Foxes on the Edge with the Arctic Documentary Project
I’m writing this from Churchill, Manitoba on the shores of Hudson Bay. It’s been four years since I was last here. As many of you know I’m no longer guiding for Frontiers North Adventures, but we’re still heavily involved together. I’m in Churchill this year helping my friends at Polar Bears International, and it’s through their connections that I’m still involved with Frontiers North. Without Frontiers North, PBI would have no way to do any work in this part of the world. So Thank You Frontiers North Adventures. We’re more than extremely grateful.
A very dark—nearly totally black—red fox sits on a rock guarding the carcass of an Arctic fox. Gordon Point, near Churchill, Manitoba. Lumix GH5 with Leica 100-400mm
Yesterday, I was with a Frontiers North group they call Conservation Journey. We spent the day on a Tundra Buggy that included 20 passengers along with myself and PBI’s Executive Director Krista Wright. Part of our give back to our FNA friends is to offer the services of myself and other PBI staff including our two polar bear biologists Geoff York and Steve Amstrup. It’s a great way to help the guests become better informed on the issues facing polar bears, and I get to spread propaganda and misinformation about photography. What could be more fun?
All jokes aside, yesterday we encountered an amazing situation where we found a very dark—nearly black—colored red fox. Yes, red foxes are not always red. This red fox was reported to be guarding a kill, and we were told the prey was its smaller cousin, the Arctic fox. Years ago, actually in the late 90’s to be semi-exact, I started seeing red fox here in the Churchill area for the first time. It was exciting to see them since for all the years prior I would only see the beautiful, much smaller, Arctic fox. So seeing the gorgeous red was a special event. Little did I know that over time the tables would switch. Today we see very few Arctic foxes, and on this day, the one we did see was lying motionless on the Arctic tundra, its carcass being guarded by the much larger, dominant red fox.
I shot some photos that are tough to look at, but they do tell the story of just one of the many changes happening in this sub-Arctic environment. Quite simply, red fox are moving into the habitat once inhabited mainly by the smaller, Arctic fox. Here on the shores of Hudson Bay, two worlds are colliding and for the smaller Arctic fox, it’s world is shrinking. The video I put together gives a little more info about this difficult day on the tundra.