Beluga Whale and Polar Bear Expedition 2025 - Trip 1

Churchill, Canada
July 26 - August 1, 2025

 July 27, 2025. Day One

Day one of the trip and it started with a bang! 

Perfect weather, flat calm seas, and lots of belugas. I couldn’t be happier.

Our guests are overwhelmed, in the best way. 

We’re absolutely surrounded by whales. Magic is everywhere. 

No bad seat in the house. Just whales in every direction.

Midway through the morning, we took a break from the water after hearing that a polar bear had been spotted on the rocks near the point.

We pulled the mat back onto the boat and motored over.

Sure enough, there he was, a big, fat, sleepy bear, stretched out on the shoreline.

Likely just back from a successful winter season hunting seals out on the sea ice.

We snapped a few images while he lazily lifted his head every now and then, mostly when the arctic terns stirred him from his nap. 

The terns nest in that area, and bears are known to scavenge for eggs and chicks, so the birds were not happy to see him.

After the encounter, we returned to the belugas and got back in the water, hoping to reconnect with the super friendly whales we saw earlier. 

The energy was still high, and the water was alive with movement.

We wrapped up our water time and headed back to the lodge for a quick clean-up before venturing out onto the tundra for the afternoon.

The rains came briefly and poured hard, but as they passed, the skies cleared and the day ended beautifully. 

It was peaceful out there, quiet, open, and painted in rich summer colors across the tundra.

Fired up for what tomorrow brings.