Family Vacation Featuring Wildlife

Small Mammals

Part of what makes the Churchill wildlife so unique is that the town is located at the convergence of three different ecosystems. It is one of the rare places on earth where you can find two or three divergent species cohabitating the same area. For example, Churchill is famous for its polar bears, but the reality is that all three species of North American bears reside within 100 miles of Churchill. The polar bear resides primarily on the ice pack, which surrounds Churchill for nine months of every year; the black bear lives primarily in the Boreal Forest just south of Churchill; and the barren ground grizzly inhabits the barren grounds around Churchill and has been spotted within 50 miles of the town. The owners of the Lazy Bear Lodge have seen all three species near their property. Both the black bear and polar bear have been spotted right in the town of Churchill. These animals represent the three ecosystems that meet in the Churchill area.

Other species that make their home in the Churchill area include both the barren ground caribou, and the woodland caribou. One herd of caribou is called the Kaminariak Herd. This herd, estimated to number 500,000, migrates into the Churchill area every November and stays in the Boreal Forest for the duration of winter before moving north of Churchill with the melting snow around the beginning of May. Native to Churchill are what Churchillians call coastal caribou. This indigenous local herd gets its name because it inhabits the coastal areas for much of the summer months where the trees are not prevalent, and the food supply is new and fresh. The herd moves south of Churchill in a circuitous fashion, eventually moving through Churchill's nearby Boreal Forest onto a tundra plateau. This herd is genetically both barren ground and woodland. They are not different species; but like all animals, stock that is better suited genetically for certain conditions will survive, while animals that do not have desirable traits will die off more easily and thus will not reproduce. Woodland caribou are almost twice the size of their Barren Ground cousins.

The local indigenous fox populations are also unusual. The arctic fox (alopex lagopus) does better in the harsher climate of the arctic, inhabiting the area around Churchill and several miles into the Boreal Forest. The red fox is larger and a threat to the arctic fox if the two meet together as the red fox has been known to prey on the arctic fox. In warmer years the red fox generally does better than the arctic fox as it is larger, and more suited to the less extreme climate of the Boreal Forest and areas of central North America. In a colder winter, the arctic fox gains the advantage. The heavier red fox has a harder time surviving in extreme cold conditions. The arctic fox will do better in arctic weather as it has a warmer coat, and less body mass. It also helps that the arctic fox averages about 11 whelps per litter. They have been noted to have as many as 22 young in one litter—a record for reproduction among mammals. The Red Fox does not reproduce at those rates and therefore takes longer to recover from a bad winter. These two foxes share their food preferences. Both will hunt after voles, lemmings, ptarmigan, Canada goose, snow goose and bird eggs. The Arctic Fox is also willing to find food on the sea ice such as seals killed by polar bears. This connects the arctic fox with that third ecosystem: the Hudson Bay.

The arctic hare, can reach 15 pounds. It will often startle people who are not familiar with the size of these arctic rodents. They live near Churchill and in October/November are often spotted right inside the town limits. They rely on their white camouflage to keep them hidden. Of course, on a year where the snow is late in coming, these big hares will contrast with the dark tundra. In these years we often see several in one day, as they are visible for hundred of yards. The artic hare is hunted by gyrfalcons, arctic fox, red fox, and snowy awls. It eats just about anything that grows, including spruce needles, willow bark, wild berries, and grasses. Arctic hares have been known to be caught in fishing nets as they will eat fish in addition to plant life. They sometimes get big enough that there are virtually no predators they can't outrun.

The snowshoe hare lives just south of Churchill inside the Boreal Forest. Where Arctic Hare prefer the barren grounds, the snowshoe hare prefers the forested regions just south of Churchill. Its size is considerably smaller. Their predators are the same as the arctic hare with the addition of the Canadian lynx, which feeds almost exclusively on snowshoe hare.