Canada town balances tourism and safety with its polar bears
Climate change is forcing the bears inland earlier than normal, impacting both the local ecosystem and the town’s economy.
Polar bears and tourists co-exist in a small Canadian town called Churchill. Photo: APIt’s the beginning of polar bear season in Churchill, a tiny town in Canada. Keeping tourists safe from hungry and sometimes fierce bears is an essential job. It has become harder as climate change shrinks the Arctic sea ice the bears depend on to hunt. The change is forcing them to go inland earlier and more often in search of food.
There are about 600 polar bears in this region. This is about half of what it was 40 years ago, but that’s still one bear for everyone in Churchill.
This remote town not only lives with the predator next door but depends upon and even loves it. A 2011 government study calculated that the average polar bear tourist spends about US$5,000 (HK$38,921) per visit.
There have been no bear attacks in more than a decade, but the town is watchful.