polar bears include François-Auguste Biard's Fighting Polar Bears (1839) and Edwin Landseer's Man Proposes, God Disposes (1864). Polar bears have also been filmed for cinema. An Inuit polar bear hunt was shot for the 1932 documentary Igloo, while the 1974 film The White Dawn filmed a simulated stabbing of a trained bear for a scene. In the film The Big Show (1961), two characters are killed by a circus polar bear. The scenes were shot using animal trainers instead of the actors. In modern literature, polar bears have been characters in both children's fiction, like Hans Beer's Little Polar Bear and the Whales and Sakiasi Qaunaq's The Orphan and the Polar Bear, and fantasy novels, like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. In radio, Mel Blanc provided the vocals for Jack Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael on The Jack Benny Program. The polar bear is featured on flags and coats of arms, like the coat of arms of Greenland, and in many advertisements, notably for Coca-Cola since 1922.
As charismatic megafauna, polar bears have been used to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change. Aurora the polar bear is a giant marionette created by Greenpeace for climate protests. The World Wide Fund for Nature has sold plush polar bears as part of its "Arctic Home" campaign. Photographs of polar bears have been featured in National Geographic and Time magazines, including ones of them standing on ice floes, while the climate change documentary and advocacy film An Inconvenient Truth (2006) includes an animated bear swimming. Automobile manufacturer Nissan used a polar bear in one of its commercials, hugging a man for using an electric car. To make a statement about global warming, in 2009 a Copenhagen ice statue of a polar bear with a bronze skeleton was purposely left to melt in the sun.