All About Polar Bears
Credit: Kristina Lind/Innovation Norway
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Cute isn't it. Well...until it starts hunting you anyway.
Did you know:
- Polar bears are excellent swimmers and are considered to be a marine mammal as most of its hunting takes place on the sea ice
- Polar bears will feed almost exclusively on seals and only turn to non-traditional prey, such as people, if they become trapped on land which can lead to months of starvation
- Polar bears can survive for up to 8 months without food
- Polars can walk over 3000 miles a year
- Polar bears can reach speeds of 30km/h over short distances (so can I but probably not in ski boots)
- Polar bears can smell food up to 20 miles away
- Polar bears typically weigh 400-600 kg and males are larger than females
- Polar bear cubs are only 600g at birth making them even cuter
Will we see them?
We hope we do and we hope we don't. Our expedition takes us up the middle of the island and we are unlikely to see them here. But as we are also heading to the most northern and southern points ie. right next to the sea ice, it is very likely we will encounter them here.
What do we do if we see one?
There are some pretty basic rules, but as always, the problems usually arise when people don't follow them.
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Avoid confrontations
As much as we would like to see a bear, it isn't particularly smart to follow it or create a situation.
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Take guns
We are carrying a 308 rifle and 12 bore shot gun (with lead slugs) and have trained with both. We'll shoot over their heads as a warning unless it becomes a life threatening situation. If this is the case, we shoot to kill - this is very unlikely though!
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Camping
Basically we don't set up camp in an obvious pathway ie in a narrow valley leading to the shore. We also camp away from the shore, not near the front of glaciers and no where near any polar bear tracks.
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Trip Wires
When we do camp, each tent (we're taking 2) will have a tripwire that surrounds each and this is connected to a flare. If a polar bear wanders in, it will set off the flare, get scared and run away!
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The Dan Factor
Dan is the new kid on the block and this will be his first taste of an expedition in the cold. Many of his friends have told him it is a once in a lifetime experience - the rest of us agree and have decided that if a polar bear attacks, we will scarifice Dan to keep it happy. Thanks Dan.
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Guards
If we are being tracked or there are clear recent signs of polar bears, we will take it in turns to sit in the cold for a few hours at a time and watch. Actually, see above...Dan can do it, we'll sleep.
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Cooking/Waste
Anything that smells needs to happen away from the tent. Bears have a great sense of smell so we need to bury our food in air tight plastic containers and also cook, clean etc away from the tents.
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