Multiple Moms and Cubs, Black Wolf, Highlight Second Nanuk Emergence Quest

by Christoph and Fabienne Jansen / ArcticWild.Net

Leaving your cozy lodge well before sunrise? Having breakfast out in the field at -40°C? Returning after dark? Welcome to the Nanuk Emergence Quest!

Encountering polar bear moms with their cubs is well worth the effort. We felt privileged to watch not only one mom with her cubs on this second Nanuk Emergence Quest departure, but two!

When we received the news on the evening of the first full day at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge — that the scouts had found a mom and two cubs — we were very excited. Rarely does this happen on a first day. The next morning, we packed our gear and breakfast to go, and left the lodge well before sunrise. You never know how far a mom will wander at night or if she might even try “the dash” to the sea ice by first light.

We set up our camp east of the lodge near the Mistasini River and had breakfast while the scouts tried to locate the mom. They finally found her, but she was on the move.

Keeping up with a polar bear is impossible, and interfering with her path is not an option. Ethical wildlife viewing is a priority at Churchill Wild. Therefore, we stayed put for a few hours. Later that day, mom had settled down in an open area that was accessible to us. We set up our viewing spot at a safe distance and watched mom nursing her cubs.

Usually, after nursing, mom lets her cubs rest for a while, but not this time. Mom seemed determined to walk towards the coast. Her cubs were still tiny and could barely keep up with her, but they were smart and hitched a ride on her back. Still, mom decided to take it slowly and settled down near another tree line. We watched them peacefully resting until sunset. Then, it was time to leave, at least for us.

We headed out again early the next morning, hoping to possibly see the bears walking out onto the sea ice. The bad news was that we didn’t see them at all. The good news was that they had safely made it to the sea ice earlier that night. That’s all that counts!

The next few days were spent exploring the coast and other wildlife. We had some wonderful encounters with great grey owls and a northern hawk owl. And we had several encounters with wolves. While we hadn’t seen a bigger group together, we had seen two grey wolves and a black wolf so far. The encounter with the black wolf was particularly special.

We were already back at the lodge waiting for appetizers and dinner when we heard there was a black wolf on the Opoyastin Creek just behind the lodge. So we quickly jumped into our winter gear and took our snowmobiles to check out the situation. Sure enough, a single black wolf leisurely trotted past us. What a beautiful encounter with a majestic animal!

As our winter adventure on the Kaska coast continued, we explored the shipwreck of the old coastal freighter Mooswa, drove up the rivers with the snowmobiles and komatiks, and even had a pencil drawing workshop with guide Boomer Jerritt, a renowned artist. The days passed more quickly than we could have imagined.

Then, one evening in the middle of this ten-day trip, the scouts had wonderful news for us. They had located another mom with two cubs. Over the next few days, we got up early, drove east before sunrise, had breakfast and lunch in the field, and had more campfires than we could count. But mom didn’t make it easy for us.

Either she was on the move or staying put in an area much too dense to access. But on the third day of following these bears, our efforts finally paid off. We could watch them twice, once in an open field, and once in some of the thickest forest we have ever seen. Both encounters were very emotional. We could see that mom was doing a great job being a polar bear mom.

The next morning, which was the last full day for this group of guests, we made another attempt at watching the polar bears walking out onto the sea ice. This meant a last breakfast out in the field. It’s amazing how nice a breakfast in freezing temperatures can be when you have a roaring campfire!

Mom had already taken her cubs to the sea ice the night before, and good thing too. The previous day we had spotted three wolves at the Yakaw River, not far away from the bear family. Therefore, we were relieved to see they had made it to the ice safely.

This has definitely been the most successful moms and cubs season ever. During two Nanuk Emergence Quest departures, we have been able to spend a total of eleven days with three moms and their cubs in total.

Well done, Team Nanuk!

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Churchill Wild Polar Bear Safaris 2025-2026.

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