31 Jul 2017

SOE: Polar Bear Tally High on Day 1

What a day our first day at Wrangel Island has been! We started with an early start as we reached ice close to Wrangel Island at 5am. Our expeditioners woke up at 6.30am to an incredible vista of ice and sunlight. Just a quarter of an hour later, to much delight, we spotted our first Polar Bear of the trip. A mother and her two cubs crossed the ice just sixty metres from the ship, providing excellent views for our hastily dressed expeditioners, who watched from the bow and bridge of the ship. 

We relucantly returned inside for breakfast, before a call of walrus came from the bridge and we were treated to views of these creatures less than one hundred metres away. Unbelievably, all this excitement had happened even before our first landing, so we prepared to go onshore. Firstly we cruised in the zodiacs to see Polar Bears feasting on a carcass on Wrangel's stony beach, before being welcomed by Wrangel's rangers and enjoyed a walk ashore where we enjoyed seeing cute foxes, tiny flowers, shy Musk Ox and Snowy Owls. 

Our expeditioners delighted at an afternoon of bear spotting, with them often coming within 100m of the ship. Photographers were ecstatic at the light conditions particularly at approximately 4.30pm when we witnessed a Polar Bear on a kill from about 150m away. However, at about 5.30 we were lucky enough to come across a curious polar bear who came up right to the bow of the ship. We're not sure who was more curious, us or the bear, as it spent over half and hour moving from one side of the ship to the over, all while bathed in a gorgeous warm light. It was a truly remarkable ending to a momentous day that culminated in a Polar Bear count of 30, and this is only our first day in this remarkable island.