"It's really incredible, we get this big migration, thousands of beluga whales migrate here and they spend the summer in the estuary," said Kieran McIver, manager of Churchill field operations for Polar Bears International. The 'beluga boat' season began on July 15, timed with Arctic Sea Ice Day, and will operate every day until the end of August, livestreaming underwater footage of the whales in the Churchill River estuary and Hudson Bay.

The belugas are unusually curious; because their cervical spine is not fused, they can move their heads and look directly at the boat and paddlers, a behaviour that McIver described as "pretty neat."

Polar Bears International, the only nonprofit organization dedicated solely to polar‑bear conservation through research and education, partners with Environment & Climate Change Canada and the University of Alberta to fit tracking collars on about ten female bears each year. "Our goal is to keep polar bears in the Arctic for a long time and to do that we need to understand the species," said Alysa McCall, director of science at Polar Bears International.

The data gathered from the livestream and the collar‑tracking help scientists study bear physiology, genetics and behaviour, and most importantly, how the loss of sea ice caused by climate change is affecting both species. This information is essential for shaping effective conservation strategies.