Flying Bears, Swimming Bears & Night on the Tundra

Yesterday was our day to explore Churchill, learn the history of the area and the Hudson Bay Company as well as explore the tundra at night. However, our exploration of Churchill was delayed by a bad bear! Bears are not allowed in the city because they can cause such harm to people. Therefore, the bear patrol exists to turn away bears and head them back to the bay. If they will not heed the warnings, a bear will be sedated, taken to jail and then finally set free after 30 days of no food. If the bay has frozen, the bear will be taken to the edge of the ice by car but if the bay has not frozen then he will be air lifted about 40 miles north of Churchill. The first hint that there was a bad bear was when we saw the flares. Our bus turned to see what was happening. We found the patrol firing flare guns to make a bear turn back from town. However, this bear had a mind of its own and hid in the bushes. A helicopter was called to scare him out and chase him to the waters edge. Finally to the edge he went but even then he did not want to give up his pursuit of food in town. However, at last he set off swimming. It was quite a chase and quite a sight! The final moment came when we left the chase to see a bear being released by helicopter from the bear jail.

Last night we were treated to clear skies and still more bears that gathered around our polar rover as we enjoyed a celebratory meal on the tundra. We toasted a great guide, a great rover driver who found all the bears, the friendships we made and most importantly the bears. One final huge bear approached the vehicle and raised up on his hind quarters to put his face at the window where I was sitting. It was a farewell nose kiss.

There may not be any more bear adventures as we had back today, but join me on December 2 when I board a plane for Delhi. From there it is out to the tiger reserves with hopes that there will be as many tigers as bears. This has been a wonderful trip and a magical experience. I have felt so close to nature from the Northern Lights shimmering in the sky to the wonder of a mighty polar bear.

Bears, Bears & Hares

Our guide promised it would be a better day today and we doubted him but he was right! We saw at one time over 27 bears together. But is is not just seeing the bears, it is watching them interact. These bears were all waiting for the Bay to freeze and as they did they were being themselves. Here are some images of the fascinating things we saw. First, young males practice attacking which they will need to do to secure a mate or to ward off others seeking their territory. Here are some shots of the sparring we enjoyed, Sometimes there were two and the then there were two sets of males and sometimes there were three together.
This first photo is the faceoff to see if they will spar. Size and smell determine the challenge.
After the faceooff there is the dance. Then the rumble. Of course, there has to be a victory.
But after a victory is the realization that they have not eaten for 8 months and that they are waiting for the ice to freeze and back to the ice to catch seals and eat.
This has been a fantastic two days and just to give an idea of how close we are to the bears-reach out and they can grab you two more photos should show the story.
Finally for today, the hare.

Polar Bears, Polar Bears I love you

Yesterdayy I wondered if this trip to "nowhere" would be worth it. The answer is a resounding yes. Breakfast at 5:00AM and then onto the bus to take to the "polar rover". What to expect? We are going to spend the whole day on the tundra-15 of us basically in a bus with big wheels looking for polar bears. First let me show some photos of this.



This polar rover is made for 32 but we were only 15 so lots of room and everyone had a window and a place to go to the platform if you wanted when the call comes out-polar bear!

The rest of the day continues on this high note. We see polar bears and have the opportunity to study their movements. Males are solitary while the females travel with their young and they play a dance played out on the ice. At this time of year the polar bears have not eaten for 5 months--they are hungry and waiting for the Hudson Bay to freeze so they can search for seal. I am awed by the loyalty of the moms and the loneliness of the males. A few more photos have told the story. Then there was a perfect sunset and the promise that tomorrow will be even better!

Winnipeg and Arrival In Churchill

Yesterday I spent the day in Winnipeg, the Capital of Manitoba. This city is sometimes considered the cultural capital of the Prairies. We visited the legislative house and the Manitoba Museum. We learned that the Legislative Building was built by a Free Mason and that it could definitely be the setting for the next Dan Brown novel. The building is quite unique and may be filled with symbolism but I am not going to hold my breath waiting for that movie to be filmed. The time in the Museum provided detailed information about the cultural and biological heritage of Manitobe. For me, my favorite part of the tour of this city was "Bears on Broadway."

Today the plane came to take us to Churchill, the Polar Capital of world. We are excited and we can't wait to see them, but not until tomorrow. Today we will have to settle with a tour of the Museum and a walk around main street before our orientation tonight. One other special attraction-the Olympic Torch was here today and we got to see the young man who had gained the honor to run with it. He was the grandson of our bus driver.

We stroll downtown and decide to visit the grocery store. The town is the main street of Kelsey Blvd. The grocery store tells the story of this small town on Hudson Bay. As we walk down the aisles we find strawberries at $8.39 a pint and bananas for $3.59 a lb. and asparagus for $13.89 a lb. And I guess you might have been happy to pay this if the groceries if they had even been there but most of the aisles were empty.

Tonight we learned all about the largest carnivores-the polar bears. Now we wait with great hopes of seeing them tomorrow from our tundra rovers. Keep your fingers crossed. This is a really long way to come if the bears are all still sleeping. They have not eaten since the ice broke up last June and they are waiting for it to freeze again. It has started to freeze but is not hard enough for the bears to hunt for seal so if they are lazy we might not see any.

I thought tonight was over but the knock came on the door with the cry the lights are out! We all rushed out in our pj's and parkas to see the Northern Lights. They really do dance across the sky. Not a bad ending to the first day in Churchill!

Here I am in Canada

Today was the usual airport hassles. But the good news is that the planes fly and they get you where you need to Be!

So here I am at the Fort Gerry Hotel in Winnepeg getting ready to tour the city. You might ask, where is Winnepeg. It is about an hour north of Grand Forks and not that cold yet. More later...

Success. I think I have found just the thing. How can anyone be cold with these on? Additionally I am making this trek to see the polar bears with a wonderful eco friendly company that offers amazing adventures around the world. In an effort to be sure we are all well taken care of on the tundra they will be offering us heavy parkas and boats. They have already sent the most wonderful warm hat. I am sure you will be seeing it in future posts. Now I just have to pack and hope the planes are on time. More as the adventure unfolds.