'Polar bear capital of the world' soon to be overrun with record number of bears due to shifting sea ice
The Canadian town of Churchill has already had more than four times as many polar bear visitors this year compared with the same time last year, and many more could soon be on the way.

The world's unofficial polar bear capital, could see a record number of the white-furred visitors this year. Residents of Churchill, Canada, have already spotted an unusually high number of the bears in and around town, likely because of low sea ice.
Around 900 people live in the Manitoba town. But every year, between July and November, several hundred polar bears (Ursus maritimus) descend on the town and the surrounding Hudson Bay area, which also brings in thousands of tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the Arctic predators.
Conservation officers from the town's government-funded Polar Bear Alert Program (PBAP) respond to calls from people who spot bears by either shooing the bears away or capturing them and holding them in Churchill's polar bear holding facility, commonly referred to as the "polar bear jail," before later releasing them into the wild.
As of Aug. 16, PBAP officers had received 76 calls from residents about polar bears, which have led to three bear detentions. By comparison, the officers had received only 18 calls and captured zero bears by the same time last year, CBC News reported.
"There are so many polar bears in and around the town of Churchill," Chantal Maclean, a Manitoba conservation officer with the PBAR, told CBC News. It's going to be a "very busy bear season," she added. "We are [potentially] looking at record numbers this year."
Related: In 'extremely rare' attack, polar bear killed mother and child in Alaska. Now we know why.
On average, officers receive around 250 calls from residents and detain around 50 bears every year, according to statistics provided to Live Science by the Manitoba government. The record number of bears captured in a single year was 176, in 2003. Most sightings occur in October and November, which means the number of sightings this year could easily surpass the average if the current trend continues.
Two people in Churchill have been killed by polar bears — one in 1968 and another in 1983. The last polar bear attack was in 2013, when two people were severely injured but survived. The rise in polar bear numbers does not necessarily mean chances of attacks increase, especially if people follow polar bear guidelines, officers said.
Rising numbers
Polar bears spend the winter hunting for seals on Hudson Bay's frozen surface. When the ice melts during spring, the bears head inland to mate and search for alternative food sources. In the fall, the bears head back out to sea. Normally, around half of the roughly 600 bears that live along Hudson Bay's western coastline pass through Manitoba as they return to the frozen waters in fall — and a majority of those make a pit stop in Churchill to look for food. The rest pass through Ontario and Nunavut.
But this year, almost all of the Hudson Bay bears that conservation officers monitor are in Manitoba, which may be why so many bears are being spotted in Churchill.
The likely cause of the change in behavior is the way sea ice is forming and melting, which has been impacted by human-caused climate change. Experts believe that the sea ice near Churchill is now freezing earlier than other parts of Hudson Bay, which makes it the best place to start hunting when winter arrives, CBC News reported.
Polar bear numbers in Churchill may be on the rise, but in general polar bear numbers are declining. The species is currently listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Studies have predicted that polar bears could be wiped out by the end of the 21st century if current warming trends continue.
Over the last five years, Hudson Bay's population of polar bears has declined by around 27% after falling by around 11% in the five years before that, according to Polar Bears International.
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Harry is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. He studied Marine Biology at the University of Exeter (Penryn campus) and after graduating started his own blog site "Marine Madness," which he continues to run with other ocean enthusiasts. He is also interested in evolution, climate change, robots, space exploration, environmental conservation and anything that's been fossilized. When not at work he can be found watching sci-fi films, playing old Pokemon games or running (probably slower than he'd like).
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Giovani
Polar Bears are thriving and multiplying. Shifting ice is a facet but not the main reason for the numbers.admin said:The Canadian town of Churchill has already had more than four times as many polar bear visitors this year compared with the same time last year, and many more could soon be on the way.
'Polar bear capital of the world' soon to be overrun with record number of bears due to shifting sea ice : Read more -
Dawn Lambert
Why do you think the population is going up? Wouldn't it make more sense that the existing population is moving inland because the sea ice they normally spend their time on hunting is no longer sturdy enough to hold their weight?Giovani said:Polar Bears are thriving and multiplying. Shifting ice is a facet but not the main reason for the numbers. -
Daemonnice Just had to throw anthropogenic climate change in, even though there is no evidence that the shifting ice has anything ro do with it. Because Churchill is populated and likely has ships coming in and out of the harbor, suggests to me that, if anything the presence of humans would keep the ice away.Reply
Note also, polar bear populations in most pods have increased in the last 20 years. -
Giovani
I can relate the reported facts concerning Polar Bears. The ice is shifting and a change in world climate is apparent however, these bears are displaced and not necessarily overly stressed but there is a problem with their numbers increasing in the Churchill area.Dawn Lambert said:Why do you think the population is going up? Wouldn't it make more sense that the existing population is moving inland because the sea ice they normally spend their time on hunting is no longer sturdy enough to hold their weight?
There will be many facets within the returning to where we should be at this time, and that is the natural cycle of ice. The world is heating and that cannot be denied. Perhaps the unnatural addition of human created emissions has artificially warmed the planet to this point.
Remove all pollutants and experience the rapid cooling of earth's surface. Ironic would be the word. -
Giovani
It becomes a complicated scenario with perplexing questions, but you are quite correct in the increased numbers of Polar Bears. Shifting ice will result in displaced animals, but there is plenty of ice and even reports of it increasing elsewhere.Daemonnice said:Just had to throw anthropogenic climate change in, even though there is no evidence that the shifting ice has anything ro do with it. Because Churchill is populated and likely has ships coming in and out of the harbor, suggests to me that, if anything the presence of humans would keep the ice away.
Note also, polar bear populations in most pods have increased in the last 20 years.
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