Iconic Canadian wildlife series to film in northern Manitoba

A beluga whale surfaces for air as whale watchers head out in kayaks on the Churchill River in Churchill, Manitoba, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

An iconic Canadian wildlife series is set to focus its lens on a northern Manitoba community and some of the fascinating species that call it home.

Hinterland Who’s Who, a series of public service announcements that have been bringing Canadian wildlife into homes across the country for more than 50 years, is scheduled to film in Churchill, Man. next month.

Hinterland Who’s Who coordinator Annie Langlois told CTV News Winnipeg in a phone interview the new, national PSA will centre on beluga whales and Arctic foxes.

Langlois said the series was last in the Arctic 13 years ago, and they felt Churchill offered the perfect reason to return.

“Churchill is a bit different, since it's sort of at the end of the boreal forest and the beginning of the tundra, and it was very interesting to us,” she said.

An arctic fox is shown in an undated file photo submitted by Environment and Natural Resources. The species will be featured in an upcoming Hinterland Who's Who PSA to be shot in Churchill, Man. this summer.

The subject matter for Hinterland Who’s Who is selected based on a set of guidelines by a steering committee, made up of representatives from Canadian Wildlife Federation and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Last year’s PSA focused on the American eel and round-leaved sundew – a carnivorous fish and plant.

“We figured we were good to go back to mammals for a little bit and, for some reason, we've never done the beluga whale, which is pretty cool,” Langlois said.

HWH crews will be in the northern Manitoba town over four days in early August, with plans to release the new PSA next summer.

This comes as HWH celebrates the success of its 2022 video of the long-billed curlew, which won gold at the WorldMediaFestival’s Television and Corporate Media Awards in Germany. That PSA was filmed in the Saskatchewan Grasslands and showcased the little-known migratory species, which is also the continent’s largest shorebird.

“It sort of gives you a boost to keep on going to produce those videos, and people are enjoying them, so it's the best feeling ever.”