Polar Bear Alley

This is a collection of northern stories - polar bear, arctic and otherwise from churchill, manitoba, canada - the polar
bear capital of the world.

It follows the polar bears of western Hudson Bay during their season on land from mid-July to November.

Churchill Travel Guide
Hotels in Churchill, Manitoba
Travel to Churchill, Manitoba
Polar Bear Alley Expeditions

Polar Bears of Churchill Book
Polar Bears of Churchill Facts

Polar Bear Photo Gallery
Beluga Whale Photo Gallery
Polar Bear News 
Polar Bear Attack Page

Munck's Cafe Publishing

Weather in Churchill, Manitoba

Hudson Bay Sea Ice Update

Tide Table for Churchill

Churchill Aurora Forecast

Polar Bear Blog

Today's Blog 
October 27-Nov5, 2006
October 19-26, 2006
October 9-18, 2006
October 1-October 9, 2006
Sept 24-October 1, 2006
Sept 15-23, 2006
Sept 1-8, 2006
August 20-31, 2006
August 8-17, 2006
August 1-8, 2006  
July 25-31, 2006  
July 18-24, 2006   
July 12-17, 2006   
July 2006   
June 2006  
May 2006 
Archived articles

Polar Bear Blog - Time Flies When You Are Shovelling Snow - November 20th, 2006

Finally getting back to the blog here - got caught up with sled dogs and snow shovels and the odd year end party (what can I say...). It was our last day at the dogyard yesterday and I am catching up on invoicing for newspapers and books today. Dragged the winter road last night - basically pulling a big steel bar and chain with the truck to break up the snow. Broke through the ice in one spot but nothing major. Hopefully it was cold enough last night (-31C with windchill) to 'set' the snow and create a good base for our road - next step... running water...

Still a lot of bears everywhere although they are heading out en masse to the ice today. My neighbour saw 18 bears between Camp Nanuq and Churchill today although most were just offshore, walking on the ice and waiting for more to form.

Still a lot of gunfire and cracker shells going off in town, in fact I just heard some at the edge of town just now. Polar bears walking around at night, during the day, on the edge of town, by the garbage cage, down the main street, you name it. Two nights ago, we watched a polar bear stand down the Polar Bear Alert officers behind the Bear Country Inn. He had gotten into a local kennel owner's supply of chicken and was not about to relinquish it. Polar Bear Alert fired every form of ammunition they had at him - cracker shells, flares and even rubber bullets, it was quite impressive. Nothing worked, the rubber bullets made him flinch a bit but then he just bluff charged right after that which as also pretty impressive.

Eventually, they pushed him away with their truck but he simply retreated into the willows. As I headed for home, it was pretty much a mexican standoff - two polar bear alert trucks on one side and the bear biding his time in the willows on the other. Of course, all of this was going down only a few hundred feet from the train station where 80 people were boarding!

Not much activity at Camp Nanuq, bears are sticking to the coast or maybe word has gotten out that it is off limits... Three days ago, Milo and MoonUnit were seen chasing off a mom and two cubs that was trying to cross the lake into the cabin area. She retreated and took the long and peaceful way around Camp Nanuq Cottage Subdivision.

And... one more bear story, this one from an Australian couple that were out and about. They were driving a rental truck along when they saw someone standing out on a huge chunk of ice, watching the sea ice and taking some pictures I suppose. They thought he's a bit far from his truck if there are any bears around. Lo and behold, a bear comes trotting up to the ice floe and the person and tries to climb aboard. The tourist ended up hitting the bear on the nose with a stick or tripod or something. The bear retreated about 30m or so and the person hopped down and walked back to their vehicle.

This is a pretty dangerous time in Churchill right now, lots of bears that are anxious and excited about returning to their hunting grounds, mix in the odd braindead or simply unlucky person and life could get fairly interesting. Lucky for us, these bears have been coexisting with this community and its tourists for over thirty years and their tolerance level is pretty high.

So, provided that no one gets eaten in the next day or two, this should go down as one of Churchill's best 'bear seasons' yet. One driver for Great White Bear Tours counted 58 bears in one day - crazy! But what's even crazier is that I might actually get my internet connection back up on Tuesday - and complete the updates that I was going to post at the start of 'bear season'!

