Polar bear guide Shayna Plett at Seal River Heritage Lodge.
by Shayna Plett
I’m not sure what it was that really grabbed my attention about the tundra. It could have been the very first bear I saw, back in 2010 at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge just after Churchill Wild purchased it. I remember listening to my dad tell me it was a polar bear but struggling to see with my own eyes if it was a bear or whether I was looking at a bear-shaped rock.
Polar bear posing on the rocky coast at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Shayna Plett photo
It could have been the years that led up to that moment; reading the polar bear books, wearing the polar bear pyjamas, seeing my dad’s collection of polar bear photos and hearing his stories. It could have been any number of things.
But in the 15 years since I saw my first polar bear I have had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of extraordinary things while working in the western Hudson Bay, and my love for it has grown with each new discovery. The cliché is that if you would have told my twelve-year-old self that I would get my shot at becoming a polar bear guide, it would have made her the happiest kid in the world.
The making of a polar bear guide. Polar bear pyjamas, books, photos and the stories that went with them.
My dad, Quent Plett, has been a guide with Churchill Wild since the beginning. Being a cousin to founder Mike Reimer and having a love for nature and wildlife has come with a few perks, and each year for over 30 years he has come back to this area. After years of hearing about his adventures, he finally heeded the pleading of his two young daughters and took us north one summer. It was a dream come true.
The following five years we worked our way up from a five-day trip, to a two-week trip, to a whole month of my summer vacation before I decided that I wanted to be a full-on employee.
Outside the lodge walls is a whole different world. Shayna Plett photo.
In my first years I was a dishwasher, content with the satisfaction of seeing a massive pile of dishes go from dirty to clean and far too nervous to be a part of the serving team. I did eventually give in and got out from behind the dish sink and into the dining room, and for nine years I continued to return to this special place, growing more and more in love each year.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t all the while wishing to be outside instead of within the lodge walls. The invisible string that led me to fulfilling my childhood dream has come about with the help of many different people and opportunities I couldn’t have guessed were connected. Yet this summer I finally got to put on my own bear kit, and show the people what it is about the tundra that has had me enraptured for over half of my life.
Polar bear guides Luke Kolla and Shayna Plett glassing for polar bears at Seal River Heritage Lodge.
What struck me most over the summer was how unfamiliar and yet comfortable the role would be. For years I had stood by and trusted the guides with my whole being in front of the world’s largest land carnivore. I never had a sense of fear when I was out there. I grew up with Andy MacPherson, aka the polar bear whisperer, for goodness’ sake. Yet being out there with the bears as a guide coaxed out a brand new sense of respect for these animals. I had heard about and witnessed bear behaviour before, but this was my chance to really experience it.
And it wasn’t just the bears that took on new excitement. The curious, playful, and chattery beluga whales are, to me, the most special animals along our stretch of coastline. Getting to learn their shapes, their patterns, and their sounds was nothing short of amazing and only furthered my love for them.
Guests viewing beluga whales at Seal River Heritage Lodge on the Birds, Bears & Belugas safari. Shayna Plett photo.
I jumped into the experience with my well-worn copy of Wildflowers of Churchill and by the end of summer I had more pages tabbed than not with the flowers I had observed. The sheer number of bird species blew my mind and the little bird-nerd within me blossomed.
The most surprising aspect of guiding was during our outpost camping adventure at Schmok Lake Tundra Camp. Leading people kilometres out, through bogs and over ridges in the hopes of tracking down caribou was exhausting and rewarding. Joking with people, caring for their blisters, and showing them the nuance of the caribou dance was all in a day’s work, and when we got the successful approach on the caribou it was the absolute pièce de résistance.
Caribou in fall colours. Schmock Lake Tundra Camp. Arctic Safari. Seal River Heritage Lodge. Shayna Plett photo.
The summer was tough and wonderful and fulfilling, and as I sit back within the walls of the lodge I look forward to returning to the outside and reconnecting with that 12-year-old girl and letting her show the people what stole her heart so many years ago.
