Take a look at the premier of Polar Bear Town, the new Outdoor Life Network series based on the polar bear mecca of Churchill, Manitoba. For me it’s kind of like seeing the movie after reading the book. I’ve been involved in the tourism trade there for almost two decades now and lived in the town for months at a time. It’s hard to get a fresh view of a place in a different light after knowing the place and characters so closely through the years. Should be fun to watch!
Take a look at this amazing footage of a red fox hunting lemmings in the snow. These animals have exceptional hearing that detects the movement of the rodents. Scientists also hypothesize that red fox utilize the Earth’s magnetic field to hunt.
While the ability to hear low frequency sounds allows the fox to detect movement below up to three feet of snow, it appears they also maximize their kill rate by honing in on prey in accordance with the magnetic field. When a fox stalks and jumps into the air like the display in the video it’s known as mousing.
In two years of research Jaroslav Červený studied red foxes in the Czech Republic, observing 84 foxes perform almost 600 mousing jumps.
Research showed that the mammals mostly pounced in a northeastern direction and that kills were more likely if they jumped along this axis — even if deep snow obscured the prey.
When pouncing through the snow to the northeast, their kill rate was 73 per cent. Attempts in the opposite direction provided only a 60 percent. In any other direction, only an 18 percent success rate prevailed.
Cerveny believed the foxes used the magnetic field as a “rangefinder” to track the sounds being made by prey. When the direction of the sound matches the magnetic fields slope then the fox recognizes the optimal strike moment. The fox can calculate the exact distance to jump, or mouse, for prey.
Thomas Mangelsen, one of the premier wildlife photographers on the planet, journeyed to Churchill and the Hudson Bay region four years ago and captured this unbelievable footage of polar bear cubs and mother emerging from their den to play. The denning area located in the Wapusk National Parc is one of the most concentrated denning areas in the world. Still, the timing for capturing such incredible polar bear behavior is not always predictable. In fact days may go by before a photographer gets any action at all. Enjoy!
An informative video on polar bears in the Arctic and the safety precautions implemented to avoid and confront potential polar bear attacks and interactions in the north! Enjoy and comment on the film! Churchill is the focus of this video that shows the dynamic between people and polar bears in the north.
This week’s video is a short look into the dynamic between a polar bear mother and her cubs emerging from a winter den. A mother polar bear has about three years to teach her cubs all the skills to survive the harsh Arctic conditions. Churchill is the most accessible place on the planet to observe the polar bear family interactions in the wild.
This Joshua Holko video captures the frozen beauty of the Arctic. Solitude and quietness prevail in this last bastion of unexplored territory on the planet. Many of the animals portrayed in the film can be found in the Churchill region during October and November. Enjoy!
