For
a
few short weeks each year, the tiny grain port of Churchill Manitoba on
the northwestern shore of Hudson's Bay becomes Grand Central Station for
polar bears.
This
tiny town, with fewer than
1000 year-round residents, shares its corner of the Bay with hundreds of
polar bears during their northern migration. The polar bears of Canada's
Hudson's Bay spend the bitter winter months out on the bay's frozen
surface. There they hunt seals, their primary food source. As the ice
begins to break up during the summer months, the bears come ashore
several hundred miles to the south. Then they begin their annual trek
northward to reach the area of the bay that will freeze first in the
fall. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, the
tiny town of Churchill lies right in their path. It is not uncommon for
a polar bear to wander through town during the season.
When
a polar bear is sighted too
close to town, the local game officials will place traps to humanely
capture it. Once captured, it is then transported to the "polar
bear jail." Here, captured bears are kept until they are able to be
flown by helicopter out to the ice many miles from the town. It is not
unusual to have more than one hundred polar bears captured and moved
during one season.
Nowhere
else in the world can a person
have the opportunity to be so close to such a large population of polar
bears with such regularity. Churchill has become a popular destination
for both scientists and nature enthusiasts alike. Large "tundra
buggies," some carrying as many as fifty eager guests, regularly
travel over the frozen tundra in search of the great white bear. Few are
disappointed.
With
the exception of an occasional
scavenged scrap of food, most of these bears have not eaten since they
came ashore nearly five months earlier during the summer. But as the
temperature once again dips below freezing and the northern winds begin
to howl, Hudson's Bay begins to freeze over. As soon as the ice becomes
thick enough to support their weight, the bears head out onto the ice in
search of seals.
Not
all of the bears venture onto
the ice. While the male bears and the mother's with cubs are eager to
begin hunting, the pregnant females remain behind. These bears will give
birth while they over winter in a snow den. They usually give birth to
one or two cubs. But three cubs is not unheard of. When they emerge from
the den in March, the mother's work has just begun. Besides feeding her
new offspring, she must protect them from roaming male polar bears. Male
polar bears are known to kill cubs. This is in an effort to bring the
female back into her breeding cycle so his genes will be passed
on to the next generation.
The
cubs will usually stay with
their mother for about two years. In that time, the cubs will need to
learn the hunting skills necessary to survive. After their second trip
to the ice with their mother, they are on there own.
Seeing
polar bears very up close and
personal is an experience one does not forget. Combine such a unique
opportunity with the warmth and friendliness of the local townspeople,
and you will know why Churchill is one of my favorite places to visit.
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