White Wilderness

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO

DURING THAT PERIOD OF GEOLOGIC TIME

KNOWN AS THE ICE AGE,

THE ENTIRE TOP OF OUR GLOBE WAS COVERED BY A VAST GLACIER.

ITS ICY FINGERS REACHED DEEP INTO NORTH AMERICA,

ACROSS THE SEAS INTO EUROPE,

AND DOWN ALONG THE FROZEN PLAINS OF SIBERIA.

IN FACT, 1/4 OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

WAS IMPRISONED IN ITS IRON GRIP.

THIS GIGANTIC ICE CAP WAS 2 MILES THICK,

AND ITS CRUSHING WEIGHT FLATTENED WHOLE MOUNTAIN RANGES

AND GOUGED OUT DEEP VALLEYS ON THE FACE OF THE LAND.

THE ICE AGE CHANGED NOT ONLY THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE EARTH,

BUT ALL LIFE EXISTING IN THOSE TIMES.

EVERY SPECIES HAD TO ADAPT ITSELF TO THE BITTER COLD

OR PERISH.

MANY CREATURES, OF COURSE, DID NOT SURVIVE,

AND WE KNOW THEM TODAY

ONLY FROM PICTURES DRAWN BY PREHISTORIC MAN

IN THE CAVES OF SOUTHERN EUROPE.

IN THESE GALLERIES OF ANCIENT ART,

WE FIND SOME SURPRISINGLY GRAPHIC PORTRAITS.

FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S AN EXTINCT RHINOCEROS,

EQUIPPED WITH LONG HAIR TO WITHSTAND THE COLD,

AND A FUR-BEARING ELEPHANT KNOWN AS THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH.

THERE ARE MASTODONS INSULATED WITH A THICK HIDE

CHARACTERISTIC OF ALL PACHYDERMS

AND HUGE, SHAGGY BISONS

COVERED WITH A PROTECTIVE COAT OF THICK FUR.

IN SPITE OF THESE ADAPTATIONS, HOWEVER,

THE HARSH CONDITIONS PROVED TOO MUCH,

AND THESE CREATURES GRADUALLY DIED OUT,

LEAVING ONLY THESE PICTORIAL LEGENDS TO MARK THEIR PASSING.

THE ARCTIC HAS FOREVER BEEN A LEGENDARY LAND,

AND EVEN TODAY, THERE EXIST HERE LIVING LEGENDS,

CREATURES ABOUT WHICH MAN KNOWS SO LITTLE,

THEY SEEM A BLEND OF MYTH AND MYSTERY.

IN THIS TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE,

WE SHALL FIND THEM CONTINUING THEIR ICE AGE EXISTENCE.

THIS IS A STORY OF LIFE MEETING

AND CONQUERING THE BLEAKEST ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH.

IN THE HIDDEN, UNMAPPED VALLEYS OF THIS WHITE WILDERNESS,

THE VAST GLACIERS STILL LIE AT REST, SEEMINGLY IMMOBILE.

AND YET, OVER THE YEARS, THEY INCH THEMSELVES ALONG

JUST AS THEY DID AGES AGO.

TIME IS ETERNITY HERE AND HAS LITTLE MEANING.

YET, IN MARCH, THE MONTH OF THE EQUINOX,

THE SUN LIFTS ABOVE THE SOUTHERN HORIZON.

THIS TOUCH OF WARMTH, WEAK AS IT IS,

CAUSES THIS LAND OF SNOW AND ICE TO UNDERGO A CHANGE.

THE ANNUAL THAW BEGINS FEEBLY, DROPLET BY DROPLET,

GRADUALLY INCREASING IN POWER AND SCOPE.

IN TIME, THE DROPLETS BECOME RIVULETS,

SOON, THE RIVULETS BECOME STREAMS.

THEN THE STREAMS TURN INTO FAIR-SIZED TORRENTS,

ALL RUSHING TOWARD THE VALLEYS BELOW,

ALL DESTINED EVENTUALLY TO EMPTY INTO THE ARCTIC SEA.

HIGH ON THE MOUNTAINTOPS,

THE THAW TAKES ON SPECTACULAR PROPORTIONS.

THESE THUNDERING AVALANCHES ARE RARELY VIEWED BY HUMAN EYES,

AND YET, EVER SINCE ANCIENT TIMES,

THEY'VE BEEN A PART OF THIS ANNUAL PHENOMENON.

INDEED, THIS IS WHAT THE ICE AGE MUST ONCE HAVE BEEN...

GIGANTIC WATERFALLS OF LIVING SNOW

POURING INTO THE VALLEYS BELOW.

