Churchill Polar Bears 9th November 2011: Exhilaration and Sadness

An unnatural scene: a polar bear eating a banana

Today saw a combination of exhilaration and deep sadness. On one level, we had amazing bear viewing at close quarters, as witnessed by my photographs (one bear actually put its front paws on the top edge of one of our bus windows). However it’s extremely important not to take these pictures out of context. These aren’t bears in their natural habitat: they have been attracted to the town’s old dump by grain tailings dumped by the port. The Manitoba Conservation officer in town claimed to only have found out about it this week, but local reports state that it’s been happening all summer, or perhaps even for several years. Polar bears have a remarkable sense of smell, and powerful front limbs, and we observed 12-13 bears digging up buried grain. The grain has fermented in the ground, leading to the surreal sight of bears sleeping off their intoxication.

Bears at the dump on a pile of grain

I want to summarise why this dumping of grain is a problem and why urgent action is needed to stop it:

• It leads to food conditioning: bears come to associate people with food, leading to conflict, and often ultimately the bear is considered a nuisance, and possibly killed.
• The sight of a bear eating a banana next to a pile of grain, at a time when they should be out on the ice hunting seals was heart breaking to our group: this was almost certainly the result of a tourist bating a bear.
• This unregulated, unsupervised wildlife tourism may lead to injury or death of a person, which would lead to a backlash against the bears.
• Visitors do not have wherewithal to interpret what is really going on: they can step off a flight or the train, and head straight to the dump, with no knowledge of how to protect themselves and the bears.
• Unfortunately public resources in Manitoba are concentrated on Winnipeg, and Churchill does not appear to have finance the to address this situation.

Tourists viewing bears at the dump

We saw people filming from the back of pickup trucks, bears approaching open windows, and numerous instances where bears were being distressed by the close proximity of people. This is serious, since the grain itself is a poor quality food source for bears, and whenever they are placed in under stress, these starving creatures expend additional precious energy.

An intoxicated bear

On a more positive note, in the evening, we saw a bear in a beautiful natural setting as the sun went down over Hudson Bay (see pictures below), and we were treated to a lecture on Arctic Peoples. It would be wrong to characterise this trip as a sobering, depressing experience, despite the disturbing things we learn, as the interaction with people in the group leads to many lighter moments.

Next post: Magical sighting of Mother and Cubs
Previous post: Arrival in Churchill

The first bear we saw today

A bear approaching the bus near sunset

One bear at the dump came very close to our bus, as seen by the inside and outside pictures (the latter courtesy of a Japanese person we met on the train who was watching us)


Below are further pictures of bears at the dump:

Churchill Polar Bears 8th November 2011: Arrival in Churchill

Churchill Station

The new Northern Studies Centre

After an early breakfast of my customary oatmeal and pancakes, we arrived in Churchill, disembarked and travelled to the impressive new Northern Studies Centre. The facilities are far more lavish than the building we’d stayed in on previous trips, and it’s an exceptionally efficient design. Any nostalgia for the old facility or concern about luxurious overkill was quickly put to one side.

A polar bear on the horizon

The temperature may have been worryingly warm, and the snow cover sparse, but the bear viewing started almost immediately after we boarded our rented school bus, and in the afternoon one came right up to our window. However, the first bear we saw was seriously underweight, in common with about half of those we were to encounter. We also saw ptarmigan, and enjoyed one of Churchill’s gorgeous candlestick sunsets before heading back to the Centre for dinner.

