Close encounters!
Griff visits a town where polar bears are part of life…
Despite hating the cold, Griff Rhys Jones heads to the frozen wastes of the north for this week’s leg of his epic Canadian journey. He visits Churchill, Manitoba, where each winter 1,000 polar bears head out on to the ice to hunt seals, passing through the town and outnumbering the
900 human residents.
To protect children going trick or treating on Halloween from the bears, police and fire-department vehicles form a ring of steel around Churchill’s perimeter, and people leave cars unlocked so anyone in danger from a bear can jump in as a refuge!
Griff, however, is in a safe tank-like Tundra Buggy when he sees a mother and cub – and the inquisitive youngster comes right up to him!
‘While most bears remain aloof, curiosity got the better of this young fellow,’ he says. ‘It was one of the most astounding encounters of my life’.
Griff also tries his hand at dog sledding – holding on for dear life as the dogs take off at 15mph.
‘You couldn’t not love these animals,’ he says. ‘If there was ever a reason for me to love the cold, this would be it.’