@BRICKBURN,
@Velo Dog
our very own velo dog did some time recently being a bear guard against polar bears. maybe he will expand on that duty for the group
Hello Don and other friends here,
Yes, I was fortunate enough to be recruited into a three week contract, aboard a photo tourism and biology research type ship.
Turns out that if going ashore in certain remote parts of Russia / Siberia, by their law you must provide a properly trained and appropriately armed “bear guard” for each group going to the beach.
I applied for and received both a Russian Visa and a rifle / ammunition permit.
I brought my Whitworth Mauser, .375 H&H, with wide “V” rear sigt blade (AKA “express” sight) and flip up large white front bead (NECG brand).
My cartridges were Federal factory ammunition with 300 grain Swift A-Frame bullets.
Then I flew to Nome, Alaska, bought some marine flares to fit my little 12 bore flare pistol and then I boarded the ship there.
Incidentally, from the films I’ve seen and in speaking face to face with two Federal Game Wardens on Kodiak Island here, I’m convinced that hitting a cheeky bear with a fireball (marine signal flare) is superior to anything pepper spray has to offer for protection.
This is primarily because you can zing the bear before he gets too close to make ready with your rifle, in the event your warning flare is not received as well as hoped.
With pepper spray, you do not have the ability to hose him until he’s very close indeed.
Furthermore, only the very slightest breeze from bear to you will have you enjoying the pepper spray as much or more than the bear did.
A marine flare will shoot through a slight breeze coming from the bear to you.
In dry conditions though, a flare could cause an international incident sized tundra fire so, there is that.
Back to the job itself.
We spent the majority of our time in the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, seeing an estimated 3,000 + walrus, over a hundred whales (multiple whale species), 26 polar bear and I don’t remember how many lesser critters.
There were Siberian brown bear about, as we sometimes saw their very distinct tracks, on the mainland (in mud).
However, we did not see a single brown bear.
An experience I appreciated very much was to eat both whale meat, as well as walrus meat and blubber, while visiting a very tiny village of about maybe 12 or 15 coastal Siberian residents.
I don’t recall if their first language was Inupiaq or Inuit but they of course also spoke Russian.
They were very friendly, grinning from ear to ear, as they heartily shook our hands.
Through one of the ship’s language interpreters, they asked us many questions.
As far as I could tell, the small chunks of meat and blubber were boiled in water and the meat tasted lightly salted but not the blubber.
The meat resembled very tough to chew venison, with a very slight fishy after-taste.
It doesn’t sound tasty to write about it but actually, except for how tough it was to chew, I found it quite edible.
For some unknown reason, the walrus blubber was not salted.
It had hardly any flavor at all but the texture immediately broke down into a strange grainy sensation as it was chewed.
It was what I’d imagine eating a spoonful of greasy sesame seeds would feel like but with pretty much no flavor (as previously mentioned).
IMO, the meat from both whale and walrus had potential for long hours of stewing into something tender, as the flavor was not bad at all.
(I’ve eaten much worse tasting Nevada mule deer meat, during the rut).
And, the walrus blubber although strange in texture, needed at least spicy peppers, onions and / or garlic to realize any possible flavor potential.
Anyway, my job, (along with two other chaps I have known for almost 40 years each), while the ship was underway, was to stand “on the bridge” (AKA - stand inside the pilot house) and advise a regular crew member when I spotted any critters, or sea birds acting like something was about to happen, etc.
Best quality binoculars paid for themselves here as a white bear on the ice is one of nature’s best camouflage masterpieces IMO.
Likewise, sometimes after dinner, one of us was to give a talk to the group about pretty much anything we wanted to go-on about.
As it turned out, my turn never came up.
If it had, I was prepared to talk about bears, as I was pretty sure my life long interest in rifles and cartridges probably would not have been especially well received by some of the people attending, LOL.
Moving right along ...... While at anchor, each “bear guard” would be sent with a small group to shore, in a skiff (Zodiac) and stay with them, always watching for wildlife, as they hiked here and here, listening to a Biologist talk about animals and plants of the region.
Side Note: We tried to get Zodiacs to the beach at Wrangell Island but, there was about two miles of ice surrounding it and we were unsuccessful.
(Dear Global Warming, please come back. It’s flippin’ cold up this far north of San Francisco).
It was a shame we didn’t make it, because the Biologists believe wooly mammoths were alive there when the pyramids were being built at Giza.
And, I fo one would’ve enjoyed walking around where their last known place is now located.
You might ask, why was a simpleton such as I selected for that job?
Upon retiring from my Police career, I worked for a few years in the oil fields of northern Alaska.
Part of my job there was to keep workers from improperly interacting with wildlife of all sorts, from birds, bunnies and foxes, through caribou muskox, and of course bears.
The petroleum companies had put me through a wildlife guard school.
That school, combined with several years of repeated actual contact with bears (grizzly and polar) did the trick.
Also, perhaps plus my having been a firearms instructor for the majority of my 28 years as a cop probably didn’t hurt either (the ship’s administration may have presumed I was unlikely to shoot myself in the foot).
At any rate, we only saw our bears from a hundred meters or more and it worked out that only 3 were encountered on land this time.
They fled like politicians from a bright light.
The bears on ice floes seemed disinterested in us as we motored about, some folks saying “ooooh” and “ahhhh” while themselves and others stayed busy clicking away with their huge lense cameras.
In closing, I do not know if we will be invited back next year.
The Captain said she definitely wanted us to go along again.
But, the decision is with the company that owns the ship and due to various Russian red tape surprises on that cruise, the ship may go elsewhere next year.
Cheerio for now,
Paul.
