In the ice off of Hopen Island, Svalbard

Polar bear! Expedition Leader Tom Ritchie's voice came over the intercom at the relatively civilized hour of 6:45 AM. We leapt out of bed and into clothing that had been carefully laid out last night for just this occasion, and hurried to the foredeck. We had entered open pack ice about 10 miles northwest of Hopen Island. The polar bear stood out as an ivory mass against the cleaner white of the ice. Some noticed that the bear was standing over a dead seal, and soon he (or she) picked it up and began to carry it away. But others saw no such thing. In fact, we were watching two bears, one pursuing the other, who was carrying the seal, across the ice. They came together and rose up in a sparring match. Was this the first stage of a fierce battle over possession of the dead seal? Not at all. The encounter became almost a dance, and then the two bears settled down to eat the seal together. From this behavior we concluded that the two bears were siblings, perhaps three or four years old and still hunting and feeding together. Remains of other kills could be seen scattered over the ice and the bears appeared fat and happy, so apparently they are doing well as a team. However soon, as they reach sexual maturity, they will go their separate ways and each will assume the solitary life of an adult polar bear. The fresh kill kept the two bears on the ice flow and we were able to approach quite closely for superb views and photo opportunities. Quite a number of kittiwakes and glaucous gulls were flying about the area and landing on the ice by the kill, waiting to feast on any morsels left by the bears. And all of this before breakfast!