08 May Arctic Face-off
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It all started with a polar bear just outside the compound fence. It was a large male; close enough for me to see snow piled on its nose, but only when it peeked around the assortment of steel drums between us. I was clearly on the wrong side of the drums for optimal views. The gates opened and the guides led me and the rest of our bundled group into the wilds beyond Nanuk Lodge’s enclosed compound. Tucked into boreal forest along the banks of the Hudson Bay, I’d come here for the rare chance to see tundra-loving polar bears alongside the greater animal diversity of this taiga habitat. Before the gates had even closed, it seemed my wish could become reality as a murmur rippled down our ranks – wolves were coming.
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All heads snapped to the left as two black and four tawny wolves sauntered down the lodge’s airstrip, the only way in and out of this remote enclave. The wolves stopped in front of us, eyeing our group but likely more interested in the scent of bear. The bear wasn’t going to take wolf presence laying down. It ambled to the center of the airstrip. The largest wolf, no doubt the alpha male, approached. The two stood nose-to-nose, judging one another. It was a momentary encounter, but apparently long enough for them to decide they were too evenly matched to risk a fight, at least on their own.
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Two wolves had meandered onward, but two tawny and one black returned. They joined the alpha male to encircle the bear. The bear held its ground, turning slowly to face each wolf individually. One of the wolves lunged, the bear lunged back. My heart raced as if I were the one surrounded by wolves. There was another round of lunges, then the encounter ended. The wolves dispersed, trotting down the airstrip. The bear wandered into the woods on the far side of the strip, standing momentarily to sniff the wind before disappearing into the brush. We followed the wolves.
“It’s got a snow goose!” one of our guides exclaimed, pointing to a wolf stopped at a snow bank with something in its mouth.
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We crept toward the lone predator, watching as it moved from the kill site toward the edge of the woods. It ripped feathers free, tossing them to the air where their whiteness blended with the now heavily falling snow. The wolf settled onto the ground, holding the bird between its paws as a pet dog might hold its bone. The plucking, shredding, and tearing seemed to go on and on. Yet the snow remained surprisingly white where I expected a stain of blood.
“There’s a polar bear.” The report was hushed.
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A bear smaller than the first approached from behind. Its nose was lifted into the air, its nostrils flared. It seemed to sneak from tree to tree, inching ever closer to the scent of fresh flesh. It seemed oblivious to the wolf’s presence, initially approaching the site of the kill rather than the wolf directly. The wolf tentatively stood; the goose secured in its jaws as it watched the bear. Nose to the ground, the bear followed the scent toward the carcass. The wolf took a few steps toward the cover of trees. Finally, the bear noticed the wolf. The wolf ran with its goose. The polar bear chased. They disappeared into the forest.
“Wolf,” came another hushed report.
The large wolf from the morning’s faced-off appeared from the opposite woods. It ambled toward us.
“Bear!”
The chasing pair re-emerged, drawing the attention of the newly arrived alpha. The large wolf altered course, picking up its pace as it neared the pair. The wolf with the prey veered to one side, hugging the tree line as it headed in the direction the rest of the pack had taken. The polar bear skirted alongside our group, then bounded down the air strip toward the lodge. The large wolf chased, rapidly closing the gap. The polar bear turned toward the woods and both vanished from view.
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We’d barely had time to catch our breath when there was another report, “Bear.”
I turned to see the large polar bear emerging from where the small one had first been sighted. Similarly, its nose was in the air, its nostrils flared. No sneaking though. The large bear boldly crossed a snowy field, directly to the spot where the snow goose had met its fate.
“Wolf!”
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The large wolf swaggered into view, seemingly satisfied with its eviction of the smaller, offending bear. The large bear turned to face him. The wolf approached. The bear lunged, then chased. The wolf ran. The bear ran. The wolf led the bear directly toward our group, altering course just slightly to avoid us by a few feet. Our guides sprang into action, hollering and waving their arms to stop the bear before it got equally close. The wolf slowed to a trot, then stopped at a safe distance to watch the bear’s admonishment. The wolf appeared to smirk when the bear stopped, seemingly pleased with its clever ploy of enticing the humans to dissuade its pursuer. The wolf paused a moment longer, then drifted off toward its pack.
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The bear stopped. It glanced at our drenched, shivering bunch, then followed its nose back to the coveted goose kill spot and flopped down for a nap.
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