Big-Enough Anna....The Little Sled Dog Who Braved the Arctic

Dies ist der Titel eines Kinderbuches, in dem es um die wahre Geschichte eines kleinen Hundezwergs geht, die zur Anführerin ihres Rudels wird.

Pam Flowers ist dabei, sich für eine sechs Monate lange Fahrt per Hundeschlitten vorzubereiten, 2500-Meilen von Barrow/Alaska nach Repulse Bay in Kanada, die sie zur ersten Frau macht, die die nordamerikanische Arktis allein überquert.

Anna und ihre Geschwister trainieren zusammen mit den älteren ausgebildeten und erfahreneren Hunden, die stärksten unter ihnen werden die Expedition begleiten. Bevor die Jungtiere versuchen, einen Schlitten zu ziehen, wird ihnen erst einmal beigebracht Sprachbefehlen zu folgen, ein Geschirr zu tragen, sowie Zweige, Reisig, und dann kleine Stämme hinter sich zu ziehen.

Obwohl die Kleinste, beweist Anna Mut und Liebe zum Laufen, sie wird für die Expedition ausgewählt. Als etwa in der Mitte des Trecks der erfahrene Leithund Douggie davonrennt; übernimmt Anna die Führung bis zum Abschluss der Reise, die fast doppelt so lange dauert wie geplant. ...
Editorial Review -

"A true story of how the runt of the litter became the leader of the pack. Flowers was preparing for a six-month, 2500-mile dogsled journey from Barrow, AK, to Repulse Bay, Canada, which would make her the first woman to cross the North American Arctic alone. Anna and her littermates trained with the older, more experienced dogs, with the intention that the strongest would accompany the expedition. Before attempting to pull a sled, the young canines were taught to follow voice commands; wear a harness; and drag twigs, sticks, and then small logs behind them. Though Anna was the smallest, she proved to have heart and a love of running; she was chosen for the trip. About halfway through the trek, the seasoned lead dog -Douggie- ran off; Anna took over and was instrumental in finishing the journey, which lasted almost twice as long as planned. ...-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

Pam Flowers erzählt Annas beeindruckende Geschichte auch in Klassenräumen und Auditorien in ganz Nordamerika. Kinder lernen, dass selbst die Kleinsten, die die unter uns am wenigsten Macht haben, groß genug sind, um ihr Bestes zu geben. (Die aufregende Reise des 9 köpfigen Teams, eine Frau mit 8 Hunden, ist auch festgehalten in Wort, Bild und Tagebucheinträgen in dem preisgekrönten Buch "Alone across the Arctic:One Woman’s Epic Journey by Dog Team"

Arctic adventurer Pam Flowers shares Anna’s amazing story in classrooms and auditoriums all over North America. Children learn that even the smallest, seemingly the most powerless among us, are big enough to try their best. (The team’s exciting record-breaking journey is also chronicled in text, photographs, and journal entries in the award-winning book Alone across the Arctic: One Woman’s Epic Journey by Dog Team.)

Hier wird übrigens auch die Begegnung mit einer Eisbärin und ihrem Jungen geschildert, offenbar eine, die einiges Interesse bei den neugierigen Hunden auslöste...-

By the way, here you will find also the account of a polar bear encounter, a female with her single cub...

"As we came around a slight corner, I saw a polar bear about a hundred yards away, standing up in a ravine, nursing her cub. She looked so beautiful. She didn’t move, just stood there watching us as we went by. Because the bears were above eye level, I was praying that we would get by them without any of the dogs seeing them. But just as we came even with them, Robert looked over and saw them. Robert is very social and decided to go visiting. At first the other dogs didn’t see them. I told Douggie to “haw” to help keep us going straight. Then, suddenly, everyone saw them… (ALONE ACROSS THE ARCTIC)"

Was mich angeht, ich bin nun mindestens ebenso neugierig wie Robert geworden...Für Arktisinteressierte und Hundeliebhaber gehören diese beiden Bücher ganz sicher auf die Liste der Bücher, die unbedingt gelesen werden müssen...

As to me, I can only say that I have become curious too...Both books are certainly a must-read for everyone intrigued by the Arctic and loving dogs...

Anna died 2007 at age 15...

Thanks to Pam Flowers and her lovely book, she will always be remembered as what she was...
A brave and intrepid sled dog on an extraordinary journey!





