Banks Island
I was lucky to kayak the Thomsen River in Aulavik National Park in 2008. This was the trip of a lifetime. I had been trying to go on this tour for years. Only 7 tourists (including two guides) visited Aulavik National Park in 2007. Thirteen tourists (+ 3 guides) and some scientists visited the Park in 2008
The Thomsen River bisects Aulavik NP & is the most northerly navigable river (for 4 weeks) in North America. Our 14 day, 170 km kayak trip took us through some of the most remote terrain in the world. In addition , I hiked some 50 miles, photographing & observing unique wildlife & terrain.
Signs of global warming & permafrost melting were the most concerning part of the journey [read on for more information].
A muskoxen skull located at an ancient meat cache [archeological site] on Banks Island. The caches are located near sources of large but carry-able rock, which were stacked on carcasses to preserve them with nature’s deep freeze. The ancient bright orange lichen attest to the age of this skull.
A white wolf stands on a bank above the Thomsen River. This is one of only three wolves I saw during the trip. Unfortunately it was across the river and we could get no closer to each other – though we tried. I heard from one of the other tour members that Eskimos slaughtered many wolves the previous winter.
The thick shedding fur on this bull muskoxen is called “quivit”; which is a thick, whisper-light, wool undercoat that keeps the “ox” warm during the long, windy, extremely cold, arctic winter. Quivit is reputably 10 times warmer that the finest sheep wool.
Unexpected wildlife included two Richardson’s Canada geese, which are smaller than their common Canada goose cousin.
One of my goals was to photograph all three arctic loons. I got images of two species, this Pacific loon and the yellow-billed loon.
A cautious brown lemming perched on the edge of its burrow [den]. Lemmings were at the bottom of their population cycle. I saw fewer than 10 lemmings in 14 days. Without this vital source of food; raptors, arctic fox, wolves, & other predators were concentrating on birds, bird eggs, muskoxen, & Peary caribou.
A pair of sandhill cranes in mating display. Cranes were somewhat common in Aulavik National Park but their elusive nature kept me from getting close to most of them. I felt very fortune to get this and other great shots of sexy cranes.
A pair of courting tundra swans driving off a competing male. It was brutal.
The defeated male tundra swan makes his escape.
I’m sitting on the top of a rocky hill with a typical Banks Island landscape in the background. The camouflage clothing allows me to get closer to my photographic “prey”. Note how lightly I’m dressed & read on.
Part of our Whitney & Smith tour group enjoying the view from a rocky hill overlooking the Thomsen River Valley. Eskimos, who usually wear heavy sweaters, were wearing flannel shirts or T-shirts during the summer heat of 2008.
I didn’t see permafrost melting [old or new] until near the end of the two week tour. Here, severe melting has exposed multiple sheets of ice as well as frozen layers of silt and organic soils. Now exposed, the “soil” will melt rapidly the remainder of this summer & summers to come. This an alarming example of global warming in action. Banks Island averages only 8.5 inches of precipitation a year [a frozen desert].
This image shows a huge mudslide caused by permafrost melting. We experienced 70-85 degrees F temperatures for most of our 14-day tour. I was told to expect 35-55 degrees and windy weather [“you may wear all your layers for most of the trip”]. News reports have indicated record breaking temperatures & ice cap melting in the Arctic during the summer of 2008.
Another new incident of permafrost melting, which likely accelerated during the remaining weeks of the short hot summer. I was very concerned to see global warming [both permafrost melting and disappearing ice shelf].
The ice shelf had already melted to near the south shore of Banks Island by spring (June 23rd). Ice was almost totally absent in the Northwest Passage two weeks later. I read a report on April, 2009, that the 2008-2009 Actic pack ice averaged just five feet thick compared to the historic eight foot average.
This muskoxen may have died during the severe winter kill of 2003 to 2004, when it rained after a heavy snowfall [global warming is changing the winter climate]. This created a thick layer of ice, which made it very difficult for muskoxen and Peary caribou to scrape to the vegetation below. An estimated 20,000 of 70,000 muskoxen are estimated to have starved that winter. I think it was more.
A bull muskoxen standing on a terrace in front of the Thomsen River. I had been waiting for this lone bull to get close for most of the day & had a planned route up a shallow draw to a relatively secure (hah) spot to take this picture. Lone males are dangerous & unpredictable but, after gesturing a few threats, it ran into the Thomsen river, which allowed me (after sprinting to another camera position) to take the image below.
Bull muskoxen now watches me from the Thomsen River.
Part of our Whitney & Smith kayak tour group paddling towards a cliff along Thomsen River. This is the only large cliff we passed in 170 km of paddling. It had peregrine falcon & rough-legged hawk nests on it but our guides did not stop to let us take pictures.
I could not find any external reason for the death of this muskoxen calf. I presume it died from natural causes other than predation. Local Eskimos report that global warming has changed the habits of muskoxen & that calves are being born smaller & have lower survival rates. I observed that muskoxen were really bothered by the 70-85 degree F temperatures. Far-ranging arctic wolves & nearby foxes will find this carcass in a few days. Our tour group moved camp the morning after this photo & I was unable to set up a blind to wait for the predators to arrive.
Clouds reflected on the Thomsen River. This image dramatically attests to the vast open landscapes found on Banks Island. The river was dropping but still near bank full depth when we arrived on June 23rd. Paddling was fast & easy. We arrived at our last two camping spots about 4 days earlier than scheduled. This image was taken about July 2. The river had dropped considerably but was still quite full & cold. Five days later it was about half this size, shallow, warm, muddy, sluggish, & large gravel bars were exposed. Drinking at this time was a big yuck! The Thomsen is navigable for only about four weeks during the short spring & early summer growing season.
Two arctic fox pups [kits] resting on the entrance to their den. I worried about these cute fur balls, as their most common prey [lemming & Arctic hare] were very uncommon.
Although I didn’t succeed in all my photography goals, this was a trip I will remember for the rest of my life. I highly recommend this and other Whitney & Smith Arctic Tours.
Bud Kovalchik