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Wildlife
Reports
Land of the Water
Bear: The Torngat Mountains National Park
by Dave Snow
Inuit mythology tells of the "Torngait",
the spirits that a Shaman or spiritual leader looks to for wisdom
and power. “Torngat” comes from this Inuit name and the legends
which hold that in this region the spirit world overlaps our own.
White people have called this area the Ghost Coast and have
commented how the sounds of the winds whistling through the rugged
mountains bring forth the feeling that one is in another realm. If
the earth is home to ancient spirits they would seek out this land
where the rocks are among the oldest on the planet and the landforms
hold an otherworldly appearance. Perhaps this truly is a place of
spirits.
The Torngat Mountains National Park
Reserve is the new name for this ancient place. It is the northern
portion of the Inuit homeland of Nunatsiavut, located in northern
Labrador. ("Nunatsiavut" means “Our beautiful land” in Inuktitut,
the language of the Inuit.) The park reserve encompasses roughly
10,000 square kilometers and extends from the deep waters of Saglek
Fjord in the south, to the very northern tip of Labrador; and from
the boundary with Quebec in the west, to the waters of the Labrador
Sea in the east.
The park protects an area of
spectacular Arctic wilderness, with towering mountains, breathtaking
fjords, gentle river valleys and rugged coastal landscapes. This
wilderness has been home to a diversity of arctic wildlife and to
the Inuit and their ancestors for thousands of years. It includes
dramatic Nachvak Fjord, which lies near the centre of the park,
formed by a glacier cutting through the Torngat Mountains as it
flowed to the sea during the last ice age. The Torngats also feature
the highest peaks in continental eastern North America, and are
dotted by many small glaciers.
The park includes much of the range
of the small Torngat Mountains caribou herd, as well as a portion of
the world's largest caribou herd, the George River herd. A unique
population of tundra-dwelling black bears also calls this region
home. The Northern Labrador coast is the only region in the world
where black bears occupy treeless tundra. The growing season in the
north is short, making food scarce. As a result these northern black
bears, unlike their southern cousins, require enormous amounts of
land to search for food. These bears are also known to have the
longest recorded annual denning periods, over 200 days for some
adult female bears. Due to the short season and the challenges of
carrying cubs, the sows (females) along this coast are the world's
smallest black bears.
The Inuit distinguish between the
two varieties of bear in the region based on their feeding areas.
Polar bears are "water bears" while black bears, who can also be
seen along the coast, are bears of the land who do their best to
avoid their larger, predatory cousins.
Wolves and arctic fox also live
here, and the plentiful bird life includes the peregrine falcon and
golden eagle. The eastern Harlequin duck, listed as an endangered
species less than 10 years ago, nests along a number of the rivers
running into the Labrador Sea giving the Park a key role in the
effort to restore numbers of this handsome, curious duck. The ornate
blue and white colours of the males resulted in Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians to the south calling male harlequins "Lords" and the
females "Ladies" whenever they were seen on the ocean.
The human history of the park is
rich and ancient. Within the park there are hundreds of
archaeological sites including tent rings, stone caribou fences,
caches, and ancient graves, all of which tell the story of the
peoples and cultures, particularly the Inuit, who have made this
special landscape their home.
South of Nachvak Fjord is Ramah
Bay, home to a unique translucent stone called Ramah chert. This
mineral holds an edge that is sharper than surgical steel. It was so
prized by the ancient peoples of Labrador that prior to contact with
the Europeans, some used this mineral almost exclusively in their
arrows and blades. Ramah chert was so useful as a hunting tool that
over the generations and centuries before Europeans it was traded or
carried as far south as Maine and Vermont, and as far west as
Montreal.
The Europeans
Come
The Norse describe northern
Labrador in their sagas or oral history, but the first Europeans to
settle in Northern Labrador were Moravian missionaries. Encouraged
by the Newfoundland governor, the Moravians (who formerly worked
among the Inuit in Greenland and knew the native language) came to
Labrador in the late part of the 18th century to bring Christianity
to the Inuit and to stop some of the violent interactions between
the various peoples who were exploiting the coast. Mission stations
and settlements were created at several sites along the Labrador
coast including Hebron, Killinek, Okak, Ramah and Zoar. Some of
these communities survive into the present including Nain, Hopedale
and Makkovik. Nain is the largest community on the north coast, with
over 1,000 people. It is the staging point for the huge nickel
development around Voisey’s Bay to the south. Nain was established
as the first Moravian mission station in Labrador in 1771.
The Moravians initially discouraged
other persons of European origins from living in the region. After
1815, however, a few trappers and traders from southern Labrador
began to occupy and settle the bays and islands around these
northern mission stations. Some of these pioneers were the offspring
of mixed European-Inuit families descended on the male side from
former employees of English firms. Most of the Europeans, however,
were relative newcomers who arrived in Labrador with the Hudson 's
Bay Company or with the migratory fishery from Newfoundland. By the
mid-19th century, northern Labrador had a European population,
descended from French Canadian, Norwegian, Scots, Irish, Welsh,
English and Newfoundlanders. Almost all these families, locally
known as settlers (to distinguish them from aboriginal peoples),
descended from Inuit women and their foreign mates. Today these
people of mixed Inuit ancestry are referred to as Kablunangajuit,
which translated means "partly white man". Approximately 7,000
people, primarily Inuit and Kablunangajuit, reside along the
northern Labrador coast, primarily in the communities of Nain,
Hopedale, Postville, Makkovik and Rigolet. The north coast also
includes the Innu community of Natuashish.