Source & photo credits:
- Big-Enough Anna....The Little Sled Dog Who Braved the Arctic

By the way, I came across Anna while looking for background information about the Arctic village Dikson which was visited by Svetlana Bogdanovitch during her Icebreaker trip, instead I landed here probably because of Ann Dixon, Pamela Flower's co-author of 'Big-Enough Anna'...as so often I am again indebted to the Internet...:))

Please visit also Pam Flower's website, which is really interesting, apart from information of how to make a dog's life happy and healthy, you will find more about her educational school visits and other projects.

Interesting too an article about Pam Flowers by Molly Loomas, presenting her on a website featuring Arctic explorers and here is the link to a more recent article about Pam and the way she is training her dogs, that's where I found the photo with the polar bear...:))

Note:
Alle, die interessiert an Büchern von Pamela Flowers sind, bitte kauft über sie direkt, der Verlag, der ihre Bücher unter Vertrag hatte, ist pleite gegangen, was bedeutet, dass sie keinen Pfennig verdient, solange ihre Bücher woanders gekauft werden.

In case you are interested and you want to buy books of Pam Flower's please buy via her Store as her publisher went bankrupt which means she won't gain a cent if you buy elsewhere!

There will be a second part ...Ein zweiter Teil zu Pam und ihren Hunden ist in Vorbereitung!

A Peaceful Death at 36... RIP Waldo!

"A grizzly bear named Waldo, who entertained Winnipeg zoo visitors since 1974, has died.

Waldo, the Assiniboine Park Zoo's grizzly bear, died last week in his sleep at age 36, curled up in a bed of straw in his hibernating den, stated a press release Monday from the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

The 36-year-old spent the majority of his life in the company of his sister Hilda, who died three years ago at age 33.

They were orphaned in 1974 near Banff, Alta. The cubs were shipped to Winnipeg from the Calgary Zoo later that same year.

"Waldo will be missed by the many zoo staff that cared for him over the years, and by thousands of visitors who enjoyed watching him interact with Hilda, and dive into the pool for apples," the press release stated.

The Assiniboine Park Zoo has maintained grizzlies since 1951, during which time 12 cubs have been born.

Waldo was a good animal who rarely gave zookeepers any problems and loved his food, said zoo curator Bob Wrigley.

"When he wanted to eat his dinner he would bang on the 200-pound steel door and you could hear that banging all over the zoo," he said. Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park was also home to Debby, the famous polar bear who died two years ago when she had to be euthanized in November 2008 after her organs began to fail from old age. At 42 she was at that time the oldest living polar bear in captivity. Born in the Russian Arctic in 1966, she came to Winnipeg as an orphan a year later.The zoo has not been able to get another polar bear since Debby because the enclosure no longer meets provincial standards.

However, in December 2009, Premier Greg Selinger announced that a new polar bear rescue shelter and exhibit will be the centrepieces of a conservation centre to be constructed in 2011.The centre will include a state-of-the-art polar bear enclosure as well as a new arctic exhibit featuring caribou, arctic fox, snowy owls and musk oxen."

Source & photo credits: CBC News & Waldo with his sister Hilda I found here, where you can find some more zoo pics and even a video!

"Der Bärenmann in Kamtschatka" - Charlie Russel -"The Bear Man of Kamchatka

Heute bekam ich von einer guten Freundin den enthusiastischen Tip, mir doch die 43 minütige NDR Videodokumentation über Charles Russell anzuschauen...-

Today was asked by a good friend to have a look at a 43 minutes long NDR video documentation featuring Charles Russell, she was very enthusiastic about it...
'Der Bärenmann in Kamtschatka' erzählt die unglaubliche Geschichte eines Mannes, der sein Leben den Grizzlys gewidmet hat. Wie eine echte Mutter zieht der kanadische Bärenexperte Charlie Russell verwaiste Jungtiere auf. In der Wildnis im Nordosten Russlands bringt er ihnen das Fischen bei, verteidigt sie gegen erwachsene Männchen und lehrt sie, wie sie sich in der Weite der Landschaft bewegen müssen, um zu überleben."-

'Der Bärenmann in Kamtschatka' tells the incredible story of a man who has dedicated his life to grizzly bears. Charlie Russell, the Canadian bear expert, raises orphaned cubs in the noth eastern wilderness of Russia, he teaches them how to fish, defends them against adult males and teaches them how to move in the vastness of the landscape in order to survive."Charlie Russell kennt sich mit Bären besser aus als jeder andere. Schon 1997 nahm er drei verwaiste Grizzly-Junge mit nach Kamtschatka, um sie dort auszuwildern. Schon bei diesem Projekt entstand zwischen ihm und den Bären eine Intimität, die man bisher noch nie so gesehen hatte." -

Charlie Russell knows bears better han everybody else. Already 1997 he took three orphaned grizzly cubs with him to Kamchatka to release them into the wilderness. During this project already a close bond of intimity between him and the bears developed which has been unseen before."Doch dann kam die Tragödie: 2001 erschoss die russische Mafia seine Schützlinge. Aber Charlie Russell lässt sich von seinem Vorhaben nicht abbringen. Er geht mit zwei neuen kleinen Bärenwaisen zurück und fängt wieder von vorne an."-

But then a tragedy happened: 2001 the Russian mafia shot his proteges. But Charlie Russell continued, he returned with two new orphaned cubs and restarts with his work.

