For a close encounter of the furred kind with the planet’s biggest bear, head to Churchill, Manitoba, where Dave Orrock’s expectations of a frosty reception are confounded
I felt like a naughty schoolboy when the gruff tour guide hastily grabbed me and yanked me away from the tail end of the helicopter. Admittedly it was just five minutes since she’d issued the warning about approaching the rear of the chopper. But, in my defence, the excitement raised by the prospect of the ride far outweighed such mundane matters as my personal safety. To be more accurate, the prospect of what we might see from the helicopter was what provoked my haste to clamber aboard.
I was in Churchill, on the southwestern shore of the enormous Hudson Bay in the central Canadian province of Manitoba – a town perhaps more famously known by its strapline: ‘polar bear capital of the world’.
Ever since I’d first seen footage of these mighty mammals on a BBC wildlife documentary I had longed to see them in the wild. I had imagined an encounter in rather different circumstances: I’d assumed, for example, that it might be a touch on the chilly side, and that there might be a flake or two of snow falling. In reality, I was in shorts and a T-shirt, and wondering if I should have applied some sun cream. This was Churchill in mid-July and, at a latitude roughly the same as Birmingham, sunshine is not an unknown quantity.
The balmy weather was also the reason for the helicopter – without snow and ice covering the ground, the bears don’t venture near the town very often, so you need to travel a fair distance to spot them. This doesn’t stop a few hardy interlopers, though – every summer a handful of bears have to be removed from town, via Churchill’s ‘Polar Bear Jail’.
As the helicopter rose into the air I marvelled at the seemingly endless flat expanse of Arctic tundra on one side – more barren than any desert I had seen – while on the other lay the oceanic-sized body of water that was Hudson Bay. The shore of the Bay was illdefined, with pools of water stretching far inland and small islands dotted around the edge.
I was so busy admiring the unmarred wilderness that I almost didn’t notice her at first. Then I saw something, blinking hard as a movement caught my eye on one of the islands. There she was: a fully grown female, nose in the air as she gazed curiously at our airborne form. I gazed back, unable to take my eyes off her, thrilled by the sight. As she turned and bounded in the other direction, what struck me most was the almost contradictory blend of the grace of her movement against her immense bulk.
As we returned to the sleepy frontier town, I had a lump in my throat. Aesthetically one of the most pleasing of large mammals, I realised that all the images I had seen paled into nothing compared with witnessing the polar bear’s elegant power with my own eyes.
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About Dave Orrock
Other articles by Dave Orrock
My passion for travel, and in particular Latin America, began in 1998 when I visited Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands for the first time. The Islands were instrumental in fostering a love of the fantastic wildlife to be found on this continent. I have been fortunate enough to have had many great wildlife encounters, including blue-footed boobies in Ecuador, condors in Peru and caiman in Bolivia – although volunteering with capuchin monkeys in a Bolivian animal sanctuary stands out the most!
My second visit to South America triggered another keen interest in the Pre-Colombian civilizations of the continent. Machu Picchu in Peru was just as awe-inspiring on the third visit as the first! Its location in the Cloudforest at the end of the Inca Trail encompasses what for me is the true appeal of the continent – the combination of fascinating history, an array of outdoor adventures and breathtaking natural beauty. More recently I have had the pleasure of visiting some less well-known archaeological sites, including the spectacular Kuelap, hotly tipped to be the ‘new Machu Picchu.’ To my mind, there’s no need to stand one against the other – both are outstanding historical sites.
After several years in the sales department at Bales, where I also worked with Canada and Australia, I have recently moved to the Product Department. I am now revelling in the challenge of applying my knowledge and love of Latin America to developing the holidays we feature here, and ensuring that as many of our clients as possible discover the superb wildlife, history, cuisine and landscapes on offer.
