Scott Stoness
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| p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Polar Bear Mom and Cubs - 7d2 - Churchill Manitoba | |
As, I indicated in my previous post,
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this weekend I flew to Churchill with Classic Canadian Tours. It is a great tour - one day return, includes flight, breakfast, lunch dinner, tundra buggy on to the Tundra - for $1750 from Calgary you get to see 10-20 polar bears waiting for the ice to freeze.
Churchill is a special place. Churchill river enters the ocean at this point and the ocean is shallow. The combination of shallow water and fresh water poring in and regular currents bringing cold water from the north, means that this is the first place for the ocean to freeze over. The bears know this and start to congregate in October waiting for the ice to freeze.
The bears have come off the ice in Jun/July after feeding on ring seals the winter, really fat, and then they eat almost nothing until November when the ice comes in. They go into a walking hibernation.
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Anyway here are my best shots of a mom and 2 cubs sitting on the tundra waiting for the ocean to freeze. This is a dangerous activity for them because big males will kill them and eat them if they can catch them. And the mom would have to face down a bear that is 2x her size. Females range up to 600lbs whereas males can range up to 1500 lbs. So mom has to be wary.
Although these are shot with my new 7d2, it was rather a extreme attempt. I used the 600, 1.4x, and cropped about 1/2 or more, and shot through the falling snow with low light, hand held off a jostling vehicle. Its not often you get this close to a mom and little ones at any distance. These "babies" were likely born about November of last year.
Excuse the repetition - this was my most exciting opportunity. And one of these will go in my annual christmas calendar to friends. So please let me know which one you like best.
Comments and feedback are appreciated.
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Scott
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