Weather.... late 2009

[Lori S.]

This site says pregnant females den up and enter a state "similar to hibernation" to have their young.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear

[Paul T]

Polar bears "hibernate" when bearing young, but I think otherwise they don't.  Certainly if you watch the documnetaries, the polar bear mothers emerge with their cubs to show them the outside world for the first time.  I think in the process she loses something like a third of her body weight in feeding the cubs up to that point, I can't remember exactly how much.  Males and non-breeding females wander the ice flows etc.

[Lori S.]

Just another day in paradise... (The first photo is from yesterday at 10am... snow and blowing snow caused limited visibility all day and frequent white-outs.)  

Another ~130 car accidents since yesterday!    The 20 cm or so of snow that fell was formed into the most impressive long curving cornices, up to thigh-high, wherever the wind velocity dropped due to fences, trees, roofs.  They look nice but have to be shovelled away... fortunately, they had not yet turned to concrete-like hardness, according to Stuart who did the shovelling!  Not too cold by the thermometer (-10 C) but high wind chill.  Today it has cleared by mid-afternoon though the wind continues to howl (second photo).
On a very shocking note, 5 houses burned down completely and another two were damaged in a neighborhood near here.  The fire started at 3:45 am and firetrucks couldn't get down the streets; one got stuck, and residents were out trying to help dig out and haul hoses and so on; the high winds pushed the flames from house to house.  

Luckily we don't have to go anywhere 'til Monday morning when the roads should be relatively back in order!  Surgery then to install a plate, screws, whatever assorted hardware they want to get rid of, into the wrist, then 6 weeks in a cast (to answer your question, Lesley).  (Sheesh, and I didn't even really think it was broken until the x-ray!)... "chore-avoidance mechanism" indeed, David!    The third photo shows the activity example I intend to follow for the next while...  

[maggiepie]

Apparently polar bears may also be turning to cannibalism


http://www.livescience.com/animals/060612_polar_bears.html

There was a report in the paper recently that 4 separate incidences of cannibalism have been recorded this year.

[mark smyth]

soon there could be none.

Did anyone watch the programme about the baby mammoth last night?

[Maggi Young]

What with all these problems affecting the wildlife from climate changes etc and the threats to those Bats from tree felling  and Red Kites from poisoning (see Mark's posts in the Wildlife thread  http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4624.0 ) I wonder we've got any animals left!  

 Then there are the gardeners killing mice and slugs.... it's murder out there, i tell you!

[johnw]

soon there could be none.

Did anyone watch the programme about the baby mammoth last night?

I saw it, remarkably intact and cute but I missed hearing what's its last dinner was.

Disturbing new today of polar bear cannabalism of young ones due to food shortages.  The locals up there say it was not uncommon in the past.

johnw

[cohan]

lori--sorry to hear about the break i broke my wrist in may 08, which was supposed to be my first full gardening season here..needless to say didnt get much done...

i used to live in edmonton, farther north in alberta, and people there used to joke about calgary (where lori is) trying to avoid snow removal by waiting for a chinook to melt it.. edmonton is much farther from the mountains, besides being north, so really does not get the warm pacific systems in winter that calgary does....

i spent one winter in montreal, which was the most snow i've ever seen, and they are very good at dealing with it--i remember leaving nightclubs at 3 am, i was walking, but those driving would guess which white mound was theirs, and brush off enough snow by hand to get the shovel out of the trunk, and proceed from there..
toronto, by contrast, at least the downtown parts near the lake, is rather poorer at it, and was nationally ridiculed for having to call in the military to clear streets after a major snowfall some years ago...

the problem for cities dealing with snow removal is that they cant be sure how much snow there will be, or when, and in order to have enough money and workers ready at a moment's notice would have to have a huge fund standing idle, which may or may not be needed in a given year... toronto had cut that standing fund, and thats when the snow came!

out here, although rural roads can easily drift over, roads are cleared faster than one might expect, and the highway we travel to work 30km away is usually fairly clear, though sometimes visibility is poor; the last 2 days we decided to stay home due to snowfall and blowing snow, but we rarely do that
...the state of roads and sidewalks in nearby towns is another matter

i agree many of the traffic problems could be avoided with winter tires (which are actually recommended below a certain temp--i forget, 7C? regardless of whether there is snow) and slower driving! limits here range from 90-110kmh on highways, but average speeds are more like 120-130....

[Lori S.]

Thanks, Cohan.  Yeah, we lived in Edmonton too, for 4 years... much more "normal" approach to dealing with winter there, such as actual road maintenance and snow removal!  

i used to live in edmonton, farther north in alberta, and people there used to joke about calgary (where lori is) trying to avoid snow removal by waiting for a chinook to melt it..

No joke... That's the absolute truth!  I can't believe there is another city in North America of anywhere near this size that is managed worse!

PS Okay, I promise I'll quit complaining now!

[Anthony Darby]

This site says pregnant females den up and enter a state "similar to hibernation" to have their young.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear

Yes Lori. No bears actually hibernate as their body temperatures remain normal. Interestingly, animals that do hibernate need to raise their body temperatures to have a proper 'sleep' before dropping back into hibernation again.

[mark smyth]

John the baby mammoth was eventually aged to 1 or two months old. They took out it's milk tusk and first tooth. In it's gut they found milk and plant matter. The expert said elephant and mammoth young eat their parents dung to get essential gut bacteria. They also found mud in it's lungs.

[Lori S.]

I read a book some time ago that put forth the premise that aboriginal man was responsible for the extinction of the mammoth... an interesting read; can't remember the title.

Has anyone done the one of the polar bear sighting trips to Churchill, Manitoba?  We thought about it, back in the days when you actually took the train across the muskeg to Churchill (now it seems they fly you to Churchill from Winnipeg)... but never did it.

[Lori S.]

"Any car that needs 1 cwt in the boot so it can grip the roads should never have got off the drawing board."

Well, if we broaden "car" to automobile in general, then the statement would rightly include all pick-up trucks*.        (*Excluding those with 4-wheel drive.)  
I don't suppose these are popular there, I wouldn't guess, except for commercial hauling usage... ? They are immensely popular in these parts, who knows why?  (Hell, we've owned 6 of them ourselves - shocking when I think of it!  At least we've used "justified" them by hauling lots of bulk garden supplies, construction materials, bikes, etc., as well as camping in the back... not sure why most other people here own them, other than that they simply like big trucks!)   Anyway, they are rear-wheel drive and utterly useless in poor road conditions... even with several bags of sand in the back across the rear axle.  (The supply of sand does come in handy, though, to provide some traction, as it's frequently needed.  )   I was reminded of this as I gazed out the window yesterday, watching all the trucks fish-tailing around the corners.

On the other hand, the Prius we just got is great but difficult to haul a yard of mulch in.  

[Lesley Cox]

soon there could be none.

Did anyone watch the programme about the baby mammoth last night?

I saw it, remarkably intact and cute but I missed hearing what's its last dinner was.

johnw

Oh, so it wasn't wandering the streets of Antrim?

[Lesley Cox]

Lori I think your break must be much worse than mine was, back in 1979. It was a clean break called someone's fracture. Can't remember who the someone was. I was plastered for 8 weeks (what a lovely thought ) but the day after the plaster came off I was carrying full cans of water to water my seeds so the healing was very good. Never a suggestion of pain from it since even in horrid weather when Roger's ankle break of 40 years ago plays up "something awful." I do wish you well with yours. A chair by the fire is probably the best place with winter arrived.