Polar Bears!

Everyone onboard has their own professional and scientific goals for this expedition. But everyone (at least the Arctic first-timers), have the same personal goal – to see a polar bear. Sadly I have not personally seen polar bears yet, although several people onboard have! They’re usually pretty far off, but from stories I’ve heard, one person saw a mother and cub, another saw a few bears together, and another saw a polar bear dive into the water. Alice, a scientist onboard, took the photo below where you see endless sea ice. But if you look closely, you’ll see a yellow-ish spot. That’s our friend “Chilly” the polar bear! I also zoomed the picture in a bit so you can see him close-up. But… I did see polar bear tracks myself! (I guess that is an important “step” in the right direction.) We saw the fresh tracks when a few of us were outside on the deck, watching the ice crack and surge out of the water as it crunched and slid along the side of the ship. You can see the footsteps in the photo of the cracked ice. Keep your paws crossed for us that we see more!