Polar Bear Town series on Smithsonian channel

Every fall, approximately 10,000 tourists from around the world descend on "The Polar Bear Capital of the World," Churchill, Manitoba. This community of about 800 people on Hudson Bay in Northern Canada (1,000 miles north of Winnipeg) is home to the annual migration of more than 1,000 hungry polar bears that pass through town as they wait for the Bay to freeze so they can hunt seals.

The programs

The new Smithsonian Channel docu-series POLAR BEAR TOWN documents a season in Churchill, following this extraordinary migration of human and four-legged animals as they collide in unexpected and sometimes dangerous ways. This six-episode series premieres Wednesday, November 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Polar bears start to migrate to Hudson Bay in late October as ice
begins to form.
 

Having visited Churchill myself and experienced the extraordinary events described in the series, I can wholeheartedly recommend this adventure for anyone who appreciates seeing wildlife in their natural habitat and loves being in magnificent natural settings. Tune in for an unforgettable experience.

The series takes viewers close to the enormous creatures known as the “Lords of the Arctic.” These polar bears can grow to be 10 feet tall and more than 1,300 pounds. They are also skilled hunters that can detect the presence of seals beneath three feet of snow and ice and can pick in scents from nearly 20 miles away.

A unique town

Churchill's hotels are simple but comfortable, and the food is good.

Churchill is one of the few human settlements where polar bears can be observed in the wild, and prime viewing happens in October and November. POLAR BEAR TOWN captures that moment when tourists from around the world fly into town in hopes of getting up close and personal with a polar bear. Professional guides Dennis Compayre and Kelsey Eliasson have a delicate mission: the get their clients close, but keep them safe.

In the series premiere, POLAR BEAR TOWN: WELCOME TO CHURCHILL, the town prepares for the fall migration. As the season opens, tensions are higher than usual. Last Halloween, a surprise late-night encounter with a polar bear left a local woman seriously injured and the bear dead, the nightmare all in Churchill strive to avoid.

Gift shops in Churchill entice visitors with handmade items.

Subsequent episodes will be broadcast each Wednesday for six weeks on the Smithsonian channel.  I’ll tell what each covers in a following post.

Information courtesy of Eddie Ward, Roslan & Campion PR, To learn more about the series, go to www.smithsonianchannel.com

Photos by Beverly Burmeier