Big Bear ......and other interesting Polar Bear stuff

Well I thought I would start the Polar Bear images out with this one and a little background of the Western Hudson Bay, Churchill Polar Bears.
One of the largest Polar Bears in the area. standing 12 feet tall. This bear has been visiting the Tundra Buggy Lodge for the last 5 years.

I was able to attend some very interesting seminar //lectures while in Churchill as part of the program I was on...which turned these "Tourist Bears" into much more personal bears and images.

The Churchill Bears and those found along the area as far north as Chesterfield Inlet, just north of us, are estimated to be aprox 1200 bears of a total 15,000 Polar Bears in Canada and aprox 30,000 Polar Bears in the world. This group is known as the Western Hudson Bay population.

The bears are found in and around Churchill for a couple of reasons. The area is one of the last areas to loose the ice pack in early July. The bears try to stay on the ice as long as possible and then will eventually move inland 1-2 miles for the months of July to November. In turn the first ice starts to form as the Churchill River flows into the bay making the waters less salty.

West and south of Churchill Mother bears will den and give birth to new cubs in May and return to the ice in the Dec/Jan period.

The bears in all the time they are off the ice July to Nov they do not eat. They spend the time conserving all the energy in a state of "Walking Hibernation" The dening mothers will not eat until Jan after they break out of their dens with the new born.

Typically the bears that we see in Oct/Nov are at thi least weight of the year and will spend the months of Dec-Jun on the newly formed ice pack hunting their favorite food seals. In this time they will double their Nov weight.

One of the larger issues for this group of bears is the effects of the Tundra Buggy tours, helicopters and humane interaction. Presently there are studies looking at all of these areas as well as climate changes, food contaminants, and the over all management of the area so the Bears and People can continue to coexist for years to come.

It was a good 4 days of seeing and learning about the Polar Bears. Images to follow through the weeks ahead as time permits.

Comments welcome.