Polar Bears on Standby

And I’m in Churchill again, ‘polar bear capital of the world’, and delighted to be able to accompany a group of WWF donors and  visitors from around the world spending a day in the company of polar bears waiting for sea-ice to return.

 
A female bear in Churchill, Manitoba (C) WWF-Canada/ Riannon John
I love being with people who are seeing their first wild polar bear – the glowing faces, the awesome smiles, and excited photo-taking – all followed by piles of great questions  for a resource person like me!
Yesterday I was fortunate to watch the Manitoba Government conservation officers handle a sedated 6 year old male bear that had been causing problems around town, into a sling net and then away beneath a helicopter 60 miles up the coast, to resume his beach wanderings waiting for ice.  These efforts are all part of Churchill’s great ‘Polar Bear Alert’ program, which is helping bears and humans live in some balance as the climate warms and bears enter the town.
They’re looking for food, but seal meat is what the bears really need for their energy source – and the totally open water conditions in Hudson Bay just now indicates that they’re going have to wait a few more weeks yet for that.
The worldwide ‘buzz’ about polar bears was very clear again yesterday, as a very energetic Korean TV crew spotted the panda logos and eagerly tried to set up an interview time for me to talk about bears, ice and climate change.  I find this is all so exciting and helpful, and I’m so keen to help out where I can with these visitors.  It will certainly keep me busy over the next week – I guess I’ll just catch-up on sleep over the Christmas holidays!