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One Polar Bear for Every Five Citizens
These Dangerous Predators Are Now Permanent Guests in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada!
By Peter Baunmartner
But the bear from last night is already in the Polar Bear Jail. Such a building really exists! Whenever a bear is sighted within the "Control Zone," the Polar Bear Police are alerted. 675-2327 is the telephone number of Wade Roberts. The Natural Resource officers dart the Polar Bears. The sleeping bear is then brought to the compound, somewhat of a distance outside of Churchill.
Problem bears are shipped to the zoos. As we arrived, two bears are being loaded into the jail. The compound has room for 32 bears. When the jail becomes full, then the bears are shipped 20 to 30 miles north of Churchill. The bears are tagged in their ears in order to facilitate tracking. Bears that have been caught four times are designated "problem bears." They have become so used to human presence that it has become dangerous for them and for humans. They are then shipped off to a zoo somewhere in the world.
Last year, Roberts and his team captured 100 bears and released them. Around the outskirts of town, there are approximately a dozen polar bear traps. In case the bears do come too close to town there is a good chance that they are captured in these traps. Denise doesn't want us to inspect one of these traps – there could be a second bear in the area!
The next morning we drive out with Debra Wazny in her Tundra Buggy, a renovated bus with very large wheels, to the Wapusk National Park on the treeless and flat Tundra. Many years ago, the GIs did their army maneuvers out here. The area resembles Siberia. We almost missed seeing our first bear. He was sleeping very lazily on the frozen permafrost. The frigid temperatures do not seem to bother him. His thick white fur absorbs the sun's rays and conducts the heat to his black skin. A layer of fat, approximately 5 to 10 centimeters, protects him from the elements. Because of this, polar bears can swim 200 to 300 kilometers in the frigid arctic waters. 