Mother Nature Network

Big melt expected for Canadian Arctic glaciers

Scientists used computer models to predict how the glaciers would respond to future climate change, and the results were not reassuring.

Proposal to ban trade in polar bear parts fails at international wildlife conference

The U.S.-backed proposal was opposed by Canada, which is home to two-thirds of the world’s polar bears.

laurajmoss:

I could’ve written a book after interviewing these people, but I had to settle for a thousand words.

Living in the ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World’

Life is a bit quieter in Churchill, Manitoba these days. The tourists have left, and the polar bears have disappeared into the icy Hudson Bay to hunt for seals.
 
The “Polar Bear Capital of the World” is now essentially without polar bears. At least for a few months.
 
The bears will swim ashore in mid-July, but they won’t gather in great numbers until September. This is when bear season begins in Churchill, a town with fewer than 1,000 residents. By November, sometimes 60 polar bears can be seen on a given day.
 
Polar bears can grow as long as 10 feet and weigh up to 1,400 pounds, and the arrival of some of the world’s most powerful predators makes life in Churchill different from anywhere else on the planet.
 
If you live in Churchill, you don’t walk the streets at night during bear season. You keep your car doors unlocked — if a bear shows up, you’ll need shelter fast. And when you hear horns, you walk away and let the “bear catchers” do their job.

Read more.

Canadian city declares 3-pound Chihuahua ‘dangerous’
A bylaw dictates that the owners must obtain a liability insurance policy for the teacup Chihuahua, muzzle her and keep her on a leash at all times.

Photo of the day: A glowing burst of green aurora lights up the sky in the early hours of Oct. 1 above Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The light show was the result of a coronal mass ejection that erupted from the sun 3 days earlier.
 
As long, dark winter nights descend on the northern hemisphere, aurora lovers in far north towns and cities will have plenty of opportunity to witness these stunning displays. The peak time to view auroras occurs between 11 a.m. and 2 a.m., and the most active displays occur in the equinox months of September and March.

Search for diamonds turns up rare tree fossil in Canada’s far north
The tree remains have given scientists insight to the climate of western Canada 50 million years ago.

Tsunami boat washes up in Canada
The NOAA expects that more debris will come ashore over several years, but that much of it will be indistinguishable from the usual flotsam and jetsam.

Canadian vintner turns tomatoes into wine
Winemaker in Quebec uses an old family recipe to create a white wine from heirloom tomatoes.

Americans more likely than Canadians to believe in Bigfoot
The study found no connection between belief in Bigfoot and political ideology or gender.

Warming threatens ice hockey in Canada
Warmer winters are shortening the outdoor skating season and may prevent ice from freezing on backyard rinks that helped shape great hockey stars.