Edgeoya
Isbjörn, or ice bear, is the Norwegian name for what most of us call the polar bear. This incredible animal, as we have learned throughout this voyage, is tied to the ice. Ice is a subject we have been discussing frequently, from changes to it, abundance of it, and of course for its importance to the ecosystem. Today, according to the most current ice charts, we were expecting Storfjord to be ice free, but luckily for us it was packed with small bits of ice. Why were we lucky? Because, we had two very different, but equally amazing encounters with isbjörns today, thanks to this ice.
An early morning call had most of us charging out of bed to witness a fresh kill attended by three polar bears. Two massive adult males were both on the same small berg, near to the seal carcass that they were feasting on. As we arrived one was actively feeding, while the other seemed so sated that it had plopped on the ice in what many of us may call a “food coma”. On a nearby berg floated a third bear, this one a subadult that was respectfully waiting its turn for the other two to move on. And move on is what the feeding bear did, as it swam to the next iceberg, and then proceeded to rub and roll around on the ice, especially cleaning much of the blood off of its face. Seeing two adult male bears sharing a seal kill while a younger bear patiently waits its turn was certainly a spectacular way to begin the day.
Our second encounter began after returning to the ship following a wonderful walk amongst the reindeer on the island of Edgeoya. A mother and cub were spotted curled up together, asleep on an iceberg. They slowly woke up, and roamed around a bit, and gently interacted with each other. Our captain skillfully maneuvered the National Geographic Endeavour to provide the best looks possible, but more importantly, to not disturb the bears. The bears wandered around their berg for a while, showing off their jet black tongues, and then settled down to sleep as we backed away and left them in peace. Two very different experiences; one exciting and gory, the other much more delicate and sensuous. Both equally as satisfying.
Isbjörn, or ice bear, is the Norwegian name for what most of us call the polar bear. This incredible animal, as we have learned throughout this voyage, is tied to the ice. Ice is a subject we have been discussing frequently, from changes to it, abundance of it, and of course for its importance to the ecosystem. Today, according to the most current ice charts, we were expecting Storfjord to be ice free, but luckily for us it was packed with small bits of ice. Why were we lucky? Because, we had two very different, but equally amazing encounters with isbjörns today, thanks to this ice.
An early morning call had most of us charging out of bed to witness a fresh kill attended by three polar bears. Two massive adult males were both on the same small berg, near to the seal carcass that they were feasting on. As we arrived one was actively feeding, while the other seemed so sated that it had plopped on the ice in what many of us may call a “food coma”. On a nearby berg floated a third bear, this one a subadult that was respectfully waiting its turn for the other two to move on. And move on is what the feeding bear did, as it swam to the next iceberg, and then proceeded to rub and roll around on the ice, especially cleaning much of the blood off of its face. Seeing two adult male bears sharing a seal kill while a younger bear patiently waits its turn was certainly a spectacular way to begin the day.
Our second encounter began after returning to the ship following a wonderful walk amongst the reindeer on the island of Edgeoya. A mother and cub were spotted curled up together, asleep on an iceberg. They slowly woke up, and roamed around a bit, and gently interacted with each other. Our captain skillfully maneuvered the National Geographic Endeavour to provide the best looks possible, but more importantly, to not disturb the bears. The bears wandered around their berg for a while, showing off their jet black tongues, and then settled down to sleep as we backed away and left them in peace. Two very different experiences; one exciting and gory, the other much more delicate and sensuous. Both equally as satisfying.
