Baffin Island Destination Guide

ICONIC WILDLIFE

Year-round common species on Baffin Island include polar bears and arctic foxes and their main food sources, lemmings and arctic hare. Although all are residents of the island, wildlife can be elusive so you need to keep your eyes open! Zodiac cruising is a great way to see the ringed seal, which lives within 5 miles (8 km) of land all year long and provides nourishment to resident polar bears in winter. Harp seals migrate to Baffin Island

in summer, as do beluga and bowhead whales and the spiral-tusked narwhal. In summer, the island comes alive with nesting birds, including several types of geese, plus sandpipers, thick-billed mures, plovers and three species of gulls. Migrating from Antarctica each summer, the arctic tern travels approximately 44,100 miles (70,000 km) each year to return to this fragile and pristine environment.

Did you know? Female polar bears on Baffin Island reach sexual maturity at 4 or 5 years of age, and then typically deliver one to three bear cubs every 3 years.

BAFFIN ISLAND DESTINATION GUIDE | 7

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