Image: Polar Bear and cub in Wapusk National Park © Parks Canada

Wapusk National Park

Polar Bears & So Much More

Canada's Wapusk National Park on the shores of Hudson's Bay in the north-eastern corner of Manitoba is remote and access is available only through a handful of approved commercial tour operators. The effort involved in getting there pales in comparison to the thrill of watching polar bear mothers wrestle with their cubs in the snow just metres from your big-wheeled Tundra Buggy.

A visit begins in the colourful gateway community of Churchill. Be sure to check in to the Parks Canada Visitor Centre for special presentations that showcase park history, as well as talks and workshops by visiting scientific researchers who bring the area to life.

The park is one of the biggest polar bear denning sites in the world, drawing scientists from around the globe to study the bears and the effects of climate change on the environment.

A Parks Canada webcam keeps a digital eye on one of the largest polar bear denning areas in the world, but few people are lucky enough set foot in this vast wilderness of bogs, boreal forest and tundra.

Wapusk - Cree for white bear - is just 45 kilometres southeast of Churchill, but it's a world of its own. There's no road access and you'll need a guide to visit the park, although you can take a helicopter tour to see some of the 11,475-square-kilometre expanse. Find out more...

Wapusk National Park - This 11,475 square kilometre park, at the transition between boreal forest and arctic tundra, protects one of the largest polar bear maternity denning areas in the world. Wapusk is located within the range of the Western Hudson Bay population of polar bears, which numbers approximately 1000 bears. Nature lovers watch for arctic foxes, arctic hares, wolves, caribou and wolverine as well as more than 200 bird species. Access to Wapusk is via authorized commercial tour operators in Churchill.

Beyond the bears are found the remnants of 3,000 years of Inuit, Dene and Cree culture, as well as many of the roots of modern Canada. The region was the epicentre of the fur trade for 250 years, and home to the Hudson's Bay Company that played a dominant role in the country's economic and political development. The massive stone fortifications of Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site recall the rivalry between the great superpowers of the time, England and France.

No species is more emblematic of the High Arctic than the polar bear. Known as Nanuq in the Inuit language Inuktitut and Ursus maritimus in science-speak — meaning “sea bear” in Latin — this majestic animal is one of the planet’s greatest predators. Learn more about polar bears from WWF.ca. Founded in 1967, World Wildlife Fund Canada is the country’s largest conservation organization, with the active support of hundreds of thousands of Canadians. WWF-Canada is part of the WWF global network, working in 100 countries worldwide.