Solitary Bear

As a wildlife photographer, I hope to capture animals in their natural habitat without disturbing their routine or changing the environment in which they live. The Arctic is one of the most challenging areas to access and, one of the more difficult to safely observe wildlife. It is home to the most powerful and dangerous bears in the world and, the polar bear that has become an iconic symbol of the risks of climate change.

One of the best places in the world to observe polar bears is in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago just 650kms from the North Pole. With its harsh climate and vast expanse of uninhabitable terrain, Svalbard is a difficult place to get to and, a challenging place in which to find and photograph the polar bear.

I was one of just eleven guests on a small ship, a re-purposed research vessel named the RV Kinfish. Our expedition was led by two expert guides and two professional photographers. Our plan was to sail the Arctic waters around Svalbard in search of polar bears and other animals of the Arctic for a total of six days.

It was late April and the Far North enjoys 24 hrs of daylight at this time of year. Given the vast expanse of islands, fjords and shoreline of Svalbard, polar bears are difficult to find. Also challenging was finding a white object against white snow!

All aboard searched the shoreline with binoculars around the clock and on Day 3 we found our first bear - a young male walking along the ice shelf. Keeping a respectful distance, we followed this bear (from our ship) as he made his way along the water’s edge - perhaps looking for a meal from the sea.  

Further along the shore and in the direction the bear was travelling, we noticed a spectacular glacier and as luck would have it, that iconic image of a polar bear in front of a blue glacier came together!

Click here to discover more wildlife photography from Canadian visual artist Christine Lundvall.