Polar Bear Blog - Too Much Snow, Not Enough Cold - November 15th, 2006

Still mild temperatures and there is a strange dampness in the air. The bay is really on the verge of freezing but without cold temperatures and north winds, we are kind of in holding pattern here.

A few trappers have already started heading inland to start the season but most have them have encountered pretty tough travelling conditions. There is a lot of snow in the trees, so much that it is insulating creeks and tundra ponds and preventing a good layer of ice from forming.

Bears are still crawling around all over the place, there were at least three or more in town last night, one even ran right down Kelsey Blvd. You can hear Polar Bear Alert's gunshots day and night now, a big commotion coming from the beach beside the Town Centre Complex around 10am this morning.

Even more mothers and cubs out in buggyland now and people are still having a great time. Truly one of the best bear seasons in years. And the polar bear cam is up and running again. You just can't beat technology... still, it was a good story though.

My Grey Cup plans are off, we have another five days of bookings at the dogyard. Oh well, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers never made it anyway.

Polar Bear Blog - Bear Season Countdown - November 14th, 2006

Wow, can you feel things grinding to a halt in Churchill. I actually went into Gypsy Bakery yesterday and could get a table! Then I stopped at the Tundra Inn and the owners, Bob and Pat, actually had time for tea!!! You can kind of feel a collective sigh of relief rippling through the town.

Not that we don't love bear season. New people and lots of people and lots of bears translates to a lot of fun but after six weeks you are ready to chill out just a bit.

And it seems the polar bears are ready for the season to be over as well. One big bear (not sure if it was Dancer or not) singlehandedly ended the polar bear cam season yesterday. He stood up beside the cam, providing an extraordinarily closeup of his nose and then BAM! No more cam! One swat from that old beast and Churchill is officially down one polar bear cam lens and, in effect, one polar bear cam buggy!

So, don't get me wrong, I am not against the cam. I am not thrilled that technology has found my ludditic paradise (my favourite quote from this bear season was 'You can always tell a Canadian, if they don't have the right word, they just make one up'). On the other hand, I am kind of excited about a 'March of the Polar Bears' movie, because you know its coming... Regardless, I just love the way this season ended... 'Hey buddy, I'm done and now, so are you.'

South winds have pushed the ice out a bit and we really need a good northern gust to bring it back and let the bears head out. Tundra Buggy also needs a good northern gust to get out to Cape Churchill for their final trip of the year. They have to cross LaPeruse Bay, east of buggyland, to get to Wapusk National Park. The last and biggest bears are usually found out there, taking their time returning to their icy stomping grounds.

We finally had another visitor this morning, a five or six year old polar bear just walking right up to our steps even though Milo and MoonUnit were right in his face. Trouble is, not only am I really low on ammo but now I cannot park my truck right beside the house (we need a dose of cold for our winter road) - walking across one side of the lake with one bullet in your gun while your dogs chase a bear on the other is a might nerve wracking.

But they did their job just like they always do, although the polar bears have claimed their first victim at Camp Nanuq Cottage Subdivision. As Milo was chasing this young male, he walked right over a ptarmigan and promptly took his coffee break, eventually continuing the chase with frozen feathers hanging from his chin.

Apologies to everyone for the lack of daily updates right now but snow really does take up a tremendous amount of your day up here. Once the winter road is in and my internet is back up and running, things should sail along smoothly... (wow, even I don't believe that)

Polar Bear Blog - Dancer's Back - November 11th, 2006

Headed out for another buggy tour yesterday and it was pretty fun. This time it was with GraingerTV (I think they're called that) a dad and son combo doing some filming and Norbert and Ellie Rosing taking some pictures. I think it was the first sunny day we have had all season, that is until the north wind slapped us in the face around 3pm and then kept slapping for another nine hours.

There are lots of bears out there, all in good shape. The ice is building by the day and given another few days of north winds, the bears will be up and gone. There are already a few of them checking out the ice, jumping from floe to floe and maybe searching for a seal or two. Of course, today is quite mild and hopefully the ice will hold off until all our tourists are happy and home.

