The Wolves of Nanuk

The Wolves of Nanuk

It’s been a long winter, but I wanted to give you a flavour of the two new locations I went to in search of polar bears this year. As the first person to visit three different denning sites, two in Manitoba and one on Baffin Island, it was a lengthy, and exhilarating, exploration of the region. Here, I’ll give you an insight into one area where the bears proved elusive, but I was instead visited by something even rarer…

“Wolves are almost mythical creatures; elusive beyond belief, these shadows of the forest and tundra are the epitome of true wilderness. Bears may be the beating heart of the Hudson Bay ecosystem, but wolves are undoubtedly its soul. Indeed there is nowhere in the world where the canine King is seen with any real frequency. Most of the world’s wolf watching fraternity are in fact happy in the knowledge that the packs are just, well, “out there” doing their thing. A far-off view of a loping shape, or an anonymous, distant howl that cuts through the night air and grabs your very being are usually more than enough to keep people happy.

Unless, that is, you can get to Nanuk Lodge.
Perfectly situated on the southern shores of the Hudson Bay, with the region’s wildlife-packed boreal forest to its rear, this is arguably the jewel in Churchill Wild’s crown. This was my first visit to the recently expanded and improved lodge, and from touchdown to take-off on the private airstrip that separates the buildings from the open expanses of the bay itself, it excelled.
The middle of Winter is not the normal time of course to be flying into places such as this and it was the first time that the company had offered the opportunity. Having spent nine days there, I certainly hope it won’t be the last. The trip was exploratory in many ways, to not only test the logistics of having the lodge open at that time, but also to view some of the rarest spectacles in the wildlife calendar: active wolf packs and denning polar bears. It is hard to imagine that there is anywhere else in the world that could even remotely hope to offer even the possibility of such a double encounter, yet Nanuk is arguably the only place where it could happen.
Of course, when you set to view such activity, there is always the chance you might draw a blank. I have to admit that although I knew of Nanuk’s potential as a wildlife viewing destination almost unsurpassed in the region in the autumn, the winter was unproven. However, discussions with Parks Canada and exploratory forays into the area south of the lodge had shown there to be an area of polar bear denning that has the potential to be even more dense than the more traditionally known areas further up the coast. It was with this possibility – and the fact that wolf packs are known to actively hunt along the coastal strip, that we flew into the camp. FV post Mar1
The days were filled with snowmobile-based exploration; along the coast both east and west, and up and down the various river valleys that at this time of year were snow-filled superhighways for wildlife movement. Wolverine, moose, otter, mink and great grey owl were just some of the exciting sightings, all of which were topped off in true Churchill Wild style each evening with trouser-stretching dinners! The Polar bears remained elusive. In spite of sending up two spotter ‘planes as well, and the sighting of some tracks in some of the main draws, the bears were clearly deciding to move much later this year. A late Hudson Bay freeze at the end of 2015 had put everything behind schedule, and as such although we were in the prime location to see bears and their Cubs emerging onto the sea ice after a long winter, the timing was just that bit too early. Still, there is always next year in that regard.
In most other places, that would be that. However, Nanuk excels in the out-of-the ordinary and as well as the species already mentioned, close encounters with Arctic, Red and Cross foxes on an almost daily basis made for great photographic opportunities.
However, the stars of the show were the wolves. Having sighted a pack twice at distance early in the week moving along the sea ice, we were all in celebratory mood. These were not reintroduced, collared wolves stuck on a hillside in a national park, but free-roaming icons of the wilderness, and we had just got a privileged view of their secretive existence. But, it didn’t stop there. One pair – probably getting ready to head off and den at some point in the near future, bringing a new generation into the region just a few months later – decided to stay out on the sea ice, in full view of the lodge. Although distant, we could watch their daily antics through binoculars and scopes, and every morning we would wake to the exhilarating sight of fresh tracks all round the lodge. Normally, this would be more than enough, but, as I say, this is Nanuk. On my penultimate day, and after a few closer encounters as the time there progressed, my patience was truly rewarded. As I stood, barely able to move or breathe, fingers poised over shutter buttons on the deck of the lodge, this courting couple ventured ever closer. Pausing every so often to gaze in my direction, they continued their advance, sniffing every metre of ground on the way, until they were no more than 80 metres away. There, filling my viewfinder, with the enormity of the Bay stretching out behind them, were wild, uninhibited wolves. No tags or collars, no artificial settings, just two pairs of Amber eyes burning right through us with every glance. As the camera fired on muffled settings, the enormity of such an encounter started to hit home, and when the pair finally left my company and chased each other down the coast, I stood in an ecstatic silence.
Nanuk in the winter is a very special place indeed…join me there in November 2017 as we search for black bears, polar bears, foxes, moose and wolves as part of a dual-lodge safari including Seal River – more details on the news page.