Polar bear peeking out through its napping area in the Churchill willows. Leah Okin Magowan photo
Polar bears bed down in the willows in the fall polar bear season in Churchill to conserve their energy and waning fat reserves. When they are aroused or catch a waft of some unusual smell they will pop up from their slumber ad shelter. Some of these sightings are the most exciting and memorable of a polar bear adventure to Churchill on the Hudson Bay!
Hearing beluga whales communicating in the water of the Churchill River and Hudson Bay around Churchill is one of my most lasting memories of my tenure as a guide for Natural Habitat Adventures. Nothing in nature, in my opinion, compares to witnessing animals communicating with one another and if you spend enough time with beluga whales you will hear them and see how they act as a group and coordinate their actions as apparently one organism. This short video gives an impression of what you can expect to witness as a traveler on a spectacular Churchill Summer Adventure! Enjoy!
With the crisis in Churchill continuing to affect the everyday lives of all 800 residents, a recent art project coordinated by Kal Barteski has brought hope and promise of change to the isolated northern town. Barteski organized artists from around the world to gather and paint northern themed murals on neglected and mostly abandoned buildings around the subarctic outpost on the Hudson Bay.
Now a short documentary film has been made portraying the roots of the project and how it became a reality.
“I Know I’m Here” is a collaboration of 18 artists looking to leave a mark of reassurance and hope for this small community fighting through some very tough times. Within the past couple of years, the Port of Churchill has been shut down, the Hudson Bay Line has been washed out and inoperable for a year, and just recently the most popular restaurant, Gypsy’s Bakery, burned to the ground. The strife has been constant and the heart and resilience of the residents are being tested beyond belief.
As Churchillians deal with stresses from being shut off from the south with the only way in and out of the town being by air, Kal and her group of artists have created these massive murals have transformed the landscape and instilled some hope in the community.
What’s it like living in Arviat near the Arctic Circle? The town of 2,500 – half are under the age of 19- coexists with polar bears roaming the streets and coast of the Hudson Bay. Leo Ikhakik helps keep the townspeople safe from polar bears by patrolling the area at night on his snowmobile. “It’s very scary to be out during the polar bear season”, says Leo’s daughter Lorraine, mother of six children. As global warming reduces the amount and duration of Arctic sea ice, the main hunting ground for the bears, the towns along the Hudson Bay like Arviat and Churchill see more year-round numbers of polar bears.
Come on this relaxing snowmobile ride around Churchill and out toward Cape Merry and the port. The sun dogs are amazing in this short spin around the outskirts of the polar bear capital of the world on the shores of the Hudson Bay! The footage was captured with a Go Pro Hero 4 on a Yamaha RS Vector GT in -40 C frigid temperatures. Enjoy the ride!
