NANOOK

Polar Bears

The indigenous people of Canada, the Inuits, call the polar bear Nanook. The Ursus Maritimus is the world’s largest terrestrial carnivore. The King of the Arctic, is a gentle, ever caring mother with an intense curiosity. Females weigh 500-700 pounds, and males from 1000-1500 pounds.  Standing on its hind legs, some bears can reach a height of 10-12 feet!

Clad in insulating fur and fat, the polar bear is able to sleep through blizzards, or plunge into near freezing arctic waters. The bear’s three layer coat consists of a big layer of fat topped by skin. A thick black under coat of dense fur traps heat. The top layer of fur consists of hollow guard hairs. These hollow hairs act as a solar collector, trapping the warm rays of the direct sun, and passing them onto the heat trapping under coat.

The 4 inch outer coat appears from white to yellow, but in effect, its hollow hairs are actually transparent and reflects light. These hairs, also add buoyancy when swimming, and the matting ability and oily texture allow the animal to shed water and ice from its body.

The animals’ paws are large and rounded.  The bear is capable of flipping a 500 pound seal, from the water, with one swing of its paw! Each paw has five partially webbed claws that assist in swimming. Using the front legs to propel him, and its hind legs to stabilize and steer, the bear is a strong swimmer, able to swim up to 60 miles before needing to rest. The footpads have a heavy fur coat, to protect against frostbite, but are rough enough to add traction on ice. On solid surfaces, the paws spread to distribute weight and act like a snowshoe, making them a master at negotiating over ice.

The head is long and tapered, with small ears and powerful jaws. The 42 teeth include long sharp canines, needed for piercing flesh. Their eyesight is rather poor, except under water, where they can see for 15 feet when looking for food. They tend to be far sighted, which allows them to search large areas of their environment when feeding. Their hearing, through the small fur lined ears, is nearly equal to that of humans. The ears also contain a fine network of blood vessels, which transport thermal energy to the auricles.

The polar bear has a phenomenal sense of smell, and it is said, he can smell a seal buried in a cave, under three feet of snow.  The bear is often seen thrusting its nose in the air to utilize its keen sense of smell. The animal can smell food for a distance of 10 miles. On a clear day, through binoculars, its black nose can be seen from a distance of six miles!

The polar bear liver is so rich in vitamin A that it is toxic to humans. The bears are also susceptible to a parasitic worm, which is apparently contracted from eating infected seals. A grown bear’s stomach will allow him to consume 150 pounds of food at one time! However, on average, a seal every five days adequately sustains a bear. Summer produces slim food pickings, and the bear pretty much subsists on its own fat.

The normal walking gait  is 2 ½ miles an hour, but a bear can run 25 miles an hour!

April–May is mating season for polar bears, with the pair remaining together for a week. Courtship and mating take place on the ice.  Polar bears are induced ovulators, meaning that they do not ovulate regularly, but the mating ritual stimulates ovulation. Gestation is eight months. Mothers normally have twins, but can deliver one or up to four cubs. With the ice cap disappearing it is more common these days to see a bear delivering only one cub. Cubs look like rats at birth weighting, only 1-2 pounds.  They are born hairless, blind, deaf, and helpless. When they emerge from the den at five months, they generally weigh 29 pounds. Mom can double her weight during pregnancy. Cubs are born November – February.  Mom nurses her babies for five months, during which time she does not hunt or feed, but stays in the den with her babies.

A bear den is approximately 6 X 10 X 4 feet, and the temperature is 40 degrees warmer than the outside air.  There are 17 known denning areas across Canada. One, 40 miles south of Churchill, is the largest. Discovered in 1969, it is a birthing den for 150 polar bears. Cubs stay with their mother 2 ½ years. Mother generally gets pregnant about every three years.       Mother’s milk is 40% fat and is thick like condensed milk. At one month, the cubs crawl, at 6 weeks opens their eyes, and by 10 weeks, they can keep their balance. They  mature at 4-5 years. The life span of a polar bear is usually 15-18 years, but can reach 30 years. Mothers with cubs are solitary. Polar bears are very good moms. It is not uncommon for her to run off a male, twice her size, to protect her cubs.

Polar bears are one of the seven species of bears, and is most closely related to the brown bear, with whom they can interbreed, and produce fertile offspring. An adult female polar bear is called a sow, and a male, a boar. Adult males can be aggressive and often may hurt or kill the cubs. Two males can box over females for hours often with bloody results.

A polar bear can eat 10% of its body weight in 30 minutes! The animals have well developed, strong hind leg and neck muscles. In spite of their size, they are agile in the water. Young males indulge in mock fights, called sparring, which is an impressive pastime. They spend hours wrestling on their hind legs, which will serve them well for survival and the fight for mates, territory, and food. They  lick the snow to quench their thirst. The only enemy of an adult polar bear is the human.