AROUND THE FULL SWEEP OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE,

THE ICE-BOUND RIVERS, LIKE THE YUKON IN ALASKA,

THE MACKENZIE IN NORTHERN CANADA, THE LENA IN SIBERIA,

ALL BEGIN TO FEEL THE THRUST AND PUSH

OF THE UPLAND DRAINAGE.

TINY PROBING TRICKLES OF WATER UNDERCUT THEIR SOLID SURFACE.

THE FIRST TELLTALE CRACKS APPEAR,

SIGNS OF THE STRESSES AND STRAINS GOING ON BELOW.

THE CREVICES WIDEN AND TRAVEL. SOMETHING MUST GIVE.

NOW THE RIVERS CARRY GRINDING TOOLS OF THEIR OWN,

GREAT BOULDERS OF ICE THAT WEIGH HUNDREDS OF TONS.

IN THEIR TUMBLING JOURNEY DOWNSTREAM,

THESE BECOME THE BATTERING RAMS

WITH WHICH THE RIVERS ATTACK THE GLACIERS.

THE RIVERS HAVE WON THE BATTLE.

WINTER'S GRIP, AT LAST, IS BROKEN.

AND JUST AS THESE CURRENTS QUICKEN,

SO DOES THE PULSEBEAT OF LIFE ITSELF.

NOW ALL THINGS LIVING IN THIS WHITE WILDERNESS

MUST PREPARE FOR A PERIOD OF HECTIC ACTIVITY.

THE TIME AHEAD MUST BE LIVED

AT A DESPERATE, ALMOST DOUBLE-QUICK TEMPO,

FOR THIS ICE AGE SCENE

WILL BE RELEASED FOR ONLY THE BRIEFEST OF SUMMERS.

IT'S IN THE ARCTIC SEA

THAT THE FIRST SIGNS OF LIFE APPEAR...

FAMILIES OF WALRUS EAGER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE

OF THE REOPENED CHANNELS.

LIKE SCHOOLS OF OVERSIZED FISH,

THEY SWIM AND DIVE IN THE DARK DEPTHS,

TRAVELING THROUGH THE WATER WITH AMAZING SKILL AND SPEED.

WHEN THE EARLY-DAY NORSE SAILORS

FIRST SAW THIS STRANGE BEAST,

THEY CALLED IT THE HVALROSS, OR WHALE HORSE,

AND IT'S REMAINED A SORT OF SEA MONSTER EVER SINCE.

ACTUALLY AS LARGE AS A HORSE,

THE WALRUS IS ONE OF THOSE WARM-BLOODED MAMMALS

DESTINED TO SPEND ITS DAYS IN THE OCEAN.

BUT TO SURVIVE IN THIS ELEMENT, IT HAS DEVELOPED FINS FOR FEET,

A THICK LAYER OF BLUBBER FOR INSULATION AGAINST THE COLD,

AND ENORMOUS TUSKS FOR GATHERING FOOD.

THESE SERVE AS A SORT OF CLAM RAKE,

FOR THE WALRUS LIVES ON SHELLFISH,

WHICH HE GATHERS ON THE OCEAN BOTTOM.

HIS DIET INCLUDES CLAMS, STARFISH, SHRIMP, AND MOLLUSKS.

INDEED, TO KEEP A WALRUS CONTENTED,

IT TAKES A SEAFOOD COCKTAIL THE SIZE OF A WASHTUB.

IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT HE LIVES IN THE SEA,

THE WALRUS LIKES THE FEEL OF SUNSHINE.

AFTER ALL, HE IS WARM-BLOODED,

AND SO THESE BARE ISLANDS

BECOME A FAVORITE BASKING GROUND.

HE MUCH PREFERS A SUN-WARMED ROCK, NO MATTER HOW CROWDED,

TO THE MOST SPACIOUS OF ICEBERGS.

BESIDES, ICEBERGS ARE TRICKY.

THEY HAVE A WAY OF ROLLING RIGHT OUT FROM UNDER A FELLOW.

EVEN THOUGH HE'S PERFECTLY AT HOME IN THE WATER,

THE WALRUS CAN'T SWIM INDEFINITELY.

AND THE YOUNGSTERS, ESPECIALLY,

MUST STAY CLOSE TO A GOOD LANDING PLACE.

THIS MATTER OF GOING INTO DRY DOCK

CALLS FOR A GOOD SENSE OF TIMING

AND A SPLIT-SECOND DECISION AS TO WHICH WAVE TO RIDE.

FOR THE BEGINNER AT 100 POUNDS, IT ISN'T ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT.

BUT FOR THE ADULTS AT 2,000 POUNDS,

IT TAKES A BIT OF HUFFING AND PUFFING.

THE WALRUS IS A THICK-SKINNED CREATURE.

IN FACT, HIS HIDE MAY BE ANYWHERE

FROM 1/2 AN INCH TO 3 INCHES THROUGH.

