Arctic Circle, Svalbard
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago deep in the Arctic Ocean. This journey took place in early April, with the goal of finding a mother polar bear with newborn cubs and spending as much time with them as possible. We were fortunate to find exactly what we were hoping for.
I spent about ten days closely following the life of a mother bear and her two cubs, witnessing first-hand the extreme challenges of raising young in such harsh conditions. It turned out to be one of the most fascinating journeys I have ever experienced.
A frozen fjord with rising mountains behind
The edge of a glacier. Night sun is low in the horizon
An aerial view of a frozen fjord and the mountains around it
Light reflected behind a frozen waterfall
A natural blue ice-cave deep within a land glacier, carved by a hidden river. Traces of air bubbles and dirt caught inside the ice from ancient times
Light reflected from the walls of a natural blue ice-cave
The edge of a terrestrial glacier
A partially melted fjord
Snowflakes close up
The lowest point of the sun above the horizon. Night time
A mix of rocks, snow and old glacier ice
Our mother bear
...with her two cubs
My camera pointing at the bear family
Nursing while seated (and falling asleep)
Mother bear nursing while standing
A tired mom falling asleep...
Two cubs cuddling with each other
Will you play with me?
Yes, here we start...
I can stand exactly like mom
Sniffing like mom
...and I can walk like mom
I can do back to back
Bearded seal popping his head above sea water
An extremely rare scene - mother bear hunting a seal beneath the ice layer
Mother bear hunting a seal
Mother bear hunting a seal
An extremely rare moment - mother is holding the young seal prey, almost hugging it, when her own cub is watching from behind
The kill moment
A proud and tired Mama bear. Their meal is now secured. It has been days without food
An Arctic fox silently approaches, searching for food
Arctic fox sniffing for food
A group of gulls fighting over leftovers near a Polar bear kill site
Soaring Kittiwakes
Black Guillemot diving for food
A flock of Common Eider flying low over the sea water