Churchill has been dubbed the "Polar Bear Capital of the World". Whether or not this is a self appointed claim, the fact of the matter remains that while here chances are good you will encounter a polar bear. As the sea ice on the Hudson Bay melts in the summer sun polar bears are forced to evacuate their winter hunting grounds far out on the sea and head towards dry land. Awaiting their arrival are hordes of northern tourists riding around in tundra buggies expecting close up encounters they can photograph and throw up on the wall next to their children's' graduation pictures.
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| The fourth picture to come up from a google search of 'Churchill, Manitoba' |
It goes without saying that the polar bears in the Churchill area are habituated to humans and all of the sounds, smells, and activities that surround them. It is for this reason the research centre sagaciously issues shot guns to researchers headed out into the field. Providing firearms to mostly binocular toting, glasses wearing, 'academically inclined' sorts may seem like an unwise decision likely to result in something akin to the Dick Cheney hunting incident. But after a morning of gun training if you can't shoot a gun you can at least point it away from your companions and use it as bludgeoning object against an overly curious bear.
On Sunday our shorebird crew got the full run down of polar bear and gun safety by the centre's resident scientific coordinator, LeeAnn Fishback. Afterwards we headed out to realize our inexperience, inaccuracy, and general bad shooting form at the gun range. Thanks to arctic field work I have carried a shot gun around for much longer than my experience should warrant. I figured that by having toted one for so long I would have absorbed the perfect aim and accuracy through the heavy metal strapped across my back.
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| Bullseye Koloski |
It turns out I was wrong. While I did manage to hit the paper with the majority of my shots lets just say I did create quite the spread. After witnessing my flaws LeeAnn stepped in and readjusted my form and made me a 100% bullseye shooter 100% of the time....yeah right. In all seriousness, practicing at the gun range is a great way to become more comfortable and prepare yourself in case you need to deter a bear that has every intention of getting a little too close for comfort. Ideally a bear would turn and run away when encountering a human, but reality sometimes neglects to provide the idyll. If there was ever a time to use a tired cliché this is it: "its better to be safe than sorry". However, just because we were practicing our safe gun handling doesn't mean we didn't have fun with it!
I've always wondered if polar bears home in on Churchill in particular, more than other places on the shore of Hudson Bay. Or is it just that more people = more sightings, and Churchill is the biggest population center on the Bay? (or is it? I don't know)
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