Or simply warm up to the ethereal sight of a bear, probably oblivious to its own beauty and the magic of the moment, snuggling up comfortably even as a wakeful sun ignites the background into a screen of resplendent hue you didn’t know existed. Truly, the polar bear is the Arctic’s biggest showpiece, and Svalbard its greatest showcase.
But, the flagship species is well bolstered by a myriad of other attractions, none of which is a minnow but a creature worthy of admiration.
Bearded and ringed seals – the polar bear’s staple diet – can be seen swimming and sunbathing in enviable environs, while Greenland seals are often encountered, and walruses – animals that can weigh twice as much as polar bears and yet fall prey to them on occasion – can be photographed from close quarters.
Whales, the giant aquatic mammals, include the humpback whale, the fin whale, the beluga whale and the mink whale, while the predatory orca can stun you into silence and a glimpse of the biggest of them all, the monumental blue whale – the largest living earthly creature – can cause you to hop on the deck in fitful spasms of uncontrolled joy.
Among the birds, the circumpolar Arctic tern turns heads, while the glaucous gull and the ivory gull give you the quintessential seabird scenes. fulmars, who always seem busy absorbed by themselves, manage to absorb you too with their interesting looks, and while Arctic skuas have been termed parasites and pirates for stealing food from other birds, it is the kittiwakes you must save your heart from, for cute as buttons, they threaten to swoop down on their angelic white wings and purloin it.
And just when you think there’s nothing more to see in the sky, black guillemots, looking like limited-edition pigeons, show themselves off, and the thick-billed murre, also called Brünnich’s Guillemot, flies the auk flag high as the sensational landscapes in the backdrop keep your eyes glued to the viewfinder for most of your wakeful time.
