Nuclear Ninety North Eclipse of the Midnight Sun August 1st, 2008

Polar Bears!

Early on the morning of July 23rd, by which time we were crunching our way through the pack ice above 83° North, we encountered a group of three polar bears (Ursus maritimus)—a mother and two cubs (polar bear cubs stay with their mother for about two and a half years after birth). They moseyed across the ice and disappeared into the distance. Because many folks are such fans of polar bears and sightings are not all that common, even in these environs, I'm going to present all of the photos so you can get a sense of the encounter.

As the mother and cubs were dwindling in the distance, this adult male lumbered into view. Male polar bears are solitary outside the mating season, and hence this bruin was, in all probability, unrelated to the other three. Polar bears have black skin beneath their white fur. Note the skin showing through a scar on this fellow's left shoulder. Male polar bears fight over females, territory, and any other plausible pretense, so scars are common.

Polar bears spend much of their time on the sea ice. As the ice melts and breaks in the summer, they gingerly navigate from sheet to sheet, stepping over open water. They are excellent swimmers and can, when necessary, swim across open sea to another ice sheet or shore. The thin ice between sheets here had numerous breathing holes kept open by seals. Polar bears surveil these holes with the concentration of a cat watching a mousehole, ready to pounce on the seal when it pops up to breathe.

“Yo, icebreaker people! Who you lookin' at?”

Hrrmph…can't get any privacy, even in the Arctic!

Guy's gotta take a rest every now and then.

Tastes like chicken.

Here are all four bears visible in the same picture. At this point they're all much more distant from the ship than when we first spotted them. One eclipse chaser noted that they were all heading in the direction of the eclipse track.

by John Walker August 20th, 2008

This document is in the public domain.