Days 2 and 3 of the Grand Polar Bear Adventure

Day 2 started out with an early flight from Winnipeg to Churchill.  We went straight into tour mode upon our arrival, checking out the town and enjoying lunch at the Tundra Inn.  We then went straight to the polar bear holding facility, where Churchill’s remarkable and unique Polar Bear Alert program run by Manitoba Conservation, keeps troublesome bears that come into town before sedating and airlifting them back to the tundra.

A local Polar Bear Alert sign (C) WWF-Canada/ Riannon John
We were lucky enough to catch the “bear lift” portion of that program – a male bear, sedated, being wrapped in a secure net, attached to a helicopter, and carried off into the sunset.  It was an incredible experience that highlighted how much effort the community puts into protecting these iconic bears and their town – and how successful these efforts can be.
Our wonderful day wrapped up with a visit to Dave Daley of Wapusk Adventures, who told us all about what it takes to be a competitive dog-sledder.  He currently keeps 27 “athletes” and founded the Hudson Bay Quest, a top Canadian race, so he had lots of great insights to share – so much so that our quick visit ended up lasting hours!  (The cozy teepee campfire probably helped, too.)
Which made getting up this morning a bit tricky – but totally doable with the prospect of polar bear sightings in the day ahead!  We headed out onto the tundra in a Tundra Buggy – a specially designed bus that can handle the rough terrain with massive wheels (almost as tall as I am!) and my favourite, a very cozy heater inside.

 
 
We got lucky right from the start, with a two year old female who was a bit shy, the first of over 20 polar bears we sighted today.  They were all pretty spectacular, and looked remarkably healthy given the fact that there’s no sea ice for them to hunt on yet.  My personal favourites were a mother and cub who stayed by us for about 45 minutes and the mid-sized male who’s presence made them leave and subsequently went to lay down to rest not two metres from the buggy!

 
I feel incredibly lucky to see these iconic bears in their natural habitat.  Everyone on the tundra today was so thrilled and excited to see the bears – quite the opposite to their reaction to us, which was almost completely nonexistent.  They seemed completely unfazed by our presence, carrying on with their wandering, napping, playing and foraging.  I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow!