MNN - Mother Nature Network

If you want to get away but can’t because your finances and/or schedule are tight, then you can get away virtually with explore.org’s live wildlife cameras. The organization’s polar bear cam, which broadcasts from the Tundra Buggy Lodge in Churchill, Manitoba, is now live. A second camera, the Tundra Buggy cam, is scheduled to go live on Nov. 1.

 

Churchill is one of the best places in the world to watch wild polar bears in action. Emily Goldstein, an MNN Local Correspondent from Kentucky, was lucky enough to visit Churchill in person in 2009. Here is an excerpt from her report:

 

“I just returned from the trip of a lifetime. I spent nearly a week in the northern part of Manitoba in a small town called Churchill. It is on the edge of the Hudson Bay, and is the place where polar bears gather to wait for the bay to freeze over. The Hudson Bay is one of the first places where sea ice forms, thanks to the Churchill River; freshwater from the river flows into the bay, and since freshwater freezes at higher temperatures than saltwater, the bay freezes over before sea ice forms in other places. This was a great year for seeing bears — we had 22 bear sightings in two days.”

 

Trips to the region are pricy, easily topping $3,000 per person, but anyone can get a little taste of the action thanks to explore.org’s live polar bear cams. As my kids and I watch the cam, we pretend that we’re in Churchill on vacation — a free vacation!

 

Related on MNN: Learn more about the polar bear cams