World Wildlife Fund WWF Travel Blog

Conserving Polar Bears in the Arctic (presented by WWF & Eric Rock)
Tuesday, May 21st @ 3pm Eastern (12pm Pacific)
Register for the Webinar

Learn more about WWF’s work protecting the Arctic home of polar bears during a special webinar co-hosted by WWF and our tour partner, Natural Habitat Adventures. Sybille Klenzendorf, managing director of WWF’s species conservation program, will review the threats to polar bears, outline what WWF is doing to protect them and discuss ways you can help, too.

In addition, NHA staff naturalist Eric Rock will paint a vivid portrait of the adventure that awaits when you go on a tour to see polar bears in the wild.

Register and tune in to stay up to speed on the latest conservation issues facing polar bears and the Arctic.

Learn how you can join a trip to see polar bears in the wild.

Sandra Elvin always thought she would grow up to be a veterinarian. Sandra acquired her love for nature from her father, who after spending one day in Canada’s open spaces, decided to move his family there.

In celebration of 40 years of conservation work to secure a future for polar bears, WWF is giving away a Classic Polar bear Adventure trip for two in Churchill, Canada, courtesy of Natural Habitat Adventures.

This fall, take advantage of a rare chance to travel with WWF’s chief scientist to observe polar bears in the wild.

Endangered species expert Jon Hoekstra will join the October 27 departure of our Classic Polar Bear Adventure in Churchill, Manitoba. Learn first-hand about the threats facing polar bears and their Arctic habitat from Hoekstra, who heads WWF’s Conservation Science Program, and watch polar bears from the safety of the unique designed polar rover.

WWF addresses issues such as climate change, oil and gas development and human-polar bear conflict. Churchill has the world’s largest concentration of polar bears and our tour partner has one of two exclusive permits to the best bear viewing area.

We have space for just 15 travelers on this tour. Call 888-WWF-TOUR (993-8687) to sign up today.

The opportunities to engage on a cultural level with local communities may seem less prominent as wildlife is often the focal point of the WWF trips. But it's often the local communities and guides who can spot the rare bird hidden in the thick of the forest canopy. It's the community that is bound tight to the history of their landscape; they know the stories that illustrate how nature has shaped their culture or perhaps how culture has shaped nature. It is almost impossible to understand and appreciate wildlife without also understanding the people and cultures that live under the same expansive sky.

Our photo slideshow highlights eight WWF trips that engage with the keepers of this intimate knowledge.

Polar bears and local people are sometimes uneasy neighbors in the Russian Far East. The bears frequent coastal areas near several indigenous villages—the same places where walruses come to rest and care for their young. In Churchill, Canada, polar bears are also known come into town and raid garbage cans for food as warmer temperatures and shrinking sea ice reduce their ability to hunt.

It’s this proximity that can lead to conflict.

One of the most powerful marine predators, the orca, grows up to 32 feet (9.7 meters) in length—about the size of a school bus—and can weigh up to 6 tons (5,443 kilograms). Though the orca’s size intimidates prey, among its whale pod, the orca is a highly social animal that communicates through distinctive noises that only other members of the whale’s pod will recognize.

They slide on their bellies across the snow, congregate on icebergs and seem to fly through freezing water in search of fish. That’s how most people picture penguins, in Antarctica.

The southernmost continent has the most penguins of any region in the world, but it’s not the only place where you’ll find the tuxedoed bird. The Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and South Africa are three other WWF destinations where you can see penguins in their natural habitat.

Huge numbers of seabirds blanket the rocky landscape of the Russian Far East. The birds perch on high, windswept cliffs that rise to seemingly infinite heights, making their habitat inaccessible to other animals that would want to hunt them. As a result, the birds prosper in massive, dense colonies.

If you’re looking to get away, there’s nowhere “away” quite like Antarctica. We offer a variety of itineraries so the question then becomes which to choose. Read about some factors to consider when choosing your Antarctic adventure.