Hope you had a great day yesterday with Mr. O. My day in Churchill was amazing! It was a very early start (see last post) but we saw 10 polar bears in total including a grandpa, a mama and her cub, and lots of adult males and females. Here is a snapshot of the day:
After our very early wake up, we drove to the airport and took our 2-hour flight to Churchill. We arrived in Churchill at about 9:45 local time. Churchill is located in a region called the sub-arctic and is right on the tree line. This land is where the boreal forest ends and the arctic tundra begins. This mix of boreal forest and arctic tundra is called taiga.
Arriving at the Churchill Airport
Once we arrived we got on a bus to go to the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. This is the area where tours are allowed to operate provided they have one of 13 provincial licenses. On our way there we passed by Polar Bear Jail! Polar Bear Jail is where they keep bears that have been wandering into town and causing trouble. Instead of killing the bears or trying to relocate them, the bears are kept in a special facility until the ice forms on Hudson's Bay. Once the ice forms the bears can be released because they will head out onto the ice to start hunting seals and won't want to come into the town. Right now there are 7 bears in jail but they should only need do be there for a few more weeks. Then the ice will be forming and then can head out!
Polar Bear Jail
Tundra Buggy
Once we arrived at the Churchill Wildlife Management Area we got on our Tundra Buggy. A Tundra buggy is sort of like an extra wide school bus but it has enormous wheels so that it sits very high up. This is important because polar bears are really tall when they stand on their hind legs! The buggy also has an outdoor viewing platform so that you can stand outside to see the polar bears in a safe way. Our buggy driver was named Kevin and he was a polar bear expert. He has been driving his Tundra Buggy for 31 years and has also worked as a research assistant for polar bear studies. In addition he is a Ranger in the Canadian Armed Forces and works for Parks Canada. Needless to say we felt very lucky to have him as our guide for the day!
Our Driver and Guide Kevin
Once we started driving it was only about 10 minutes before we saw our first bear. It was a large adult but it was too far away to get a good picture. The bear was walking across a frozen pond heading east. Kevin thought there was a chance that this bear had been close to town the night before and had been scared away by the rangers. Thankfully this bear got the hint and was heading away from town.
Grandpa Bear - Right Next to the Buggy!
Next we came across another huge male bear. He was probably about as tall as me when he was standing on all 4 paws, and he would have been about 8-9 ft. tall standing on his hind legs! Kevin told us that this bear was probably about 13 years old and sadly might not make it through the winter. He had a lot of scars on his face and seemed to be very thin for a polar bear his size. He also had a big wound on his side, likely from fighting another male bear. Kevin also said that the scars on his face were a sign that he had probably sired lots of cubs (that means he had a lot of kids). Even though this bear was getting very old he was still VERY intimidating. He came really close to the buggy and stared right at me when he walked passed the outdoor viewing platform! YIKES!
Look at the Size of Those Paws!
After that we kept driving and drove past a few more bears in the distance. We couldn't tell if they were males or females but they were adults roaming alone. Polar bears are not very social and usually travel alone.
Mama and Baby Snuggling
Next we were lucky enough to see a mama bear and her cub. When we first came upon them they were having a nap on a bed of kelp. Kevin told us that when the bears on on-land they usually find piles of sea kelp to use as a bed. Apparently its pretty comfy! After we had been there for about 15 minutes the baby bear, who was about 8 months old, started wiggling around and eventually got up to walk around. He was really cute and seemed to like playing with the grass and kelp. We saw him practicing his front paw pounce and rolling around. Then he went back over to him mom and seemed to want her to play. He started climbing on her and nibbling on her ears. She was very patient but didn't really seem too interested in playing! Finally he got up and seemed to notice our buggy. He wandered a bit closer and started sniffing the air. We were so lucky to watch him play for such a long time!
Baby Bear Playing in the Grass
I think we could have spent all day just watching the baby bear because he was so cute but Kevin suggested that we move on and try to find some more bears. Along the way we tried to look for arctic fox and arctic hare but we didn't manage to see any. We did see some birds including snow buntings and ptarmigans. The ptarmigans were really hard to see because their camouflage is so good but luckily we had a guy on our buggy with really sharp eyes and he saw them. Sadly, we didn't manage to get any good pictures, they are just too well camouflaged!
After a bit more driving we came across a beautiful male bear. He was probably about 3 or 4 years old and was in really good shape. He also put on quite the show. He walked around for a while and then sat down in some willow bushes. He stretched out his very long neck and then rolled around scratching his back and grooming himself in the snow. He reminded me of Brinkley! This bear was so neat to watch that we stayed for quite a long time and ate our lunch on the Buggy while we enjoyed his show.
Me and the Polar Bear
Grooming and Scratching in the Snow
By this time it was starting to get dark (the sun sets quite early, even in October) so we had to start heading back to the bus. On our way we came across another adult female bear who was quite happy to let us get very close. She was having a nap when we arrived and then got up and started scratching and rolling in the snow. She even stuck out her tongue! Apparently bears do this to help them identify new smells.
Just like Brinkley!
Did You Know Polar Bears Have Purple Tongues?
Then she started to walk across a large pond. She seemed to be using her paws to test the ice by pounding her huge paw on spots that looked weak. She also stopped and scratched away some of the ice so that she could have a drink of water. It is amazing to see their powerful paws and claws!
Testing the Ice
Walking Across the Pond
Finally we made it back to our bus and went to buy a few souvenirs in the town of Churchill. Then it was time to get back on the airplane to come home. What an amazing day!
