Recent images from polar bear season in Churchill from Natural Habitat guide Drew Hamilton. Enjoy!
Sunset in Churchill. Drew Hamilton photo.
Aurora borealis over the tundra lodge. Drew Hamilton photo.
Dog talk at Kelly’s tent. Drew Hamilton photo.
Inaugural Natural Habitat groups in Churchill experienced a rare phenomena this past week. With polar bears being the main attraction in Churchill in October, other wildlife and natural wonders are a bonus. This early season has brought magnificent sights beyond the normal for many travelers.
Natural Habitat Guide Colby and travelers enjoyed incredible happenings to start the season. “We deemed it the “quadfecta”, almost unheard of, consisting of the very best aurora show I’ve ever seen, close-up bear encounters, a polar bear lift, and even Beluga whales still lingering in the Churchill River estuary.” stated Colby. Three of those occurrences are rarities for sure.
Additionally, numerous snowy owls, arctic hare, incredible dog sledding, and intriguing cultural programs in Churchill made this a trip to remember. “Certainly one of the best early season trips I’ve ever had,” added Colby. With the weather being changeable right now, polar bear action varies greatly from day to day. Plenty of patience paid off time and time again. More exciting action to come!
Polar bear emerging from the willows. Colby Brokvist photo.
Snowy owl on the rocks in Churchill. Colby Brokvist photo.
Arctic Hare in the rocks. Colby Brokvist photo.
Northern lights at the Tundra lodge. Drew Hamilton photo.
Natural Habitat group spying beluga whales in the Churchill River. Drew Hamilton photo.
A few polar bear photos by Jody Grosbrink in Churchill! Polar bear season is off to an incredible start with plenty of polar bears, northern lights and even some lingering beluga whales in the Churchill River and Hudson Bay! More reports will follow daily from the polar bear capital of the world!
Polar bear on the tundra at mile 5. Jody Grosbrink photo.
Polar bear with Ithaca in the background. Jody Grosbrink photo.
Polar bear at mile 5 in Churchill. Jody Grosbrink photo.
As polar bear season begins, this video shows various ways Manitoba Conservation officers handle polar bears coming within or near the perimeters of town. There are no breaks in the busy schedule in October and November during polar bear season. protecting the residents and visitors in Churchill is the primary goal of officers on duty round the clock. This is the polar bear’s environment and all resources are utilized to keep people and bears safe from deadly interactions on the land.
Image of a red and Arctic fox after the red hunted the Arctic in the Wapusk National Parc in Manitoba. Don Gutoski photo.
An incredible image captured by Canadian physcian Don Gutoski has earned the photographer the honor of 2015 Wildlife photographer of the Year. Gutoski works as an accident and emergency physcian out of London, Ontario and moonlights as an amateur photographer. His graphic photo won the international competition organized by the Natural history museum in London, U. K. by beating out 42,000 entries from 96 countries.
Gutoski’s image, A Tale of Two Foxes, was taken in the protected polar bear denning area Wapusk National Park at Cape Churchill to the east of Churchill.
With warming temperatures and natural species cycles, red foxes have overlapped more territory with Arctic foxes over the past decade. Some years one species will be more predominant than the other and red fox now seem more prevalent in recent years.
The photo was taken after three hours in roughly -30C temperatures. When the red fox was close enough with its fallen prey, Gutoski snapped the photo. The red fox then gathered the carcass remains and cached it out of sight for a later meal.
Contest jury member Kathy Moran, also senior editor for natural history projects for National Geographic, called it “one of the strongest single storytelling photographs I have ever seen.” She also added, “The immediate impact of this photograph is that it appears as if the red fox is slipping out of its winter coat. What might simply be a straightforward interaction between predator and prey struck the jury as a stark example of climate change, with red foxes encroaching on Arctic fox territory.”
