Coningham Bay and Bellot Strait

Tuesday September 5th was indeed an exciting day.  After a lecture on polar bears after breakfast we suited up for the cold weather and extended time on the water.  We spent two hours in the zodiacs exploring Coningham Bay which is on th southeast coast of Prince of Wales Island in Nunavut.  It is a very shallow protected bay where the water is warmer and belugas come here for two reason, to feed and to rub on the bottom.  However belugas were not our main attraction today but the polar bears who come here to feed on the poor whales who get stranded on the falling tide were.  We were more than rewarded with multiple sightings.  We were treated to a sow and cubs feeding on a carcass, swimming bears ahead of our boat, solitary large bears ,a ring seal, a quick glimpse of a female narwhal and sadly a dead polar bear.  Despite the cold the time flew but we all returned to the ship with permanent grins.

Cruising on we travelled trough Bellot Strait which separates Somerset Island from Boothia  Peninsula.During this passage we passed the northern most point of North America, Zenith Point, which is marked with a cairn.  All eyes were on deck watching for wildlife but with none to be seen we enjoyed the magnificent scenery instead.

Beluga whale bones dotted the beaches of the bay

These bears decided they did not want to visit with us

Mother and cubs feeding on a beluga carcass

They are wondering who we are

Love the sitting cub!

This bear was swimming in front of our zodiac 

This big guy wandered into the water watching us all the time and then decided against a swim and off he went

This sadly is a polar bear who has come to the end of his life. In the next days he will become food in the circle of life

These three bears just thought there was way too much company for their liking

This ring seal nicely showed us the ring around his neck for identification. These are the favourite food of the polar food

The fin to the left of the seal is that of a female narwhal whale

Was quite special to watch the bears actually feeding on the carcass. The mom seems to be keeping watch

This is an example of part of a narwhal tooth which is hollow as the two rings show

The view looking up Bellot Strait

Beautiful scenery but no wildlife to be seen

Light trying to break through causing interesting patterns in the sky

Crew preparing our toast for our journey past the northern most point of North America 

Eric,Bea and I toasting Zenith Point as we sail past

Zenith Point. The cairn is to the left and hard to pick out unless you know where it is

Our ship entertainment..  All very educated guides with great musical talent!