Chapter 1: Getting to Bear Country
A male polar bear walking across a snow covered beach - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm f/2.8, Sony 2x Teleconverter
Day 1:
- Fly from ATL-Winnipeg
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Day 2:
- Board the train
- Single track, shared with freight, built on permafrost; delays are very common
- 6pm. Delayed due to a broken down freighter in front. Will need about 5-7hrs for an engine from the town ahead to come pull this broken freighter
A male polar bear walking by an abandoned military radio facility - Ryan Aw | Sony A1, Sony 24-70mm f/2.8
Day 2.5:
- 12am, midnight. Someone has taken it upon themselves to crash their car into the train ahead. Yes. The broken down, STATIONARY train that was sitting at an intersection with barriers and lights.
- Police involved, union laws for railway workers kicked in, so estimated time till we get moving again is now “morning”
Hanging out with the Discover Churchill boys as a mom and her two cubs walk by - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 3:
- We finally start moving again at 9am - a total delay of 18 hours. Explore more of the train, chat with more passengers, back to bed.
Day 4:
- Planned stop at Tompson was reduced from 5hrs to 5mins, so we made back some time from the delay.
- Arrived at Churchill no issue.
- Picked up by my buddy Drew from Discover Churchill
- Sleep
An Arctic fox poking an eye out to inspect its surroundings while it sleeps - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm f/2.8, Sony 2x Teleconverter
Part 2: The Bears
Day 5:
- Absolutely ridiculous day. Had over 20 close encounters with bears, probably saw about 30-40 total bears that day.
- Mostly moms and cubs, many with two cubs.
- Few single males here and there
- Tourist season ends at the end of Nov, so most restaurants have closed for the winter or it’s the last week that they’re open.
A mom and her two cubs walking across a snowed-over beach as the sun rises - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm f/2.8, Sony 2x Teleconverter
Day 6:
- White out conditions today, lots of sea ice forming so many bears have already left for sea
- Mostly single males, few moms with cubs
- Saw a male try to mess with a silver fox
A snowshoe hare sitting on a mound of snow - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm f/2.8, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 7:
- Pure insanity. We followed three young males who were sparring for about 4 straight hours.
- They’d wrestle, walk somewhere else, have a nap, repeat. Unbelievable!
A black and white abstract photo of a male polar bear - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 8:
- Found a sleepy cross fox
- Momma bear brought her two cubs for us to see!
- Found a momma bear and her cub nursing
Two young male polar bears sparring with each other - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 9:
- Snowshoe hares! Found two of them, one in town and one outside by some rocks
- Saw an extremely rare event, a collared mom with two cubs, one of them is adopted!!
- Researchers have tracked over 4600 bears across 40 years in this area, only 13 confirmed cases of bear adoption!!
Mom with her collar, and her two kids (one adopted, unsure which) - Ryan Aw, Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x Teleconverte
Day 10:
- Blizzard like conditions again today
- Attacked by the Ptarmie army!
- Lots and lots of bears out on ice, very far away
- Saw a Rock Ptarmigan!
A Rock Ptarmigan. Characterised by the black stripe behind their - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 11:
- Arctic fox sighting! Dude was zooming across the ice!
- Lots of bears on rocks today
A very handsome boy - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 12:
- Hardly any bears today! Saw a couple, but they were just sleeping and resting so not much going on
Willow ptarmigans. unlike the rock ptarmie, these guys are completely white - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 13:
- Last day of hanging with the bears. Blizzard-like conditions again, hardly saw anything
- Another arctic fox sleeping
- Saw the polar bear jail program - only program of its kind in the world. Naughty bears get put in jail for 30 days, and flown out north when they get released. If the sea ice has formed, they get released directly onto the ice!
- Boarded the train later in the evening!
A large male walking around during sunset - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Episode 3: The Return
Day 14:
- Back on board. In the private sleeper cabin this time!
- The radiator in our cabin broke overnight and was starting to smoke, apparently the fire alarm triggered and everyone had to evacuate, but I was dead asleep in my cabin and no one work me LOL
- Delayed for 5 hours
A mom and her two cubs walking during an incredible sunrise - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 15:
- It’s kinda lonely in the sleeper train. Spending most of my time outside with the other passengers.
- Editing photos and videos!
the ptarmie army - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 17:
- Back in Winnipeg
Two male bears sparring on the seaice - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm, Sony 2x teleconverter
Day 18:
- Back in ATL
Bye bears!
The last bear photo I took. A young male looking into the camera as the sun sets behind it - Ryan Aw | Sony A1 ii, Sony 300mm. Sony 2x Teleconverter
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