by Steve Selden | Dec 28, 2014 | Churchill News
March 13th marks the start of this year’s Hudson Bay Quest dogsled race. This year the race begins in Gillam, MB and finishes in Churchill, MB. The start date is slightly earlier this year as it has been closer to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) the past few years. should be a festive winter atmosphere as the mushers guide their sleds toward Churchill.
Sled dogs in training for the Hudson Bay Quest. Brad Josephs photo.
Take a look at the 2015 updated musher roster and race map courtesy of Hudson Bay Quest website.
The OFFICIAL 2015 HBQ race roster is as follows:
1.) Martin Massicotte
2.) Dan DiMuzio
3.) Dave Daley
4.) Justin Allen
5.) Tom Terry
6.) Peter McClelland
7.) Jesse Terry
8.) Jennifer Freking
9.) Charlie Lundie
10.) Blake Freking
11.) Normand Casavant
12.) Denis Tremblay
13.) Ryan Anderson
14.) Shawn McCarty
15.) Leonard McPherson
16.) Al Hardman
This is the official list as our Race Marshal has reviewed the racer’s qualifications. This list reflects the order of registration, and will be used for the bib draw. Welcome to the 2015 HBQ!
by Steve Selden | Dec 27, 2014 | Churchill News
As a guide and logistics coordinator, I worked in Churchill close to 15 years. Some of that work experience with Natural Habitat Adventures was on the job training. Some of that training was life or death related and could not be prepared for anywhere else.
Whenever risks are involved in an endeavor, being prepared as much as possible helps one make a right decision whenever a situation becomes dire. In Churchill one thing anyone, either a resident or visitor, needs to learn quickly is how to deal with a polar bear encounter. Or, better yet, prevent possible polar bear encounters.
Polar bear trying to get in the vehicle in Churchill. Steve Selden photo.
However, even if you are well aware of the risks, sometimes polar bears can sneak up on you when you lose track of their movements.
Here are three times in Churchill when I felt a bit unnerved by being in the vicinity of a polar bear:
1. I described this incident in an earlier post. I was in a photographer’s van at a popular polar bear photo location in Churchill and a polar bear tried to get at us through an open driver side window. The photographer reached from the backseat where we were all backed into, unsure if the polar bear would climb through the window or not, and turned the key in the ignition to scare the bear away from the vehicle. It worked and to my amazement he kept his arm attached to the rest of his body.
Cautious polar bear on the rocks. Photo Rhonda Reid.
2. On a delivery of food and beverages out to the polar rover launch site, Darcy Callaghan and myself were pressed for time. We arrived at the loading ramp and began unloading the van full of supplies and handing them over the railing to the rover driver. We were about halfway finished when something made me look just to the right of the van and I looked straight into the eyes of a large male polar bear about 12 feet away trying to unload some of the food for himself. Some shouting from fear and the bear was on his way. Close call.
Churchill Polar bear shaking off the rain in the fog.
3. The third scare was clearly my most tenuous “near” polar bear interaction. I was leading a Churchill summer group and we were on a half – day rover trip to the coast for a barbecue and walk around the coastline. I had a strange feeling before we even left the Great White Bear launch. The fog was rolling in and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. When we got out to Halfway Point, we took off for a walk with the group of 12 heading down the trail to the beach. The rover driver, John Sinclair, was walking next to me and I was carrying a shotgun. As we moved along, the group spread out on the wide trail. We were talking and John suddenly said, ” I’m going back to the rover”. At least that’s what I thought he said. He actually said, ” I think we should all go back to the rover.” As he calmly pointed into the fog ahead, we looked to see a huge polar bear sauntering right towards us at about 300 feet away. We turned and slowly though methodically, walked swiftly to the rover and out of harms way. It could have been bad had we not seen the bear in time.
Polar bear on the Hudson Bay coast. Sean Beckett photo.
Sometimes a little bit of luck can save your life in Churchill. I’ve had my share for sure.
by Steve Selden | Dec 26, 2014 | Churchill Photography
churchill.fru.qa and Natural Habitat Adventures wish you a happy holiday season and a safe and celebratory weekend! Enjoy theses polar bear photos and thank you for visiting our website. Looking forward another great year ahead.
