Where there was once ice at 80 degrees North now there is none and we can travel there freely. It just up and disappeared in a few brief days, taken by currents. SEE Svalbard Ice Charts for our journey HERE.
The island archipelago of Svalbard is known for having more polar bears than just about any other Arctic locale. Queries to two local cab drivers yesterday assured me the bears in Longyearbyen have all moved on to the North, swimming and trekking hundreds of miles to get to the ice where the seals are. Still, it's necessary to carry a loaded rifle each time hiking or kayaking plans take you out of the small village. There could be that one lone bear still roaming around these parts, half starved and a little crazed looking for food. One can't be too careful.
Aboard ship some passengers are lulled into a false sense of security. Because we are protected by the ship the bears appear sometimes intimidated. This would not be the case while walking or kayaking. Vulnerability changes dramatically once exposed and without protection of a ship.
When we encounter polar bears on our forays through the broken up sea ice they're alone and looking for food. The ship is bigger, way bigger, than they are and often times are frightened off by the sound, before we even get close. The shots I provide are given to me by passengers with high powered lenses enabling them some stunning up close photos.
While taking them kayaking people sometimes have a false sense that we are intimidating, that should we encounter polar bears all we need to do is link our arms and scare them off. This couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is that we are warm meat and they are hungry. Simple as that.
Aboard ship some passengers are lulled into a false sense of security. Because we are protected by the ship the bears appear sometimes intimidated. This would not be the case while walking or kayaking. Vulnerability changes dramatically once exposed and without protection of a ship.
When we encounter polar bears on our forays through the broken up sea ice they're alone and looking for food. The ship is bigger, way bigger, than they are and often times are frightened off by the sound, before we even get close. The shots I provide are given to me by passengers with high powered lenses enabling them some stunning up close photos.
While taking them kayaking people sometimes have a false sense that we are intimidating, that should we encounter polar bears all we need to do is link our arms and scare them off. This couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is that we are warm meat and they are hungry. Simple as that.
Polar bears will watch for certain behaviors yet even the most intimidating behavior on our part won't protect us. One thing for sure is that no two bears are alike. Even researchers in the field with years of experience have no way of predicting one bears' behavior over anothers. They're totally unpredictable and unique. The common knowledge around Longyearbyen is, "Polar bears are different, they stalk anything that moves." They are the only predator on earth that stalks humans. And all are hungry for now is the season of finding fewer seals on which to dine.
We saw a bear last trip that was so lethargic, hungry and exhausted I'd dubbed it Sad Bear. It had ambled who knows how many miles over hard scrabble, scree, moraine and tundra to get to a shore line where there was the last bit of rotting blubber from a sperm whale that had washed ashore two years ago. They'll eat anything just to fill their stomachs. The male bear had dined and fallen asleep by the time we got there by zodiac. Quietly and stealthily we ventured in, making slow sweeps, first far off and with each succeeding pass a bit closer until we were very near shore and to the bear. It barely reacted. It was as though it had been tired with the exhaustion of just living, each movement harder than the last. It wasn't emaciated but it was thin. You know that feeling when you've eaten something rotten and fell into bed and couldn't move for the next 8 hours? It had that appearance, the body movements slow, laborious, as though it had to think about each and every movement and somehow muster the energy to create it. There was no fight left in it. It was dirty and had lost the will to clean itself. A happy bear swims and stays clean. It finally woke up and ever so slowly began to amble away. Or maybe the bear had simply overdone it. It's hard to say. Not wanting to stress it further we turned toward the sea and away.
So we continued on, and each day the satellite ice charts revealed the ice moving northward. This is the first trip of the season that the Akademik Shokalskiy was able to fully circumnavigate the island archipelago of Svalbard.
This island mass is unique. The only reason these islands are not completely encased by sea ice, as are most areas of similar latitude, is that the surrounding waters are warmed by the last of the Caribbean Gulf Stream current that threads its way up the Norwegian coast. Still, thick pans of drifting ice often clog the coast, rendering it impassable for most of the season. Until just a few days before my first trip, that is.
At the end of July I'd received an email from my sister, Susan, who was Expedition Leader aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov, our sturdy Russian icebreaker coming from the Siberian Arctic, that they were unable to connect with the Shokalskiy in order to receive their guns and ammo, the ice was too thick. But now the 'warm' waters and currents have swept away all ice and allowed us free passage up and around the northern end of the island group.
