Reader Jacques Hausser from Switzerland (he’s an emeritus professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Lausanne) had a trip to the Arctic and sent many photos of birds and terrestrial mammals (you can guess which one).
I had the opportunity to visit Svalbard (Spitzbergen) this summer – a fantastic trip – and I’ll send you some short series of pictures each dedicated to one species.Little auk or Dovekie (Alle alle). The smallest auk (Alcidae), not bigger than a starling. They wear the usual ceremonial coat of Alcidae, with only a very discreet ornaments: a tiny white eyebrow, not always visible, and some white inverted V on the shoulders. They nest under boulders in screes, and a visit to their colonies is really enjoyable: they are very active, very noisy (recording here [click button on upper right)! They eat mostly planktonic crustaceans.
There are about 3000 polar bears (more than humans) in Svalbard. Summer is a difficult period for them, since most of the sea-ice—and therefore most of their prefered prey, the seals—are away to the north. So they eat what they find, that is anything from seaweed to grass to eggs and chicken to young reindeers to tourists. It’s compulsory to be armed when landing somewhere. They mostly stay on the shores and it’s safer to approach them in a zodiac (taking the gun with you nevertheless, for they are excellent swimmers).My favorite picture: this male just spotted our boat.
A powerful male:
A slender—and yawning—female. Note the blood at the corner of her mouth: she probably just nommed a fat gosling (they were some geese around). Note also the blue tongue.
…and for Diana MacPherson: “Mmm… if only this floating dish full of tender meat could beach just here…”
An elegant gangster: parasitic jaegers (Stercorarius parasiticus) are the most common jaeger in Svalbard. They feed mostly by mercilessly pursuing gulls and terns until their victims disgorge their prey. – but they are couragous parents too, attacking bears and people to defend their eggs (a good opportunity for the photographer).Their eggs:
One parent trying to turn potential robbers away from its eggs:
attacking…
. . and braking at the last moment:
UK people will know the “Parasitic Jaeger” better as the “Arctic Skua”. The homophone is appropriate.
Oh my goodness…You saw a polar bear? I am blown away
Phenomenal photos. Thanks for sending them in, Jacques!
Summer sea ice in the Hudson Bay area now retreats so far that the local polar bear population have switched from preying on seals to snow geese.
Also because of climate change, there has been an explosion in the population of snow geese using the continent’s central flyway from 1.5m in the 60s, to 15m now.
This is good for the polar bears, as 300 four-egg clutches amounts to 10% of a polar bear’s annual nutritional needs.
Polar bear predation may also be good for the snow geese, as the explosion in their numbers has seen some areas reduced from rich, grassy tundra to a muddy marsh.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/for-polar-bears-a-climate-change-twist.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&abt=0002&abg=0&_r=1
Very interesting video – and beautiful images. In Svalbard the geese (pink footed geese, Anser brachyrynchus, and barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis) are moderately abundant, nothing to compare to the snow geese in Hudson bay. Perhaps because the landscape is mostly mountainous.
Lovely shots of the Arctic Skua/Parasitic Jaeger! I have a longstanding weakness for the Stercorariidae, so there could be some bias involved.
I am guessing everyone saw the ignoble prize for the polar bear research?
http://sciencenordic.com/norwegian-researchers-win-ig-nobel-prize
Sub
I would so love to get a chance to observe polar bears not in a zoo….
b&
Those little auks are adorable. Along with puffins, they are the cutest water birds.
The polar bear looking over the hill is amusing and disturbing all at once. I like the captioned last bear photo. 🙂
Bears are increasingly attacking seabird colonies to find food, because of the ice reduction discussed above…
So why are the bears of Svalbard not wearing armour?
What causes the blue color of the polar bears’ tongues?
Dense melanin and the light-scattering properties of squamous epithelium?
Thanks for the lovely arctic photos! Those polar bears are impressive…hope all the photos were caught with a very long lens! Sounds like you might have been on the water too.
Love the auks and their sounds.
… hence the specific name “maritimus”
Wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.
That male (middle male pic ‘a powerful male’ allows a good assessment) is a good size; somewhere between 1200-1400 lbs. Probably grazing 10 feet fully erect. Certainly well within the upper size range. The heaviest reliable (that is, ignoring the world record 2209 lbs male taken in the 60’s) weight I am aware of is 1854 lbs.