Caribou Tracks by Cedric Ley

It was the 14^th of July and I thought my chance to encounter the mighty herd was over.  It had been 10 days since I had seen any wild life. It felt like the Utukok upland was getting ready for the winter, when all of its summer inhabitants left to go to some cosier place south of the Brook range. That evening the wind picked up and with it the temperature dropped which to my delight kept the mosquitoes at large.

After a long day hiking on the edge of the Noatak national preserve and the Utukok upland, I was getting ready for a nice sleep when suddenly from the inside of my tent I could see a wolf.

I was very excited, but also wondered why a lonely wolf would be there when there did not seem to be anything to eat. Maybe something was about to happen…

The wolf passed and passed again…we looked at each other but because I was down wind he could not fathom what this odd tent and its habitants might be.  Finally, curiously got the best of him.  He crossed the stream and came toward the tent. I let him get closer.  I did not move.  We looked into each others eyes.

50 yards, 35, 20….I felt thrilled and privileged for I knew that wolves are naturally cautious of humans.  As he approached, it occurred to me that he would come all the way to the tent. Instead, he passed on my left to walk downwind. Once downwind, it took him two seconds to recognize my smell, and he ran in the opposite direction like his life was at risk. It really makes me think how we humans have a profound impact on animal instinct.

My heart was warm. This encounter made up for the last 10 days when I had seen nothing. It was one of those unique moments that one can only witness when alone in the wild. It was truly amazing.

After that, it took me a very long time to fall asleep, though it felt like minutes later when suddenly a noise sounding like a grunt brought me out of my slumber. At first I thought of a bear-  I quickly picked up my pepper spray and then, in the distance, I heard more grunts.  I realised that it was not the sound of a bear; I also recognised the very particular popping sound that the caribou’s articulation produce when they are on the move.

My heart was pounding.

Could this be the moment that I have been waiting for for the last six weeks?

I grabbed my camcorder as carefully as I could with minimum noise, and the battery that I keep warm inside my sleeping bag. By now, it felt that the entire valley was grunting. Up and down the valley, caribou were passing all around my tent.

Once all set, I carefully opened the tent and as gently as I could wiggled outside.

I could not believe what I was witnessing. The entire Western Arctic Caribou herd was passing in the valley, crossing the river. They were everywhere, on the slopes, high above the valley as far as my eyes could see, by groups of hundreds upon hundreds, following each other.  Untroubled by my presence, they were peaceful; I could not sense stress from them. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold.

Caribou by Cedric Ley

The weather was perfect.  The chilled wind kept the mosquitoes on the ground and the blue sky was perfect for filming and taking countless pictures.

It was 5:30 in the morning when I realised their presence.

After seeing how many were in the valley, I felt that the show must have started two to three hours before. The last of the caribou passed through the valley at 12:30 that morning.

At 12:31 the valley was again empty and all that remained was the newly formed tracks that the caribou had left behind them.

At the time of that fantastic experience, the herd was estimated at around 450,000 animals making the Western Arctic Caribou Herd the biggest in Alaska and the third largest in North America. It is a great number, but we should not forget that their future is an unsettled one. One of the main reasons will be the exploitation of coal in the north of the Utukok Uplands combined with mining in the south into the Brooks Range. This development can only have a negative impact, including putting sensitive calving grounds at risk. Add to this the impact of climate change, and even this great herd will be jeopardized.

Sitting back in my tent and looking out at the silent tracks the herd had left on the tundra, I could not stop thanking Mother Nature for a once in a lifetime experience that few will ever see.

Tags: adventure, Alaska, Arctic, bear, caribou, Cedric Ley, conservation, filmmaking, grizzly, natural world, nature, Noatak, photography, Utokok, Westerm Arctic caribou herd, wolf, Wolves

This entry was posted by Cedric Ley on Saturday, September 18th, 2010 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.