On our first Tundra Buggy Adventure of the summer we saw a very curious bear at Halfway Point. She checked us out for about half an hour. Everyone enjoyed taking tons of pictures of her! She seemed to be a bit on the small side. Usually at this time of the year they (polar bears) are quite well fed, but this bear did not seem to be that way. With the early break-up of the ice, feeding season for the bears was once again a bit short this year. Read more about the early ice-breakup from our friends at Polar Bears International.
Where the heck is Halfway Point you ask?
Halfway Point is generally considered by locals as the mid-way point between Churchill and Cape Churchill. The thin peninsula reaches out into the Hudson Bay and is a popular spot with the polar bears both in summer and winter months.
Also on our tour we saw Sandhill Cranes and many Canada Geese with their wee goslings. We actually saw two bears on the tour, thought the other one was far in the distance sleeping.
Submitted by: Dave Allcorn, Frontiers North Adventures
According to recent studies, more grizzly bears are moving into the northern regions of Canada, with some even spotted in Wapusk National Park. In fact, a total of 9 grizzlies have been spotted in the past 14 years, with 4 spotted this summer alone. It still remains somewhat of a mystery as to why these grizzly bears are so far from their typical habitats, but experts figure it is more likely due to reduced hunting pressures than global warming.
The scientific community isn’t worrying too much about the fact that there will be an increase in grizzly-polar bear conflicts because if the trend in loss of ice and habitat for the northeastern corner of Manitoba continues, polar bears will not frequent Wapusk National Park in the future. This is because the polar bear population will follow Arctic sea ice as it retreats farther north and away from the region. This was further communicated by PBI Species Expert Andy Derochers in an article published by National Geographic.
Polar Bears International’s website has a great video illustration of the sea ice loss and temperature trends of the Arctic on their website. Click on the image below to see the video on their website.
As we mention in our previous blog, Robert Buchanan of PBI has been awarded the George B. Rabb Conservation Medal from the Chicago Zoological Society (CZS). He will receive his award and be honored at the CZS’s Annual Conservation Dinner on March 2, 2010 in Chicago. You can support the CZS and its conservation efforts around the globe by attending the 2010 Conservation Dinner. Tickets are $150 and can be ordered by calling 708-688-8390.
Below is a great video that the CZS created to tell the story of Robert and his wonderful work with PBI. Congrats again Robert!
Kassie Siegel, Director, Climate Law Institute for the Center for Biological Diversity has travelled with us twice to see the polar bears of Churchill, the second time being this past autumn. Kassie was also a part of PBI’s Tundra Connections panel on Tundra Buggy One. She has written and reflected about her experience while making her way to Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change conference.
Click here to read about her time in Churchill. You can also see Kassie here as she participated in November Tundra Connections webcasts on Tundra Buggy One!
The Circle is a new magazine published four times a year by the WWF International Arctic Programme. The goal of the magazine is to inform decision-makers, scientists and the interested public about arctic environmental and development issues. It is distributed to over 3,000 arctic stakeholders worldwide, including government officials and publicly-elected representatives, indigenous organisations, conservationists, scientists, NGOs, libraries, and business executives.
In the latest edition, our partnership with PBI and WWF, along with our Tundra Buggy One is featured. Click on the image below to view the latest edition of The Circle!
We would like to extend a huge congratulations to Polar Bears International President and CEO Robert Buchanan for being awarded the 2010 George B. Rabb Conservation medal from the Chicago Zoological Society! Robert and PBI are recognized for their role in helping people understand the importance of polar bears and their habitat and empowering individuals to have a sense of immediacy about how we take care of the planet.
Click on the image below to read the official announcement from the Chicago Zoological Society!
The Ice Bear Project is not-for-profit arts organization led by animal sculptor Mark Coreth. Mark creates life-sized ice sculptures of polar bears and displays them in major cities worldwide to symbolize the fragility of the Arctic.
The most recent Ice Bear Project is currently featured for the next few weeks in Copenhagen. The Ice Bear gives the people of Copenhagen and the delegates of the UN Climate Conference the opportunity to experience an element of the Arctic, a region that is being affected by climate change faster and more severely than almost anywhere else on the planet.
What is really cool about the Copenhagen Ice Bear sculpture is that it is 1.8 metres high – exactly the same height as the average thickness of the floating sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. As the Ice Bear stands in Copenhagen and continues to melt from the warm temperatures and from people touching the ice (essentially showing how important human influence is on the environment), an inner skeleton shows. This is a very powerful message.
Frontiers North supported the project by providing Mark in-kind opportunities to experience Churchill’s wild polar bears this November. We coordinated with PBI for Mark to join a PBI VIP Buggy day, on which he was able to spend time on our Tundra Buggy One. As well, we sent out Mark on a private Tundra Buggy Adventure / Luggage Run with Simon Gee, FNA Churchill Logistics Coordinator, who captured this image of Mark on the Buggy.
The video below is a live stream of the Ice Bear sculpture in Copenhagen! This is also featured on the home pages of our Tundra Buggy and Frontiers North websites.
On our Tundra Buggy adventures, we host PBI In-field Ambassadors to even further educate our guests with presentations about polar bears and conservation. 2009 marked the fourth year of the program and again we had another great group of Zoo Keepers join us in Churchill.
Here are some images of the In-field Ambassadors presenting to guests on our Buggies.
On November 13, Frontiers North, along with PBI and the Assiniboine Park Conservancy held a special ceremony out at Gordon Point in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area with some special guests to honour Debby the polar bear. A year ago she passed away at the Assiniboine Park Zoo at the age of 42 – which made her the oldest living polar bear on record. We had Gord Glover, Assiniboine Park Zoo’s coordinator present, along with Debby’s former care givers Harold Master and Bob Debets. Bob is also one of our Tundra Buggy Drivers. Debby’s ashes were spread at Gordon Point to join her mate Skipper, who’s ashes were spread a few years ago in the same spot.
Here are some pictures of the day and a short video of the ceremony.
First Bear Sighting of Summer 2011
