Polar Bear Season Retrospective

Polar bear season 2018 is in the history books following quite the incredible season. Aside from the late freezing of the Hudson Bay, the Arctic wildlife was tremendously abundant throughout the six week season in Churchill and the surrounding region. Snow came early and polar bears roamed the frozen tundra of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. These magnificent images by Natural Habitat Adventures amazing  guide Drew Hamilton are some of the best of the season. Enjoy!

Churchill Tundra Images – Polar Bear Season

polar bear Hudson Bay Churchill

A polar bear tests the ice along the Hudson Bay. Colby Brokvist photo.

 

Churchill polar bear in CWMA

Polar bear sensing the air in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Colby Brokvist photo.

 

Churchill red fox

Fantastic red fox close up in Churchill. Colby Brokvist photo.

 

polar bears in Churchill

Polar bears roaming the tundra in Churchill. Colby Brokvist photo.

 

The tundra in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area is alive and bustling with Arctic wildlife. Polar bears, Red and Arctic foxes, as well as Ptarmigan, are being spotted throughout the region. With the polar bear season in full gear, the images are coming fast and furious. This polar bear season has about two weeks to go and the scene is set for incredible culmination out on the snow-covered tundra of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Keep watching for more news and images from the north!

Churchill Wildlife Field Report – Polar Bear Season

polar bears mother and cubs

Polar bear mom and cubs on the tundra. Jason Luoma photo.

 

polar bear churchill, Manitoba

Polar bear taking a look into the polar rover. Kry Walczak photo.

 

Polar bears sparring Churchill, Manitoba

Two sparring male polar bears near the tundra lodge in Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Jason Luoma photo.

With snow already covering the tundra in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, polar bears have become more active and are up and about sparring and moving along the coastal region near the Tundra Lodge. Numbers of bears being spotted by Natural Habitat Adventures groups are close to 15 or more.

Here are two Natural Habitat Adventure guide reports from the past week in Churchill:

Wildlife is exceptional for this time of year, and some exceptional moments in general. These include snowy owl and raven “playing” and gyrfalcons hunting and fighting over kills. Also a nice cross fox, three Arctic foxes and tons of polar bears. Sow and two coy were a highlight and we had young bears at the rovers and lodge for up-close encounters.”
“Wildlife is OFF THE CHARTS. A true banner week for this early in the season. We had three diverse weather days and incredible wildlife sightings, including: eight polar bears with close encounters, Arctic fox, red fox (silver morph),gyrfalcon, harbor seal, snow bunting, snowy owl, semi-palmated plovers, semi-palmated sandpipers, glaucous gulls, herring gulls, willow ptarmigan, common raven and common eider!!”
Looking forward to even more exciting action from the polar bear capital of the world! We will have more updates as they come in from the north!
 

Churchill Weekly Polar Bear Stats

Churchill is pretty quiet at the moment bear wise. A few polar bears are being spotted daily in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Small thermokarst ponds have yet to freeze over though once they do polar bears will be moving and heading towards Churchill proper and surrounding area. The polar bear season is just 10 days away and the action will be heating up as the temperatures cool down in Churchill. Stay posted for all the news from the north!

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