We celebrated crossing over the 80 degree North position by ringing the ships' brass bell and the captain blasting our ship horn. What a ruckus! We toasted each other with hot chocolate and rum on the deck, at about OC (32F).
Other bear sightings have been during that time when we were as far north off the shores of Svalbard as we could get, and where we ventured into the frozen sea ice. The little ship broke through the ice as far as it could until it finally stopped, getting into ice too thick for its ice strengthened hull to penetrate. There followed an hours' worth of advancing and retreating while cranking the wheel in a series of 'K turns' to get the ship heading back out again. In this area is where we saw a total of 6 lone bears, hunting on the ice. Each was frightened by the ship and retreated. It's not our habit nor do we like chasing bears, if they are frightened we stop our advance and sit quietly or back our way out.
Eventually we would travel about 800 miles in 10 days to fully circumnavigate the island group. This is something the Expedition Leader and assistant have reveled and delighted in for it means that, unlike the Antarctic Peninsula, they get to choose where we go ashore. Anywhere and everwhere there is free rein. One outstanding source of inspiration has been the web page and books by Rolf Stange. He freely shares an incredible wealth of knowledge, particularly in his books, which can be found on his page. Highly recommended.
We saw a bear last trip that was so lethargic, hungry and exhausted I'd dubbed it Sad Bear. It had ambled who knows how many miles over hard scrabble, scree, moraine and tundra to get to a shore line where there was the last bit of rotting blubber from a sperm whale that had washed ashore two years ago. They'll eat anything just to fill their stomachs. The male bear had dined and fallen asleep by the time we got there by zodiac. Quietly and stealthily we ventured in, making slow sweeps, first far off and with each succeeding pass a bit closer until we were very near shore and to the bear. It barely reacted. It was as though it had been tired with the exhaustion of just living, each movement harder than the last. It wasn't emaciated but it was thin. You know that feeling when you've eaten something rotten and fell into bed and couldn't move for the next 8 hours? It had that appearance, the body movements slow, laborious, as though it had to think about each and every movement and somehow muster the energy to create it. There was no fight left in it. It was dirty and had lost the will to clean itself. A happy bear swims and stays clean. It finally woke up and ever so slowly began to amble away. Or maybe the bear had simply overdone it. It's hard to say. Not wanting to stress it further we turned toward the sea and away.
So we continued on, and each day the satellite ice charts revealed the ice moving northward. This is the first trip of the season that the Akademik Shokalskiy was able to fully circumnavigate the island archipelago of Svalbard.
This island mass is unique. The only reason these islands are not completely encased by sea ice, as are most areas of similar latitude, is that the surrounding waters are warmed by the last of the Caribbean Gulf Stream current that threads its way up the Norwegian coast. Still, thick pans of drifting ice often clog the coast, rendering it impassable for most of the season. Until just a few days before my first trip, that is.
At the end of July I'd received an email from my sister, Susan, who was Expedition Leader aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov, our sturdy Russian icebreaker coming from the Siberian Arctic, that they were unable to connect with the Shokalskiy in order to receive their guns and ammo, the ice was too thick. But now the 'warm' waters and currents have swept away all ice and allowed us free passage up and around the northern end of the island group.
We celebrated crossing over the 80 degree North position by ringing the ships' brass bell and the captain blasting our ship horn. What a ruckus! We toasted each other with hot chocolate and rum on the deck, at about OC (32F).
Other bear sightings have been during that time when we were as far north off the shores of Svalbard as we could get, and where we ventured into the frozen sea ice. The little ship broke through the ice as far as it could until it finally stopped, getting into ice too thick for its ice strengthened hull to penetrate. There followed an hours' worth of advancing and retreating while cranking the wheel in a series of 'K turns' to get the ship heading back out again. In this area is where we saw a total of 6 lone bears, hunting on the ice. Each was frightened by the ship and retreated. It's not our habit nor do we like chasing bears, if they are frightened we stop our advance and sit quietly or back our way out.
Eventually we would travel about 800 miles in 10 days to fully circumnavigate the island group. This is something the Expedition Leader and assistant have reveled and delighted in for it means that, unlike the Antarctic Peninsula, they get to choose where we go ashore. Anywhere and everwhere there is free rein. One outstanding source of inspiration has been the web page and books by Rolf Stange. He freely shares an incredible wealth of knowledge, particularly in his books, which can be found on his page. Highly recommended.
This is my first posting from Svalbard and there will many more as I rest up for the next 10 days before getting back aboard for my last 10-day trip. Included in future postings: birds, plants, more polar bear, reindeer, walrus, fox and ice.
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