Tour Naturalist - Les Stegenga
Our Polar Bear Tour Naturalist - Les Stegenga Les began his career in wildlife biology after
graduating from Trent University with a BSc. in 1979. His first job took him to
Churchill, Manitoba working as a polar bear researcher. During his time
there he witnessed the beginnings of polar bear tourism and the start of a new
understanding in how we view this iconic creature.
Les moved from the Arctic to western Canada
where for 8 years he researched the impact of oil and gas exploration on
grizzly bear behavior, plus fieldwork on seasonal feeding patterns among black
bears in the eastern slopes of the Rockies. His work also included
studies on moose, bighorn sheep and cougars.
In 1988 Les joined the Calgary Zoo and is a
senior keeper responsible for animals in the Canadian Wilds exhibit.
Through the Zoo’s eco-safari education
program he has lead over 20 trips to Africa including the wildebeest migration
in the Serengeti, trekking to view gorillas in Rwanda and elephants in
Botswana’s Okavango delta. He’s also lead trips to the panda reserve in
Wolong province in China, plus explorations in the Galapagos Islands, the
Amazon basin and Antarctica.
For the past 15 years Les has been thrilled to
be part of Classic Canadian Tours’ trips to view the annual polar bear
migration. In 2014 he began hosting trips for Classic Canadian Tours to
B.C.’s Khutzeymateen Nature Reserve to see Grizzly bears and to Churchill for
summertime viewing of beluga whales.
He is an avid educator and photographer,
and remains passionate about wildlife.