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Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus
The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) wanders the frozen arctic regions throughout much of the year. At the southern limit of their range on the Hudson Bay, a number of these animals are put ashore in the late summer with the melting of the pack ice. The bears wander along the shore of the bay until mid-October when many of them end up in the Churchill, Manitoba area. They wait near the shore of the bay for the ice to form again so they can return to their frozen hunting grounds to search for seals. While they await freeze-up, tourists can see the bears up close from the safety of a tundra buggy, a huge all-wheel-drive vehicle designed to take observers onto the tundra. I wrote an article for the Victor Emanuel Nature Tours newsletter in January, 1997 about a trip to see these bears. Read the article for more detailed information about the area. The photo shown here was taken in November, 1996 with a Canon T-90 & Sigma 500mm F/4.5 lens from a bean bag from an open tundra buggy window on Fuji Sensia 100 film.
The photo on the right was taken in November, 2002, with a Canon EOS 1V and EF 500 F4 IS lens on Ektachrome VS 100.
The photo shown here shown here was taken in November, 1996 at Churchill. Sunset shots can be rare as the sky is usually overcast at this time of year. This shot was taken with the same photo gear as the previous shot.
The photo shown here was taken in November, 1998 with a Canon EOS 1N & EF 300mm F/2.8 L lens with a 2X extender on Fuji Sensia 100.
The next 3 shots were taken in November 1998 at Churchill, with a Canon EOS 1N & EF 300mm F/2.8 L lens with a 2X extender on Fuji Sensia 100.
This shot gives a good feel for the Churchill area in winter. These two young males were sparring along the shore of Hudson Bay, in November, 1996. This shot was taken with a Canon T-90 & Sigma 500mm F/4.5 lens from an open tundra buggy window on Fuji Sensia 100 film.
 
The animals shown here are playing on a frozen pond while the two males in the following shots sparred nearby. All these shots were in November, 1998. These shots were taken with a Canon EOS 1N & EF 300mm F/2.8 L lens with a 2X extender on Fuji Sensia 100.
This photo of a sleeping Polar Bear was taken in November, 2000, with a Canon EOS 3 and EF 500mm F/4 L IS lens on Fuji Velvia pushed one stop.
The next 3 shots shown here were taken in November, 2003. They are digital captures with a Canon EOS 10D and EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS lens and 2X extender.
The shot of the yawning bear is one of my favorites. This big male woke up from a nap, gazed at our tundra buggy full of eager observers, and yawned widely as if terribly unimpressed with us.
The shot shown here shows a mother and yearling cub walking across the tundra while the next image shows a lone male resting on the edge of Hudson Bay. These were both digital shots with the same equipment previously described.