Half of the group stayed at Lake Linne and spent the day collecting data loggers and sediment traps. Half of the group went out to the Linne glacier to look around and plan their experiments. We had a particularly long day and it was raining, cold and windy. The staff at Isfjord radio has dinner ready for us each night at 8 pm. We knew we would not make it back from the field in time, so we called to base camp on the satellite phone to let them know we would be one hour late. The Lake Linne group arrived home a few minutes before the glacier group and we were met a few minutes out of camp by Hocumb and Eva, who are the proprietors of Isfjord radio, and they told us there was a polar bear in the camp. The camp consists of several buildings; the main building, the instructors building, the student dorm, at least 2 garages and several other out buildings. It is on the coast and so polar bears heading north for the summer will often pass by.
We had all gathered in the main building after we heard about the bear. We stayed there and watched the bear roam about the camp. It is was probably a kilometer (a little more than half mile) away so we could see him but we didn't get a close view. He moved along the edge of the ocean and to a small lake near the ocean. After a while, the PB stopped moving around and we lost interest and ate our dinner. We went thorough our usual routine for the night and no longer saw the PB moving. Around 11 pm the bear started moving again. This time he came very close to the buildings and we could get very close pictures as he moved near the window. The best sightings were around 1 am. A visiting researcher from Norway, Nina Vaeroy, was able to get very good pictures of the bear!
First sighting of polar bear outside our dining room window.
Polar bear looking at us from outside the dining room window.
Polar bear on the prowl!
Polar bear out for a walk!
Polar bear poses!
We have seen a polar bear and it was from a very safe vantage point. Tomorrow we will stay home and work up the tons of data we have been collecting. We have a few instruments in need of repair and the weather is predicted to be stormy. We have been hiking for 6 days and can use a day of rest. The last picture shows the bear prowling around a piece of driftwood that has a whale scull on it. It is a little difficult to see but I will take a picture there later.
Polar Bear near driftwood and whale scull