The Bear Facts

Ok ok.....I KNOW this was probably not the best area in the
world to jump out for a photo op..but I just COULDN'T resist! But...there was an OPEN car door no more than 10 feet away that I could scramble into if need be...hopefully..
This beach in Churchill is a favorite spot for the polar bears and they blend in rather nicely with the large rocks...so if you see a rock start to move...start singin' "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"! The polar bear police are frequently in this area shooting off crackers (empty shells) to scare off the large beasts, but they don't stay away for long. Unlike our beaches, this one you should really avoid for the most part.

I thought some of you may be interested in some factoids that I learned about Ursus Maritimus (a.k.a. the sea bear, and Nanuk).
-They are basically brown bears that about 200,000 years ago differentiated themselves and adapted to polar regions.
-Nanuk is the largest non-aquatic carnivore in the world and is the only mammal known to track and hunt man for the sole purpose of a food source.
-Males are generally 700-1500 pounds and females 330-550 pounds, a very pregnant female may top the scales at 1000 pounds! This figure of course depends on the time of the year, just before waking hibernation (when they 1st come ashore in July after the ice melt) or in November (when they haven't eaten in several months).
-like brown bears, they are spontaneous ovulators and have delayed implantation, they mate in the spring, but they are just "a little pregnant"...the embryo does not develop for several months and only will if mom has put on enough weight to support the pregnancy, they will inhabit a maternity den in Octoberish and give birth near the beginning of the year weighing only a pound or so , The family will first venture out of the den in early spring, hang around the area for about 2 weeks then will head out out on the sea ice (keep in mind, mom hasn't eaten since July! and only has about 3 months to catch up on food!)
-twin births are common, triplets and singletons are rarer...the mortality rate is > than 50% ! cubs stay with mom for about 2 & 1/2 years, 2 full summers then mom kicks them out of the nest as she searches for her new maternity den
-males may try to kill the cubs (especially the small ones) for a food source, but also to dispose of the young so that they can bring the female into heat and pass on their genetic material instead of a rival's!
-Churchill is considered the "polar bear capital of the world" due to the large number (about 1,000) bears that congregate there in fall because in the Hudson Bay region, this is where the ice first forms and is the last ice to leave....basically the restaurant with the quickest seating!
-adult males are larger than the same age female
-their walking gait is about 3 or 4 mph....but can run about 35 mph, and swim at 6 mph!
-their favorite food is seals, which they stalk on the ice pack usually by watch full-waiting at a breathing hole and snatch the few hundred pound seal out of the water for a quick meal usually tearing off the skin and eating only the fat (foxes and ravens often get leftovers!)
-after meals, they usually quickly was off any blood by water washing or rubbing in the snow in order not to bring attention to themselves...one wouldn't want to be mistaken for a seal!
-they are usually solitary animals, avoiding each other for the most part, I found moms with cubs to be especially cautious to avoid other bears....
-but...since the "party" starts in Churchill...most will tolerate others in somewhat closer proximity than normal....females aren't in heat and there's no food so very little aggressive fighting right now, but there will be some "play behavior" where they aren't really being nasty...just teenagerish!
-their feet are HUGE and covered all over with hair except on the pads themselves. Here is a cast of a print that was in the classroom compared to a hand, dollar bill and lower corner a quarter. And below that, my size 6&1/2 foot boot next to a fresh track of a bear in new snow on the morning of November 12th. The bear was still near, about 500 feet away, but the guide had a shotgun and we were in his driveway (had been called home to chase away a bear).