Polar Bears of Churchill

Polar Bears of Churchill (p.1 of 2)

The western shores of Canada's Hudson Bay, particularly the area around Churchill, Manitoba, are probably the best place in the world to watch polar bears. Each autumn, hundreds of bears make their way to the shores here as temperatures drop. They have spent the summer hibernating in inland dens, without eating, after being forced off of the ice when it melted in the spring. Now, falling temperatures tell them that the Bay will soon freeze, and that means it's nearly dinnertime for the hungry bears. As October draws to a close, they collect along the shore to wait for the ice. As soon as the Bay freezes, they disappear onto the ice and spread out to hunt for the meal they've not had in six months.
Hundreds of wildlife watchers and photographers travel to Churchill each year during this two or three week window in late October to early November. My visit to this very speacial place was on a photography trip organized by Joseph Van OS Photo Safaris.

The trip to Churchill is not difficult, but it is a bit out of the ordinary. No roads lead into Churchill, so the only practical way to get there is by flying. Although Churchill is a small town (perhaps a thousand residents), it has been an arctic military training ground, and so it has an airport with paved runways capable of servicing reasonably large commercial jets. I only mention that the runways are paved because our flight made one stop on the way to Churchill, landing in a town with a gravel runway. Landing in a large jet on gravel does not feel all that much different from landing on cement, but it certainly looked strange to see the gravel runway when we landed.

Leaving the airport in a small bus and approaching town, the first indications that this isn't like everyplace else are the signs along the roadside, warning people not to leave the road because of polar bear danger. Another indication is the "poar bear campground" located near the airport. This place is also known as "polar bear jail" and is a long windowless steel shed. In the parking lot is a bear trap made from a section of steel pipe. This place is where polar bears who wander into the town of Churchill are kept until the Bay freezes and they are taken by helicopter onto the Bay a number of miles from town. The bears used to be shot, but with with the town's dependence on the tourism that derives heavily from the bears, they are now simply held and released. The first attempts to release the bears were not particulrly successful. Bears were airlifted as soon as they were caught, but without the possibility of hunting until ice forms on the Bay, the hungry bears would simply wander back into town. Now, they are held until there is ice on the Bay, and the releases are much more successful.

Churchill is a small collection of mostly small buildings and homes, some of which are well-worn from exposure to the elements. You can tell that it's a relatively safe small town, and that it gets cold here, by simply visitng the grocery store parking lot; people often leave their car's engines running while they go in to shop.

Our trip was split into two parts. We spent the first few nights staying in motels in town, and the last few nights living in "the bunkhouse", which is a collection of "rolling moibile homes" on the tundra. Accomodations in town were actually quite good. Our group ws split among two motels; the Tundra Inn and the Aurora Inn. Meals were adequate, with Arctic Char (a fish) frequently an option on the menu.
Leaving town, it's obvious that you are on the edge between the tundra and the boreal forest; a few scrubby trees dot the otherwise flat landscape. The gravelly ground has a number of willows, but also a number of bare spots. Shallow ponds are everywhere.

The vehicles used for polar bear watching are called Tundra Buggies. There are two kinds of Tundra Buggies; a smaller type that is a school bus with a balcony fitted onto the back, and a larger type that is a custom made vehicle on giant tires.
We used the larger buggies exclusively, and I was glad we did. The smaller buses can only operate on the relatively few roads that are in the area, and their low height to the ground makes them much more exposed to curious (and hungry) bears. I know I would be very uncomfortable packed with many others onto the rear balcony of the smaller buggies, to watch a bear that can get uncomfortably high up on the balcony's wall.

On the larger buggies, which we used, giant tires keep the vehicles from sinking into the mud, allow them to travel on relatively thin pond ice without breaking through (usually), and keep the windows high enough that bears cannot stick their heads in, even when standing on their hind legs. The tundra buggy's interiors are outfitted with two rows of school bus seats, have school bus windows on both sides, a large heater (only used when the windows are closed, which is not too often on a photography trip), a bathroom, and a large outdoor balcony on the back, on which several people can fit for photography or just watching. For photography, in particular, the extra space in the larger buggies was invaluable.

Polar bears are not the only wildlife that can be seen at this time of year; willow ptarmigan, snowy owl, caribou, and arctic fox can also be seen.

A helicopter flight is a good way to get an overview of the terrain, as well as to see caribou, and perhaps a polar bear resting on ice at the edge of the Bay or getting out of the wind by hiding behind a willow. It also gave us a chance to stop at a migratory bird research station (called "Nestor One") on the tundra. The station is surrounded by high fences to keep bears out. Getting on and off the helicopter was the only time we were actually on the ground in polar bear areas during the entire trip.

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