Polar Bear with cub cross the fast ice. There was a vast expanse of fast ice in Raudfjord, Svalbard in June 2023. The ice was dotted with seals which had hauled out. In the distance we spotted a Polar Bear and her cub as they set off across the fast ice. Although they...
Polar Bear amongst the ice floes. A Polar Bear was exploring the ice floes in northern Svalbard. The ice was majestic and a beautiful contrast to the sea. The Polar Bear picked his way through the ice then had to swim to the next ice floe. It gave a big shake of the...
Polar Bears play with ice. Polar Bears like to have fun! In Svalbard we saw bears playing with bits of ice on several occasions. I guess there is little else to play with. Although we have sen them playing with drift wood, aerosol cans and fishing gear. It is such a...
Polar Bear strolls across the ice. Svalbard is perhaps the perfect place to watch Polar Bears on the pack ice. In June 2023 there was a lot of ice to the north of Svalbard and much of it was nicely sculptured. We saw this male Polar Bear making his way across the ice....
Polar Bear on a seal kill. As we pushed through the ice heading into Raudfjord, Svalbard we could see many Glaucous Gulls in the distance. This indicated the presence of a carcass. As we got closer it was evident that a Polar Bear had taken a Bearded Seal. There was...
Swimming Polar Bear. Svalbard in June is blessed with 24 hours of sunshine each day. It was early in the morning when the light was perfect that we found this male Polar Bear swimming amongst the ice floes. He checked out the ice from both the water and the ice floes....
Polar Bear cubs of the year play with mum. A Polar Bear and her two cubs of the year (COYS) were making their way across the fast ice in Raudfjord, Svalbard. The sun was beating down causing some significant shimmer. As we watched one of the cubs ran towards its...
Playful Polar Bear cubs of the year. In Svalbard’s Raudfjord, a Polar Bear and her two cubs of the year (COYS) were making their leisurely way across the fast ice. The cubs became quite boisterous and began playing with each other. Their mother looked on with...
Curious Polar Bear cubs of the year. In Northern Svalbard we had watched a female Polar Bear and her two cubs of the year (COYS) for quite some time. However, they were very distant. Then curiosity got the better of them and they moved closer towards us. They were...
Polar Bear plays with drift wood. In Raudfjord in the north of Svalbard, we found this 1.5 year old male polar bear. We had been watching him for several hours when he appeared from the water carrying a piece of drift wood. He immediately began to play with this stick...
Playful Polar Bear. This 1.5 yr old male Polar Bear had been close to our icebreaker for some time, in Svalbard’s, Raudfjord. He had played with drift wood, blocks of ice and even some old fishing ropes. It was great entertainment. He became more inquisitive and...
Kittiwakes follow our ship. There was a lot of ice around Svalbard in the summer of 2023. As our ship pushed through the ice north of Svalbard Polar Cod were exposed from below the ice. This brought in lots of Kittiwakes as they like to feast on these delicacies. The...
Svalbard Reindeer cross the fast ice. In Svalbard’s Raudfjord, we spotted four small specks in the distance. They were clearly not Polar Bears. As they got closer it was obvious that they were Svalbard Reindeer. They made their way slowly but surely across the fast...
Polar Bear explores the pack ice. In June 2023 there was a lot of ice around the shores of Northern Svalbard. As we pushed our way through the ice we found this young male Polar Bear exploring the ice. He was on the look out for his favourite food - seals. One never...
Polar Bear reflections. This young male Polar Bear was wandering amongst the ice floes in Raudfjord, northern Svalbard. It came upon an open patch off water which provided some very nice reflections of the bear. Fortunately, he stayed near this area for some time. A...
Polar Bear and her two cubs cross the fast ice. We had tracked this Polar Bear and her two cubs of the year (COYS) for some time in Svalbard’s Raudfjord. At times they came close to us. But for this shot I went wide to give a sense of the majestic beauty of Svalbard...
Polar Bear plays with drift wood. In Raudfjord in the north of Svalbard, we found this 1.5 year old male polar bear. We had been watching him for several hours when he appeared from the water carrying a piece of drift would. He immediately began to play with this...
Wolf Pack. Close to the Russian border in northeast Finland, there had been the most impressive hoar frost. The frost had covered almost every bit of foliage and the entire scene was a magical winter wonderland. The resident wolf pack had produced 6 pups in the...
Wolf in the hoar frost. As we waited in north east Finland just a few kilometres from the Russian border, a Wolf emerged from the forest edge and made its way through some dense foliage which was covered in deep hoar frost The whiteness of the frost seemed to make the...
With the Wolf pack. Our visit to northeast Finland was blessed with a stunning hoar frost which lasted for our entire stay. The resident wolf pack had produced 6 pups in the spring: five males and one female. It was very much a waiting game hoping the wolves would...