Arctic birds: Fulmars and Guillemots. In the Arctic, the temptation is to focus on the iconic species. But the birds are always fun to watch. Here Fulmars and Guillemots appear at one with the ice
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Walrus – Svalbard 2019
The mighty icon of the Arctic. This Walrus haul out was on Amsterdamoya. The Walrus were not very active but the setting was lovely and various birds did fly bys.
Magnificent Polar Bears of Svalbard, 2019
The magnificent Polar Bear. On our recent expedition to Svalbard we had numerous encounters with Polar Bears. Most of these have already appeared on my website. Here is a compliation of some of the other encounters. They include a gorgeous bear walking on the ice...
Arctic Fox kit – Svalbard 2019
Arctic Fox kit. The perfect Arctic Fox encounter. At Alkhornet on Svabard, we found three Arctic Fox kits high up in the rocks. One of them ran off but whilst we were watching the remaining two the third appeared behind us and ran to join the others. It stopped en...
Polar bear on an aquatic hunt for a bearded seal – Svalbard 2019
Polar bear on an aquatic hunt for a bearded seal When we found her, this female polar bear was clearly hunting and in the distance we could see her prey: a beared seal. What followed was a perfect example of an aqautic hunt except she failed to catch her prey. She...
Essence of the Arctic: Pushing through the ice floes – Svalbard 2019
Essence of the Arctic: Pushing through the ice floes. On the M/S Malmo we spent a lot of time pushing through the ice around Svalbard. The colours in the sky, reflections in the sea and the patterns in the ice made for a wonderful experience. The wonders of the Arctic!
Close encounter with a polar bear – Svalbard 2019
Close encounter with a polar bear. Near Wahlenbergfjoden in Svalbard, this lovely looking female was spotted asleep on the ice in the distance. As we approached very slowly, she woke, rolled over and made her way towards us. The ice was wonderful and the reflections...
The mighty Walrus on ice – Svalbard 2019
The mighty Walrus on ice. It is always special to see Walrus hauled out on ice floes. It was comical to see the youngster rubbing itself on the ice. In the second clip blood can be seen running down the tusk of the mother. It was unclear what had caused the damage but...
Two polar bears vie for a seal carcass – Svalbard 2019
Two polar bears vie for a seal carcass. Getting food is tough in the Arctic! On the ice near Svalbard, this large male polar bear had killed a beared seal and you can see from the state he is in that he had been feasting on the kill for some time. The younger male...
Polar bear on a seal kill – Svalbard 2016
This male polar bear looked well fed after consuming most of the seal kill. It is interesting to seeing the bear eat blood-soaked ice. The digestive after effects of eating seal meat becomes obvious.
Huge male polar bear defends his seal kill from an interested female – Svalbard 2016
Raw power! Huge male polar bear defends his seal kill from an interested female. There was only one winner!This huge male polar bear had been dragging the seal kill around the pack ice for some time. The female bear had been watching but keeping her distance. He...
Gannets – Bempton Cliffs, UK 2018
It was very windy at Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire! The Gannets took full advantage and were soaring and wheeling in the breeze. These magnificent birds are highly social and nest in large colonies on steep, rocky cliffs. With a wing span of up to 1.8m they are...
Polar bears with cubs – Svalbard 2018
The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) is the iconic species of the Arctic. They are normally found near the floe edge where they hunt seals most notably Ringed Seals. On this trip we found several bears on Walrus kills and saw very few seals. Polar Bears will also take...
A Polar Bear scavenging at the ice edge – Svalbard 2017
A Polar Bear scavenging at the ice edge. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We...
A Polar Bear plays with a Narwhal’s penis – Svalbard 2017
A Polar Bear plays with a Narwhal's penis. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We...
Two Polar Bear cubs play with a block of ice – Svalbard 2017
Two Polar Bear cubs play with a block of ice. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears....
Polar Bears with a male Narwhal carcass – Svalbard 2017
Polar Bears with a male Narwhal carcass. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We...
A polar bear family take time out – Svalbard 2017
A polar bear family take time out. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We had the...
A Polar Bear with triplet yearlings – Svalbard 2017
A Polar Bear with triplet yearlings. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We had...
Triplet Polar Bear yearlings – Svalbard 2017
Triplet Polar Bear yearlings. Our fifth trip to these amazing Arctic Islands. This was a very special trip: a private charter aboard the M/S Malmo for twenty nights. This gave us the maximum time possible in the pack ice as we searched for Polar Bears. We had the most...