But, the big news for the day is that Dancer has made an appearance in buggyland. He has been a long time visitor and character of bear season. By now, he must be about 14-15 years old and last year, he kind of looked a bit more scarred up and a little ragged and weary. But he walked in a couple days ago, stopped at the polar bear cam but Dennis was not there and he did not really take to the new operator. Dennis was kind of a big burly northern type and the new guy is more of a technogeek extraordinaire (possibly one of the best techno dudes in North America for sure).

So Dancer is hanging out at Gordon Point now, looking massive and healthy. For the second year in a row, I have ended the season with Dancer. A nice touch to the year.

What else? It keeps snowing and looks like it will snow and snow some more. Translation my road is dead long live the winter road. Well, almost... I need a few more cold days before I drag the winter road to the cabin and get set for winter. Once again, thanks for absolutely nothing Home Depot. Sorry, I am a tad bitter, as in Pete Best was a tad bitter. (Did I mention that my day is pretty much comprised of working, shoveling snow and sleeping?)

Anyway, the bears are gathered right on the coast and a lot of them a pacing up and down the shoreline. Freezeup is coming and with it the true end to 'bear season'. Is there life after bears up here, sort of... First to Winnipeg for the Grey Cup of Canadian Football and then to Costa Rica!

Polar Bear Blog - Snow Day - November 8th, 2006

That was a lot of snow. This time, I am not slacking, I was digging. I can confidently say that the prediction of 10cm of snow was pretty bang on. Of course, ten layers of ten centimetres of snow blew into my driveway but hey, I need the exercise. I keep forgetting how sore shovelling underneath your truck makes you - although I have to say that our Toyota Tacoma goes through almost anything and it was only a 4' snowdrift that finally stopped it. And I keep forgetting how much time out of your day snow takes. Shovelling, scraping, walking, falling, yelling, crying, that sort of thing.

Today is mild, kind of winter wonderland feel, hoar frost everywhere and fluffy snow and -1C, t-shirt weather almost. Polar bear prints are everywhere and the bears are moving, likely a bit excited about the building sea ice. I was out checking the DNA hair traps today (although half are inaccessible now), I saw at least five different sets of tracks, including a mother and cubs, trudging towards polar bear alley and towards town. Yesterday, at least three bears were in or near town, one of them covering the 20km from buggyland to town in half a day.

But, bear season is gradually winding down and it is time to start thinking about resuming our regular old subarctic lives up here. It has been a good season for me, books have sold well, newspapers have been flying out the door (we have given away just over 5000 copies so far!) and I didn't drive through the wall of a local hotel, so all in all, I am feeling pretty good.

Wait a minute, I am feeling great! Just about forgot, we finally bought a water tank and after five years of living at Camp Nanuq we will actually have running water!!! Think of it...washing dishes without having to boil water first, having a real shower instead of a sponge bath or just turning a tap and having something happen. Woohoo! Stay tuned for future blogs where I try and hook up the water system and things go horribly wrong.

Polar Bear Blog - Big Bear Hits Town - November 5th, 2006

Hey, this is an eventful bear season! Churchill had another late night incident, only this time it was actually with a bear, a really, really big bear (I've heard around 1500lbs - but it was more likely around 600) and maybe the one that was at my cabin a couple weeks ago (but probably not).

Anyway, this monster rolled into town around midnight and Polar Bear Alert caught up with him around 2am. He was pretty sly and there ended up being four polar bear alert trucks chasing him around town. He managed to elude them for a while, dipping in and around the buildings on Kelsey Boulevard (Churchill's main drag) but like Sargent Preston, Polar Bear Alert always get their man, I mean bear.

Winter storm heading our way tonite, forecast calls for about 10-15cm (4-6") over the next two days. Thanks for nothing Home Depot. Long live Canadian Tire!

Lots of film crews and journalists in town right now - everybody doing climate change and 'bears on thin ice' stories. Trouble is, ice is building daily and it really looks like the bears will head out around November 15th - right on time... Good for the bears, bad for dramatic license.

Note: Yes, Churchill's main street is named Kelsey Boulevard and yes, everybody asks me if it is named after me. My favourite response is 'Yes, town council said they would name a street after me if I moved away but then I came back.' But, of course, it is named after Henry Kelsey, the boy explorer and first white guy to see a buffalo.