Bad news for polar bears

Growing threat to survival of Canada's great whites clouds annual tourist gathering

A female polar bear walks along a frozen pond. Below left, sign warns tourists of the constant danger from the huge carnivores. --Jonathan Hayward, SUN

 CHURCHILL, Man. -- In Canada's north, where the Churchill River meets Hudson Bay, wanders one of the world's most feared animals on earth, the polar bear.
 
 For two months in the fall this polar bear capital of the world draws more than 10,000 people from all corners of the world for an up-close view of the majestic stalker of the north.
 
 Churchill has become a mecca for photographers, who call it one of the world's prime wildlife photography destinations.
 
 Each fall this remote northern town of 9,000 souls bulges with tourists who want to watch and photograph the polar bears in their natural habitat.
 
 Signs speckling the rocky roads that warn of the great white carnivores, send most tourists flocking to the comfort and safety of a Tundra Buggy.
 
 But those signs could start warning of the decline of polar bears.
 
 Greenpeace says that Canada's polar bears are in danger of mass starvation
 
 because of the climate changes caused by the depletion of the ozone layer.
 
 The warmer climate means the ice doesn't freeze as early as it used to, so the bears have to wait longer to reach their traditional food supply, the ringed seals.

 
 Churchill is where bears gather to wait out the fall because it's the first place in Hudson Bay to freeze, since the freshwater from the Churchill River dilutes the sea water.
 
 The ice freezes the bay as the weather cools in late-October to mid-November, leading the bears to their hunting ground where they feed on seals until the spring.
 
 Tours are offered in Tundra Buggies about 30 km south-east of Churchill where they crawl amongst the polar bears patiently waiting for the water to freeze over.
 
 Some tours offer bunkbeds in their buggies, where polar bear enthusiasts can gaze out from a peep-hole strategically placed near pillows.
 
 The influx of tourists in this northern town has caused some difficulties for the bears who have to share their land with curious humans. That puts both people and polar bears at risk.
 
 Churchill residents and tourists have to stick to the roads and are cautioned not to go out at night, because behind every rock there could be a hungry bear.
 
 Bears on the other hand have to fear the Polar Bear Compound, a jail built by wildlife officials near the town's airport to hold several of the animals at a time.
 
 If a bear is caught repeatedly crossing into the city limits for food, they're tranquilized and sent to jail.
 
 Wildlife officials believe that if they lock a bear up without food for a few months, it'll learn not to come back to town.
 
 To make sure it doesn't, the bears are taken north of Churchill, released and given another chance to forage for food instead of raiding the town's garbage cans.
 
 Wildlife officials keep track of the bears with ear tags.
 
 If a bear hasn't learned its lesson and heads back into Churchill, it's shot.
 
 Wildlife officials hope that by giving the bears a chance, they'll prefer to live in the untamed world, allowing people to continue visiting, viewing and photographing in safety.