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...
2023
Polar Bear amongst the ice floes – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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. Part 2 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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 – Svalbard 2023
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. Part 1 – Svalbard 2023
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...
Black Leopard with her kill – Laikipia, Kenya 2023
Black Leopard with her kill. The alarm calls of Guinea Fowl alerted us to the presence of a leopard. We were delighted to find that it was Giza, the famous Black Leopard (Black Panther) around Laikipia Wilderness Camp, Kenya. We got glimpses of her as she approached....
An adorable baby elephant – Laikipia, Kenya 2023
An adorable baby elephant. Near Laikipia Wilderness camp, Kenya, this herd of elephants had just crossed the river and were enjoying a sand bath. Amongst them was a tiny, baby elephant. It was also enjoying the sand bath by rolling in the sand or getting sand blown...
Sloth bear and her cubs dig for termites – India 2023
Sloth bear and her cubs dig for termites. Early one morning it was great to see this sloth bear and her two cubs in Ranthambore National Park, India. As she came into view we could see her two cubs on her back. She stopped near a tree where there was a termite mound....