I had already been living at sea for over a month aboard the Ocean Endeavour with Adventure Canada when I first heard whispers about a very special place. Deep in the heart of Nunavut in Canada, there is one of the best wildlife spots in the Arctic: Coningham Bay in the Northwest Passage. Never heard of it? Don’t worry, not many have.
Coningham Bay might look like any other bay in the vast, sprawling tundra of the Arctic. Wide and desolate, it is special because it has a narrow, shallow entrance. Inside, the bay itself is pretty shallow. Beluga whales like to come inside the bay and roll around in the shallows, scraping their skin. But because it’s very shallow at low tide, the belugas are trapped inside the bay until the tide comes in again.
Bring on the hungry polar bears!
When I first heard this, I almost didn’t believe it. There is a place where polar bears hunt beluga whales? I was skeptical. That sounds like some Planet Earth documentary, rare and uncommon, not something people usually see.
Polar bears mainly hunt seals on the pack ice. While I’ve seen polar bears in the wild many times, I have never seen them hunt a whale or even make a kill. Doubtful me was all like, “Can they even take down a beluga?” Maybe an injured one or a calf, or maybe chow down once it’s already dead and washed ashore.
Boy, was I wrong.
At over 70° N, Coningham Bay is not easy to access. Very few people will ever be lucky enough to visit here, and it’s usually only on the few expedition ships that make the full journey through the Northwest Passage.
Even then, it’s not guaranteed. Mother Nature rules the Arctic with an iron fist.
Expedition travel is complicated by many factors, especially the weather. The swells of the water, the wind, the visibility, and the sea ice all call the shots. And, of course, polar bears and belugas keep their own schedules. We never know exactly where they will be. There might be none there and heaps in other places. It’s one of the reasons I love exploring this way.
It really is an adventure. It really is an expedition. We have to look and explore to find the amazing places. And hope that the place where polar bears hunt beluga whales delivers.
Bundled up in a million layers, it was a sunny morning when we approached Coningham Bay on Adventure Canada’s Out of the Northwest Passage trip.
September in the Arctic is already full autumn, with snow just beginning to fall. Before we even arrived near Coningham Bay, we got the call over the radio that we could already spot more than a dozen bears in the area. Holy shit!
I was so excited, even more excited than usual. Hanging out on the outer decks with my binoculars glued to my face, the suspense was killing me. I couldn’t wait til it was my turn in the zodiac to go out and see the bears.
I’ll also mention that we follow the AECO guidelines for wildlife, including polar bears and whales: not approaching them, keeping a safe distance, never disturbing them, etc. Adventure Canada also has a solid team of experienced polar bear guards who come with deterrents and firearms; many of them are local Inuit. But don’t fret; it almost never happens that situations escalate to that.
Almost as soon as we piled in the zodiac at the gangway, we began to see wildlife. Out of nowhere, a narwhal popped up right next to us in the shallows. Sea unicorn, omg!!! It just rolled around in the water next to us for ages. The water was nearly crystal clear, looking almost Mediterranean. You could see straight to the bottom, though ice cold.
Zooming through the shallow entrance, Coningham Bay greeted us with about a dozen polar bears dotted all around. Mom and cubs. Big boys. Swimming bears. Even a freshly dead bear. And there were beluga splashing around, too. There were so many bears, usually solitary, just hanging around, unbothered by each other. There was enough food to go around. It’s hard not to want to pull sides – who do you root for? The bear or beluga?
And sure enough, we hit the motherload. There was a mom with two cubs feasting on a dead whale. As a photographer and storyteller who loves wildlife, seeing things in action is so exciting. I’ve been on a few safaris in Africa, and the most exciting viewings are when a predator is hunting. I know this is morbid, but seeing bears covered in gore was wild and unforgettable.
Watching the polar bears and belugas of Coningham Bay ranks among my best wildlife experiences. I’ll never, ever forget that day.
