Sea ice and polar bear

There was a little bit of a swell overnight as we crossed open sea, heading north towards the sea ice. We woke to see the fog gone and bright sunshine – at 4.00 AM! After that I didn't sleep so well, and we were up quite early even though for once there was no wakeup call.

At his briefing on the previous day Ryan had told us that he’d persuaded our captain to head north today in search of the edge of the ice. So the first part of the morning was spent in open waters, with little to see.

After breakfast we spent a bit of time in the library on deck six, checking out the bird guides and a beautiful Arctic photography book. After a while we could see the line of sea ice on the horizon. We took a few photos outside but it was pretty chilly, so we went back to the cabin for our parkas then headed up to the observation deck.

By this time a lot of the passengers were out there as well as most of the expedition team guides. The movement of the ice as we watched from the edge was mesmerising, almost as if it were breathing. And it was completely unlike the icebergs we had seen elsewhere, each piece being flat and a similar depth to the others.

After a while we came to a stop and people started to say that there was a polar bear out near one of those other ships. We zoomed in with our cameras and scanned the scene with binoculars, and eventually saw a smudgy yellow/grey object moving among the ice! OK we thought, we've seen a polar bear. Then I overheard someone say there was a second bear near the other ship, so I tried to make that one out.

At first I could see nothing there but ice. Before long however I could pick out the bear and saw he was coming in our direction. I followed him with my camera, taking photos at intervals as he approached.

Gradually I realised that he was so close I no longer needed to be on full zoom, then barely on zoom at all.

Before I knew it he was immediately in front of the ship, then so close that he was hidden from view.

He made his way along the port side to the stern, and so did most of us! Expedition team members, also thrilled at the encounter, told us he was a young male, probably just a couple of years old.

After a short while there, and more photos, he started to return the way he had come, stopping for a scratch as he departed!

The ship let out a collective 'ahhh', as we all came back down to earth.

We dropped off our parkas, hats and gloves then went to lunch. We were joined by one of the expedition team, Kelly, a kayaking coach, who was nearly as excited by the morning’s events as we were. Although not experienced as an Arctic guide she reckoned it would perhaps only be once in a season that a bear would approach so close to the ship. And even that might have been overly optimistic as Nicola, the very experienced expedition manager, told me later it was ten years since she'd seen one approach a ship so closely!

We lingered in the sea ice for much of the afternoon and while nothing so exciting happened, that didn't matter. The team produced a sign indicating how far north we were (82°24.7′N, the furthest north the Ocean Explorer had ever been, as well as most of us, as so far she had only been used for Antarctic expeditions) and one of the guides dressed up as a polar bear for a bit of silliness. Mid-afternoon there was bubbly served in the observation lounge as well as sandwiches and cakes. The whole ship was in party mood!

Before dinner there was the usual recap and briefing. We saw some of Kris's excellent photos and Ema gave us a presentation about the lives and habits of polar bears.

We ate dinner with Sue and Rob and with Andy, the expedition doctor from Colorado. We then decided to skip the evening bar talk, on sailors' slang, in favour of a quiet evening in our cabin as the ship made her way back south. And while I feel the need to apologise for the large number of polar bear shots in this post, please believe me when I say that this is just a fraction of the number I took!

Note:

By law in Svalbard it is prohibited to disturb, attract, or pursue polar bears unnecessarily. From January 1, 2025, new distance requirements for polar bears were introduced: you must keep at least 300 meters away from a polar bear. Between March 1 and June 30, the requirement is at least 500 meters. If you spot a bear closer than the legal distance, you are obligated to retreat. So why were we able to observe this bear so closely. There are two reasons, as I understand it. From a legal point of view, we were outside the jurisdiction of Svalbard at this point. And from a polar bear protection point of view, to start up the ship’s engine and retreat would have caused our young visitor much more distress than simply staying still and (relatively) quiet.