Bald gesellen sich zwei weitere Jungbären dazu, welche Russell von früher kennt. In diesem mehrfach preisgekrönten Dokumentarfilm geht es um viel mehr als nur die Aufzucht von Jungbären. Charlie Russell beweist mit seiner Art zu leben, dass die Menschen ihre Angst vor Bären überwinden und so dazu beitragen können, dass diese grossartigen und spannenden Tiere zukünftigen Generationen erhalten bleiben. (Text source here)-

Soon two other cubs joined in, known by Russell from before. This award-winning documentary is about much more than just the raising of young bears. Charlie Russell proves with his way to live, that people can overcome their fear of bears and may contribute to the survival of these magnificent and fascinating animals for future generations.

Wegen unserer lokalen Inselschneckenverbindung war es mir leider nicht möglich, den Film selbst anzuschauen, also googelte ich ein wenig und fand stattdessen folgende Videos zu Charles Russel und den Kamschatka Bären auf YouTube, einen kleinen Einblick verschafft zumindest folgendes Video, zwar nur 5 Minten lang und sicher kein Ersatz für die Dokumentation, aber allemal sehenswert, sozusagen das Trostpflaster für alle, die das lange Video ebenfalls nicht sehen können.-

Due to our well-known local snail like Internet connection, I was not able to watch the documentary myself, bit with the help of Mr.Google I found at least two videos about Charles Russell's Kamchatka project, the longer one with lots of pics here...

Wer Lust auf mehr Infos zu Charles Russells Arbeit bekommen hat, dem sei seine Website Studying Grizzly Bears sehr ans Herz gelegt, folgende Artikel fand ich besonders interessant:-

And who has got some more interest in the work of Charles Russell might find following articles interesting which I found on his website :

- Bears and People Can Share the Same Land!
- Letters from Charlie- Timothy Treadwell-Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell was a bear enthusiast who dedicated the last 13 years of his life to grizzly bears too, he and his girl friend Amie Huguenard were killed and consumed by a bear in 2003, later chronicled in Werner Herzog's movie about Treadwell "The Grizzly Man" . Treadwell was either idolized or criticised for many reasons ; Russell's letter is a helpful contribution to understand these discussions, describing too the different approach concerning his and Treadwell's understanding of bears. -

And this is the book I would love to read one day....

Photo credits: Most of the photos I found on Charlie Russell's website but also here and here

Note: I didn't find anything specific about the Russian Mafia incident in 2001, if someone knows more about it, please share!

Kondensmilch ist das Geheimnis....Condensated Milk Is the Secret...Part2.

Here comes the promised second part about polar bears and their liking for condensed milk...You will be surprised, this time the photos are from nowadays and the setting is very different... I found these photos in an article about Russian Nuclear Icebreakers, on one of them was journalist Svetlana Bogdanovitch and her account will lead you through an

"Odyssey in the Arctic with Russian Icebreaker Fleet"

Her photos taken on board of icebreaker "Vaigach" show what it "means to follow along the caravan of ships in the northern seas, led by a colossal nuclear-powered vessel."
"The nuclear-powered icebreakers served as a symbol of Soviet technological power for many decades. Today this fleet is used to aid ship navigation in the seas north of Siberia - and for elite tourism, which helps to pay the bills.

The most powerful of all icebreakers "50 years of Victory" (one of six "Arktika" class) has two nuclear reactors and is capable of reaching North Pole in a couple of days", starting from Murmansk. However, we will not stick to the icebreakers but will go straight to the bears. As their traces can be found on such an odyssey too...
By night....
And by day....
"Polar bears lead a pretty eventful life: from their "romantic" courtship...... to the intense family quarrels...
However,......if they spot a passing ship.......they will drop everythingAnd try to get closer...... knowing exactly what they want.Bears just wanna have milk...!
They try to stretch their meal: one can will keep a bear occupied for up to 3 hours. After they lick the can clean, they start to chew on it, like some sort of chewing gum - to get that last whiff of flavor.
Finally... Sleeping with a full tummy...By the way, it is the same brand of milk which was fed to the bears decades ago, the one with the blue label...

