Female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and two cubs on pack ice, Hinlopen Straight, Spitsbergen/Svalbard, Norway, on 28 July 2007. Polar bears primary habitat of sea ice is threatened due to global warming and rising temperatures in the Arctic regions.

This weeks photo from the archive comes from an ice floe in Hinlopen Straight in the Spitsbergen Islands, an island group north of Norway.

This photo was taken while I was working on the ice breaker the Akademik Sergey Vavilov. Chartered to Peregrine Adventures for polar expedition cruises, I was completing my first three-month trip in the Arctic, working as a guide and Assistant Expedition Leader. Not surprisingly, polar bears are a big drawcard for the people that board the ship every 10-days. Even more so given how threatened bears are due to rising temperatures and increased melting in the Arctic region.

One of the things that fascinates me about polar bears is our relationship to them.

On one hand, polar bears are the top predator in their environment. On the other, they are seen by a lot of people as these beautiful animals that are almost soft and cuddly. The truth is, polar bears are fascinating animals to be around. Polar bears aren’t dangerous to humans, until you put yourself in proximity to one. When you think of it that way, I am inclined to say that humans are dangerous to polar bears.

Personally, I think that polar bears wouldn’t be such a drawcard if you could just walk up to them with no risk of being mauled.

You can learn more about polar bears and conservation efforts at the Polar Bears International site.

[This image can be licensed for usage from Aurora Photos. Just double click on the photo to license it].

Bangkok Airways Magazine, Fah Thai published two of my images from the Maldives in the January/February 2010 edition. The images show two very different views of the Maldives. Thanks to the editorial team for running with these two views of the Maldives. Read the short article here.

Bangkok Airways Fah Thai Magazine January/February 2010 Infocus Section

Bangkok Airways Fah Thai Magazine January/February 2010 Infocus Section

I also came across the online version of Simon Calder’s article in British Airways Magazine, High Life. High Life opened this article with a double page photo of mine back in the start of December 2009. Read the article here.

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Double page spread in British Airways High Life, December 2009 Issue.

Last year I was on route from Sydney to London – on my way to the Arctic – when I picked up the British Airways Inflight Magazine, High Life.

Flicking through it, I realised I needed to get in touch with the Photo Editor at High Life. It was just the type of publication that suited the type of travel photography I produce.

Just months after returning from my 3 1/2 months in the Arctic, I received an email one day from the Photo Editor at High Life, asking for a lightbox of polar imagery (I love it when that happens).

A year later, the PE and AD decided to go with a double page opener of an image I took of the icebreaker the Akademik Sergey Vavilov, while cruising past the Seven Islands, the most northerly point of Norway.

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The other thing they have is rubbish along the coastlines, whether it is beaches, rocky coves or headlands.

While I am not a rubbish expert, I know what I have seen and this is how it breaks down:

Svalbard:

Tons and tons of commercial fishing nets and buoys and boxes washed up on beautiful remote beaches.

Maldives:

Let’s see, there are the local commercial fishermen who throw every bit of rubbish on their vessel overboard. Then there are the local islands that don’t have any waste management facilities and the rubbish just gets dumped on pristine beaches. Or we have young Maldivian’s who think the ocean is the rubbish bin and insist on throwing glass bottles over board whenever they are out on a local dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat).

Rubbish on a local island in the Maldives.

Thailand:

Recently I visited Ko Samet, a very popular island south of Bangkok. One day I decided to walk pretty much the entire length of the east coast. While the beaches with hotels on them were reasonably clean, as soon as you got off the beaten track, rubbish was everywhere. There was loads of discarded styrofoam at one rocky cove I was at. Then there was the rubbish that people had just left behind during their walks – the usual plastic bottles; candy wrappers etc..

What To Do?

You could probably write an essay on all the things you could do to make this situation better. Below are some things that I have implemented

Consume Less

If you consume less, then you produce less waste, which means there is less chance that your waste will some how end up in the waterways of the world. Good examples include (and this isn’t rocket science folks):

1. Stop buying water in plastic bottles.

Instead buy an aluminum bottle and refill it.

2. Don’t buy products that come with styrofoam.

Last year I received a box from TA Macalister Ltd (Nikon New Zealand), which had my recently repaired camera in it. Problem was, the box was filled with tiny styrofoam beads. I wrote to them and told them to NEVER send me a box filled with styrofoam again and hey, it might be time to get into the 21st Century with packaging.

Thailand is still going through it’s  ’let’s package food stuffs on styrofoam bases’ phase. I don’t buy food which is packed this way. And neither should you. If you do, unwrap the product at the check out and give the staff the styrofoam rubbish and say ‘it is not okay to use this in your packaging’. If every single customer did that, they would get the message pretty quick smart.

3. Reduce your plastic bag usage

In Thailand, every time you go shopping you get plastic bags with just about everything. Buy a single piece of fruit and into a plastic bag it goes. I have never seen so much plastic handed out at the supermarket. It is mind blowing. While I do find it difficult to reduce all plastic bag usage, I say ‘no’ to plastic bags as much as I can. This includes plastic bags at the checkout. Instead, I bring my own bags and use them. I’ve heard people say ‘oh yeah, but I forget to take them’. Well, how about getting a bit more organised and not being so lazy? Once you get in the habit, it becomes second nature.

Speak Out

By speak out, I mean telling people that it is not okay to dump their rubbish somewhere other than a rubbish bin.

