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© Thérèse Horntrich

Polar bears & Zodiac cruising

Following the light breeze of this early morning, we sailed into Raudfjorden, going from one ice flow to the other until we reached the edge of the fast ice.

As the ship was finding a stationary position along the ice, the expedition team had already spotted two polar bears, probably a mating couple, another and a cub, and a lonely polar bear in the far distance. Breakfast had not been served yet, but we could already enjoy the sighting of these five majestic creatures through the binoculars, as well as some minke whales surfacing close to the ship.

As we were observing these bears living their lives on the ice, another one was spotted far away on the pack ice walking towards the inside of the fjord. As soon as we understood his goal, which was the opposite coast from the ship, we jumped into our floating suites, got into the Zodiac, and started to make our way towards the coastline.

From the distance, we could see this beautiful mammal walking along the ice until he found what we first thought was a rock. However, we were surprised that it was dragged by the polar bear and floated on the water. We were then not sure whether it was a large seal or a dead walrus, but we chose the latter when we saw that the polar bear could not get its sharp teeth through the skin of the floating blob. The polar bear tried to grab it and bring it up on land without much success. We were lucky to observe this interesting behavior for a while before heading back to the ship for a well-deserved lunch and another afternoon full of exciting adventures.

  • © Thérèse Horntrich
  • © Thérèse Horntrich
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Please note: Depending on the lens used for a photo or video shot an animal may appear to be closer than it is. We always follow strict wildlife guidelines to ensure that we do not cause any disturbance.

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