11 August 2008
392 posts down… 392 to go!
Posted by Rotorboy under: Work .
The purpose of my being here in Kugluktuk is to provide transportation for the Department of the Environment biologists in their grizzly bear survey.
The survey is a passive survey, meaning we don’t go searching for grizzly bears to chase them down, tranquilize them and tag them. Instead, the biologists have set out 392 posts, set about 5 miles apart in a grid pattern all around Kugluktuk.
The posts are about 5 feet tall wrapped barbed wire and topped off with a ‘lure’. The lure is a cotton sock dipped in this ‘oh-so-wonderful’ special concoction. It looks kind of like a thick, brown gravy. I’ve got no idea what’s in it but I’m certain it contains rotting meat of some sort. It’s absolutely putrid. The smell instantly makes you dry heave. Apparently, it works quite well to draw in bears.
The bears are drawn by the ‘lure’. Curious as they are, they check out the post. When they do, they rub their bodies or paws on the post, thus snagging some hairs on the barbed wire.
We fly to every post and check for hair. Generally this only takes a minute, as the majority of posts are absent of hair. Occasionally, a post has been visited and the biologists retrieve the hair, put it in small envelopes, tag it and re-bait the post with more of the lovely lure.
To process all 392 posts takes 6-7 days. Each day is quite long, averaging 8-9 hours flying. Of course there is always weather to content with… and up here good weather seems to be rare for any extended period.
Yeah, good times re-fueling in 30 knot winds and driving rain. Good times, indeed.
3 Comments so far...
Swede
Posted on August 11th, 2008 at 13:08
Its all about the glory Roger. And by the looks of the last picture, you found it buddy. There’s the glory.
Rotorboy
Posted on August 11th, 2008 at 13:53
I couldn’t have said it better…
Ryan
Posted on August 12th, 2008 at 9:11
Look at all that boomerang gear you’re sporting. The weather looks nice. I think the fire season is done down here-not that you missed much. It has rained hard here for the last couple of days. Hard enough in fact they sent the contract ships away that have been here all summer. Have a good time and call me when you get home I should have news one way or the other by the end of this week.
