Where the Polar Bears Roam
The quiet of Svalbard is a beautiful companion. I stop mid-step on my way back to my hotel just to listen.
Svalbard, November 2024
I left the sun behind and went to where polar bears roam. As I left Tromsø, the last traces of daylight faded on the horizon. The plane became cloaked in darkness at midday. The only light was the glow from the icy skin of the Svalbard tundra below. I could imagine polar bears below, ghostly shapes with four paws hunting for their next meal.
In the small village of Longyearbyen, a gentle community of people and wildlife exists. Every person who lives here does so because of the wonderful and challenging charm of Svalbard—students who come to study, people seeking a new chapter in their lives, or the bus driver who told us he had lived here for almost 40 years.
There is much wildlife to be found on Svalbard. Seabirds like arctic terns fiercely protect their young and often dive as people walk too close to nests. Little auks lay one single egg in the breeding season. Their first take-off is always an emotional and fearful moment. Then there are sea mammals such as beluga whales, narwhals and polar bears. And land mammals like the curious Arctic fox and the delightful Svalbard reindeer. As it was 24 hours of darkness when I was there, I saw only the Svalbard reindeer. Small groups of 3-4 of them liked to dig for food in the snow outside of houses in the village.
“Gjelder hele Svalbard,” translated from Norwegian, means “valid for the whole of Svalbard.” It is a warning across Longyearbyen, a reminder that humans are the visitors here.
The polar bear warning sign stands out—unlike most warning signs, it has a black background. After all, how else would you make a white polar bear visible? These signs mark the perimeters of the village. Beyond them, polar bear protection is required—a rifle and a flare gun. The rule is to use the flare gun first, encouraging the bear to leave. Polar bears are a protected species on Svalbard, and by law, shooting is only allowed in life-threatening situations. The flare gun is almost always enough.
Though encounters are rare, polar bears have been spotted near the village. The people of Svalbard care for and respect these magnificent creatures—their image is everywhere, from shop and hotel signs to shopping bags and even paw prints in the airport.
The quiet of Svalbard is a beautiful companion. I stopped mid-step on my way back to my hotel just to listen. A faint wind murmurs across the tundra, but beyond that, nothing. The silence is so deep it feels like part of the landscape itself. Alone, but not lonely. At peace. As snow drifts from the sky in delicate, weightless flurries, the Arctic’s icy presence makes itself known.
Travelling to Svalbard was once a child’s dream. I wanted to go as far North as I could. A child who loved stories of the Arctic, snow, and wild creatures of the North, this has followed me gracefully into adulthood. To finally step foot in 78 degrees North, where polar bears roam, was a feeling of accomplishment to my younger self. And although I visited only for a few days during the polar night, I know more adventures in Svalbard await, with the midnight sun and the chance to photograph wildlife.
Take care,
Rebecca