More About Nain
Hopedale is the capital of
Nunatsiavut but Nain is the largest and most northerly community. It
is home to a commercial fishery lasting from July to October. The
main species of fish processed at the Nain fish plant are Arctic
char and scallop. The fish plant provides employment for local men
and women; people fish as far north as Hebron when the opportunity
arises. In late spring (April/May) just before the ice breaks up
(usually in June), people fish for trout in the mouths of rivers in
the Nain area. Subsistence hunting is performed year-round for
different species of animals, marine mammals and birds. Ducks and
geese are hunted in the fall just before freeze-up. Caribou is
mainly hunted in the spring when the George River Caribou Herd often
passes on its way to calving grounds between Nain and Hebron. Some
trapping is done during winter months for fox and wolves while seals
are hunted year-round. The Labrador Inuit Development Corporation
has anorthrosite quarries seven to eight miles from Nain at Ten Mile
Bay and further south at Iggiak.
Nain is the homeport and starting
point for our Wildland Tours'
Northern
Labrador Polar Bear Cruise. To learn more about Nain, visit
www.ourlabrador.ca; to learn more about the history and culture
of the region go to
www.nunatsiavut.com.
Hebron to the
North
The community of Hebron — now a
National Historic Site — was first settled when the Moravians
established a mission in 1830. For some 129 years, the Inuit
developed many cultural legacies in Hebron. During the 19th and 20th
centuries, Inuit became increasingly dependant on the economy of the
newcomers and adopted new technology to earn income from industries
centered on seal netting, cod fishing, fox trapping, and char and
salmon fishing. The Moravian structures at Hebron and Hopedale still
stand as reminders of this transition and represent two of the most
historically significant mission-built structures in the province.
They are the oldest mission buildings in North America.
The Inuit population of Labrador
suffered from frequent epidemic diseases during the 19th century
causing high death rates and severe reduction in the size of the
mission stations. The worst epidemics occurred in 1918 at Okak and
Hebron, when an outbreak of influenza (the Spanish Flu) led to the
death of one-third of the total Inuit population. Except for a few
children, everyone died at Okak. The Inuit were relocated from
Hebron in 1959, and the Okak Inuit were relocated in 1956.
The buildings of the original
mission at Hebron still stand today and will be one port call during
our voyage along the north coast. During the 1990s, the large wood
and stone church was used by caribou that sought shelter from the
heat and flies in the cool interior. The site is currently
undergoing repairs and the caribou are keeping a wary distance. Once
Hebron was abandoned, Nain became the most northerly community in
Labrador. As you travel north from this centre you will see almost
no signs of humanity other than fishing boats, the occasional group
of local people on the land, landing strips, and the structures at
Hebron.
Our Voyage to
the Polar Bears
North of Nain we will see several
ranges of mountains. The Kiglapaits are about 40 miles north of the
community, and will provide a spectacle of unimaginable grandeur as
we voyage to the Torngats. This is considered the wildest and most
remote scenery on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fjords
stretch in from the ocean, and feature huge runs of arctic char.
Further north there are several mountain ranges including the
Torngats, with the highest peaks rising 5,000 feet. In many places
the steep mountain cliffs soar straight out of the surface of the
Labrador Sea. This rugged northern landscape is home to the Inuit
spirits known as the Torngait, and to a significant population of
polar bears.
In the absence of humans, the polar
bear is the undisputed king of the coast. Seals, caribou, walrus,
seabirds and other northern species must all be wary of this
stealthy, fearless hunter. Our voyage north will feature informal
lectures detailing polar bear biology and evolution. Further, we
hope to provide useful observations and population data to bear
scientists. To learn more about polar bears go to
www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts.
Part of the corporate mission of
Wildland Tours is to contribute to the study and protection of
eastern Canadian wildlife and habitat. To learn how Wildland Tours
contributes to the protection and study of whales go to
www.atlanticwhales.com.
As people have come to recognize
the profound effect that their activities are having on the
atmosphere and our planet's average temperature, the polar bear has
become a species of special concern. Shrinking polar caps, a warming
ocean, and a profusion of windborne industrial chemicals from the
south all threaten the polar bear's future. The people of
Newfoundland and Labrador are especially concerned as they have
watched the life-giving pack ice of the Labrador Sea grow thinner
and disappear more quickly every year.
Canada 's foremost conservationist,
Dr. David Suzuki, has said that appropriate tourism is one of our
planet's great hopes. If we are going to change our ways and help
the polar bears and the other threatened species of our planet we
have to experience them and think about them. Wildland Tours and
Wanderbird Expeditions are delighted to present this unique voyage
to northern Labrador . Our goal is to demonstrate that the polar
bears of the north coast represent a special travel opportunity that
needs recognition, protection and celebration. The poignant stories
of the Inuit in Northern Labrador add a rich cultural dimension to
this unique expedition.
You are Invited
to Join Us
Our voyage will take in a landscape
with substantial numbers of polar bears. We also hope to view
whales, wolves, golden eagles, sea ducks, seals, and other wildlife
in a manner that is both respectful of the wildlife and useful to
the scientists and other folks concerned about the health of these
arctic populations. We are striving to work in partnership with the
local people who call this magical coastline home as we pioneer a
vacation experience that celebrates and explores the Inuit homeland
of Nunatsiavut. We invite you to join us on one of our inaugural
voyages of wonder and discovery to a mountainous coast of ancient
spirits and water bears. |
