Churchill Polar Bears, 7th November 2015

On this day, I took a Rover tour with Great White Bear tours and was privileged to have a particularly magical encounter with a mother and cubs at Half Way Point. In common with the Tundra Buggy company who operate differently named but similar off road vehicles, food smells attract bears to the companies' tundra lodges, and beef stew was served at lunchtime close to a resting bear, with the windows open for photographic purposes. Measures are taken to ensure that no food is accessible to the bears, but I feel uncomfortable with use of this technique by both companies. From a practical point of view, Great White Bear limit the numbers on their vehicle to around 24, whereas Frontiers North fill the buggy with 40 people if there is demand. In addition, GWB provide an interpreter to assist the driver, and their vehicles are more comfortable, so if you must undertake this type of tour, I would prefer them.

Churchill Polar Bears, 6th November 2015

November 6th brought a bracing Arctic wind, and fewer bears were evident than on previously. For the first time, I witnessed a 'bear lift', where an animal at risk from conflict with humans was tranquillised and relocated north of Churchill by helicopter. This took place at 'Polar Bear Jail' near the airport, where captured animals are held until they can be transported out. They're given only water and no food at this period to discourage their desire to return in future years. Whilst this process is obviously preferable to the earlier practice of shooting bears which wandered into town, it was rather disturbing to see the motionless bear being wheeled out and secured in a net. Unfortunately, ill-advised actions by people in Churchill serves to increase the numbers of animals which have to go through this process. The owner of the dogs at Mile 5 displayed a notice at his gift shop in town condemning the cruelty of Manitoba Conservation for detaining animals . However, bears are attracted to this area by dog food (as pictured in the two images below the bear lift), and visitors are then charged a fee to view them. This, arguably, contributes to the issue of food conditioning that necessitates bears to be handled and re-located in the first place.

Churchill Polar Bears, 5th November 2015

Today, I went on a commercial Tundra Buggy tour. My other postings show that it's possible to view and photograph bears independently, but this depends upon local knowledge and a willingness to drive on snow covered trails. Buggy tours provide a more reliable method, but are not without controversy. The numbers of tours is controlled via a permit system, and my experience over recent years suggests that drivers are no longer tempted to veer off track, thus risking damage to the tundra. However, bears are attracted closely to the vehicles by the smell of food, and both companies habitually drive close to a resting bear before serving lunch, invariably causing the the animal to investigate more closely. Of even greater concern are the tundra lodges, which consist of buggies joined together to form sleeping accommodation. In my view, these have an unnecessary impact on a fragile area, and make it more likely that bears become food conditioned, therefore posing a risk to themselves and people if they venture closer to town.

Churchill Polar Bears, 4th November 2015

One of the joys of Churchill is the interesting people you meet, and I spent my first two days here guiding a enthusiastic young German couple who I'd met on the train journey. We were rewarded today with an exceptional day of bear viewing, and a close encounter with a red fox (I didn't see an arctic fox this year, perhaps a reflection of the fact that climate change means the larger and more dominant red foxes are encroaching upon their souther territory). The curious bear shown in the final sequence of pictures in this posting approached our car and spent twenty minutes investigating it.