Polar bear sleeping just outside the Tundra Lodge. Jason Luoma photo.
Mexican polar bear standoff with a polar rover in Churchill. Jason Luoma photo.
Polar bear mom protecting her cub from the dangers on the tundra in Churchill. Jason Luoma photo.
Polar bear resting in the scrub willows near the Tundra Lodge. Jason Luoma photo.
Natural Habitat Adventures and Great White Bear Tours operate one of the most incredible wildlife viewing spots on Earth. Tundra Lodge camp Manager Jason Luoma, who by the way, manages Natural Habitat’s Greenland Base Camp as well, took these photos over the past few years. The first pic, sleeping bear, is from this week. The view from the lodge is so serene and breathtaking that polar bears become just part of the landscape…especially when they are sleeping. Photographers and wildlife enthusiasts come to this place for unimaginable chances to capture polar bears and other Arctic wildlife in action. And, most times expectations are exceeded beyond belief!
Polar bear mom and cubs on the tundra. Jason Luoma photo.
Polar bear taking a look into the polar rover. Kry Walczak photo.
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!!”
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!
Beluga whales are very curious by nature. When one gets in the water with them to snorkel, whales will trail the boat and come upon a snorkeler being pulled along slowly. It has also been discovered that they are attracted to the human voice, women’s more than men’s for some reason. Music is also a strange attraction for the belugas. Come to Churchill this summer on a Natural Habitat Adventure and discover the underwater lives of beluga whales!
