Whenever I come on expeditions, everyone wants to know what animals I have seen. Here in the Arctic Fall as we find ourselves so far north, we have not seen many animals except for a few birds and the occasional seal. Today while in M’Clure Strait, we saw the ultimate arctic predator, a POLAR BEAR! As we steamed between stations towards Prince Patrick Island, there he was cruising all alone on the ice-covered sea; so beautiful and majestic. In this super harsh environment, this bear survives in all its glory. I feel very privileged to see a polar bear in its natural habitat, the sea ice. The bear looked up at the ship and, not phased by us, went on walking…So incredibly beautiful!

Just cruising on the vast sea ice