Wild Animals Do Not Buy Health or Life Insurance

Last winter my woodpile ran out before the snow did, so, I am “making wood” now with hopes it will be ready and enough for next winter.  My neighbor graciously pointed out a large tree in his woodlot that had snapped off and would make nice firewood. I grabbed my trusty Husqvarna and headed into the woods.

I started to saw it up and soon I found a dead woodpecker, desiccated but it’s plumage still vibrant inside the tree. It had, I suspect, “holed up”, in bad weather thinking itself safe from mother nature’s fury. Hopefully, it died on impact.

How precarious is life, especially for wild animals? The woodpecker’s demise brought me back to the days when I flew oil rig support in the Alaskan arctic and I thought of the wild the animals I had seen there. It is not uncommon to see animals in Alaska and it is, by helicopter, a unique vantage point from which to admire wildlife.

In those days we did not have GPS, nor its predecessor Loran, nor satellite tracking. If things went wrong, we were hundreds of miles from the police, the fireman, the emergency medical system, or even a grocery store. When I flew by a caribou, a moose, or bear I could not help but appreciate the fact these were creatures are totally dependent on their wits, perseverance, and God’s benevolence. When flying over these vast expanses of tundra and ice in the winter this appreciation of wild independence was even more pronounced. These creatures had truly evolved to thrive in the harshest of climates.

The Musk Ox, for instance, grows thick mats of wool. One spring I helped biologists dart the beasts with tranquilizers. While the biologists took blood samples I peeled of the massive mats of wool. The wool eventually made it to a friend who spun wool.

The biologists have good reason to monitor the Musk Ox health. The original Alaskan Musk Ox were hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th century. Their natural defensive strategy is to form a protective circle and stand their ground. This strategy does not work against rifles. Our US Fish and Wildlife Agency went to the trouble and expense to reintroduce the animals, so they take extra care to monitor their well-being.

Caribou deal with the cold in a different manner than the Musk Ox. Their hairs are hollow. The trapped air is a perfect insulator. Caribou have other unique characteristics. It is the only member of the deer family where both the male and the female have antlers, and one of the antlers curves in front of its forehead. It is a tool to scape snow and ice away to get to moss and lichens to eat. Their hooves are a bit of a phenomena too. They have four semi-independent parts that spread out for stability. They can move well  on snow, ice, or soft summer muskeg.

The arctic fox and the polar bear are predators who are of vastly different sizes yet have some things in common. They are, in the winter, the same camouflage color, white. They are both very smart hunters, and neither is too wary of man.  

When I was stationed on islands with oil rigs on them in the winter, I would take my cross-country skis  My aviation survival pack included a shotgun so I modified it with a shoulder strap so I could ski with it. It was my polar bear protection plan. Lucky for me, I never encountered a bear as I wonder if, at night, with thick mitts on my hands, I could have gotten off a shot in time.

When skiing, the only problem I encountered were the fox.   Despite the prohibition to feed them, the camp cooks tossed leftovers to the foxes. They were all over under the buildings. If you dropped a glove, chances are a fox would get it before it hit the ground.  When I skied, they would run around me like Indians circling the wagon train. Once I had to stop and tighten a ski boot. As I knelt down, one brave fox laid down at the tip of my left ski and started to gnaw on it! I wonder if I had fallen if one of those critters would have tried to make off with my nose or an ear! 

All animals are being affected by climate change. Biologists are tracing their migration. But, for the animals that live in areas that are already too hot, or too cold, or too high, the consequences are more extreme.

Maybe it is because I have seen the animals most vulnerable that I am more concerned. I admire their toughness. In these inhospitable regions I always had a warm helicopter, a warm bunk, and a hot meal. My good fortune to see our natural heritage has made me dedicated to conservation stewardship and the need to reign in the burning of coal, oil and gas to protect these noble creatures from climate change. 

I have read a lot about our rapid climate change and its impact on terrestrial and maritime wildlife. The projections vary. If we do nothing, scientists have projected that we will lose 20% of earth’s species. More recent projections that I have read say that we will lose 50% of planet earth’s species by 2100.

Unlike wild animals we can foresee and act to head off catastrophe. That is if we chose to.  

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