09 Aug 2016

Polar Bears Sighted Devouring Walrus for Breakfast

After our Polar Bear experience / encounter the other day nobody dreamed we would be privileged to get a better expereince.  But that is exactly what happened this morning - even before we had time to eat breakfast!

We were pushing through ice towards Herald Island (which is a seldom visited island/islet to the East of Wrangel Island) when a couple of Polar Bears were spotted on an ice floe ahead of the ship.  Some skilful manoeuvring of the ship and seamanship by the Chief Mate put the ship close to the floe.  As we approached the floe more and more bears were identified with the final count being 13 individuals.  Four of them were feeding on a freshly killed young walrus. We watched, and photographed, for probably 20 mins while these bears devoured their kill.  The encounter was made even more special by the fact that they were unconcerned about us and what we saw and photographed was a very natural event.

We continue to push through ice towards Herald.  We will be aiming to land or zodiac cruise at Herald Island, depending on how we find the weather conditions and the sea ice conditions when we arrive. This is what we come for - the unexpected - and this is also the beauty of expedition-style cruising! 

Photo: Rodney Russ