Churchill, 2024
I took a 5 day trip to Churchill, Canada, in Oct-Nov, 2024, through Frontiers North. Polar bears are not social animals, and Churchill may be the only place where they congregate, while they wait for Hudson Bay to freeze, so they can go out on the ice and hunt seals. They have been fasting all summer, so they generally lie around, conserving their energy.
I flew to Winnipeg and walked to the hotel they had booked us in, which was very close to the airport. My flight arrived late night, so I missed the ‘meet and greet’, but they had left all the documents and luggage tags, at the front desk. The next morning, after breakfast, I met the tour leader and the rest of the group of 20. We had to leave our luggage outside our room in the morning, and only take a small carryon with us. Our luggage would be taken straight to our next hotel. We were driven to the airport, where we took a small charter flight to Churchill. We drove around Churchill a little, seeing some of the sights.
We stopped to look at the Polar Bear Holding Facility, more commonly known as the Polar Bear Jail. Established in 1982, polar bears that are considered troublesome or dangerous, are isolated here, until they can be relocated. They are held for 2-30 days, longer for repeat offenders, with a little water and no food. The premise is that extended captivity will create a sense of danger, so the bear will be reluctant to approach the town. Since a bear’s natural life cycle involves long periods of fasting, their bodies are adapted to going without food for an extended time. When the Hudson Bay freezes, the bears are tranquilized and transported by helicopter, out of town, so they can go out on the ice and hunt seals. We then stopped at a few Bear Traps. The older models were made of logs of wood, and were not very reliable (Bear Trap-001). One of them was left open, so we could climb inside.
After lunch, we visited the Polar Bears International House and Parks Canada Visitor Center. One of the exhibits showed the maternity den (Museum-002). After feeding through summer and fall, and gaining as much weight as possible, the pregnant polar bear will go as far as 50 miles inland, and dig a den or find an old one. The den is a small snow cave in a snowdrift, just large enough for her to turn around. She then waits for the snow to close the entrance tunnel and hide the den under the snow. This chamber helps retain body heat and she gives birth in December to 1-3 cubs, with twins being the most common. The mother bear doesn’t eat or drink, and is devoted to nursing and caring for her cubs. In March or April, the mother and cubs will break out and trek to the sea, where she will break her fast and teach her cubs to hunt and survive.
The next two days we drove to the Tundra Buggy dock, early morning, in the Churchill Wildlife Management area, where we boarded a Tundra Buggy to drive out to see the polar bears. Only 20 vehicle permits are given, each day, and Frontiers North has 12 of these permits. Another company has 6, and a third company has 2. The rides were very bumpy (Churchill-004 shows the terrain). Each buggy has a heated interior that can seat 40. Since we were 20 in our group, we had plenty of space, and everyone got a window seat. There was a viewing platform at the back. The buggy was very high, with large snow tires. Even the largest polar bear standing on its hind legs, would not be able to reach us (polar bears don’t jump). At lunchtime, the buggy would stop somewhere where there was a polar bear just lazing around, and we had hot soup, sandwiches and soda, sitting in the buggy and watching the polar bears. We would spend all day driving around and seeing polar bears.
We saw two bears sparring (Polar Bear-020). We saw a mother and cub. The mother had clearly seen the buggies before and was not curious, but the cub was curious and kept standing up trying to see or get inside (Polar Bear-019). Some of the bears were just lying around, conserving their strength and waiting for the Hudson to freeze, so they could hunt seals and break their long summer fast. Some bears were curious and would come right up to the buggy and stare at us. The buggy drivers were careful not to approach the bears if they looked nervous. They were careful to avoid making the bears spend more energy trying to get away from us, or trying to get around us. They tried to anticipate where the bear was going, so they could get there ahead of time, stop the engine, and wait for the bear to approach us.
Frontiers North also operates a Tundra Buggy Lodge out in Churchill Wildlife Management area. This consists of several Tundra Buggies connected together by the viewing platforms. There are 2 accommodation units, with about 20 bunk beds, each with privacy curtains and individual windows. There is a lounge/café and staff quarters. You can stand on the viewing platforms, but you absolutely cannot step on the ground.
On the second day, we left our luggage outside our rooms and took only a small carryon with us. After our Tundra Buggy drive, we were driven straight to the airport, where we boarded another charter flight back to Winnipeg, and our hotel. The next day, we were free to fly back home at leisure.
