Polar bear safaris serve up a rare opportunity to meet Arctic man-eaters under the northern lights.Colby J Brokvist
Polar bears are the only mammal known to actively hunt humans. Still, every year Canada’s most feared, and revered, residents attract thousands of tourists from around the world.
Not only do these brave souls get within spitting distance of Ursus maritimus — land’s largest predator — they’re happy to pay top dollar to do it.
The fact that polar bears are a dying breed is part of the allure. At earth’s current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, they could be extinct by 2100. So, whether you simply love wildlife or you’re a last chance tourist, now is the time to see the 1,000-pound carnivore the Inuit call “nanuk.”
Safely seated in a monster tundra buggy, groups can get within feet of the feared Nanuk of the north. Erick Rock
Canada boasts around 16,000 polar bears, approximately 60% of the world’s total population. With as many bears as taxpayers, Churchill, Manitoba (pop. 900), bills itself as the “polar bear capital of the world.” It’s not unheard of to see bears Dumpster diving downtown. But the best sightings occur in the bears’ natural habitat, accessible by tundra buggy.
Equipped with five-and-a-half-foot-tall tires, these 40-passenger off-road vehicles are designed for circumventing snow and ice. Most tundra buggy tours are part of multi-day itineraries including accommodations and meals (from $1,000 per person per night).
Frontiers North, however, offers a one-day experience for $1,527. While Manitoba’s polar bear season is traditionally in the fall and aurora borealis season in the winter, this year Lazy Bear Expeditions is offering its first package combining both bucket list experiences.
Lazy Bear Expeditions offer five-night safaris that combine bear hunts with the aurora borealis. Travel Manitoba
The five-night itinerary (from $4,500 per person) also includes a helicopter safari and a stop at polar bear jail.
Pro tip: “Snag a window seat near the rear of the vehicle,” Kit Muir, Media Content Specialist at Travel Manitoba, said. “When it’s time to stop, you’ll be the first onto the outdoor viewing platform that’s at the back.”
In 1994, Churchill Wild founder Mike Reimer turned heads when he opened a lodge offering the world’s first walking polar bear safaris. Thirty years later, it’s still the only remote Arctic luxury eco-lodge taking travelers out on foot.
Days are spent trekking in the tundra, staying at least 330 feet away from these killers (there have only been about two dozen confirmed fatalities since 1870).
Still, guides pack bear spray, pistols loaded with “screamer” and “banger” ammo, and shotguns. Nights are spent at the fenced-in Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge, a National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World property located on Hudson Bay’s scenic Kaska Coast.
At $11,700 per person for six nights, it’s not cheap. But freelance photographer and travel writer Susan Portnoy said it’s worth it for the eye-level access: “Your images will be more dynamic than shooting down from a vehicle.”
Pro tip: Book a November trip if you also want to see cloud wolves — who have no fear of humans.
