Polar Bears in Canada
One of the largest populations of polar bears lives around Hudson Bay in Canada according to printerhall. The small town of Churchill in the province of Manitoba proudly calls itself the “Polar Bear Capital of the World” because of its many animals. Two reasons are decisive for the large number of bears in this area: On the one hand, the coast near Churchill is one of the three most extensive areas of polar bear litter caves worldwide and is therefore an important nursery for the continued existence of the bears. Here the animals raise their young during the summer months. On the other hand, Hudson Bay begins to freeze over from here, which is what the bears wait for from October to hunt their staple food on the ice floes – the seals rich in bacon.
During the summer, the polar bears only find berries, grasses and seaweed on land – nothing that would keep their extremely fat-dependent metabolism alive. After this time of deprivation, the bears have to eat a thick layer of fat again. Until they can get out on the ice, they roam the bank, searching the local rubbish dump for food. They come as far as the city and sometimes invade houses. Since the encounter with the polar bear is life-threatening, the residents have come up with some ideas to keep them away from the inhabited areas. Animals roaming the city are stunned by a “bear police”, specially trained rangers, and taken to a “bear prison”. There they spend up to two weeks in the dark and receive only water, but no food. The aim of this treatment is to prevent the animals from getting used to people, and it is also hoped that it will have a deterrent effect. The bear prison can accommodate up to 23 animals. When the cells are full, the polar bears are flown north by helicopter. But at the latest when Hudson Bay is frozen over, the animals are released on the ice again. They are marked beforehand. Bears that enter the city multiple times are generally sold to zoos. They are marked beforehand. Bears that enter the city multiple times are generally sold to zoos. They are marked beforehand. Bears that enter the city multiple times are generally sold to zoos.
Churchill has become a popular tourist destination in the fall because of the polar bears. The total number of animals at Hudson Bay is estimated to be around 1,200. However, global climate change has recently had a negative impact on the bear population; the arctic winter sets in later and the ice melts earlier. This leaves the animals less time to eat the fat reserves that are essential for survival in the summer months, so that the population is endangered in the long term.
In addition, z. B. puma, wolf, arctic fox, coyote, wolverine and sea otters in front of and in addition to the American mink, which like the raccoon was also introduced into Europe, a number of other marten-like animals, which were also hunted as fur animals and are still in some cases. This also applies to Canada’s largest rodent, the Canadian beaver. The squirrels (gray squirrels, chipmunks) are very diverse. Among the ungulates, the first noticeable are the caribou, which has become famous for its mass migrations, as several North American subspecies of the reindeer are called. A very large subspecies of Roth Irschs is the Wapiti, even greater is the also quite common in Canada moose.
The cattle include the bison, which once populated the prairies of North America in huge herds. While prairie bison are now often kept on farms, wild populations of the much larger second subspecies, the wood bison, still live in Canada. The arctic musk ox is endangered; Mountain goats and bighorn sheep are particularly common in the Rocky Mountains.
Coastal waters that are rich in species and rich in food, especially the continental shelf off Newfoundland, are among the areas on earth that are rich in fish. They are the prerequisite for the occurrence of numerous marine mammals. These include the seals that z. B. with saddle seals, gray seals and folding hats (especially these species are still hunted to a considerable extent), but also with Steller’s sea lions and walruses are represented. The whales are just as rich in species. Both baleen whales such. B. the blue whale, the largest living mammal, fin, humpback and mink whale, as well as toothed whales, such as the well-known killer whale (orca), the white whale (beluga) or the peculiar narwhal, with the up to 2.5 m long, twisted “horn” of the males, occur on the coasts of Canada.
The subarctic and arctic coasts are also home to millions of seabirds (e.g. petrels, gulls, terns, alks, guillemots, ducks, geese and waders). As a special natural spectacle, the migration of countless salmon of different species to their spawning grounds in the upper reaches of rivers, especially on the Pacific coast, can be observed.
Nature conservation: there are a total of 44 national parks (8 of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites), and several hundred provincial and territorial parks. The oldest national park is the Banff National Park in the province of Alberta, which was established in 1887.
