Churchill II

With our two days out on the tundra, I figured out how this works. About 25 miles South of Churchill is Wapusk National Park. The Park is the 4,500 acres representing the world’s largest known Polar Bear maternity dens. Churchill happens to be where Hudson Bay fist starts to freeze in October/November. So, after cubs are born in the Wapusk dens, the Polar Bears flock to Churchill so they can move out onto the ice floes of Hudson Bay where they hunt seal to survive.

For some reason I had the impression of a migration, crossing expanses of land. But it is rather a point of entry to the ice of the Hudson Bay that brings them here. While prepared to be skunked – bear sightings were not guaranteed in any of the tour literature – we were blessed with seeing 3 real live Polar Bears in our two days out in the tundra. Two of the bears we saw at a considerable distance, but enjoyed them none the less. This lone bear decided to perform for us close up, which was the highlight of our visit.

When we headed out in our tundra buggies, we were told we were looking for the big four. Of course, Polar Bears were the focus. But we were to keep an eye out for Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare and Ptarmigan. We had seen Ptarmigan in Alaska, but were excited to see them again in the Churchill tundra. It turned out we saw several dozens of them, always pecking and eating the local vegetation.

Our guide, Kevin Burke, told us that Arctic Hare were elusive, and that he often didn’t spot any on his trips out in the tundra buggy. However, he spotted one in the brush, and as he had said, it was very shy and elusive.

However, after we pulled up and parked the buggy for a bit, he decided to show off a bit for us. He circled the tundra buggy a few times, nibbling at the vegetation at a leisurely pace, and then posed for some photos. Nice!

The same thing happened with the Arctic Fox. We actually saw two of them. The first we saw was very white, which Kevin said was their coloration once the snows hit as it gave them the camouflage needed for survival. This guy was hunting rodents of some sort, and we enjoyed his jumping and pouncing on the unsuspecting prey.

Just like the Arctic Hare, this fox decided to put on a show for us. He came close, posed, and generally followed our buggy for quite a while. This guy was still a bit greyer, and hadn’t quite yet reached the pure white he would before the major snow flies. But he was stunning, and his acting ability was undisputable.

The climactic extremes here effect everything. All the pines in the area are referred to as one sided trees. That is because the winds prevent the trees from developing branches on the windward side. Not only are the trees one sided, but their development is even affected. This pine, while looking like a sapling, is well over 450 years old. Sheesh!

All in all, we had a spectacular display of what Churchill had to offer. And the hospitality was astounding. However, even though I got a chance to drive the tundra buggy for real, I don’t think I could ever muster up the chutzpah to attempt to live in a climate like this again.

Talk to you soon