Polar Bears of the Canadian Arctic

In the Ray and Steven Doan Photographic Collection

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We photographed these two young males practicing their combat skills.

 

To photograph Polar Bears we flew to Winnipeg, Manitoba and then caught another plane for the hour and a half flight to Churchill, Manitoba.

The biggest concentration of Polar Bears anywhere in the world occurs every October and November on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the vicinity of Churchill, Manitoba. This population of Polar Bears is unique in the world in that they do not live on year round ice. The ice on Hudson Bay breaks up in a late spring thaw and the Polar Bears are forced to come ashore for the summer.

The first place to freeze in the fall is near Churchill so the Polar Bears congregate in the hundreds along the shore. They are eager to resume hunting for seals since they haven't eaten all summer.

To view this spectacle of nature, Wayne Smith built the first, of what has become known as the Tundra Buggy. These vehicles ride high above the rugged tundra on earth moving tires and provide a safe vantage point for viewing and photographing the largest land carnivore on earth.

 

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This page was last updated: July 05, 2011