The Polar Bears Of Churchill

Here's a brief account of a trip back in October 2009, where I traveled to the town of Churchill, Manitoba to photograph polar bears.

Even though Churchill is a very small, incredibly remote town, hundreds of people visit each year to see and photograph the local polar bear population. As temperatures drop, the bears gather out on the tundra and wait for the sea to freeze. After barely eating anything for several months, they head out onto the ice to begin hunting seals.

I spent four full days out on the tundra photographing polar bears, arctic fox and willow ptarmigan. I was even lucky enough to see a polar bear mother nursing her cub which is extremely rare.

Here are a few of my favourites from that week, I hope you enjoy them...

A huge male polar bear - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Arctic fox - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Polar bear in a blizzard - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Bear meets fox - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Face-to-face with a huge male polar bear! - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Willow ptarmigan - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Polar bear sitting in a blizzard - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Two male subadult polar bears - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Polar bear whiteout - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Arctic fox - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Polar bear sow with cubs - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Stretching polar bear - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Polar bear tracks cross the snowy tundra - Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

This trip was certainly one of the highlights of my two year stay in Canada. I plan on returning to Churchill someday where I will hopefully photograph the polar bear cubs during their first few weeks out of the den.


All photographs are available to purchase. Please send me a message via my website if you have any questions.

Thanks for reading!

Cai