We’ve just had the most astonishing two days on Polar bear safari – an experience that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
Both mornings started at the Lazy Bear Lodge to the sounds of the strangely percussive water system and the sounds of the heavy-footed Heffalumps upstairs getting ready to go out. Excited about what was to come we were soon adding to the strains of Churchill plumbing before breakfast. Before long we were on the bus heading off into the pre-sunrise gloom. Each day we were chauffeured by different vehicles –each unique to Churchill. The first was a Tundra buddy – a strange armoured, four wheel drive vehicle (imagine the automotive love-child of a hummer and an amphibious vehicle and you’d get the picture). The second was an off-road school bus. Both had monster tyres, 4-wheel drive, very unforgiving suspensions and a viewing platform bolted onto the back.
On the first day we had barely set off bouncing across the tundra in search of polar bears when first one appeared in the distance – a young male out for his morning constitutional. Soon after we caught sight of a mother and her two cubs. We watched these amazing creatures for some time, following them as they sniffed the air, and cautiously avoided the large males in the area. The noisy chatter in the buggy had given way to a stunned silence, punctuated only by the sounds of camera shutters clicking again and again. Many of our fellow travellers were part of a photographic tour and consequently brought a serious amount of kit. Before long we developed a serious case of lens envy as we saw some of the group using scopes to take dramatic close-ups of bears before we could even see them through our cameras.
Time flew by astonishingly quickly as we watched many, many bears as they went about their business. They seem to amble along without a care in the world but they actually cover a lot of ground. They gather in Churchill at this time of year waiting for the ice on Hudson Bay to form. When the Bay freezes, the polar bears can get onto the ice to hunt their favourite meal, ringed seal.
Luckily for us, many of them were in the area– we must have seen over 30 bears on the first day . The second day we managed to see several at very close quarters. In particular at a dog kennel, a number of bears and the dogs have formed some sort of friendship. The bears hang out with the dogs hoping to share in the food that is handed out, and rather than attacking the dogs, they just reclined peacefully among them (bears are great recliners). We were so close to some of these it was tempting to reach out and touch them – they looked so relaxed and harmless, but just looking at those massive paws with the huge claws was enough to remind us that wasn’t the case.
It was really encouraging to see that the bears weren’t troubled by these strange busses that bristled with telephoto lenses. Sometimes their meandering paths took them right past the bus, sometimes not. They didn’t seem to change their behaviour at all. At this time of year they are hungry, waiting to go and hunt the seals, so to save energy they lie down a lot – some literally stopped in the road and had a cheeky nap right in front of us.
It has been such a privilege to see these animals in their natural habitat. I’ve only seen one or two in zoos and only now can I start to understand why they look so miserable – because they are. They are meant to roam for hundreds of miles across the ice and snow, swimming for miles to catch the seals they love to eat – they shouldn’t be cooped up in tiny enclosures in weather that is ridiculously warm for them.
Speaking of temperature, despite the fact that the locals all thought it was a heat wave, it was COLD. The days, while short, were mostly bright and the temperature was around -3 but it felt MUCH colder. When we were taking pictures, either on the viewing platform or on the bus through the open window it was freezing. By day three I felt like I was wearing ALL my clothes.