The Polar bear lord of the great north

Michel Grandmaison

Description

The vast Canadian North is home to sights unparalleled in the world. This unspoiled and untamed land may appear desolate to the undiscerning eye, but it in fact abounds with life— hardy species of animals and plants that have not merely managed to withstand one of the most unforgiving environments on Earth, but indeed to thrive within it.
Notable among the North’s wildlife is the majestic polar bear. Long held in awe by people and dreaded by its prey, this animal is the planet’s largest land predator and truly a testament to the wonders of natural selection. It is only befi tting that this undisputed champion of the Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems has become an enduring emblem of the Great White North.
Join celebrated nature photographer Mike Grandmaison on his journey to Churchill, in Northern Manitoba, Canada, as he ventures into the homeland of the polar bear. Combining superb photographs with enlightening facts on these animals and their environment, The Polar Bear: Lord of the Great North is sure to captivate anyone eager to take a closer look at these fascinating creatures.

Sujets

• Loisirs
• Collections photographiques
• Photographie Créative
• Plants
• Themes
• Subjects
• Canadá
• Photography
• Animals
• Canada
• North

Informations

• Publié par: Éditions des Plaines
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781988182537
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 19 Mo

Extrait

THE POLAR BEAR
LORD OF THE GREAT NORTH
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY MIKE GRANDMAISON
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Polar Bear: Lord of the Great North
© 2019 Vidacom Publications
ISBN 978-1-988182-50-6
Text Copyright © 2019 Mike Grandmaison
Photographs Copyright © 2019 Mike Grandmaison
 
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems—without the prior written permission of the publisher, or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright, the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency.
 
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Manitoba Arts Council for its publishing program. We also acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Government of Manitoba through the Publishing Tax Credit Program for our publishing activities.

 
Design: Dave Maddocks, Shine Branding
Editor-in-Chief: Joanne Therrien
Editor: Ben Vrignon
Copy Editor: Lynne Therrien
 
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: The Polar Bear: Lord of the Great North / text and photographs by Mike Grandmaison.
Names: Grandmaison, Mike, 1954- author, photographer.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190063998 | Canadiana (ebook) 20190064048 | ISBN 9781988182506 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781988182513 (softcover) | ISBN 9781988182520 (PDF) | ISBN 9781988182537 (EPUB) | ISBN 9781988182544 (Kindle)
Subjects: LCSH: Polar bear—Manitoba—Churchill Region—Pictorial works. | LCSH: Polar bear—Manitoba— Churchill Region.
Classification: LCC QL737.C27 G73 2019 | DDC 599.786097127/1—dc23
 
Legal deposit 2019
Library and Archives Canada
Manitoba Legislative Library

 
Vidacom Publications
P.O. Box 123 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R2H 3B4
[e-mail]
www.plaines.ca
www.vidacom.ca
 
Printed in Canada
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Polar Bear
Range and Distribution
Evolution
Physical Characteristics and Adaptations
Diet and Hunting Behaviour
Reproduction Cycle
The Churchill Region
Climate
Terrain
Flora
Fauna
Climate Change
About Churchill, Manitoba
About the Author
Sources

Introduction
 
The year was 1974—I had just finished a summer term of biology studies and completed my second year at Laurentian University. The ensuing opportunity to research Subarctic vegetation as a field assistant in the Hudson Bay area was a dream come true. But finding myself homebound a mere three months after setting foot in the Great Canadian North, I realized I was enamoured, and I wanted more.
When I first laid eyes upon the Northern Canadian landscape, it was unlike anything I had seen before. From the vantage point of the DC-3 fixed-wing aircraft transporting us from Churchill, in the province of Manitoba, to our destination of East Pen Island, in what is now Nunavut, the land appeared “as flat as a pancake”—as they say in the Prairies. Indeed, the only noticeable topographic relief along the 400-odd kilometre flight was a 3-metre-high sandy mound referred to locally as “Polar Bear Hill.” From the ground, the scenery seemed much the same. During my brief sojourn in the North, I would experience many memorable moments, such as catching my first glimpse of the northern lights dancing in a nearly pitch-dark sky; enjoying my lunch by the Arctic Ocean while in the midst of a caribou herd; encountering enormous polar bear tracks while trudging in mud flats a third of a metre deep along Hudson Bay; and finally seeing the great white bear for the very first time. My summer of exploring the Subarctic went by like a flash—but I knew I would someday return. Another twenty-two years were to pass before I would set foot on the Hudson Bay Lowlands once more, this time as a nature photographer. I have returned a handful of times since that fateful day, and I expect I will always remain drawn to this extraordinary part of the world.
Polar bears travel across large expanses in search of food.
The Polar Bear
Range and Distribution
The photographs in this book were captured in the Hudson Bay Lowlands of Northern Manitoba, a province located in the very heart of Canada. This area is renowned for its high concentration of polar bears, and tourists and photographers hailing from all over the world congregate to the Churchill region to witness the annual polar bear migration.
The polar bear, whose scientific name is Ursus maritimus , has long been an emblem of the North and is featured on the two-dollar coin or “toonie” of Canada’s currency. This large mammal is known by many other names throughout cultures—nanuq, sea bear, ice bear, white bear, Lord of the Arctic, and the old man in the fur cloak, to name a few.
Contrary to what is sometimes written in popular children’s books, polar bears and penguins do not live together; in fact, they live at opposite poles of the Earth. While penguins inhabit Antarctica—an ice-covered continental landmass surrounded by oceans—polar bears spend much of their lives on the Arctic ice pack, a great frozen sea surrounded by the northern continents. They largely inhabit the Arctic Circle, an area that encompasses the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas and landmasses. The polar bear is found in Canada, the U.S.A. (Alaska), Greenland, Russia, and Norway (the Svalbard archipelago).