“ Bear in the water…behind us !!! “
That line set up an unprecedented, scarcely believable few hours for us.
But, before I get into all that, let me step back a bit.
All of us know that in the wild, you will have periods of absolute inaction. We know that sightings in the wild are unpredictable. You shrug your shoulders, try to be philosophical and go with the flow. When you are in a place like Svalbard, you feast your soul with the views around you. The miles of broken ice pieces that surround you. The snow covered mountains with a halo around them. The guillemots and the fulmars flying around you. There is a lot to soak in.
However, you can’t escape that gnawing feeling inside you. That irritating feeling of restlessness. That voice in your head that reminds you that yet another day has passed without any decent image being made. The knowledge that at least one of the dream images you had in your list, that of a wide angle shot of a polar bear on one of the floating ice pieces will not happen since you are moving away after spending long, fruitless hours there.
We had now reached the bird cliffs of Alkefjellet.
These are sheer vertical cliffs, several kilometers wide where an estimated 50,000 to 75,000 guillemots nest along with smaller numbers of kittiwakes and gulls. It’s an incredibly noisy place with birds flying all around you, constantly shrieking, landing noisily into the waters around you. It is non stop action.
It is also difficult to photograph. Alkefjellet is an incredible experience but I have not yet seen a single image that captures a shred of that experience.
This year, to add to the difficulty of capturing a frame, Alkefjellet was also remarkably quieter. There weren’t as many birds. There wasn’t as much of noise. First of all, we were early in the season. Secondly, the birds were impacted by a disease and people were still unsure about the numbers one might see even in the peak of the nesting season.
In other words, even this crazy, high octane place was quiet. The energy levels on our ship were not exactly bursting out of the charts.
And then... the door behind me burst open. Vide rushed out shouting…
“ Bear in the water…behind us !!! “
What followed was mayhem. There was a bear behind our ship, swimming strongly towards the mountains besides the bird cliffs. In record time, the Zodiacs were readied, we got into our outfits, got our gear and we were ready to go.
These bears really are strong swimmers. In just a matter of minutes, the bear was a speck in the distance and by the time our Zodiac hit the waters, it was barely visible. But we did get a glimpse and we raced in that general direction trying not to lose that bobbing head in the waters. As we reached closer, the bear got out of the waters, shrugged off the clinging water and proceeded to walk up the slope not showing any tiredness from his long swim.
This was exactly what we wanted. A bear walking up a snow covered slope, leaving clear footprints behind. A picture of minimalism. A few pieces of rock just bringing minimalist relief.
Click ! Click !
It cut a semi circular path, leaving a clear set of footprints behind.
Click ! Click !
It kept rolling on the snow to further dry itself. It does feel as if its having a rollicking time playing in the snow.
Click ! Click !
Can we get a good image of just its hind paw showing, five cute droplets and a large palm ?
Click ! Click !
However, not all of us could really take advantage of this sighting.
While our Zodiac had identified the bobbing bear and raced in pursuit, the other Zodiac had gone off in another direction before it corrected course. By the time they had arrived, the bear had climbed a fair distance up the incline. ( The ease with which these bears move is something else ! )
There were decidedly mixed emotions when we got back to the ship.
But.
Well…the day wasn’t over.
Good things happen.
“ Another bear in the water, close to the cliffs !!! “
Whoa !
A few minutes later.
“ A third bear, further up ahead !”
Whattttttt ???? Was there some bear conclave ?
The second bear we had sighted clambered up one of the steep slopes and vanished over the ridge, a yellow dot moving with ease in a sea of white.
The third one seemed to be heading into the same spot where the first one had vanished.
The Zodiacs were once again readied, we got our camera gear ready and got into our suits. Off we went, determined not to miss this chance. Polar bears tend to use the footprints that are already present to conserve energy and that allowed us to position ourselves perfectly this time.
Three bears in the same spot. Wow.
Well….the day wasn’t yet over.
A little later, we got alerted to shouts from the deck. Another bear was sighted. This time moving along the shore lines, those beautiful mountains standing guard in the background.
The Zodiacs got ready for a third time and we chased in pursuit. This bear as we reached had made a comfortable hollow in the snow for itself and proceeded to take a nap and we returned.
Well…the day was still not over.
An hour or so later, we got more alerts. There was a female bear running with a male in hot pursuit. It was a little too far, but as an experience, it was still phenomenal.
There have been sightings of bears climbing up the bird cliffs hunting for the eggs and we were hoping to get that. However, what the bird cliffs gave us was far more…far, far more.
There was decidedly only one emotion back in the ship. Was it elation ? Satisfaction ? Maybe it was something more.
There are some days where a tag of being a 'good day' feel quite insufficient. Days that are beyond special when measured by the images you have made.
These are the days when you realize that you are incredibly blessed to witness what you have.
Alkefjellet loomed, dark and gloomy...those dots are birds, and yes, this is nothing
close to the number this can grow to
Sheets of ice, sharp icicles, icy water...and a polar bear rises...
The bear steps out on land, dripping wet
The scape never ceases to take my breath away...
Snow looking like dollops of ice cream, ice looking like white rocks...and a pale yellow dot
But the water needs to be dried off
It might look as if I am frolicking but this is hard work...
...and bloody tiring !
I really could do with a nap...
And maybe, I will...
Cheers !!
Enjoyed this ? Don't want to miss more posts like this ? If you would like to get them delivered straight into your mail box, then click the button below
Amazing images! To see so many bears in a matter of few hours, very fortunate indeed.