Churchill Manitoba: Polar Bear

Polar Bear, Churchill MB

At this time of year there were few polar bears. I was three in all. They are still back away from Hudson Bay, with little to eat and so looking gaunt and muddy.

They are extremely strong swimmers. As soon as the ice pack begins to form in the Bay they go to it and begin to feed on seals. They remain on the ice throughout the winter and do not come ashore again until the ice is gone.

Climate change does not bode well for this life cycle.

Manitoba: Looking Directly Toward Hudson Bay Near Churchill

The day we were here at Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site, across the Churchill River from Churchill, there were two polar bears in and out of the river and walking along the shore.

Visitors to that shore and the fort, and guides and masons working at the fort, are guarded every day by men on 4-wheelers with rifles capable of “lethality.”

We never saw those bears and were hurried along into the fort and back again to the boats. The bear danger is not taken casually.