Belugas and Bears in Churchill, Canada

As I begin to write this, it has only been a couple of days since I returned home from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, and so far, I’m still high. I don’t often write in such superlative terms, but wow, what an experience!

First of all, Churchill is like no other place I’ve visited, and I’ve seen more of the globe than most people, including some remote areas. This subarctic town has a population of 600-800 depending on the time of year since a lot of people are there just to work during the tourist seasons. So it’s tiny with just a couple of restaurants and hotels. The main store sells just about everything from all-terrain vehicles, to toiletries, to clothing, to food.

The word “unique” is no exaggeration when you describe Churchill; it’s simply a fact. Three ecosystems converge there – arctic marine, arctic tundra, and boreal forest. The world’s most accessible population of polar bears calls this area home, and the Hudson Bay (an inland marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean) is home to thousands of beluga whales in summer, who arrive to breed. The town also gets about 300 nights of northern lights throughout the year.

There are trees, especially in the boreal forest, but in other areas, the trees just dot the terrain here and there, making it look quite barren. Many are what they call “flag trees” because the arctic wind sends the branches pointing toward the side opposite the Bay, leaving the side nearest the Bay completely bare.

Because of the topography and climate, it’s very difficult to grow food without a greenhouse. So most food and other goods have to be brought to the area, which means the prices are sky high. We were told a box of cereal might cost in the neighborhood of $14 Canadian.

Despite what looks barren, the area is teeming with life. There are more than 500 varieties of plants, as well as lots of animals and insects, such as hares, foxes, caribou, moose, lynx, muskrats, wolves, weasels, small mammals, numerous species of birds, and voracious mosquitos (be sure to take repellent). It’s also the only part of the world where polar bears, grizzly bears, and black bears can all be seen, although the latter two species aren’t seen frequently.

Of course, Churchill is most famous for its polar bears, but the belugas are starting to become more well-known – as they should. I went primarily for the belugas, as summer is when they travel to the region, while fall is the best time to see polar bears. I arrived with the hope of seeing a polar bear, but no expectation of it. More on this in a moment, but spoiler alert: I saw SIX polar bears!

How many belugas did I see? Far too many to count. They are everywhere in the Bay, and what’s most fun about them is that they actually enjoy approaching boats and zodiacs for their own people-watching adventure.

For my journey, I joined a group of about 13 people with an itinerary planned by Frontiers North Adventures, led by our trusty guide, Mark Dunsmuir from Toronto, who is an accomplished photographer and a leader of groups in Antarctica as well. The summer tour is called “Belugas, Bears, and Blooms” because of the bright fuchsia fireweed that grows in abundance in Churchill during this time of year. It’s named fireweed, not because of its color, but because it’s the first flower to bloom after a natural fire.

Our first day, we set out in a small boat captained by Remi of Sea North Tours and quickly spotted the backs of the white belugas as they swam through the water. We were promised that the boat is incapable of hurting the whales no matter how close they approach, and approach they did!

Their forms look green under the water, but the adults are shiny white, while the young ones are gray. The younger they are, the darker gray they are, which makes it easy to spot the “teenagers” in a lighter gray color.

Belugas are called the “canaries” of whale species because they’re the most vocal singers of all of them. While we were on the water, a microphone was placed below so that we could hear them. It was an incredible sound – so many of them vocalizing, purportedly talking about us just as we were talking about them.

The second day, we went out on the bay again, but this time in a zodiac, which brought us closer to the whales. They came to us, and it was spectacular as we spent a couple of hours with them.

As luck would have it, that was also the night we saw our first polar bear. It was swimming in the Bay in the distance in the early evening. We could just make it out with the naked eye, but my 250mm zoom lens was really no match for how far away we were. Still, it was a thrill to see the bear frolicking in the water, occasionally floating on his back with a couple of gigantic paws in the air.

