The six bears encountered by local photographer Linda Steider are among just 300 remaining in Svalbard, with ice there melting seven times faster than anywhere else on earth.
The six bears encountered by local photographer Linda Steider are among just 300 remaining in Svalbard, with ice there melting seven times faster than anywhere else on earth.
Linda Steider photo
Linda Steider photo
Linda Steider photo
Linda Steider photo
Steider watched polar bears sleep, dig, scratch, sniff and swim. Here, bears pause to show off their big webbed feet and thick fur.
Walking outside of town in Longyearbyen was illegal without a weapon or a guide.
I went to Svalbard to see polar bears before they disappear. It was a profound experience, and the greatest adventure of my lifetime. For 12 days, I was in constant wonder and awe, barely able to breathe while enveloped in arctic splendor. I boarded a 12-passenger expedition ship that moved north through pack ice, then along many fjords around the island of Spitsbergen with top-tier conservation photographers guiding us.
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean halfway between Norway and the North Pole. I flew into Longyearbyen, a small village complete with a museum, art gallery, coffee shops, gift shops and a central market.
Arriving a day early to explore, my guide carried a rifle to ward off potential bear encounters, which is a requirement of all guides. Buildings are left unlocked, so that humans can duck in when bears meander through town. It’s illegal to trek outside city limits without a permitted weapon or a guide.
I learned from the museum director that Svalbard ice is melting seven times faster than anywhere else in the world. Other locals told me of shrinking glaciers, rising ocean, and diminishing habitat for wildlife.
Registered in Sweden, the ship MS Virgo employs an 11-member crew and two zodiacs, and caters to wildlife photographers. We were free to explore the ship, including the bridge where our captain greeted us, and our naturalist guides watched for wildlife from behind binoculars.
Between wildlife sightings we gathered in the observation lounge at the front of the vessel where we’d download and edit photos over coffee and conversations. The lounge provided easy access to the bow for closer looks at floating aquamarine blue ice sculptures or an occasional whale spouting in the distance.
We were awakened at all hours anytime wildlife was seen. We had 30 minutes to wriggle into giant yellow dry suits, flotation devices and rubber boots each time we used Zodiacs. As we dressed in suitable attire to stay warm and dry, our Zodiacs were lowered into the water.
One at a time we descended stairs from the ship to a Zodiac, then our camera gear was handed down. Nestled in with five other photographers, rubber boots squeaking against the boat’s rubber floor, we’d head toward the wildlife seen in our guides’ binoculars.
I didn't expect to see hundreds of bears, but I only saw six of the 300 bears remaining on Svalbard. We finally saw our first bear on day four of our voyage. It roamed a shoreline after waking from a cliffside nap, where our guides spotted it from the bridge. Settled in Zodiacs and from a safe distance, we watched him roam to the water’s edge to drink and dig into mud. Then he meandered across a rocky shoreline as we sat awestruck and completely enamored. There wasn’t one face without a smile in either Zodiac as we left.
Another bear was hunting seals between small icebergs near a shoreline. We loaded up and excitedly raced to where he swam. Only his head was seen above water, and sometimes just his eyes and nose. With webbed paws, he swam so quietly that we heard nothing, even after cutting the engine to be as unobtrusive as possible. Without a breeze, the water was calm and reflective and the misty atmosphere was magical. If there had been a seal in the area, the bear would have surprised it.
He climbed onto an iceberg, giving us fabulous photo opportunities, then swam to shore. On shore he trekked across land, stopping every so often to sniff in the snow, until settling against a giant rock at least twice his size. He stretched, scratched, yawned and dug into a patch of moss before falling asleep.
Polar bears are the world’s largest carnivorous land mammals. Males can weigh more than 1,500 pounds and have thicker necks than females. They have black skin to soak in the sun’s warmth. Their fur appears white, blending in with their habitat of snow and ice but “each hair shaft is pigment-free and transparent with a hollow core that scatters and reflects visible light.” They don’t hibernate but pregnant polar bears “den” to give birth and nurse cubs from October to March. Their lifespan is 15-30 years in the wild and they reach maturity at five to 10 years. In Svalbard they are protected unless threatening human life.
Polar bears rely on seal fat, their primary source of food. They surprise resting seals and can smell seal dens beneath snow. They pounce on top of a den, collapsing it with their weight.
We traveled nearly 1,000 nautical miles, reaching the northern latitude of 81.35. I returned home with a fierce desire to spread awareness of the rapidly shrinking ice and loss of habitat for Arctic wildlife.
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Linda Steider is a nature and wildlife photographer in White Salmon and co-owner of Made in the Gorge in Hood River. See more arctic wildlife photos at her gallery or www.steiderstudios.com and on Facebook or Instagram @Steider Studios.
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