AND IN LOUNGING AROUND ON SHARP ROCKS,

THIS TOUGH EXTERIOR PROVIDES WELCOME PROTECTION.

IT'S NOT A COMPLETELY UNMIXED BLESSING, HOWEVER.

SOMETIMES A FELLOW GETS AN ITCH AMONG ALL THOSE WRINKLES,

AND WHEN THIS HAPPENS, HE'S GOT PROBLEMS.

ON THESE LOUNGING ROCKS, SPACE IS DEFINITELY LIMITED,

SO A LITTLE OVERCROWDING IS TO BE EXPECTED.

BUT NO BOTHER.

INDEED, IF A WALRUS CAN PILLOW HIS HEAD ON A NEIGHBOR,

HE RATHER PREFERS THE ARRANGEMENT...

SORT OF LIKE SLEEPING ON A BLUBBER-FILLED MATTRESS.

IT'S NOT EVERY NEIGHBOR

THAT ENJOYS BEING A MATTRESS, HOWEVER,

AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, BITTER ARGUMENTS BREAK OUT.

NOW THE TUSKS OF THE MIGHTY BULLS BECOME SLASHING SABERS

THAT CAN GOUGE AND TEAR AND CUT.

IN FACT, THERE'S HARDLY A MATURE BULL IN THE COLONY

THAT DOESN'T BEAR THE WOUND STRIPES

OF THESE BAD-TEMPERED EXCHANGES.

SUDDENLY, THE SQUABBLING STOPS.

SOMETHING BIGGER THAN A NEIGHBORHOOD BRAWL

SENDS PANIC THROUGH THE HERD,

AND IN A SINGLE INSTANT,

THIS LAZY SCENE IS CHANGED TO ONE OF SEETHING TURMOIL.

THE CAUSE OF IT ALL IS THE POLAR BEAR...

KING OF THE ARCTIC AND MORTAL ENEMY OF THE WALRUS TRIBE.

OF ALL THE LEGENDARY CREATURES OF THE FAR NORTH,

THE POLAR BEAR IS THE ONE

WHO SEEMS THE SYMBOL OF THIS GHOSTLY LAND.

LIKE A WHITE PHANTOM, HE MOVES THROUGH HIS REALM,

AN EVER-PRESENT MENACE, FOR HE DOES NOT HIBERNATE.

HE'S BEEN CALLED BY MANY NAMES...

THE SPIRIT BEAR OF THE NORTH,

THE ICE BEAR, THE BEAR OF THE SEA.

HE'S ALL OF THESE AND MORE...

THE LARGEST, MOST POWERFUL, MOST FEROCIOUS CARNIVORE

IN THE ENTIRE WHITE WILDERNESS.

HE'S QUITE LITERALLY AN OCEANGOING BEAR

AND THINKS NOTHING OF CROSSING VAST STRETCHES OF OPEN WATER

TO REACH HIS HUNTING GROUNDS OUT ON THE ICE PACK.

PROTECTED FROM THE COLD BY A WATERPROOF COAT OF FUR

AND A THICK LAYER OF FAT,

HE CAN TRAVEL LIKE THIS FOR HOURS ON END.

INDEED, HE'LL OFTEN SWIM 20 MILES

IN ORDER TO GET FROM ONE ICEBERG TO ANOTHER.

WHENEVER A POLAR BEAR IS IN THE VICINITY,

THE WALRUS ARE UNEASY

AND QUICKLY ROUTED FROM THEIR CUSTOMARY SLUMBER.

ACTUALLY, THE POLAR BEAR RARELY TAKES ON AN ADULT WALRUS,

FOR THE BULLS OUTWEIGH HIM BY ALMOST HALF A TON.

HIS PROPER PREY IS THE SEAL,

AND YET, THERE'S ALWAYS THE CHANCE

HE'LL COME UPON A BABY WALRUS OR A CRIPPLE.

SO HE CAN'T RESIST THIS AGE-OLD CHASE.

SOON, THE BEAR GIVES UP THE PURSUIT.

IT WAS ONLY A SORT OF HALF-HEARTED EFFORT

ON HIS PART, ANYWAY.

HE JUST WANTED TO TEST HIS PROWESS.

THERE'LL BE ANOTHER DAY.

FOR THE KING OF THE ARCTIC, THERE ALWAYS IS.

THERE IS ONE OCCASION WHEN THE POLAR BEARS MAKE AN EXCEPTION

TO THEIR GENERAL RULE OF NOT HIBERNATING.

THE FEMALE, WHEN EXPECTING CUBS,

WILL PASS THE WINTER HOLED UP IN A SHELTERED SNOW CAVE.

AND HERE'S A MOTHER BEAR NOW WITH A PAIR

OF NEWBORN YOUNGSTERS THAT MIGHT WELL BE TWINS.