10 Sep 2017

SHO: Wildlife Watching on the Taymyr Peninsula

Our second crossing (west to east) of the Northern Sea Route continues. We have passed through the Vilkitsky Strait without any difficultly, this strait has historically been one of the more difficult sections of the Northern Sea Route, we have encountered our heaviest ice here on our previous expedition. We have spent three very rewarding days in Severnaya Zemlya Islands (Northern Lands).

Our visits included a remote metrological station on Golomyannyl Island, an Ivory Gull colony, an historic site on Domashni Island as well as spending time in Shokalskiy Strait region where there are some magnificent fiords and spectacularly beautiful high arctic landscapes. The first snowfalls of winter just added another level of attractiveness to it. We visited Cape Chelyuskin (the northern most point of the Eurasian continent) before transiting the Vilkitsky Strait.

We spent the day exploring a small part of the Taymyr Peninsula and had a really great encounter with a group of Laptev Walrus, who were also being watched by a young polar bear. A Polar Bear by itself (a group might) cannot kill a walrus on land and so the only thing this bear could do was to do what we were doing and that was watch.

©OBelonovich