Photographerwild

MANITOBA 2004

I visited Wapusk (Cree word for "white bear") National Park near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada in March 2004. The area is famous for its Polar Bear population and protects one of the largest known Polar Bear denning areas in the world. Up to 190 females den in this area in the winter months. During March and April, females emerge from their dens, usually having given birth to twins or triplets about 3 months of age. The female has not eaten in approximately 8 months and has to travel up to 40 miles to Hudson Bay, where she'll hunt for seals to feed herself and her growing cubs. She'll encounter other wildlife along the way such as Timber Wolves, which hunt her cubs, red foxes, arctic foxes, caribou and even wolverines.