2 Sep 26

See more photos in the Arctic gallery here.

The noise of the ice scraping against the hull was initially a bit unnerving but was soon forgotten as we pushed our way into the pack ice. After all the ship was built for this. The landscape, or should that be seascape, as there is no landmass at all up here, was otherworldly. Just ice and black water over 2000m deep, with constant light in the summer. Day or night had little meaning. The light is beautiful as the low sun catches fog and clouds creating somewhat unnatural colour combinations of blue, red and yellow.

*A black and white world - in the pack ice at 82° north. Drone photo courtesy of Victor De Kaligne.*

At 82°16′ North, we were the world’s northernmost boat at that time (at least of the boats transmitting their location!). A mere 530 miles from the North Pole itself. Just ice and very cold water - what could possibly survive, let alone thrive, up here in the high Arctic? It turned out to be surprisingly active in terms of wildlife, with many bird species, seals, whales, and above all the apex predator, the polar bear. The world’s largest bear. This is their kingdom.

The polar bear is closely related to the brown bear, but larger, as the largest land-based carnivore by body mass. These big bears have larger paws than brown bears allowing them to walk on ice and swim extensively. Their teeth are sharper to allow them to more easily cut meat. Their main staple is seal. They are specialist seal hunters, and they catch seals by ambush, preying in the water or on the ice. They feed primarily on the seal’s energy rich blubber. They also prey on walrus, beluga whales, and occasionally some terrestrial animals. They are mostly solitary creatures roaming the arctic ice. Polar bears are considered marine mammals as they depend on the marine ecosystems. They prefer living on the pack ice but also live on land nearby particularly in the summer months when the ice melts.

*A powerful male bear - they don’t come much larger*

These beautiful beasts are clearly not bothered by the near sub-zero temperatures we had to endure to get a glimpse of them. The aim was to photograph the polar bears in this eerily stunning Arctic seascape. The flatness of this world helped us spot the bears, and after several hours with the binoculars, we got lucky. As it turned out, the binoculars weren’t needed. Polar bear tracks were spotted on the ice next to the boat. They looked rather fresh. There were also drag marks along the paw marks … and then we spotted stripes of red colour. The red stood out against the endless white and black surroundings. It took us another few minutes before we spotted the bear itself.

*Quite a bit of power required to pull a 250kg seal!*

A large male bear had just hunted down a bearded seal. These seals can grow up to 300kg, which tells you something about the power and size of the polar bear. This bear was probably in excess of 700kg. A majestic and terrifying creature at the same time. If you jumped off the side of the ship and onto the ice in the vicinity of this bear, one of two things would happen: Either, you’d fall through the ice and survive for 2-3 minutes in the freezing water, or the bear’s hunting instinct would kick in … and it wouldn’t take long. Better stay on that boat covered up against the 3 degrees Celsius ambient temperature and stiff breeze 😉

*The bears eat the seal blubber first due to its energy richness*

We observed this bear for a few days as it set about eating at a ferocious pace. It hardly stopped, only to snooze infrequently between helpings of seal. It could be weeks until its next meal. This is about survival. Polar bears have a remarkable sense of smell - they can sniff out odours 6-7 miles away. So, a day later, the scent of the seal carcass was picked up by a young female bear, who moved cautiously closer to the kill zone, hoping to take advantage of the situation.

*The female bear has picked up the scent of the seal carcass and is closing in*

Patience was her strategy as she waited till the large male was satiated and had an occasional snooze. Then she would nip in for a chunk of seal, until the male spotted her and chased her away. There was no way he was going to share his catch voluntarily.

This female would not have the power to kill such a large seal, and her strategy may well have been to follow the bigger male at a safe distance to pick up the less nutritious remnants of the seal carcass. She was a beautiful and elegant bear with pristine fur, not yet sullied by blood and seal oils. After many hours of waiting, she got her opportunities to feed, her patient strategy paying off.

*The female got a look in, but then she was chased off the seal carcass by the big male*

As the seal carcass diminished in size and nutrition and the bears were satisfied, the ivory gulls moved in. These rather beautiful white birds are the vultures of the ice. They will pick at the carcass until only bones are left. Another part of the cycle of life in the Arctic pack ice.

*An Ivory Gull nibbling when the polar bear snoozed …*

It was an amazing feeling to be in the vicinity of these beautiful bears, observing their behaviour over several days in this otherworldly environment which seemingly promises so little but apparently has plenty to give. Hopefully it will continue to be like this forever. A truly special place.

*Eventually the female managed to get some time with the diminished carcass*

More images from the Arctic can be found here.

The Arctic at 82° North

Patience Pays