He also dove and dipped his face into the water, supposedly looking at the belugas swimming near him (a little whale watching for him, too?) Mark Dunsmuir told us this is unusual behavior, as bears can’t easily catch a beluga for a meal. Bears are fast, but they don’t have the agility of these whales. This bear was overconfident, so he thought he’d give it a go.

For their part, the belugas swam near the bear in what our zodiac guide thought was an effort to push him out of the water and onto shore so that he would truly be no threat to their babies. Mr. Bear didn’t seem to care, however, as he was happy to continue his swim. It was a hot day, after all.

I assumed that would be the only polar bear I saw during my visit to Churchill, but our last day in the Frontiers North tundra buggy brought us five more on land. A tundra buggy is a big bus with gigantic wheels and heavy windows that can drive over all kinds of terrain.

We spent six hours on the vast tundra that seemed to go on forever in all directions, as we drove over rocks and through shallow water. It was a bumpy but exquisite ride. We stopped when we saw something interesting and opened the windows for better pictures or went out the door to the back, where there was a small raised viewing area.

At first, I thought, “Six hours on the tundra? Isn’t that going to get boring?” Nope! It wasn’t boring at all. I was content just looking out at the land and spotting birds here and there. Our first polar bear on the tundra was alone and easy to see from our vehicle. He was far enough away not to be a threat but close enough to get decent photos of him with my zoom lens. He’s the one pictured at top. Absolute heaven!

Of course, if you visit during the fall when the polar bears are more easily seen, it isn’t unusual for them to approach the tundra buggies and even stand on their hind legs to look in the windows. Hence, the heavy glass.

Why are polar bears easier to see in fall and winter? The ice melts completely in summer in Hudson Bay, so they’re forced ashore, where they cease hunting and have to live on the fat they have accumulated during the winter. It’s a “walking hibernation” for 3-4 months. Once the ice refreezes, the bears take to the water and begin hunting again. They are technically marine mammals, after all.

Later while on the tundra buggy, we saw another lone male bear in the distance at the same time that we saw a mother with two cubs on the other side of our view. We assumed they would avoid each other, but suddenly, they seemed to be moving in each other’s direction. Since male bears sometimes eat cubs, we became very concerned.

But the mother bear seemed to let the male know via her posture that he should back off, and as a result, he passed by them and kept walking. We were all immensely relieved. We were also told this was unusual behavior to observe. How lucky were we to see rare polar bear behaviors in two instances during our visit?

Nevertheless, the week after we were in town, Mark’s new group was treated to a mother and two cubs right next to their tundra buggy. (Yes, I’m jealous, and it makes me want to head back there right now.)

Now, if you’re lucky, you’ll get Jim Baldwin when you head out on the tundra, who drives buggy #9. He’s a true animal lover who is knowledgeable about all the flora and fauna, and he knows well how to maneuver the big buggy on the difficult terrain. He’ll also regale you with many colorful stories about his experiences in Churchill. (Ask him about the time he lost his wallet on the tundra.)

By the way, polar bears are serious business in Churchill, and I’m not talking about the tourism business they drum up (although that’s serious business, too). What I’m talking about is the danger of living in such close proximity to powerful predators.

One of the first things we were told was to yell “bear” or “bus” the moment we saw a bear. This would alert everyone to calmly but quickly get back on our bus. Running, however, is a bad idea because that signals to the bear that you’re prey. (In other words, don’t do it in spite of the obvious impulse.)

Before we could get out of the bus at any location, someone had to scout the place for bears. We were also told to be careful where we walked while in town and to avoid any alleyways because the bears like to hide – and for such a large animal, they’re surprisingly good at it. Since the bears are especially likely to be in town at night, there’s an alarm that goes off every evening at 10:00 p.m. to remind people to be careful … or better yet, hunker down inside with the doors locked.

In other words, Churchill is a terrible place to get drunk and forget what you’re doing. Incidentally, grizzly bears are supposed to be more aggressive, but they aren’t known to stalk people. Polar bears do stalk people.

