06 Aug 2021

33 Polar Bears on Kolyuchin Island

It was an early start to a spectacular day as we saw the first Polar Bears of Heritage Expeditions Across the Top of the World voyage to Wrangel Island. We spotted our first Polar Bear ship cruising the east coast of Kolyuchin Island and not long after another, then another and another.

With 18 Polar Bears at our first landing we had to skip visiting the abandoned weather station and bird cliffs, instead spending this time observing these magnificent animals, mostly females with cubs, as they ambled over the island's grassy slopes.

Zodiac cruising the bird cliffs our total Polar Bear count for the day came in at an incredible 33 well-fed and healthy Polar Bears. Spirit of Enderby is now sailing towards Wrangel Island - the world's Polar Bear denning capital - excited at what we might see there.

Image © J.Mishina, Heritage Expeditions