Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Churchill’s polar bear holding facility upgraded
A male polar bear walks along the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill last month. (SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES)
Upgrades to Churchill’s polar bear holding facility are finished, Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said in a statement today.
"Polar bears that make their way back into the community after being chased away need to be isolated in the facility until they can be safely transported out of town or until Hudson Bay ices over," Blaikie said. "The holding facility provides safety for both the people of the north and these magnificent animals."
The end walls of the facility have been refitted with metal siding and a new information booth has been added that includes a display outlining facts about the bears, polar bear management in Manitoba, the bear alert program and polar bear safety.
Officials say polar bears came off the ice along the Hudson Bay coastline early this season.
Preliminary survey results show an unusually high number of polar bears north of Churchill, especially in the Hubbard Point area approximately 90 kilometres south of the Nunavut-Manitoba border. A total of 258 bears were counted in the recent "ice out" survey, which is done each year when the polar bears first come off the ice from Churchill to the Ontario border.
All polar bears sighted appeared to be in good condition.
Polar bear alert staff were busy in the latter part of July dealing with the spike of activity that normally happens after the polar bears come ashore. Polar bear events have slowed down for the last few weeks. Activity is expected to pick up again in late October and November when the bears prepare to go back on the ice to hunt seals.
Last year, the Polar Bear Alert Program recorded almost 300 occurrences in the Churchill area and close to 60 bears were captured and held in the facility. The holding facility is located about eight kilometres east of Churchill.
The recent upgrades to the facility project follow improvements to the roof and side walls in 2005 and the addition of holding cells and a cooling system for bears in 2006. The electrical system was also upgraded in 2008.
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