Extremely Northern Polar Bears?
Last cruise, July 12th, we saw a mother Polar bear with two cubs. What was remarkable to us was their latitude; a very respectable 85 05′N 62 34′E.
Why is this unusual? Well, the central Arctic is a bit of a desert. It’s not for lack of primary productivity, so it may be due to a lack of open water most of the year. A LOT of life in the Arctic is concentrated at the ice edge and in polynyas. Polynyas are concentrated around the rim of the Arctic Ocean, leading to this rim sometimes being dubbed the “Arctic Ring of Life”. Open water is required for mammals like whales and seals to breathe, and for bears to be able to access these animals to hunt. Perhaps the summer is too short to encourage many animals to venture so far south into the newly opening leads of water, but it seemed there was time enough for this adventurous trio.
The cubs were very large, almost as big as mum, perhaps indicating an age of 2 years+ or thereabouts. The further north bears are the longer they seem to spend with mum before they leave, so they could be older than the average 2-2.5 years age at which they separate.
Bears are a constant source of mystery and excitement to me, and every one is a privilege to see. But these ones were just a little bit more mysterious than most.
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