Expedition Arctic Ocean 2026, blog post 9: Polar bear!

Yesterday we saw a polar bear! It is actually not the first one we have come across, we also saw one a couple of days ago, but that one was so far away that it was hard to see it even with binoculars. But last night I got a call on my ship phone as I had just gone to bed, and Faustine told me that there was a polar bear close to the ship. I called Melissa, in the met team phone chain we had established in case there was a bear sighting – no one wants to miss that!

I got out on the deck and found a group of people with binoculars and cameras. This time the bear was close enough to see properly without binoculars. We all admired the bear as it scuttled across the ice (polar bear butts are, like, the cutest thing ever), and as it tumbled on a snow drift I thought with wonder about how such a dangerous predator can be so adorable.

We all have our fingers crossed that we will get to see more of these beautiful animals during the weeks that are left of the expedition!

/Linnea Huusko (2026-08-25)