Arctic Expedition, Day 3 : A Young Polar Bear Trying To Hunt a Seal Just Meters From Our Zodiac Boat & Us Noticing It Only At Close Proximity

We woke up this morning to a sunny day. The weather was mild and there was no wind. All around us, the scenery looked amazing as our ship, Ortelius, was at anchor in front of the Monacobreen glacier, which has high ice cliffs.

Monacobreen glacier

Monacobreen glacier

After breakfast, We split into 10 zodiacs and went off in different directions to look for wildlife. Everyone stayed in touch using walkie talkies. Soon, we noticed a small, grey shape on the distant ice. It turned out to be a bearded seal.

Bearded seals are common in the Arctic. They are large seals with small heads and long whiskers. Sometimes their faces look reddish because they dig for food in the sea floor, which stains their fur. We moved closer to watch the seal. It looked at us with big black eyes and stayed calm as we observed it for around 30 minutes. After that, we left to look for other seals and saw two more resting on nearby ice drifts. The last seal we found was calmly lying on the ice, enjoying the sunshine. In the Arctic, seals only get sunlight for part of the year, so they make full use of the opportunity.

The Bearded Seal we saw

This seal was about 60 meters from our boat. Suddenly, the animal panicked and jumped into the water. The way it rushed into the water seemed unusual, as if it was running for it’s life. My instinct told me there might be danger nearby.

The seal panicking and jumping into the water

A few minutes later, one of my friends shouted “polar bear!” He had spotted a bear’s head popping out of the water very close to our zodiac boat, about 40 to 50 meters. That is very close especially when the polar bear is in the water, because they are extremely powerful swimmers and can cover short distances quickly.

We were very lucky because only two boats out of the ten experienced this close-quarter encounter with this polar bear. Moreover the boat I was in was the first one to spot it and closest to the bear. Most of the other boats went to look at the glacier thereby missing this rare spectacle.

Polar bear's head popping out of the water

The Svalbard government has rules saying you should stay at least 500 meters away from polar bears if an encounter occurs within the archipelago. In this case, we did not plan to get close. The guides had absolutely no clue that there was a polar bear nearby. These bears are very hard to see because they blend in with the ice and snow.

The guides kept their guns ready, just in case, and slowly moved us away while looking for the bear. The bear disappeared, but then I spotted it standing on the ice edge, shaking off water. I called out, “There he is standing!”

The Polar bear standing on ice

Our boat slowly moving away from the bear

The polar bear then jumped into the water, probably to hunt the seal. We did not see it again after that. The whole scene became silent.

The polar bear jumping into water to hunt seals

Polar bears are master hunters of seals. They often wait near breathing holes or cracks in the ice, remaining still for long periods and waiting for a seal to surface. Sometimes, they stalk seals that are lying on the ice by quietly crawling forward and using the ice as cover. In the water, polar bears are also fast and can surprise seals by swimming up from below the ice. Their white fur helps them blend into the snowy landscape, making it difficult for seals and people to see them until they are very close.

Later, we went to another part of the glacier and saw another polar bear, but it was farther away. We watched it for a while. Eventually, it also jumped into the sea and began swimming in the direction of a place called Texas bar, where we planned to go the next day.