A polar bear swims amongst the ice floes. Sailing along the ice edge north of Svalbard we came across this male polar bear. He watched as we approached and he was totally relaxed. Eventually he slid into the water backwards and swam parallel to us for quite awhile. En route he passed by a second bear which had a passing interest in the swimming bear but did little other than get up and watch the male swim by. Eventually, the bear hauled himself out of the water onto an ice floe and wandered off. Lots of fulmars were flying around as a polar bear swims amongst the ice floes. The polar bear, an icon of the arctic, is supremely well adapted to this icy and watery environment. They are truly marine mammals. The silence of the arctic is lovely.
Filming this was a challenge. Our ship was drifting in the current and there was a significant swell. This made for a rather unstable platform for filming. This was exacerbated by the distance between the ship and the bear
Key words: Arctic, Svalbard, Norway, expedition, voyage, pack ice, ice, floe, sea, swell, wildlife, nature, animals, Polar Bear, Ice bear, bear, male, swim, swimming, fulmar, sea birds, bird, birds, birding, birdwatching