The lack of snow and relatively mild temperatures were a concern

This is no ordinary tourist vacation: instead it’s a learning experience. Tonight legendary polar bear expert Chuck Jonkel gave a lecture with some disturbing conclusions. Here’s a brief summary of some of the things we learned:

• Icebergs attract polar bears as more invertebrates and therefore seals are found around them. Unfortunately tundra buggies resemble an iceberg from the distance, and so also attract bears.
• For a long time little attention was paid to polar bears, and there was limited scientific knowledge about them, especially in Canada. They were disliked around Churchill and Svalbard, and Chuck cited an example of 200 bears being killed by one person in one year. Most Canadians didn’t even know there were polar bears in their country, assuming they were only found in Alaska.
• Around the time of World War II 10,000 troops were stationed in Churchill, and pilots practised shooting by aiming at polar bears.
• Native people didn’t have much influence on policy, and the Manitoba Government ignored their interest in polar bears.
• Most polar bears are ‘big pussy cats’, not trying to hunt people all the time, and their fearsome reputation came from zoo keepers (note this does not mean that safety precautions in polar bear country are unnecessary!).
• Polar bears den in the summer when they can’t hunt seals, sleeping for several months. They are now forced to go out later because sea ice hasn’t formed yet, and to come in earlier in the spring due to earlier melt.
• Some have learnt how to hunt flightless geese, and eat berries, but if they go inland they will be in competition with black bears, and this low protein food source could only ever sustain a very small population.
• It’s possible with the current rate of global warming that Hudson and James Bay polar bears could be almost extinct in 3 years as it’s barely getting cold enough to form the ice platform. They are loosing 4-6 weeks feeding time in spring, and the same again in autumn. Note that this population comprises almost half the polar bears in the world.
• Seals also need this platform as have their young out on the ice, and their population has already declined.
• There has been a significant decline in the polar bear population in Russia, exacerbated by drilling offshore, and Chuck sees this country as the main threat to conservation efforts.

If you want to investigate these majestic creatures in more detail I recommend reading this book by Ian Stirling.

Next post: Exhilaration and Sadness
Previous post: Day 2 on the Train

Hudson Bay in the afternoon

A Bear Bear near the Centre

Our Group Looking for Wildlife

Hudson Bay

Sunset

Shipwreck

End of the day

Churchill Polar Bears, 7th November 2011: Day 2 on the train

View through the train window

The expansive rail journey continues; and finally at 2am the group was reunited as the explorers from Montana boarded the train at The Pas. My joy was tempered by the absence of one particularly fun and dear friend, but I’m hopeful she’ll be back next year. Part of the magic of this slow migration is the gradual change in the landscape as we move north, trees becoming increasingly sparse and stunted, and finally the tundra appearing.

Chuck Jonkel giving a talk on the boreal forest

In Thompson, the train took a two hour stop, and we headed off into the boreal forest for an ecology talk by Chuck Jonkel, the group leader. Living in a country where snow is an occasional treat, the now white landscape did much to fuel my excitement. We caught the odd glimpse of wildlife on the journey, including bald eagles, deer and a coyote, but the real excitement is to come.

The train at Thompson


Next post: Arrival in Churchill
Previous post: Return to the North

Churchill Polar Bears, 6th November 2011: Return to the North

Winnipeg Station

I write this on an epic train journey through Manitoba, moving at a stately pace, staring at endless flat vistas. We have just passed through a small settlement at walking pace, but already I feel we have a crossed a frontier, as we move gradually away from civilisation. Sadly, as I shall explain in later instalments of this blog, the wilderness we heading to is far from immune from the damaging effects of that civilisation, yet there is a deep sense of serenity now as we relax on the train.

The Winnipeg group waiting for the train

Yes, I’m heading back to the ‘polar bear capital of the world’ for a second consecutive year with The Great Bear Foundation, for another adventure. We’re a motley crew: folk from all walks of life, including academia and the military; some are wildlife experts and others enthusiastic amateurs like myself. The weather is damp, and unseasonably warm, but the excitement for polar bears is palpable. I’m also eager to reunite with bear loving friends in the early hours of the morning, when the 13 Montana travellers join the existing party of 14 who started from Winnipeg.

Relaxing on the train

According to Chuck, Shackleton, the Arctic Explorer, said only the incompetent have adventures with polar bears. This is an apt statement, for this is not a slick commercial trip, but one with a looser structure, where surprise is often just around the corner. I find this approach refreshing: schedules and plans can be over-rated.

A late night station stop


Next post: Day 2 on the train