SURVIVAL

IN THE

TUNDRA

ERIC AND JAKE

AMADJUAK LAKE

BOG

ATLANTIC OCEAN

OWL NEST

TRAILS

SHELTER

CAROBOU HUNTING GROUNDS

0 1mi. radius

=moss, berries, willow

Day 1 in the Tundra

The helicopter was gone. The sky was growing dark and we had no shelter. My thought was this, “How am I supposed to catch a caribou with no rope?” The shelter was going to be made out of caribou skins.-Excerpt from Eric’s journal. Eric pulled out from behind him a large rope made of bearberry threads. He explained to me that I had to catch them by the horns. Eric quickly gave me the rope. When I threw it, I tripped over a stick, spraining my ankle. Eric was sprinting away because they were chasing him. One tripped over my hand, twisting it and falling down. Eric then came back and stabbed it with his knife.-Excerpt from Jake’s journal.

FAST FACT: The

bearberry is a edible

plant that has medical

purposes. Bearberry

gets it’s name because

bear love these berries.

FAST FACT: Caribou-

a large deer of North

America closely

related to the reindeer

Day 1 (continued) After skinning the creatures, we set to work on building our shelter out of two skins and bones. First we connected some of the bones to form a long middle support stick. Then the with the ribs and remaining bones, we put them on the sides to support them. After that, we gathered some grasses and lined the floor with those.-Excerpt from Eric’s journal All we needed was an entrance. It was going to be a tunnel coming from outside leading to inside. That way we would be able to crawl inside the hole and get in without other animals coming in*. Eric then covered the hole with a rain poncho. With our extra fur, which was soft and thick, we used them as blankets. They smelled funny but it was enough. As I drifted off to sleep, I heard the faint hooting of a snowy owl. - Excerpt from Jake’s journal * This is

called an

Arctic

Entrance

Day 2- Eric’s Journal

We were feeling anxious. Jake and I were starving. After gathering the Willow wood, I began to try to start a fire for cooking. I went to find a sharp rock for the fire starter. After getting that, I now had to do what was the hardest thing of the day . The fire was to be started by striking my knife on the rock. The sparks would catch on fire with some constant blowing . So I started striking . We waited for what felt like hours. Then, like magic, I saw a spark! With me blowing, we had a fire. I was so relieved. Jake cooked the meat. It was delicious..

FAST FACT-Willow is a low

lying shrub that burns easily.

Day 3 IN THE TUNDRAToday was very surprising. While gathering more willow wood for fire, I got a terrible headache. Since we were around the bush, I grabbed a white willow. The bark of this bush has a chemical called salicin in its bark. This chemical relieves pain and fever. I took this back to camp to boil into a tea. It wasn’t easy. My headache was unbearable! Eventually, I got the tea done. I had expected the tea to taste horrible, but it tasted fine. As I was drinking the tea from a hollowed out vertebra, a snowy owl hooted, scaring me to the bone. I am glad tomorrow is our is or last day.-Jake’s JournalFAST FACT- A snowy owl is one of the few owls that hunt during the day

The Final Day Jake’s Journal

I woke up with a feeling of excitement. I realized that Eric was also awake. It was our last day! I remembered the pilot telling us that he’d pick us at noon. Eric finally got his sun calculations correct, and it was 11:03 am., we slept late. Eric told me to start packing up. So I grabbed our pile of caribou teeth (souvenirs), and all our supplies. Eric guided me where we will get picked up. I was a little sad to leave, but more excited to live normally again. Finally, l heard the roaring of the propellers. Before I knew it, I saw Mrs. Dudek drop a ladder. Eric and I were in the helicopter! Mrs. Dudek welcomed us by handing us a bucket of Kentucky Fried chicken. We were back to living normal. But best of all, we have survived the tundra.

Tundra Poem (Eric)

Tundra

Quiet biome

Like a frozen desert

Even though there are animals

Like lemmings and foxes

The only thing you hear

is

Silence

Tundra Poem (Jake)

A cold, cold landWhere no trees can standFor most it seems uselessFor polar bears, its home

Life in the tundra