Sparring bears captured up close with a telephoto lens.
Polar bear sow and cub on the precambrian shield.
Polar bear on the tundra in the CWMA.
Coys nursing in the CWMA. Eric rock photo.
A polar bear relaxes and cools in the snow. Colby Brokvist photo.
by Steve Selden | Dec 24, 2014 | Churchill News
In Churchill, Manitoba fall is polar bear season and winter is aurora season. The rest of the year provides overlapping sights and wildlife encounters but those two seasons are pretty exclusive for those attractions. You can see northern lights in Churchill just about year-round though the most reliable time is the heart of winter. The Hudson Bay is frozen and therefore the moisture level in the air is low influencing cloud cover. Natural Habitat Adventures is gearing up for the aurora season that begins on January 31. This year promises to be the most amazing year so far with a record number of people taking the train or flying to Churchill for a glimpse of the magical lights.
FACT: There needs to be solar flares on the sun or solar wind for the aurora borealis to happen. When particles from the sun enter Earth’s atmosphere and collide violently with gas atoms various colors of “northern lights” appear.
Check out this link for aurora forecasts in the north:
https://gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast
Aurora in the northern Churchill sky.
Aurora borealis in Churchill. Colby Brokvist photo.
Aurora in the boreal forest. Brad Josephs photo.
Incredible shot of musher hut with aurora above. Brad Joseph photo.
by Steve Selden | Dec 23, 2014 | Conservation
Polar bears congregate every year around Churchill, Manitoba to await ice formation in the western and southern Hudson Bay. By early to mid November, polar bears are omnipresent in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area with travelers on polar rovers seeing more than 50 polar bears in a single excursion to the tundra.
Polar bear looking at the polar rover. Photo: Colby Brokvist
There are a few major factors for the bears anticipating the freeze-up in the Churchill region.First and foremost is simple topography relating to the location of the town of Churchill and the jutting land that extends into the bay known as Cape Churchill. As you can see by the map the shelf is quite evident.
While this shelf extension is not all that crucial in itself as a major congregating hot-spot, the contributing factors qualify it as such. Counter-clockwise sea currents cause ice formation to get hung up there. The stalling affect on the flow of water coupled with fresh water flow from the Churchill and Nelson Rivers, to name two of the biggest in the area, create the perfect formula for ice formation here. Since fresh water freezes faster than salt water, the ice will build early off the coast and then combine with the northern ice formed in the colder regions. That pack ice is pushed in by the currents and south winds. All this make for a “perfect storm” of ice formation at the most accessible place in the sub-Arctic.
Three polar bears explore the coastline anticipating the freeze-up. Karen Walker photo.
Of course, there is another reason polar bears like Churchill. Human population. A community of humans brings all the side benefits for animals…and in this case hungry polar bears trying to survive to the next seal-hunting season on fat reserves. The aromas and food by-products associated with human life attract every opportunistic species around. Around Churchill, top of the list are the polar bears. Before the old dump was closed down some years ago, polar bears would forage there all day and became a zoo-like attraction to travelers and locals alike. With the majority of that facility closed down, polar bear activity in town escalated over the years. The Polar Bear Alert program has become quite active in attempts to keep up with the burgeoning polar bear appearances in the town.
Polar bear holding compound in Churchill.
Global warming indications have also caused polar bears to appear on land earlier in the summer months. With sea ice coverage decreasing recently in the Hudson Bay, polar bears are being forced to come on land and seek alternative food sources. I can say from first-hand experience that polar bear sightings in Churchill have increased over the past 15 years. Guiding summer beluga whale trips for over a decade has allowed me to witness the firsthand increase in bear numbers. Bears have also become more successful at seal hunting in the shallow tidal coastal areas around the Churchill region.
Polar bear enjoying the success of a seal kill. Photo Paul Brown
Overall, the changes in polar bear numbers year-round have spurred Manitoba Conservation officers to adjust their strategy regarding bear management in Churchill. The feeling is this will continue to be readjusted even more over the coming years.
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