Monday, November 11, 2019

11.11.19 Adventures on the Tundra

It was over 20 years in the planning stage and I finally made it. I took an adventure trip to see the polar bear and was not disappointed in the magnificence of these huge mammals. We started in Winnipeg, which is a moderate size city with a few things to do. We went to visit the WAG museum which had a lot of nice Inuit artwork and the Human Rights Museum, which was quite sobering.

There are also the "forks" - the confluence of the Red River and the Assiniboine River.  We also saw a beautiful bald eagle fly over the Red River as we were walking to the French Quarter.  Was this a good omen for the trip?  Also saw a little brown creeper as we walked through the park. I think all trips are birding trips to one degree or another!

Museum of Human Rights.

A  statue of Gandhi is in the mall by the museum.  Look closely - someone painted his toenails purple.

            

Brown creeper


After a brief stay in town and a dinner with the group, we flew to Churchill, Manitoba, a town of 800 along the Hudson Bay. It is also one of the largest habitats of the polar bear - so odds were good we would see one. 


The first polar bear spotted was far away. Can you find the bear in this picture?



Hint - he is the white spot on the tundra close to the bay.

Here is a closer view of the polar bear.



We also saw many beautiful white Willow Ptarmigan.



There are many, many photographs of polar bears and I still have not finished reviewing them. I will spare you endless pictures. But one polar bear did come right up to the rover in which we travelled and it was a very special experience to look right at his face!





Big teeth!



Apparently polar bear do not like to get their paws wet when walking. He walked along the stepping stones rather than straight through the water! We watched him walk right along the tundra to our rover and he came right up to the back of the vehicle. We were on platform about 8 feet tall, so he would not be able to reach us.





Look at the size of those paws!











He is getting closer! No telephoto lens needed! These are taken with a wide angle lens!








Look at those paws!




He is walking on the rover tracks.







He is losing interest in us and turns back down the tundra.





This was the closest that we would be able to view a bear, but not the last one with close up shots! Our visitor (or host?) is walking away from us to continue on his own adventures to Hudson Bay and prepare for the winter freeze. He probably only has hunting seals on his mind!


Here is one more bear. He too was very interesting to watch. We know these are males as they migrate to the Bay early.


Look at those teeth!


Bear and tundra photograph. It was a beautiful day.





It was exciting to observe them amble along the tundra, stopping sometimes to eat willows or kelp.






See the plant in his mouth?




In addition to the rover rides on the tundra we went dogsledding, attended local lectures, visited a bear jail, took a helicopter ride, shopped at local stores, and I took the time to visit the local hospital.

 Holding facility for delinquent bear. That would be bears that enter the town and not agreeable to move to the management area!



Bear trap.







On our last night, we were most fortunate to view the northern lights (aurora borealis) through a previous heavy cloud cover. It is always a magical experience.







More photographs and stories to follow!



















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