When we arrived in Vibebukta our plan A was to have a landing in the polar desert of Nordaustlandet, but when we saw the amount of ice and the Walruses hauling out on ice floes we quickly changed to plan B, which was a zodiac cruise to have a look at the ice and the Walrus. It was great to see this large numbers of females with calfs on the ice. For the cruise this meant that we had to be very careful and keep a good distance so we wouldn’t disturb them. Females with calfs are always a lot more shy as the male counterparts. Male Walrus don’t really have to fear anything, which they know very well, so they usually don’t bother if anything shows up. Young Walruses have a less thick skin and no tusks yet to defend themselves so the females are a lot more protective and will avoid confrontation if possible. Not that we want a confrontation of course, or even to disturb the animals. So during the cruise we had a nice look at these animals at a distance and enjoyed the ice and scenery around us.
What a precious privilege to see this scene. Thanks so much for taking us there with you, Arjen.
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Yes, I still feel privileged to get to places like this regularly. And it also feels a bit as an obligation to share these experiences with people who can’t get there themselves.
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