Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are a recurring practical and sensory force in the narrator’s subarctic observations. Their seasonal arrival threatens to make movement across the Barrens punishing, confines him to his tent, and adds a persistent buzz to the quiet in which he tries to listen for animal communication.

Seasonal Arrival

On a hot spring day, the first mosquitoes appeared as a warning of the sky-filling swarms to come. The narrator anticipated that their numbers would turn travel across the Barrens into a trial, even as he followed wolf tracks over the muskeg. Their arrival marks a change in the field season: the landscape that must be crossed for observation is also becoming harder to move through.

The Tent as Shelter

After setting up a small tent opposite the den, the narrator initially stayed inside to let the observed animals become accustomed to it. Once the mosquito population reached its height, that concealment acquired a second purpose. He remained in the tent practically all the time, venturing out only when a strong wind was blowing. The account gives mosquitoes a direct influence on the conditions of study: the tent is both an observation post and refuge from insects that make outdoor life difficult.

Interference with Listening

Mosquitoes also intrude on the narrator’s effort to understand animal sounds. During a calm observation session, flies had reached plague proportions; when Ootek directed the narrator’s attention toward distant wolf calls, the narrator could hear only the mosquitoes’ buzzing. George, by contrast, reacted to the distant sound and answered with a howl. The moment sets the limits of the narrator’s hearing against the animals’ apparent responsiveness, while making the insects part of the acoustic conditions that shape what he can observe.