Acclaimed photographer details decline of Manitoba's polar bear population
In 1993, Don Shelby and a crew from WCCO embarked on a journey to Churchill, Manitoba in Canada.
The trip was sparked by this curiosity: How do people and polar bears live side by side in the same town?
Thirty years later, WCCO reporter Erin Hassanzadeh and photojournalist Tom Aviles returned to Churchill, enamored by the same thing. But the story has shifted.
Acclaimed photographer Dan Cox, a Minnesota native, has been trekking to Churchill nearly every year since 1987.
"It's a rough-around-the-edges community that has these amazing animals that move through once a year," Cox said. "Because of that, it is the place to go to see these animals."
The pursuit of polar bears led to captivating footage, and it built a relationship with the town and its prized possessions.
"There's something about these big white bears. They're powerful. It's that opportunity to relate and get a little more connected to a true wild experience," he said.
From certain vantage points, Churchill today can look like the Churchill of the '90s. Though the stars of the show haven't changed, the way visitors view the bears has evolved a bit from the rugged buggies of the past to the fleet of EV tundra buggies we spotted on our trip.
The way the town patrols and pushes out bears even has a similar feel, but one change is unmistakable.
Since Shelby's visit, the polar bear population here has been cut in half, according to estimates shared by Polar Bears International, down from 1,200 to roughly 620.
Scientists say it's because of warming that's melting the arctic sea ice bears depend on for hunting and habitat.
"There's been these kinds of notable changes that become obvious that things are much different than they were back in the '80s and '90s," Cox said. "Definitely much warmer temperatures. It's hard to believe it's not easy to find winter anymore."
Despite the changes, the bears and people of Churchill are still captivating visitors from far corners of the globe. And those who know the town dearly hope that won't fade away.
"It would just would be a major loss and there's just not that many places left in the world that you can replace it with. In fact, I don't know of any," Cox said. "I'm just hopeful the polar bear will always be around to excite people and encourage people to maybe think a little more about what it is we're all doing to the planet, and the animals and the places we love on this planet."
There's a lot to love in Churchill, but as Hassanzadeh and her crew discovered, we may lose those polar bears in our lifetime if we don't do something about it.
It's something we explore in our WCCO Original documentary "On The Edge," streaming online right now.
You can also join us to watch in person for free this Friday at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and on Earth Day at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul.
