It’s hard for me to believe, as I write this from Boulder, Colo., where it will be in the 80s today, that in just a few weeks’ time, the polar bears of Churchill will again be congregating on the shores of Hudson Bay, waiting for the ice to freeze and hunting season to begin. Indications are that it is going to be a great bear-viewing season: a CBC News story reported yesterday that “This year’s preliminary survey results showed an unusually high number of polar bears north of Churchill.”

Last fall I had the joy of seeing polar bears in the wild for the first time, and I was enchanted. I’m no professional photographer, and I didn’t even have a good camera, but it’s hard not to get great photos of polar bears when they are as close — and as entertaining — as these two sparring young males were.

Polar Bears Sparring

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Polar Bears Sparring

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Polar Bears

All tuckered out.

I’m watching my dog romp with a companion in the backyard as I write this, and it strikes me that young animals are pretty much the same across species — they like to have fun! These two big bears are certainly doing that, and I sure did as I watched them with sheer delight.

When you travel to see wild polar bears, you actually support conservation efforts to protect them. Read more about polar bear ecotourism at Polar Bears International. And check out Nat Hab’s complete slate of Fall 2010 polar bear adventures here.

Happy Trails Up North,
Wendy