BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-05)

CANADA’S BIG FIVE

64 BBC Wildlife May 2020

bob quietly on the water, enjoying the

aquabatics as the sun finally lightens the

gloom. I count at least 16 individuals

streaking around and beneath us, including

a tiny brown calf flanked by its mother.

The serenity is shattered when the

hydrophone goes down to eavesdrop on

the cetacean conversation. Belugas were

famously nicknamed the ‘canaries of the

sea’ by whalers of old, but the teeth-jangling

cacophony of unearthly shrieks assaulting

my ears is about as far from a chirpy

passerine twitter as it gets. The vocalisations,

explains the captain, shouting to be heard

above the din, are made through nasal sacs

in the blowhole, and are critical to survival

in these murky northern waters, when thick

ceilings of sea-ice block out the light.

Polar prize

Four out of five – two days to go. All

attention is now firmly focussed on the

biggest of both the ‘big five’ and of any land

carnivore on Earth: the polar bear. Peak

season, when hundreds of bears assemble

along Hudson Bay’s snow-clad shingle,

waiting for the sea-ice to thicken and seal-

hunting season to begin – a journey that

often brings them into the town itself – is

still three months away. In July, marooned

on land, they’re lying low and saving energy.

Polar Bear Alley, 10km out of town, is our

first port of call. As its name suggests, this

desolately beautiful stretch of grass-fringed

beach is a known hotspot. We are escorted

here by guide Paul Ratson, stopping en

route at his secluded home for a quick

tutorial on how to bear-proof your property.

Beds of nails line the windowsills, a large

floodlight commands the veranda and a

sturdy metal cage obscures the front door –

the “perfect place to watch a polar bear rip a

$700-seat from your snowmobile,” he says.

I joke about the lengths people will go to

avoid the neighbours, but co-existing with

polar bears isn’t a laughing matter. Paul

recalls how, a few years back, a starving

male besieged him and his wife for four

days. “I had to call the authorities on it,” he

recalls. “If I’d have left the house, he’d have

chased me, and I’d have had to shoot him.”

We file quietly down onto the sand,

flushing a legion of angry horseflies –

known as bulldogs – into the air, and

huddle for safety. Paul points out the

faint but perfect imprint of a paw, the

lightness of touch, he explains, indicative

of a polar bear’s ability to distribute its

weight. As he talks, all eyes are scanning

the surroundings. “There could be a bear

hiding right there,” he says, gesturing

to the boulders on the upper shore and

LIVING WITH

POLAR BEARS

For six weeks in October and

November, Churchill’s 900 human

inhabitants co-exist with one of the

largest predators on Earth – and are

showing the world how it’s done.

For the residents of Churchill, having

polar bears as close neighbours is

just a fact of life. Yet the town takes no

chances and, as a result, there have

been no fatal attacks here for nearly

40 years. Warning signs glare from

every corner; a nightly siren wails on

the stroke of 10pm to chivvy you home.

Doors are left unlocked should someone

need a quick getaway, and children

make the short journey to school in

cars and buses. On Halloween, trick-or-

treating is only possible because the

authorities form a virtual human chain

around Churchill’s streets.

If a bear wanders into the town or its

surrounds, the Polar Bear Alert Program

(PBA) responds immediately. Bears are

warded o by ‘hazing’ – yelling, revving

engines and use of ‘bear bangers’, and if

these fail, by firing rubber bullets. Next

step will be to bait a trap, and the last

resort is a tranquilliser gun.

Tranquilised and trapped individuals are

relocated to the world-famous Polar Bear

Right: a polar bear

patrols Churchill’s

rocky shore. Far right:

in winter, the bears are

more likely to approach

Tundra Buggies. Below:

inquisitive belugas.

Every pale rock looks

like a bear. Then, one of

the rocks lis its head.

Whale watching: Danita Delimont/Alamy; polar bear: iStockphoto/Getty; tundra buggy: Yvette Cardozo/

Alamy; art: karenfoleyphotography/Getty; sign: Rolf Hicker Photography/Alamy