Polar Bear Country

Our morning started off with an amazing sighting of a female walrus with a 2-3-month-old calf that was nursing. Our boat slowly drifted towards them. As we inched closer, I decided to try to get eye level… I laid belly down on the deck, sticking my telephoto lens out of a small opening on the deck. I stayed this way for what felt like forever, in the bitter cold, in the snow, laying on a freezing floor… but the pictures are SO worth it.

After this amazing sighting, we took a zodiac cruise in a calm lagoon where we photographed birds taking flight. 

Bird in flight, passing by our zodiac.

Birds taking off from the ice.

Glacial melt water was pouring towards us in such a strong current, however, that we were barely moving going against it. Finally, we reached a piece of drift ice that we could actually walk on. We then proceeded to a landing, where our guides had to scout the best place to land. Due to strong swells, we had to move to a different location to be able to land and anchor the zodiacs to the snow. We did a small loop, walking along the shore and then up a ridge for a nice view of the fjord. We also passed by an emergency hut (and old trapper cabin) complete with bunk beds.

Panorama of the landscape we were hiking on.

Trapper cabin.

Inside of the trapper cabin.

Polar bear bones.

In the afternoon, we did a second landing to an island with different colored rocks (more light brown in color). The increased wind made for a cold zodiac cruise in search of other wildlife, which we did not find. 

Snow sitting on top of the beach.

Our photo guide, Gerry, hiking along the shore.

Later in the evening, we saw another female walrus with a newborn calf… Blood from the afterbirth was still on the ice! Unfortunately, these two were skittish and disappeared in the water before we could get too close. When the walrus became a protected species in 1952, there were only about 50 animals left in Svalbard. Today, there are at least 3,800 (making for great walrus sightings so far).

We spent the night in a protected bay, giving us a break from the rough waters we’ve experienced so far. The following morning, we set sail for the pack ice, which shifted more in our direction since we left Longyearbyen. 

Sailing through the pack ice.

Our guides said they spotted some seals and birds, which is a good sign for bears. In the meantime, we spent the morning cruising along a 3 mile long glacier. As we proceeded to the northeast in search of the pack ice, we came across a group of three walrus. Wrapped in my three layers of shirts, three layers of pants, two layers of socks, thick water/windproof boots, two layers of beanies, a buff, and two layers of gloves to stay warm, I photographed these three until they disappeared into the water. 

After an otherwise uneventful afternoon as far as wildlife sightings, it was time to head back in the other direction (away from the pack ice). Because our guides didn’t see any bear tracks and scouted the pack ice for quite some time, they decided it was best to look for bears in another area with ice to give us the best chances of seeing one.

Landscape shot from the boat.

Broken up ice leading away from the glacier.

Panorama from the boat. 

Specs of light shine through, providing some of the most dramatic lighting I've ever seen.

On the morning of May 26, we arrived at a tiny island in the middle of nowhere. All you could see within hundreds of miles was sea and the occasional ice. Prior to disembarkation for the island, one of our guides had mentioned he had never come to this island without seeing a bear. As we walked around the tiny strip of land, up and down the beach, our guides were constantly on the lookout—even more so than usual. 

Panorama of the small strip of snowy beach. 

Washed up ice lines the narrow beach.

After about two hours of photographing the landscape, they said it was time to go back to the ship to keep on schedule. As we headed back, we stopped to photograph the bluest iceberg I've ever seen. With dramatic skies, it looks photoshopped, but this is just some of the beauty the Arctic holds.

The captain had already turned the ship around when our guide came knocking on the cabin doors… they had spotted a polar bear on that same island! The captain turned back towards the island, sailing along the coast as we sat in the extreme cold waiting for the perfect shot. If I thought yesterday was cold, boy was I in for a surprise today. Three layers of shirts, three layers of pants, two layers of socks, water/windproof boots, a beanie, a face mask, a buff, a scarf, and three layers of gloves and I was STILL cold. Standing on the bow of the ship with my 600mm lens, my hopes of getting a good photograph were diminishing when all of a sudden our guide said “Ok, let’s try with the zodiacs now”. Just like that, the entire crew came outside and lowered the two zodiacs as we put on more layers of clothes and grabbed more camera gear. Less than five minutes later, we were racing into the wind, across the water. 

Photographing the polar bear from the zodiacs-- totally eye level!

For nearly an hour, we crouched low in the zodiacs photographing the bear from a distance I never imagined possible. I had seen polar bears in the Greenland and Canadian High Arctic, but never this close. We were so close that at one point, the 3-year old female polar bear even perceived us as a threat and charged into the water towards us! Below are some of my favorite photographs, because you can never have too many polar bear pictures!

The polar bear approaching our zodiac.

Shaking off, possibly to dry off after a recent swim.

Intensely staring, watching us. 

Tongue out! 

With no pack ice around, this bear could have done with some food though with the bird populations here she could easily get an egg. Polar bears have been known to swim more than 120 miles without rest in search for food but since she is still so young (polar bears stay with their mothers for two years), she doesn’t seem to take the risk of heading for the ice. Instead, she will most likely wait until the ice comes back and then she will move with the ice. 722 photographs and one hour later, we were back on board sailing once more.

Dramatic lighting in Svalbard.

Thanks for reading about my Arctic adventures... Stay tuned for more and be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified of new posts! As always, follow my instagram @elissatitle for more pics.