Polar bears wander the frozen north and are constantly on the move, roaming hundreds of miles.  They live on ice sheets and ice floes, which provide a base for their diet of mostly ringed seals.  They’ll often wait for a seal to stick its head out of the water to breathe, then slap the seal on the head with its paw, and drag it from the water. This technique is called still hunting.   The aquatic stalk is another hunting technique; the bear quietly swims through the water where a seal is sun bathing on an ice floe. The bear suddenly leaps out of the water grabbing the seal by the neck, and before the seal knows what is happening, he has become dinner. They also eat stranded whales, walruses, carcasses, human refuge, and in the summer, plants and berries.

I was very lucky to see several polar bears each day while in Churchill and I never got tired of watching them--it was a marvelous and fascinating trip well worth a repeat!

In 1960, when the bear population was estimated to be only 10,000, there was worldwide concern that the polar bear may be endangered. In 1973, in Oslo, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States signed an international agreement of conservation to protect the polar bear and its habitat. 

KENYAN TID BITS

Memories of  Kenya

            Aaskari was a new word to me and I quickly learned it meant armed guard. During my visit to Kenya they were all over the tourist district, we understood mostly for pick pockets and minor crimes. In our well known hotel askari patrolled each floor of the hotel 24/7. They were on the streets and in front of stores. One evening one of the hotel askari accompanied several of us to an Indian restaurant two blocks away. I must say that I never felt threatened and was only uncomfortable in the local market because it was so big and such a potential fire hazard.

            Bougainvilleas ,in all colors, grew everywhere. They often formed gorgeous living fences and they grew as big as small trees. They hung over walls and were always a beautiful and a cheery site.

In the early 1900s the English indentured the Kikuyus to work in the sisal fields. Unable to read or write they did not understand that their thumb print on a piece of paper was obligating them to five years of very hard work. Many of them left but were arrested and returned to the plantations or put in jail if they refused to work. Because harvesting sisal is so difficult the crop was eventually replaced with coffee. One delightful evening spent in an Indian restaurant, the owner from India enlightened us some more about what a tough job cutting sisal was.

We arrived at the Aberdare Country Club about noon one day on our way to the Ark. The club veranda looked out over the valley and Mt Kenya beyond. What a view! It was a perfect place for the panoramic camera.  After lunch we wasted no time commandeering a rocking chair on the veranda just to enjoy the incredible view. I’d have been happy to have eaten lunch on a tray there but we dined inside with tux-clad waiters hovering over us fulfilling our every desire.

On the gentle lower slopes of Mt. Kenya we stayed at a quaint little English cottage lodge along the Naro Moru River. The area offered us a good opportunity for some nature walks and bird watching. The river was relatively clear but the water cold. There were several small waterfalls along the river. It was another lovely landscaped lodge. That night we lit the fire that was laid in our cabin fireplace and fell asleep to the crackling logs burning. Great!

            A total surprise of this trip was the totally unexpected beautiful hotels. After traveling over miles of rough dirt dusty roads it was a shock to come upon an oasis in the desert with running streams, swimming pools and lovely lush landscaping.  Our first plush hotel out of Nairobi was Amboseli nestled in the foothills of majestic Mount Kilimanjaro.  Part of the foothills are in Kenya but all of Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania.

After checking in at the hotel, I rounded the corner of the lodge veranda and nearly tripped over a yellow faced monkey! Later I observed him going into the coffee room and stealing a packet of sugar, then scampering off to eat his treat. He was fun to watch and he obviously was used to being around people.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

A Few City of Edinburgh Highlights

This city of 500,000 is Scotland’s jewel festive epicenter of Scottish culture, as well as an important financial center of the United Kingdom.    Locals call themselves Edinburghers.

Edinburgh has been Scotland’s capitol since the 12^th century. Framed by rolling hills and the blue of the Firth of Forth, it is one of Europe’s fairest cities. Half medieval and half Georgian it is often referred to as to as the Athens of the North. In 1999 Edinburgh became the seat of the Scottish Parliament. Filled with history, battles, kings, bold ideas and literary association the city is the gateway to central Scotland. It is a city of contrasts where the past meets the present and ancient streets are filled with the hustle and bustle of modern day city life. Scotland aligned itself with France in 1513, and England burned the city but spared the now famous castle.

In the 12^th century Edinburgh was a walled city. The 1707 Act of Union with England moved the power to Westminster. The city is divided into Old Town and New Town. Edinburgh University was founded in 1583.

