polar bear jail
{{Short description|Holding facility for polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Polar Bear Holding Facility
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| logo =
| logo_size =
| logo_alt =
| logo_caption =
| image = Bear jail (6360643033).jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| map_type = Manitoba
| map_alt =
| map_dot_mark =
| map_dot_label =
| relief =
| map_caption =
| map_size =
| coordinates = {{Coord|58|45|11.8|N|94|04|32.9|W|display=title,inline}}
| former_names =
| alternate_names =
| etymology =
| status =
| cancelled =
| topped_out =
| building_type = Animal Control Facility
| architectural_style =
| classification =
| location = Churchill, Manitoba
| address =
| location_city =
| location_country = Canada
| grid_name =
| grid_position =
| altitude =
| current_tenants =
| namesake =
| groundbreaking_date =
| start_date =
| stop_date =
| topped_out_date =
| completion_date =
| opened_date =
| inauguration_date =
| relocated_date =
| renovation_date =
| closing_date =
| demolition_date =
| cost =
| ren_cost =
| client =
| owner =
| landlord =
| affiliation =
| height =
| architectural =
| tip =
| antenna_spire =
| roof =
| top_floor =
| observatory =
| diameter =
| circumference =
| weight =
| other_dimensions =
| structural_system =
| material =
| size =
| floor_count =
| floor_area =
| elevator_count =
| grounds_area =
| architect =
| architecture_firm =
| developer =
| engineer =
| structural_engineer =
| services_engineer =
| civil_engineer =
| other_designers =
| quantity_surveyor =
| main_contractor =
| awards =
| designations =
| known_for =
| ren_architect =
| ren_firm =
| ren_engineer =
| ren_str_engineer =
| ren_serv_engineer =
| ren_civ_engineer =
| ren_oth_designers =
| ren_qty_surveyor =
| ren_contractor =
| ren_awards =
| parking =
| public_transit =
| website =
| embed =
| embedded =
| references =
| footnotes =
}}
The Polar Bear Holding Facility, colloquially known as the Polar Bear Jail is a special building in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada where polar bears that are considered troublesome or dangerous are isolated until they can be relocated.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bears.org/media/show.php?item=10|title=Churchill Pictures: The Polar Bear "Jail"|website=www.bears.org|access-date=28 April 2018|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830175518/https://www.bears.org/media/show.php?item=10|url-status=live}}
Before the facility was established, polar bears which were considered dangerous were shot. The jail was established in 1982.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewrDdTrCuzEC&q=polar+bear+jail&pg=PA323|title=Medicine for Mountaineering: And Other Wilderness Activities|last1=James A.|first1=Wilkerson|last2=Moore|first2=Ernest E.|last3=Zafren|first3=Ken|publisher=The Mountaineers Books|year=2010|pages=323|isbn=9781594853937|access-date=7 May 2021|archive-date=1 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701014328/https://books.google.com/books?id=ewrDdTrCuzEC&q=polar+bear+jail&pg=PA323|url-status=live}} According to another source, it was created in 1983, after a person on the street was mauled by a bear.{{Cite web|url=http://www.travelandescape.ca/2012/11/on-the-polar-bear-trail/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140828/http://www.travelandescape.ca/2012/11/on-the-polar-bear-trail/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 March 2016|title=Into the Wilds of the Canadian Arctic: On the Polar Bear Trail|date=4 March 2016|access-date=28 April 2018}} The facility is the subject of the poem "Churchill Bear Jail" by Salish Chief Victor A. Charlo.{{cite book |last1=Harrison |first1=Brady |title=All Our Stories Are Here: Critical Perspectives on Montana Literature |date=2009 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0803222779 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5lsdAGwPycC&pg=PA30 |access-date=24 June 2018 |language=en |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701014322/https://books.google.com/books?id=P5lsdAGwPycC&pg=PA30 |url-status=live }}
Keeping the animals
Initially, the facility had 20 cells, which could hold 16 single bears and four family groups. The bears could be held from two to 30 days – if a bear had been captured repeatedly, the term may have been extended. The premise is that extended captivity would create a sense of danger for the bears so that they will be reluctant to approach the town. The bears are not fed during the captivity. Since the bears' natural life cycle involves long periods of fasting, their bodies are adapted to going without food for an extended time.{{Cite web|url=http://www.oocities.org/mikepolarbear/eat.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530021857/http://www.oocities.org/mikepolarbear/eat.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 May 2014|title=Complete Polar Bear Facts|date=30 May 2014|access-date=28 April 2018}}
Dangerous bears are tranquilized when captured and are marked with a bright paint on the neck. Closer to the winter, when the ice in the Hudson Bay has set, the bears are released. They are tranquilized again and transported by helicopter far from the town.
In 2014, the jail was extended to 28 cells.{{Cite web|url=http://newsmake.net/weather-and-nature/v-kanadskom-gorode-cherchill-rasshiryayut-tyurmu-dlya-belyx-medvedej|title=В канадском городе Черчилль расширяют тюрьму для белых медведей|trans-title=The Canadian town of Churchill is expanding its polar bear jail |website=newsmake.net|language=ru-RU|access-date=28 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529230552/http://newsmake.net/weather-and-nature/v-kanadskom-gorode-cherchill-rasshiryayut-tyurmu-dlya-belyx-medvedej|archive-date=29 May 2014|url-status=dead}} The inhabitants of Churchill still have to be careful outside, as the outskirts of the city are said to be visited by about a thousand polar bears in the summer.{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Zed |date=10 April 2023 |title=A jail for wayward polar bears? You must be in Churchill, Canada… |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/10/a-jail-for-wayward-polar-bears-you-must-be-in-churchill-canada |access-date=29 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113205925/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/10/a-jail-for-wayward-polar-bears-you-must-be-in-churchill-canada |url-status=live }} With the ice gone, they are unable to hunt their primary prey – seals – and, suffering from hunger, they can approach the town and threaten the inhabitants.
There are signs cautioning "Polar Bear Alert" on the shores of the Hudson Bay and Churchill River, and anyone that spots a polar bear can call a designated phone number, upon which some workers of the Department of Natural Resources will come out to catch the bear.
