Hinlopen Strait area of Svalbard

Today was a day for the wildlife junkie. From birds to seals and walrus to bears, it was a feast of critters from early in the morning until late in the evening. Barely having time to pause to eat, there were incredible opportunities for observation and photography. We started early and finished late but why not? Here in the land where the sun will not set for quite a long time.

Starting at the bird cliffs at Cape Fanshawe before breakfast, we were instantly overwhelmed by the abundance of life in this area. Hinlopen Strait is the narrow body of water between the two largest islands in Svalbard. The bird cliffs consist of mainly two species, Thick-billed Murres and Black-legged Kittiwakes, but there are probably over 100,000 pairs of each. Deep water allows for a close approach, so wide angle or telephoto were both appropriate, and hundreds of images were taken. This was only the beginning.

During breakfast our first bear of the day was spotted, and then quickly a second. The second bear disappeared in some ice, but some blood on the ice targeted the spot where it had just finished eating a seal. After a short nap, it wandered around a bit, posing beautifully above a reflecting pool for quite a while. Ivory Gulls buzzing around overhead added to the excitement.

The search continued and a mother and cub at about four miles were a challenge, but then another bear was spotted. This bear was hunting a seal, and we watched as it just missed a meal. We continued watching as the bear put on quite a humorous show, swimming, falling through the ice, and rolling around. A few more bears were also observed during lunch, all situated in front of a stunning blue glacier.

As we attempted to move on, a couple of large walrus were spotted. One male with great tusks allowed for a close approach. Hundreds more images were snapped as he didn’t seem too concerned with us at all. We finally made it out in order to have a late afternoon nap. However, our day was not finished. After dinner, we were back at it, to continue our wildlife extravaganza. A walrus haulout made for an excellent end to a sensational day. Short walks led to a pile of walrus on a point, and we all returned onboard, just before a new day began, hopefully with many more incredible sightings like today.