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[00:00.40] Churchill, Manitoba is a small, rural Canadian town that lives with neighboring predators and loves it.

[00:13.15] That is because the predators — a polar bear population — attract the visitors who saved the town’s economy after a military base there closed.

[00:28.55] Tourists wanting to see the bears bring millions of dollars into the local economy.

[00:37.05] However, the bears are entering the town more often in search of food.

[00:45.02] Researchers say the sea ice where the bears normally hunt is shrinking.

[00:52.46] Geoff York is with Polar Bears International, a nonprofit environmental group based in Manitoba.

[01:03.08] York said: “You're seeing more bears because there are more bears on the land for longer periods of time to be seen” and they are willing to take more risks, getting closer to people.

[01:20.88] There are about 600 polar bears in this Western Hudson Bay population.

[01:27.79] Environmentalists say that is about half what it was 40 years ago.

[01:34.95] Humans in Churchill outnumber the bears although not by very many.

[01:41.60] It has been more than 10 years since a polar bear attacked anyone in Churchill.

[01:49.04] But townspeople look out for each other and tourists with a warning system and guards. There is even a polar bear jail.

[02:12.41] Sergeant Ian Van Nest is a Manitoba province conservation officer.

[02:12.94] He recently guarded the streets of Churchill in his truck.

[02:14.00] It was the beginning of polar bear season in Churchill.

[02:18.52] The vehicle is equipped with a rifle and a barred back seat to hold anyone he might have to arrest.

[02:25.95] Van Nest saw a crowd of people who were watching a bear.

[02:30.47] He looked around for trouble in the area and then quietly spoke to the group's leader.

[02:40.83] “How are you today?” Van Nest asked.

[02:42.16] The group leader answered that they were all right and then asked if their gathering place is acceptable to Van Nest.

[02:49.59] “You’re good,” the officer answered.

[02:51.99] “You [have] got a lot of distance there,” he added.

[02:55.97] So, the tour group continued to watch a polar bear on some nearby rocks.

[03:01.82] Visitors interested in seeing the polar bears saved Churchill from shrinking out of existence when a military base there closed in the 1970s.

[03:16.69] The closure led to a drop in Churchill’s population, from a few thousand residents to about 870.

[03:28.11] A 2011 government study found that the average polar bear tourist spent about $5,000 per visit.

[03:40.86] The tourism adds more than $7 million yearly to the economy of the little town.

[03:49.89] Churchill has a few nice restaurants and more than 25 places where visitors can stay.