To the Editor:
With respect to your article on the polar bear observed near Gillam on Dec. 7, I have some comments.
According to the Natural Resources staff who moved the bear, it was an older female. Ian Stirling suggests that it was a young male, then goes on to regurgitate excuses from 20 years ago the the bears move inland because the ice melts early and freezes late.
The ice-free period has not changed much lately and most of the bears have been fat at the end of summer before they go back on the ice in the fall. In addition they have not gone out later in the fall the last number of years. For expert information, I recommend Dr. Susan Crockford's website at polarbearscience.com.
Gerald Machnee
Lockport
Editor’s Note: The age and sex of the polar bear caught near Gillam Dec. 9 were not provided to the Thompson Citizen by a Natural Resources and Northern Development spokesperson. In comments made before the bear was captured about whether sightings so far from Hudson Bay were unusual, polar bear scientist Ian Stirling said that polar bears who ventured farther than their usual range are typically younger males.
