Alaska field notes, v4469
Page 157
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Journal 70 either sank for good, while a few floated towards the shore. We drove by Weasel about 30 km along the shore and in this sketch I counted the partly decomposed carcasses of 16 Walruses. The one we were looking for had been stripped of its ivory in the mean time, but nevertheless the trip was worthwhile. I spotted a small Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida) which was killed with an ax by Ron Brower. At the end of our trip I spotted a Grizzly Bear feeding along the lake shore. The lake in question was probably Seppings Lagoon. On the return trip we saw another Grizzly Bear about 3 km from our camp. This bear had come down from the hills to feast on death Walruses. We saw many tracks of bear along the coast. When we got to close he saw my hill and sat on one of the Tilarink Hills, silhouetted against the sky. It was a very large bear indeed. 10th Aug. The wind had gone down in force during the night to about 12 mph. In the morning I walked along the beach W of camp and I spent some time photographing Citellus penyxi. The Red Fox, which had a den in the foot hills of Crowhill Point was not available to be photographed. In the afternoon, Tom and I took the Weasel and we drove E along the beach to have a closer look at the sod hut we had seen at the mouth of Kikhtoya Creek. At about 16:00 an ARH plane came over, apparently to pick us up. We had trouble getting back to camp, because of troubles with the motor of the Weasel. We left at 17:50,