An encounter with a wolf..

     Last Thursday I was working in the GAW office, located within the main base, when Bruce, the trashman, came and told me there was two wolves by the cardboard dump and if we were quick I could have my first chance at facing an arctic wolf.  For the past two weeks I have been telling everyone how badly I want to see one, so I didn't hesitate to grabb my camera and jump in the truck (after asking my boss who was all for it ).  When we got to the cardboard dump Bruce took a bag of garbage and started shaking it to get the wolves to come out.  Of course I was yelling at him that he was going to make them mad, but they are pretty used to people here and I soon figured he must know what he's doing since with his job he sees them on a weekly basis. 

     One wolf reappeared and stood about five metres away as I took pictures and Bruce continued shaking the garbage bag.  At times it seemed that it was going to approach us but was being very hesitant, which was fine by me.  The wolf had beautiful white fur and actually looked quite cuddly; I had to remind myself it wasn't just like a dog and to refrain from petting it.   Supposedly there is a pack of about twelve wolves that often appear together around the base, so I am hoping to encounter all of them at once someday.

    

     Other wildlife that I have encountered here in Alert is a lemming and arctic hare.  The lemming was about the size of a hampster and was running along the tracks to the GAW Lab.  I was driving the truck and at first thought it was just a rolling piece of snow until Matt, the lab operator, yelled at me to stop the truck.  We then tried to chase after it but it was surprisingly quick!  Unfotunately I didn't have my camera on hand.

     I have seen over ten arctic hare since I have been here.  Often they have been in bunches of about three to seven or running solo.  They are pure white and very big, not like the typical rabbit you see running across your lawn in southern Ontario.  When they stand up they are three to four feet tall! I swear I have even see one run while standing up, but the darkness does play tricks on my eyes here  (I thought I saw a polar bear the other day on the walk to the lab but turns out it was just a snow covered barrel).  Since the arctic ocean is frozen over this time of year there is no polar bears this far north untill it warms up a bit.  These arctic hare are even known to eat meat if they have the opportunity, which doesn't surprise me since they are larger than the arctic fox.  Below is a picture I tried to take of a hare which was hanging out at the building where we park our truck before the walk to the GAW lab.  I'm hoping to get a better picture soon and with more hare in it once the sun comes up.