Unlikely
Friends Indeed!
Why
aren't these two natural
adversaries fighting viciously? The answer is...nobody knows for sure.
During
the long winter months in
northern Manitoba Canada, dog teams are a common method of
transportation. Many of these dogs live outside in conditions that would
quickly kill an unprotected human. The bone-chilling cold, which can
easily reach 40 degrees below zero, and howling winds, often above 40
mph, are not the only arctic perils faced by these dogs. They must also
contend with the ever present danger of the largest carnivore on land,
the polar bear. Each year, several hundred polar bears migrate northward
along the western shore of Hudson's Bay. These
migrating bears
came ashore months earlier and hundreds of miles to the south as the sea ice broke up
during the summer. With the exception of a few scraps they may have
found along the way, these polar bears may not have eaten for as
long as 5
months.
Their
migration northward takes the
polar bears directly through the the area where many sled dogs are kept.
This can lead to some tense encounters. There are usually about 40 dogs
in
this area at any given time. When a bear is spotted by the dogs, a
chorus of loud, aggressive barking ensues. Normally, this is sufficient
to
keep the bears away. Once in a while, a trouble-making bear, usually a
younger bear, comparable to a human teenager, ventures too close looking
for food. All the dogs react with obvious aggression until the bear is
scared away.
In very
rare
instances,
a large, mature male polar bear will sometimes linger in the general vicinity of the
dogs. Its temperament is usually somewhat less
aggressive than that of its younger counterparts. In fact, a big bear often helps to keep the younger, "trouble-making" bears
away. Although it may stay in the general area, the mature bear usually keeps
its distance
from the sled dogs. On very rare occasions, and no one is quite sure why, an
amazing thing happens. One of these totally wild, mature male polar
bears will actually seek out the company of one of the dogs. After
seeing it with my own eyes, I can only describe it as
"playing." This does not happen very often, certainly
not every year. Very few people have ever witnessed this event.
Here's
how my experience
unfolded...
I had
been in northern Canada for about two weeks. It was my last day there
and my flight out was around 4 pm. The prior two weeks had been very
productive. Many of the other polar bear shots on my website were taken
during that time. On this trip, I had been spending a lot of time in the area of
the sled dogs. I had heard about rare, "friendly" encounters between polar bears and
sled dogs, but I had never been fortunate enough to witness it. That was
about to change.
My
last day in Manitoba dawned
like most November days there. The temperature was well below freezing
and the sky was very overcast. I spent much of the morning looking for
polar bears or foxes to photograph, with limited success. I decided to
spend the remainder of my time near the dogs. Norbert Rosing, a
photographer friend of mine from Germany arrived just as I did. A large
male bear had been in the area for several days, but had made no gesture
toward the dogs. Norbert and I stopped several hundred yards away so we
wouldn't disturb the dogs or the bear. We brought our trucks side by
side so we could talk to each other.
While
we were talking, the big bear
that we had been watching for days, got up and started walking
toward the dogs. It was obvious that
this bear was coming directly for one particular dog. Seeing this, I
quickly maneuvered to where I thought would be a good vantage point,
just in case. I steadied my camera and held
my breath.
As
the big bear began walking, all the dogs erupted into
angry barking and growling. All the dogs, that is, except one. One dog
didn't act aggressively toward the approaching polar bear at all. In
fact, he was acting like he was happy to see the huge predator,
easily 10 times his own size. Instead of barking aggressively, this one
dog started wagging its tail and jumping around excitedly. Noticing the
non-aggressive posture of this particular dog, the polar bear ignored
the other 39 barking sets of bared teeth and made his way directly to this
one dog.
Both
were a bit tentative at first. But after getting
"acquainted," they began to play like two puppies. At no
time was there the least bit of aggression from either the dog or the
bear. It seemed that they were genuinely happy to see each other. Almost
like they were old friends. They
played together for about 10 minutes, when another amazing
thing happened. The polar bear laid down near the dog and rolled over on
his back. In the animal kingdom, especially in the world of predators
such as bears and dogs, rolling over onto your back is a totally
submissive posture. Dominance between individuals is decided in this way.
So here's a 700 to 800 pound fully wild adult male polar bear submitting
to a 75 to 80 pound, tethered dog. It was an amazing sight.
Shortly
thereafter, the polar bear got up and ambled away. The entire
encounter lasted maybe ten to fifteen minutes. When it was over, Norbert and
I just looked at
each other in amazement. A day that started out so gloomy had ended
perfectly. I then rushed to the airport to catch my flight. It was almost
as if the polar bear and the sled dog were giving me a going-away
present. It was quite a gift.
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