Do Polar Bears Fly?

Greetings All,
We are home (at least for one night) from our Polar Bear Adventure. We were able to squeeze in a tour around Churchill yesterday morning before flying back to Winnipeg. We spotted one more new animal, a Cross Fox, trotting along the shore of Hudson Bay searching for a morsel to eat.

A Cross Fox is a color variant of the more common Red Fox. Our guide got really excited when our bus driver found some wolverine tracks.

A wolverine is a large weasel and is very elusive. They are almost never seen in the wild. Seeing their tracks was a rare treat.

Some have asked "how big is a Polar Bear?". Against a Polar Rover they look quite small but compared to us they are immense. There was a stuffed one in the hotel lobby. I stood next to it so you can get a feel how tall these bears are when they stand up on their hind legs.

I'm not sure if Marc is trying to save me or push me into the bear's jaws.

We had one more surprise in store for us before leaving Churchill.  A Polar Bear was going to be released from the Polar Bear Jail.  Nuisance bears that hang around Churchill are sent to the Polar Bear Jail.  In the past they would be shot. They stay in the jail until the Hudson Bay freezes or until they can get an airlift north. So, yes Polar bears do fly with a little help. A drugged bear was wheeled out of the jail and put on a large net.

He was then air lifted by a helicopter and brought 50 miles north to be released.

This was only the second bear to be air lifted this season and we were lucky to see it. The whole town or at least all the tourists turned out for the event.

We feel so privileged to have seen Polar Bears in the wild. With global warming, their fate is unknown. Tourism has given the bear status in the town of Churchill and it was reassuring to see them protected. The dumps have been closed, people no longer feed the bears and take extraordinary measures to deal with nuisance bears. We hope others will get to visit the Great White Bears of Churchill for generations to come.
Peggy and Marc

Face to Face with a Wild Polar Bear‏

Greetings All,
We were picked up at 7:25 AM and we drove in darkness to the Polar Rover docking station. We drove right up to the Rover and entered through the back. They are old school buses on 5 foot monster tires. Everyone sat in the back so Marc and I grabbed the front seats with plenty of leg room and a great view out the front windshield.

We traveled on established routes and did not follow the other rovers but headed out on our own. Brad our guide spotted the first bears curled up on some rocks. One got up and moved around to the other bear

but for the most part they chose to sleep and not approach our vehicle. We saw a couple of other bears in the distance. One bear headed for us but the bear cam vehicle pulled up and she chose to visit that vehicle. One guy leaned out the window and lost his hat. The bear snatched it up and chewed on it before tossing it into the air.

Two more Tundra Buggies pulled up and the bear went to visit them. The other Tundra Buggies didn't stick around long. Finally, the curious bear visited us. She walked under the back observation deck and peered up thought the grated floor. This is about how close you'd want to get to a wild polar bear! She entertained us by rolling in the snow

and pouncing on make believe seals and pulling out grass instead. We finally left her and went to have lunch by the Tundra Lodge.

We pulled up past the lodge next to some willows to have lunch. There were two males play fighting and two more lying around.

They were inactive while we ate lunch but their curiosity got the better of them and they approached the rover. One jumped up against the rover and I could have touched him if I had a death wish.

He went under the observation deck and peered through the floor with his beady eyes.

At one time there were 6 bears around us, play fighting and posturing with one another. Churchill is one of the few places in the world polar bears congregate. They are waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze so they can go out on the ice to hunt seals. They haven't eaten for months so are eagerly waiting for freeze up. We were seeing so much bear activity that the day flew by. It was already time to return to the Polar Rover docking station. We saw some snow buntings on the way. We drove back to Churchill to watch the sun set.

Time for bed. We hope for another exciting day but, today will be hard to beat!

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc

Greetings from Churchill, Polar Bear Capital of the World‏

Hi All,
We made it to Churchill, Manitoba today after a two hour flight from Winnipeg. We stepped off the plane into a balmy 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Churchill is on the shore of Hudson Bay and is Canada's only Arctic Seaport. We took a quick tour around town and were surprised to find White Spruce growing here. At 58 degrees North we are near tree line.

We were hoping to see Polar Bears as they have recently been spotted around town but the only animals were saw were sled dogs.

The Bay is beginning to freeze and the last ship is getting ready to leave the port.

Grain is shipped from here to the US. Time to get some sleep. We're off to the tundra tomorrow in search of polar bears.

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc