Polar bear sought southern exposure in Mackenzie Valley

It was the end of a journey for a surprise visitor that turned heads in Fort McPherson, N.W.T. late last week, after wildlife officers took a wandering polar bear more than 300 kilometres north back to its home by the Beaufort Sea.

The large female polar bear, which had made its own wandering journey all the way south to the Mackenzie Valley-area hamlet, was driven to Inuvik then transported by helicopter to an isolated spot on the Arctic coast, N.W.T. renewable resource officer Ian Ellsworth told CBC News on Monday.

On Friday, the bear was coaxed into a trap near the Peel River, lured into captivity by some muktuk. After the female was captured, officers extracted a tooth for age analysis before driving it back north.

Before releasing the polar bear Friday evening, wildlife officers fitted it with a satellite tracker. That will let them know if it again gets the urge to wander.

Ellsworth said the bear was in good shape, considering the long journey it made from the Beaufort Sea to Fort McPherson.

The hefty white-coated creature became an instant celebrity Thursday when it was spotted near the hamlet of about 775, surprising residents and tourists along the Dempster Highway.

"I don't know what's going on in the Arctic Ocean. There's lots of seal out there for him to eat," local elder Neil Colin told CBC News.

"I know that polar bears are supposed to be out there, in the Arctic Ocean, not out here in the Mackenzie Delta, where it's very hot. This is just like Hawaii for him. It's too hot."

Daytime temperatures in Fort McPherson have hovered around 15 C to 20 C. At noon MT Monday, the temperature was 18 C, surpassing the forecasted high of 17 C.

But while this bear'sadventure is over,more polar bears could be wandering southward as climate change melts sea ice, warns Andrew Derocher, a University of Alberta biological scientist who specializes in polar bears.

"What we're seeing is that some animals are obviously missing the boat, so to speak, and losing contact with the sea ice, getting stuck on land," he said.

"When that happens, they start to wander around and they do become quite unpredictable in terms of where they may show up."

Colin said people in Fort McPherson should take added precautions from now on.

"Maybe more polar bears will be coming to camps. People have to be careful all the time to see if any more polar bears will be coming," he said.

"So you've got to be ready with a gun or something like that. Guess we'll have to live with it."