“On the tundra 58.7 degrees north, life changes when I see my world reflected in your eyes and realize how small it is”
The trek into Wapusk National Park is a magical experience.The raw beauty of the sub-arctic tundra is home to the southern most polar bear denning sites in the world. The train station is a rail siding where you are met by pristine snow and scrub brush struggling to survive. -51C temps were quickly forgotten at the first sighting of a mother polar bear with her 10 week old cubs. She dozed in the sun as her cubs tussled in play oblivious to the challenges that lay ahead. This mom’s job for the next 2 years is ensuring that her cubs thrive, feeding them and protecting them from predators (wolves and male bears). When the cubs are strong enough to travel she’ll make the 2 week journey through Wapusk to the edge of West Hudson Bay in search of seals, her fist meal in over 9 months. Polar Bears depend on ice sheets to hunt. Evolving from black and brown bears, Polar Bears are highly specialized marine mammals, swimming long distances in search of food. The health of the pack ice is critical to polar bear survival. Warming temperatures and the retreating ice threaten their world.
