Arctic Cowboys

Polar hi jinks

A small group of endangered Polar Bears resting on a small strip of land in the Beaufort Sea just north of the mainland coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We hear the rude sound of a helicopter shatter the morning calm. The bears begin to stir. Then the chopper swoops down scattering the resting bears,  forcing them to expend vital energy during the leanest time of the year.

The door gunner takes aim and fires at his quarry with a well aim shot. His skill has been honed by the reputation of his actions. Soon the bear is down, The crew of “scientist” from the University of WYOMING approach the drugged bear to do their studies which often include removal of a tooth, samples of the bears tissue (read cutting a hole in its butt) and blood sampling.  After 20 minuets or so the bear is put in a sling and lifted off by the drowning chopper to be removed from the location where  so the native people will bring a whale killed in their annual hunts.

So why would  team from Wyoming be collecting data on bear off the coast of the disputed oil reserves of ANWR? 

The story I heard was to reduce the possibility of the bear having any adverse human contact.  

Humm, I wounder why this bear was special enough to protect it from something that the protectors were inflicting on the several resting bears and their subject?

As the chopper, with the bear slung underneath disappeared into the morning arctic fog the smell of big oil was in the air.