It is always nice to be back in the ice! After dinner last night we encountered the first sea ice, off the southern tip of Edgeøya, and we continued to explore the ice until midnight. It was mainly broken up first winter ice and many eyes were searching for elusive yellowish spots in the dirty ice. Much of the brownish coloration of the ice is caused by diatoms, which grow on the underside of the ice and the ice breakup and melting makes it look even dirtier. Our searching efforts were rewarded with a few walrus sightings on ice floes and finally we knew we were about to enter the home of the polar bear, better maybe called ‘ice bears,’ as we saw plenty of footprints on the ice.
Soon to bed to catch a few hours sleep, while maybe dreaming about the white bears. Long before breakfast our expedition leader Lucho came over the PA system to announce our first polar bear. Geared up guests eager to see their first wild polar bear in its own environment, the sea ice, filled the bow, top, and observation decks. The captain took the ship deep into the ice and we got many nice views. Our first bear was likely an ‘older teenager’ male, and it did not show any interest in the ship and continued its vagabond life on the ice.
Through the morning our search for ‘white furry creatures’ continued, while our Global Perspectives guest speaker, the former prime minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland gave her insight into Norway’s history and politics.
Just before lunch another polar bear was sighted, this time an older female, which showed an interest in the ship and approached closely. Our hotel manager had to use his sign and walk around the outside decks to ‘announce’ that it was time for lunch. As we want to keep the noise level to the minimum we do not make any announcements on the outside deck if we are close to any wildlife.
After lunch we continued making our way through sea ice and were rewarded with more polar bears while our Norwegian staffer Carl Erik Kilander gave us a presentation about Svalbard and his time working here in the governor’s office. Soon after two polar bears were spotted right in front of the ship’s bow—two sibling bears born in 2015 and left the den by April last year. They had just been feeding on a seal and were more interested in digesting the good food. In the distance saw a much larger bear, most likely the adult female. She now has to be an excellent hunter as she has to feed herself and two almost fully grown cubs. The weather changed and we felt the blustery Arctic wind and a flurry of snow in the air. The setting was perfect to help us appreciate how well the ice bears are designed to survive in this very harsh environment.
During the day we also sighted walrus and seals (bearded & harp) on the ice floes and for the birders, the Arctic icon, and the all-white ivory gull. For afternoon tea our hotel manager arranged reindeer mixed with trumpeter mushroom and topped with lingonberry on pita bread. Feeding opportunities are never far away aboard.
After dinner we continued north in Hinlopen, the body of water that separates the main island Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet with its major icecap. We finally found some nice fast ice or sea ice, which is attached to land in a sheltered fjord or bay. Here we were able to spot more bears, including a distant female with a cub. The final count on bears today ended with 18, including several quality bears.
