Street Sign Warning of Polar Bears © Lucy Izon

Churchill, Manitoba – Churchill is quite justified is using the moniker ‘The Polar Bear Capital of the World.’ The town is right on the migration route of the bears who like to come into shore during the warm summer months, and then head back out onto the ice flows of Hudson’s Bay to feed on seals over the winter.

Around the month of October as many as 100 will migrate near town, occasionally one will walk right up the main street. There’s even a Polar Bear Jail where unwanted guests are accommodated until the ice on Hudson’s Bay is solid enough for them to continue their journey.

It’s the kind of community where local etiquette has residents leaving their home and car doors unlocked, in case someone has an unexpected close encounter and needs to duck in for safety. Where other Canadians call 911 for an emergency, in Churchill the important number is the ‘Polar Bear Hotline’ for any sightings within town.

I visited Churchill in October 2011 to view the polar bears close up from a Tundra Buggy on an adventure with Frontiers North. Special giant-wheeled tundra vehicles take tourists out for safe viewing/photography sessions. It was a fabulous experience. The first day on the Tundra Buggy we spotted a dozen of the great white bears, the second day we sighted 15.  Read about the experience and  the Tundra Buggy live webcam.

There are no actual roads to Churchill, so the two ways to travel there from Winnipeg are by air (2 hours) or rail (48 hours.) You could also drive to Thompson, Manitoba and then fly or take an overnight train.