Example: My wife and I were in Kota Kinabalu in Borneo in June. We were sitting at an outside table at a cafe along the beautiful water front, when some staff at the next cafe down started throwing coasters into the bay. Well let me tell you, when you stand up to a total stranger and tell them it is not okay to throw their rubbish into the ocean, you are making a difference. And if they say ‘it is only a coaster’, you can respond with ‘well, it’s my world too and it is not okay for you to be trashing it’.

Ditto with the Maldivian’s I was with one day on a dhoni who were throwing their glass bottles over board. Or the Maldivian on the local ferry from the airport to the main island who was going through his wallet and throwing bits of paper overboard. Standing up and telling him it wasn’t okay in front of 50-people was just one of those things you sometimes have to do.

Then there was the paying passenger on the ship the Ioffe I was working on last year in the Canadian Arctic, who finished his cigarette and then threw the butt into the ocean. I informed him that it was not okay to do that and there was a cigarette bin literally 10-feet away. That’s called laziness.

Buy Quality Products

We tend to have two choices. One is to buy a quality product and pay more for it. The rationale goes that it is better made and it will last longer. The second choice is to buy cheap. It isn’t made as well, it probably won’t last as long and hey, it didn’t cost much anyway, so what does it matter?

It matters plenty.

If you buy quality products that last longer, it means you are producing less waste. Sure it might be tempting to buy something cheaper now, but will it really be cheaper in the long run? And if you buy something and it breaks within the first couple of weeks, take it back to where you purchased it. Doing this sends a clear message: it is not okay to sell you products that don’t last.

Educate Yourself About Where Your Food Comes From

Are you against the finning of sharks, but you are prepared to eat seafood throughout South East Asia? If that is the case, then chances are you are supporting the very fishermen that fin some of those sharks. Might be time to stop eating seafood caught out at sea. And that is exactly what I did after seeing hundreds of shark fins for sale in Kota Kinabalu in Borneo.

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Now I am sure there are plenty of people who if you have read this far can think of plenty of counter arguments. Here are some that I have heard from friends and colleagues:

Counter argument – “That isn’t enough to make a difference”.

My response – “Doing something is better than nothing and since when did you get so lazy that you couldn’t be bothered doing anything anymore?”

Counter argument – “Just because you won’t eat seafood in South East Asia anymore, doesn’t mean the finning of sharks will stop”

My response – “True. However it is something that I choose not to support and I do that by not buying seafood, either at market or in restaurants”

Counter argument – “Not everyone can stand up to someone and tell them to stop throwing rubbish into the ocean”

My response – “True. There have been times, like when I was on a commercial fishing boat for 5-days, when I didn’t say a word despite rubbish going overboard everyday. When you rely on a crew of working men to bring you back to land from the middle of the Indian Ocean, there are some things better not said”.

Counter argument – “Do you really think it makes a difference?”

My response – “We are all making an impact in one way or another. The question you have to ask yourself is this:

Are you going to be part of the solution or part of the problem?

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And just in case you didn’t realise how bad some of these things are, here are some links to the current state of affairs:

Overfishing

National Geographic Photo Gallery & Text

Shark Finning

Stop Shark Finning

Plastic

Patagonia: A Plague of Plastic

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I’m sure you know of plenty of other issue that should be linked to from here.

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Here are some organisations that are working to improve things and could do with your support:

Ocean Conservancy

Blue Ocean Institute Seafood Guide

Surfrider Foundation

Rise Above Plastics (Click on #6 “Looking to Reduce Your Plastic Footprint” for great everyday ways to reduce the plastic you use).

Run a business? Then why not become a member of One Percent for the Planet (it’s something I’m currently working on).

I know there are plenty more great organisations out there, both big and small, doing something to make things better.

Lastly, no one wants a toxic world (from Surfrider Foundation Australia)

Click on the link to learn more.

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This photo was taken on a magically calm and sunny day in Spitstbergen / Svalbard, just north of mainland Norway back in 2007 during a three-month trip amongst the islands.

The polar bear on the left is the mother and the two bears on the right are her cubs. Given the size of the two cubs they are probably 2 to 3 years of age and not that far off being left by their mother to defend for themselves as young adults.

Polar bear encounters in the wild are tricky business.

Finding polar bears requires a good strategy and lots of patience. When you add in photography you also want good shooting conditions, which means high sun and good contrast – something you rarely get in Svalbard!.

Understanding the characteristics of the animal you are looking for goes a long way with this.

The strategy to finding polar bears is this: go to their primary habitat during summer, which is sea ice.

Why sea ice?

Seals haul out on sea ice and seals are the primary diet of polar bears. And in case you are wondering why polar bears are threatened by global warming, it is because of this very reason. No more sea ice, means no more seals hauling out, means no more food for polar bears.

Once you have found yourself a good few square kilometres of sea ice (the bigger the better), you then have to find a bear. This requires untold scanning using a high quality pair of binoculars, which just happen to be one of the best things you can invest in for serious wildlife spotting (so don’t skimp!).

A polar bear moving is the easiest animal to spot, while a polar bear lying down is the hardest. Polar bears are not white, they are in fact a distinct pale whitish yellow. This means that they do stand out in the landscape if you know what you are looking for.

It all takes patience and a lot of it. It is more miss than hit.

If you find a bear on sea ice, then chances are you will find more. On the day this photo was taken, we saw a total of 13 bears which was pretty amazing. This bear encounter above lasted for over 2-hours.  You can see the bears were clearly undisturbed by our presence, which made this encounter even more amazing.

The name of the game is to have an encounter with a polar bear with the least amount of disturbance to the actual animal.

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