The seat of centuries of Scotland’s colorful and turbulent history Old Town is best seen on foot. The backbone of Old Town is the famous Royal Mile where kings and queens traversed for centuries. Grassmarket, south of the castle, is where the dreaded gallows hanged convicted criminals and burned witches at the stake.  Many squares, terraces, circuses, wynds and closes crisscross the city interrupting the cobbled streets thus making street numbers very confusing and difficult to find. Numbers are often missing, and follow no logical sequence.

James Craig, only 27 years old, designed New Town with its classical grid design that was the first in Europe. The buildings are Georgian. After New Town was built Old Town became a slum and remained so until a 19^th century restoration. Taxes were based on the number of windows in a house, so it is not unusual to see artificial windows on the top floor that reflect no light. New Town dates to the 18^th century, the golden age of Edinburgh. Three main streets: Queen, George, and Princes run parallel in the Georgian masterpiece. The rectangular symmetrical grid links Charlotte and St. Andrews Squares.  The first building went up in 1767 and by 1846 Edinburgh was a true British city with a direct rail link to London. Rose Street, directly north of Princes Street, has more pubs per square block than anywhere else in Scotland. Shops and restaurants are nestled between the pubs.  New Town covers one square mile and contains 10,000 buildings that are listed for architectural merit. (The equivalent to our historical building.)

St. Giles Cathedral, Scotland’s principal church, has a turbulent religious history. It was Episcopalian twice. John Knox delivered fiery Presbyterian sermons here that drove Mary, Queen of Scots into exile.

Robert Lewis Stevenson lived at 17 Heriot Row from 1857 to 1880. A sickly and lonely child, he spent a lot of  time in a third floor bedroom window looking out onto the street. A local wealthy citizen who turned into a sort of cat robber in the evening was the inspiration for Stevenson’s Jeckle and Hyde. The lamplighter who came by each evening to light the street lamps inspired his famous poem The Lamplighter.

The Walter Scot Memorial looks like a church spire without a church. In the middle of Princes Street by the park it really is a monstrosity looking very much out of place. Built in 1844, it towers 200 feet over the sidewalk. Inside the spire is a marble statue of Scot sitting in a chair, his favorite dog sitting beside him.

Holyroodhouse, also spelled Holyrood House, was originally built as a 12^th century abbey, ruins of which are visible from the courtyard.  A little history: Queen Margaret eventually became Saint Margaret. She was very altruistic, doing kind deeds all the time, but not so her son, King David.  One day he was thrown from his horse and suddenly was confronted by an angry stag. When he put his hand up to protect his face the stag turned and walked away. He took this as a sign to change his ways and built the original fortified house down in the valley. The house was built in two sections. Mary, Queen of Scots, occupied the 16th century tower. In the 17^th century additions were added to join the other buildings and form the inner courtyard. The ceilings inside were absolutely exquisite. Made of egg white and horsehair they were as fine as any plaster ceiling. The detail and design was incredible. This would not be my choice of residence and it is said that the Queen detests Holyroodhouse. 

There you have some highlights of Edinburgh.

FAIRY PENGUINS

 The Penguin Parade

One evening while in Melbourne, Australia we drove  to Phillip Island. We had an excellent lobster dinner at The Jetty Restaurant before going to see the penguins. In Auckland we had seen the largest penguins (emperor) in the world and now we were going to see the smallest ones.

The tiny Fairy Penguins live only in southern Australia and every evening shortly after sunset they march across Summerland Beach to their nesting area an event known as the Penguin Parade.

A visitor center was built to protect the penguins and prevent people from trampling the beaches and destroying the penguins' home. Bleachers line the beach for spectators to watch this evening ritual.  If the pathways leading home through the sand are destroyed the penguins get lost. No flash pictures are allowed as the flash hurts the penguins’ eyes.

Over a half million visitors a year visit the center. You can imagine what that many people could do to the nesting area. The penguins live in homes burrowed in the sand.

These tiny animals, smallest of the 18 species, often swim 20 miles off shore feeding. They can dive ten meters and have been clocked swimming 24 mph. Mating season is July-September and these penguins mate for life. Each couple raises two chicks and the parents take turns feeding the youngsters. After 6-8 weeks the little ones leave the nest and learn to swim, they cannot fly. The fairy penguin is, on average, 33 cm long and has an ink blue coat.

Watching the penguins walk across the beach, I whispered, “What an experience! They are so tiny, just precious.”

After the parade one can walk on the boardwalk through the nesting area which is filled with the sounds of the penguins talking. Do you suppose they are asking, “Did you have a good dinner?” Pretty fantastic to be so close to them!

The center has a lovely museum and a nice gift shop.

This was a once in a lifetime experience and it was fantastic!

