10/05/2026
I’m excited to share something very special with all of you—exclusive photos from inside Churchill’s polar bear holding facility. 🐻❄️📷
As a general rule, visitors and cameras aren’t allowed inside while bears are being held. I was honoured to receive a special invitation to photograph the work that happens inside.
With the conservation team’s permission, I’m sharing this rare glimpse to help people understand how the bears are handled.
Churchill’s polar bear management program has roots going back more than 50 years, and the holding facility has operated since the early 1980s. Its purpose is to protect both people and bears, helping us coexist in a place these animals have travelled through for generations.
The Polar Bear Alert team first tries to encourage bears away from populated areas. Bears that repeatedly return or pose a danger may be captured and temporarily held. Before freeze-up, bears can be relocated by helicopter approximately 40 kilometres north of Churchill along the Hudson Bay coast. Once suitable sea ice forms, bears still being held can be released onto the ice to return to hunting seals.
The program also includes public education, responding to bear sightings, and reducing what attracts bears into town. There is much more to this work than the bear lifts we see.
I have a deep respect for the conservation team. Working with the world’s largest land carnivore takes courage, knowledge, and care. Keeping the people safe and keeping the bears safe is a tremendous responsibility.
Thank you to the team for trusting me to help share this work.
These animals mean so much to many of us, and it was a privilege to witness the process firsthand.
I’m sure these photos will bring plenty of questions. I’ll answer what I can, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll do my best to find out.
