Showing posts with label reindeer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reindeer. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2015
Reindeer Herd just north of Inuvik middle of March 2015
Some images etc of the herd that was brought over from Alaska 80years to provide for local sustenance. still a going concern today. A short snowmobile ride north brings you to the winter range of the herd by Jimmy Lake. By the end of March they are moved over to the calving grounds on the southern tip of Richards Island before moving to the summer range by the ocean.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Renideer Herd out by Jimmy Lake north of Inuvik Jan 2015
Took a snowmobile trip out to the reindeer herd on Sunday, -18 in town and -35 out by the herd. Not much snow even out on the tundra. The herder was out doing some culling, the meat is mainly used for the communities. Cold day with 82% humidity, fortunately not much wind but lots of ground fog on the way back to town in fading light; easy to get lost if one is not careful. Really nice to see the sun but it's still only up for a short time. As the herd moves the snow dust hangs in the air from their passing, hence the grey "fog" in some pf the pix
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Reindeer crossing to ice road
A bit of a catch up post as I have been away in several other provinces and territories for the past while – always lots of travel when one is in the north.
Near the beginning of April, on Sunday the Reindeer herd was scheduled to cross the ice road near Swimming Point, which is approximately half way along the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk. The day before I had snowmobiled all the way to Tuk via Noel, Jimmy, Husky, and Eskimo Lakes, then came back along the ice road, sort of – conditions were terrible on the road itself and the sea ice was problematic. All told it was a 12 hour day and about 384 kms. Anyways – that will be in another post.
So while I was feeling a bit tired from the day before the neighbours and a friend from Aklavik were keen to go out and see the herd (so much so that Sam changed her flight south so that she could see the herd) – most people don’t have the where with all to snowmobile out the herd so the road crossing is many people’s only chance to see them. The reason the herd is doing the crossing, unlike why did the chicken cross the road, is that they are being moved to their summer calving grounds on Richards Island, close to the bird sanctuary. As a matter of fact Swimming Point is so named as it was the traditional place there the herd swam across this portion of the Mackenzie River en-route to Richards Island.
When we got near the appointed spot there was a pile of vehicles with many a photo tripod already set up. Problem was that the geography was such that if you stayed on the road you would be shooting into the sun. So, having already been around the herd a lot and knowing where they were going to drive them I headed out across the river ice to the shore so that the sun would be behind me.
I was able to get some better shots as I moved off of the road and settled down near the shore line. At one point the herd became startled and headed right my way until veering off – when they figured out I wasn’t just a rock. My friends thought that I was going to get run over, as they were on the road side of the herd. Lol. I am fairly confident that they would flow around a person but there is the danger of an errant antler strike. When the herd is moving and if you are close enough you can hear the constant clicking as their antlers hit.
Near the beginning of April, on Sunday the Reindeer herd was scheduled to cross the ice road near Swimming Point, which is approximately half way along the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk. The day before I had snowmobiled all the way to Tuk via Noel, Jimmy, Husky, and Eskimo Lakes, then came back along the ice road, sort of – conditions were terrible on the road itself and the sea ice was problematic. All told it was a 12 hour day and about 384 kms. Anyways – that will be in another post.
So while I was feeling a bit tired from the day before the neighbours and a friend from Aklavik were keen to go out and see the herd (so much so that Sam changed her flight south so that she could see the herd) – most people don’t have the where with all to snowmobile out the herd so the road crossing is many people’s only chance to see them. The reason the herd is doing the crossing, unlike why did the chicken cross the road, is that they are being moved to their summer calving grounds on Richards Island, close to the bird sanctuary. As a matter of fact Swimming Point is so named as it was the traditional place there the herd swam across this portion of the Mackenzie River en-route to Richards Island.
When we got near the appointed spot there was a pile of vehicles with many a photo tripod already set up. Problem was that the geography was such that if you stayed on the road you would be shooting into the sun. So, having already been around the herd a lot and knowing where they were going to drive them I headed out across the river ice to the shore so that the sun would be behind me.
I was able to get some better shots as I moved off of the road and settled down near the shore line. At one point the herd became startled and headed right my way until veering off – when they figured out I wasn’t just a rock. My friends thought that I was going to get run over, as they were on the road side of the herd. Lol. I am fairly confident that they would flow around a person but there is the danger of an errant antler strike. When the herd is moving and if you are close enough you can hear the constant clicking as their antlers hit.
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