PLITVICE NATIONAL PARK

                                              One Lovely Park

I chose the trip I did to Croatia because Plitvice Lakes (PLEA-veet-seh) were on the agenda. Also known as the Land of Falling Lakes, the 16 turquoise cascading lakes separated by limestone dams and countless waterfalls are located in Croatia’s first national park and one of Europe’s last old-growth forests. The 114-square-mile park, established as a national forest in 1949, became a UNESCO site in 1979. There is no town nearby, but 700,000 people visit the park each year, however few are Americans. The park has two entrances.

            Running parallel to the Dalmatian Coast the natural landscape of karst formations is located in the   limestone Denaridge Mountains.  Travertine traces can be seen in some of the streams. The area is famous for its numerous waterfalls and green, emerald, and turquoise waters. Clear water, flowing from the mountains, brings calcium carbonate with it which interacts with plants, algae, and moss to create the beauty and ever-changing landscape that is in constant motion. Minerals coat vegetation on the lake bottoms that reflects sunlight creating a blue color. Eventually vegetation thickens, and travertine barriers form and waterfalls emerge. It is one of Europe’s most spectacular natural wonders.

            Nestled between Mount Mala Kapela and Mount Pljesevica the upper and lower lakes have a height difference of 440-feet. The lakes are tranquil in summer, but waterfalls continue to flow during cold, harsh winters filled with ice and snow. The longest waterfall, located in the lower lakes, is 250-feet high. The mountain flow of water determines whether one experiences a light mist or thundering deluge. Lake Kozjak is the largest lake.

            The magical landscape includes forests, lakes, streams, rivers, and miles of pleasant walks in the National Park. Trees cling to cliffs. In the ancient European forest and trees stay where they fall. 

            Abundant beech trees provide nuts for wildlife.  The plentiful wildlife includes brown bear, European owl, mice, squirrel-like dormice, grey heron, otter, wild cats, European pond turtle, wolf, boar, woodpeckers, turkey grouse, black stork, red squirrel, badgers and 160 species of birds.

            The recent war’s first casualty was a park policeman.  Serbs occupied the park until 1995, but fortunately there was little damage to the area other than the killing of much of the larger wildlife.

            Hotel Jezero, a large modern hotel with 229 rooms, is located at the park entrance. Surrounded by lush forest, the region’s tranquil waters are at your doorstep.

            It was a long transfer day from Dubrovnik to Plitvice.  Late afternoon we went for a walk in the woods descending many of the 239 steps to the lake. I could hear waterfalls but couldn’t quite get to them. The weather had cooled considerably. The beautiful area is very peaceful.

            The next morning we woke to a lovely day. Our guide told us, “I was here five times last year and it rained every time.”  We were lucky!

            We walked around the incredibly beautiful lower four lakes.  There are waterfalls around every corner, all sizes, all heights.  The water not only rolled over the edge but also flowed thru several holes in the rock so a fall might have 7-8 falls flowing under the water falling over the top. I have never seen such falls. They were unbelievable.

            The water was not as cold as I expected. The pathways were well packed and smooth. In many places we walked over elevated wooded walkways. I walked slowly as this was a prime destination for me and I wanted to absorb the scenery and beauty as long as possible.

            In one lake  fish swarmed in large schools along the edge in several places. The waster was crystal clear everywhere. The colors of the lakes varied from green to turquoise. The sound of running water was wonderful.

            The 12 upper lakes are less scenic and are visited much less often. The walks in the park are limited to the areas around the lakes, even though the park extends much farther. There are still war remnants left in the rural areas and it is not safe to walk them without extreme caution.

            We were visiting on a Saturday but ran into virtually no other people. We did meet a couple of young American girls who had been studying in Italy and were now headed home. Ah youth!

             The area is often referred to as the Devil’s Garden or Land of the Wolf which translates into lifka.

            Plitvice ranks high on my list as one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. I didn’t want to leave, but eventually we came to the end at one of the largest lakes and reluctantly left. 

THE SIBELIUS MONUMENT

        An Unusual Artwork

Outside of Helsinki, Finland  the Sibelius Monument is located in a lovely park at the water’s edge of a lake.   A competition, held in 1963, was won by female sculpture, Ella Hiltunun, who won over 50 other sculptors.

The 600 acid-proof stainless steel pipe sculpture shimmering in the park is dedicated to Finland’s famous composer, Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Originally a lively debate ensued about the merits and flaws of abstract art. The steel pipes are welded together in a wave-like pattern. The purpose of the artist was to capture the essence of the music of Sibelius. It took four years to complete the 30-ton structure which measures 10.5 X 6.5 X 8.5 meters. Unveiled on September 7, 1967 it was Finland’s first abstract monument.

An effigy of Sibelius is included in the artwork. The cigar smoking composer moved from the city in 1904 and died at age 92. It is an interesting and unusual piece of artwork located in a lovely peaceful setting that certainly is easily recognizable.