Churchill Day 2 - 10/29/2024

We had a 6:45 breakfast at the Hotel Churchill this morning, with eggs and other hot and cold selections. We filled our coffee and water and headed out from the lobby around 7:30. The bus, driven by Bob took about 30 minutes to reach the launch for the Great White Bear tours launch. We loaded onto what they call Rovers that hold about 32 people but they only load 16 so that every guest has a window seat and has lots of room for their photography gear. Other company's buggys were loaded and it really made a difference to the day. No one waited to get a picture, there was no competing for "the best spot". It was a really enjoyable day.

The Rover headed out to the tundra and for about the first 45 minutes we saw very little but then we saw so many bears all day that I'll just describe the day and then post some pictures. The food was really good on the rover, served a morning snack, full 3 course lunch, and then an afternoon snack. There was water and soda and hot coffee and tea. We had a mix of photographers and spouses who were helping their spouse but Conrad was deemed "The spotter" and "The Sherpa" because he spotted one of the first bears, and he was a huge help for me changing lenses and opening windows on the bus for everyone.

We saw quite a few solitary bears, we say two different pairs of male teenagers sparring for long periods of time, but playfully. We saw a mom and 2 cubs, and we saw Ptarmigans.

Sunrise on the Tundra

We spotted a solitary bear initially who eventually lumbered over to another bear and they sparred for quite a while but playfully, and eventually one would get tired and they would lay down and start again later.

This was the first bear we saw

Lumbering over to another bear

2nd bear in front of one of the Rovers

The second bear was sitting in front of the rovers, which don't seem to bother the bears at all, they are mildly curious from time to time but seem to have accepted them as a non-threatening part of their environment.

These two finally met up and sparred with each other.

More sparring bears

We left the first area and drove further into the tundra and spotted a mom and cubs far off in the distance.

We came across a coven of Ptarmigans who were foraging.

Robert our Rover driver eventually drover out on some ice in a shallow part of the Tundra and we sat there for a long time watching several males close by and another off in the distance. We ate lunch here and spent over an hour watching and taking pictures.

These two eventually began sparring and kept at it for a long time.

Once we left the ice we had a few other sightings on the way back. We had dinner at our own hotel so we had a bit of downtime, and so we went across the street to a hotel called the Northern, you could buy groceries in one part, right next to that a Quad or Snowmobile, it was the liquor store, and pretty much everything else. We got some snacks and then had a nice dinner with our group at the hotel before heading off to bed.