When you visit do you have stars in your eyes or the magic of a frozen river.....OKAY gentle readers I have just figured out something from my footprints, that most of you are using my OLD  URL which gets the blue starry background http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=bonnieupnorth

Please replace this one in your referrals or bookmarks...
My newer look is the stark B&W theme appropriate for the season http://www.xanga.com/bonnieupnorth  

Narwhals.....they are magnificent animals. I have observed over 300 of them in migration in 2007 in Nanasivik and summer hunt in Pond Inlet in 2006. Now they are trapped 17 miles north of Pond Inlet in Eclipse Sound and probably 30 kms from the floe edge. How tragic!

I have been reading the comments to the on line CBC article http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2008/11/24/pond-narhwal.html and cannot believe the ignorance of some people from the south, who have little idea of reality of life in the north or do not understand how all is used and shared by the Inuit hunters. Get an icebreaker... oh yeah... that local one that they have sitting up at the deep water port at Nanasivik! But also some thoughtful ones as "the High Arctic population is estimated at 20,000 to 25,000 whales, so 200 animals would represent ca. 0.8 to 1% of the total population, hardly a biologically significant proportion. And there is always limited open water in that area, global warming or not. Ice entrapments happen more often than we know, because they are often not seen. Ice breakers hurt narwhal more than they help...."

Just my rant...For further comments from other northern bloggers ( and a video ) check out Clare at http://www.kiggavik.typepad.com or Darcy at http://waywayup.blogspot.com/