From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
While polar bears are known for being worthy opponents in the Arctic, questions remained about how they managed some of their largest kills, such as walruses, and new research shows they employed the use of rock and blocks of ice as weapons.
Oral histories over the course of more than 200 years from Inuit in Northern Canada and in Greenland depict stories of polar bears using tools such as rocks and blocks of ice to kill walruses, according to researchers.
Using these histories and documentation of brown bears using tools in captivity, Canadian zoologist and marine biologist Ian Sterling and colleagues set out to prove that polar bears use tools to hunt.
The study, published in the June edition of the journal Arctic, details various accounts of polar bears using blocks of ice or rocks to bludgeon 1,000 kg walruses to death. It also describes GoGo, a young male polar bear in captivity, who opted to use tools to access meat that was suspended out of his reach.
GoGo used various tools and methods to try to get to the meat, including a branch and a log. He even threw a piece of pipe and a floating device using both front paws to try to knock down the snack.
Brown bears, polar bears' closest relative, have also been documented using tools in captivity, according to the study. While they haven’t been documented using tools to access salmon in a river, they opted for tools to help them get to food just out of their reach, just as GoGo did.
The accounts of polar bears using tools focus mostly on using them as weapons in their hunt. Many of the documented accounts are third-hand.
“The [Inuit] of different tribes widely separated have told me they have watched a bear stalk a young walrus out on the ice, taking advantage of a hummock to get within striking distance, and then hit the walrus over the head with a piece of ice held in one paw,” reads an account by an explorer identified as Munn published in the study.
In one observation used in the study from 1974, a biologist using foot snares speculated that the bears saw his snares and used a rock to set off the trap to get to the bait without getting caught. Sterling and his colleagues suggest that this could indicate that this bear had been captured before and was able to problem solve by using the tool.
While there are recorded accounts and documentation of polar bears in the wild and captivity using tools, the researchers speculate that this remains a rare event and would most likely only be employed for use against walruses.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Europe’s top pop stars are out and about for the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Malmo, Sweden.
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.