Chico eyes the whale
bone.
Brandy gives us a
close look.
Biscuit Stepping Out
by Maureen Enns.
New artwork produced
by Maureen in the field for the Moscow
exhibition.
(Click on any Image to see a higher resolution version)
Chico looked longingly at the whalebone stored on top of our outdoor toilet. The single strand of electric fence, one foot off the ground, had been enough of a deterrent. She and Biscuit knew about wire and electricity. We have not seen them touch our fence this year. It is with a great deal of pride that we can testify that no other bear of this area has stepped beyond our fence in the five years we have been here.
Last week, Walnut a 6 year old bear we know quite well, walked in front of Charlie's plane. He casually sniffed where I had been but would not approach the fence. His behavior is typical. Many of the bears here have touched the fence once and that was all that was needed. The use of electric fencing has turned out for us to be a simple and harmless way to control bears around our food and garbage. Interestingly, even after we leave camp with the electricity turned off for months, the fence stays untouched as well as the contents beyond. Our cabin has never been touched. The fence units are powered by wind and sun energy stored in 4 Gel Cell batteries. In addition to two solar panels, we installed a small windmill this year.
When away from camp with his plane, Charlie continues to take the Ghallager portable electric fence unit powered by 6 D Cell batteries. He uses a simple clip to link the small unit to the plane and the metal parts carry the electric charge. The float stops it from shorting out. Our cubs will not approach the plane or any other bear that has once touched it with their nose. I feel confident now that we should proceed to develop a lightweight electric fence unit for back packers and other back country users.
Bears Migrate from Kambalnoe Lake to Coastal Areas
We were up Char Creek last week only to find Biscuit still on her own. She and Chico separated two weeks ago. We have not seen Chico since then. There has been a general exodus of bears from the Kambalnoe Lake vicinity, which is typical of this time of year. Walnut and Chocolate stayed. We have concluded that most of the bears become sick of fish and move to the coastal areas for berries. Up until this year, Chico and Biscuit have not joined in on the migration. We suspect the good smells on the wind got the best of Chico as she left too. We spent a lovely evening with the two of them not realizing we may not see them together again. Biscuit was gone two days but returned. She had Char Creek to herself for a week finishing up the last runs of Pink Salmon. Yesterday, she was diving in the pool, scooping up hard mud off of the bottom and eating large mouthfuls. Apparently bears eat mud to rid themselves of worms!
Last night, many bears began their return. Within a few hours we counted 10 around the lake after two weeks of only a very few. We are very anxious to see Chico before we leave but are not overly optimistic. This lack of optimism does not stop us from running out to inspect every young dark bear that wanders by.
Leaving Kambalnoe Lake Base Camp
Our helicopter is booked for tomorrow to take us back to Petropavlovsk. Sunday, we fly to Moscow and on Wednesday the 13th, my exhibition opens at the Contemporary Art Center. Packing up camp for another year is always hard. Both of us hate to leave. It has been impossible for me to imagine that in a few days I will be back in civilization. The thought of wearing a watch again fills me with dread. The calls of my favorite gulls hang in my mind. I make a point of walking to my favorite spots to gaze about one last time.
A few days ago, a fox of this year's litter, wandered by the cabin. I was very relieved to see this. Apparently someone had been into our cabin this spring and trapped many foxes, according to the report of the rangers. I was very sad to hear about this and had many angry words. Apparently it was a mistake that someone was permitted to come here to trap! My friend, Squint, is gone as well as many others of the den sites I know. Fortunately one den survived. Needless to say, we worry every year when we leave. This year many more bears have learned to like and trust our company. What a difference from 1996 when all but two ran from our site.
-Maureen