While we didn’t see it, a polar bear did meander into town during the week we were there, and it had to be trapped and taken to polar bear “jail,” or more sweetly called “holding facility.” The bears can then be relocated in the traps to places farther away from people. The town takes great pride in taking care of both its bears and its humans (as well as its whales).

For that reason, “bear guard” is a legit job in this place. We visited the 250-year-old Prince of Wales Fort, where there was a guy in an all-terrain vehicle sitting on a hill with the job of “bear guard.” He was to just sit there, watch for bears, and alert the guides to get everybody the hell out of there, if necessary. Put that on your city resume!

Despite Churchill’s diminutive size, there is more to see and do than just view wild animals. You can ride in a dog sled in the snow or a dog cart in the summer. Unfortunately, the day we were to do this was a particularly hot day that was also smoky from the wildfires down south.

It was unsafe for the dogs to pull us in those conditions, so instead, we got an informative talk at Wapusk Adventures from Dave Daley, a Churchill native who is also a longtime dog musher. He has more than 40 dogs, who are mostly husky mixes. Dave had lots of stories about long treacherous races while running his dogs in subzero temperatures, and it was clear he’s passionate about his dogs and his work as a musher.

After his talk, we went outside and spent some time playing with the dogs, who were excited to have so much company. Dave is part of the Métis (pronounced may’-tee) indigenous group from the area. The indigenous groups in Churchill make up almost 70 percent of the small population and also include the Cree, Sayisi Dene (pronounced den’-ay), and Inuit.

Also on our itinerary was a visit to the Itsanitaq Museum, which houses 1,300 historical Inuit artifacts, and a talk one evening by Florence Hamilton, a local Churchillian and proud Sayisi Dene woman. She told us about the harsh treatment of her people by the Canadian government in the not too distant past.

We also learned about polar bears at the Polar Bears International interpretive centre and listened to another talk about the region at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre. We stopped at many of the murals in town, too. A mural festival was held in Churchill in 2017, attracting many of the world’s most well-known muralists.

Also serving as a canvas was a crashed airplane nicknamed “Miss Piggy.” It crashed in the area in 1979. Luckily everyone survived, and it’s now a famous site to visit in Churchill that was painted during the mural festival.

The best-known muralist in the region, however, is Kal Barteski, who specializes in murals of the animals that call Churchill home. She lives in Winnipeg and has painted many garage doors on a particular back alley in the city. It’s a must-see while in Winnipeg. As luck would have it, Kal was painting a mural while we were in Churchill, so we had a chance to say hello to her.

Besides the plane crash in town, there’s a shipwreck in Hudson Bay called the SS Ithaca. It’s a steam freighter that wrecked in 1960.

I’m not a small town person, but I admit I fell in love with Churchill. Everyone we met was exceedingly friendly and welcoming, and all of our guides and lecturers were filled with personality and charm, including our bus driver, Tim (originally from Newfoundland), who kept us laughing every day.

You’ll also discover that most people in town hold 4 or 5 jobs. The guy who gave us an informative talk one day was the grandson of Dave Daley from Wapusk Adventures, while a guy who manned one of the zodiacs is also an electrician, and the 13-year-old who helped on our boat was also at the cash register of one of the stores.

You won’t find any luxury hotels in Churchill, but we stayed at the Tundra Inn, which was lovely and comfortable. Unless you absolutely require butler service, I don’t think you would be disappointed. Despite only two restaurants in town, the food was surprisingly good. And with so few places to eat, you’ll quickly be on a first name basis with your servers. After hours, have a drink at the Tundra Pub across the street from the Inn.

I recommend Churchill and Frontiers North wholeheartedly. When we label a journey a “trip of a lifetime,” this is exactly what we’re talking about. I may just have to return there at some point, and if you can, I urge you to go and experience this magical place for yourself.