How many people
can say, in all honesty, that they've seen a real, live
polar bear in the wild? Having seen
penguins on our trip to the
Antarctic in 2006, we wanted to go to the opposite end
of the earth to see the King of the Arctic, the Polar Bear.
Nothing can prepare you for seeing one of
these magnificent, majestic animals face to face. It
is a breathtaking experience. They appear so white and
furry and cuddly... yet they are the largest and most
ferocious of the land carnivores.
Click on each
picture to open a larger image in its own window.
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We stayed at the
Lazy Bear Lodge in Churchill, Manitoba, on the edge
of the subarctic tundra. Here I am pictured with
Wally Daudrich, owner of the Lazy Bear, driver and polar
bear ranger. Carrying the gun was a precaution against
the very real risk of meeting a polar bear! Even
though Churchill is well below the arctic circle at 58°
46' north, its proximity to the Hudson Bay and the
prevailing winds coming down from the North Pole
guarantee very cold temperatures in autumn and winter.
We were there in October 2011, but the temperature was
never above zero degrees Celsius. |
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This female polar bear had been
swimming in the Hudson Bay before emerging from behind
some rocks, sniffing the air and making her way towards
our tundra buggy. It was a mesmerising sight;
brings a real lump to the throat. The
Churchill subarctic tundra is permanently frozen all
year round; polar bears get stranded in the
spring/summer when the ice in the Hudson Bay thaws.
They then gather in late autumn (mid-October to
mid-November) waiting for the Hudson Bay to freeze over
again, so they can get across to their hunting ground to
hunt ringed seals. |
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This photo was taken with my Nokia
phone, leaning out of the window of our tundra vehicle.
She was looking straight at me before standing up on her
hind legs - an immense sight! The females are
about 8' tall on their hind legs and males are much
bigger at over 10' tall. See my
gallery for more breathtaking photos. |
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This polar
bear is poised ready to jump up at the side of
our vehicle. Over a three day period, we
spotted nine polar bears and four arctic foxes.
Most of the animals were too far away to get a
good photograph, but we were immensely lucky to
see two of the bears really closely, as these
photos testify. |
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