"It’s a can of so-called “condensed milk“, a viscous white substance made by dehydrating milk and mixing it with sugar. Condensed milk is popular here in Russia (slightly less popular nowadays with the fall of SU, but still well-known). It’s extremely tasty and has a variety of uses: you can eat it as it is or make sandwiches with it like you do with jam, you can add it to coffee or tea and to various foods (pearl barley porridge, for one). Also you can boil the can of condensed milk for five minutes or so, and it turns dark-brown, changes it’s taste and becomes more paste-like - absolutely delicious, too.
Apparently, bears like it just as much as humans do."

Amazing too: the bears seem to have some knowledge about how to open the cans and to leave them empty without swallowing them. At least in the article's comments you can find some reassuring replies as reaction to some readers who thought the bears to be in danger by some silly and unthoughtful feeding...

Interesting too: while checking out various material about North Pole Cruising I did not find a single indication about bears being fed likewise... Seems to me that just a few people know about that old tradition!

But let me ask one question: How come that the Russians have started to feed the polar bears with condensed milk in such a carefree way as they have usually been considered as a danger to polar stations and were killed as soon as they approached settlements? (see here although it is not about Chukotka)

I'd just like to find out...

Main source:
-Russian Nuclear Icebreakers to the North Pole/March 2008
-Russian Atomic Icebreakers/article using the same source 31.03.2008

-Belikov/Garner:POLAR BEARS OF THE SEVERNAYA ZEMLYA ARCHIPELAGO OF THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC/pdf

Related posting: Kondensmilch ist das Geheimnis...Condensed Milk is the Secret Part 1

Photo credits: Svetlana Bogdanovitch, some additional photos I found in an album under the name of HEYRO which I believe are also taken by Svetlana Bogdanovitch as this link opened after clicking her name in the article. Beside the albums " Polar bears & other animals" and "Icebreakers" -including the photos from the article-, you can find a couple of other interesting sets. More about the Northern Sea Route you can find here in English - mehr zur Nordostpassage hier.

Kondensmilch ist das Geheimnis....Condensated Milk Is the Secret...Part1.

This too belongs to Russia and the Arctic....Please find here a series of historical photos which are utterly amazing and show a different side of the topic. First I found long ago just one or two photos like the ones above while googling images. I was never able to put my hands on a source and so I did not post them. Some months ago I had a lucky strain and stumbled on an article with even more photos posted...Just enjoy...

Polar bears being fed condensed milk. Russia, photographer & year unknown. Found here (15.12.2009) and here.


"At the very eastern part of Russia, where lands of the USA and the Russian Federation nearly adjoining each other and only small neck splits these two spacious countries, there are Chukotka peninsula and the Chukotka autonomous district situated.

The place isn’t so populated and we cannot say for sure what kind of inhabitants it has more, people or white bears. It is the same thing as in New York city, we can’t say what it has more – tourists or yellow cabs. The most densely populated city of the region and its capital as well is Anadyr with 11,000 of citizens according to 2002 population census. But just imagine yourself how many residents the city and the region altogether had 50 or 60 years ago when the colonization of the region just began.

The climate is very severe and sometimes weather can be so fierce in winter that the temperature falls 40C degrees below zero (it is the same by Fahrenheit, -40F) so that poor white bears and their children start starving and freezing though they aren’t supposed to freeze with such a jacket of their.

And where do you think they would search for help? Yeah, you are absolutely right, they will go to their next-door neighbors looking for help of any kind. But a man always was just a slab of meat, toy and bait for such a leviathan as white bear.

And beliefs aren’t always so true-to-life. Or may be it is the climate and the Russians with their spirit are responsible for?

People didn’t turn their backs on the poor and starving animals and started to feed them every now and then. Of course you do not have such big amounts of meat at home to feed several white bears. And people decided to feed the bears up with what they had in abundance – tins, or to be more exact, condensed milk.From the immemorial and so far, the usual condensed milk tin looked like that one on the picture. At first people who were striving to help bears opened such a tin with a tin-opener and then gave the can to the she-bear who licked all the milk from tin and then feed her little bears with it.

P.S. And meanwhile Russian chipmunks prefer port wine to condensed milk..."
Text source and photos: Socializing with bears , Giving Food to Polar Bears (Dec 2009) and one photo here

There will be a second part coming as I have found more, unfortunately I have deleted the draft accidentally so it will come not immediately as I have to gather all pieces back together first...