Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 08/03/2008 - 18:08
Forums
Ocean Dynamics Beaufort Sea

Ms. Ward,

I have been following the expedition and reading your journals. Thank you for writing them, the journals are always very interesting and the photos are fascinating. In one of the journals you described a family of polar bears that was noticed from the ship. Are the polar bears rare at your location?

Thank you,

Marina Arbit

marbit [at] ucla.edu

Sat, 08/09/2008 - 20:53

Gerty Ward

Hello Marina,
Polar Bears are more elusive than rare. The Arctic is large and we arebut one very small ship by comparison, and we are moving as well. Sospotting a polar bear involves a considerable amount of luck. Thismorning, two bears were sighted from the ship. They looked to be young,about the same age, teenagers perhaps, and were very curious about us. we were moving so the viewing was fleeting-- several scientists noted thathad we been stopped, these bears may have come quite close to us toinvestigate.
Where there are seals (food), polar bears are often nearby. Thus when wespot seals, scanning the horizon for bears is increased.
Polar Bears need a mix of ice and open water as they hunt for seals fromice floes. As we travel down latitude 140, we are in prime bear countryand are keeping a constant watch out for these beautiful creatures.
Thank you for following along!
Gerty