In the summer of 2019, I found myself on the deck of a stunning expedition vessel Le Boreal leaning over the railing as a huge polar bear came rambling across the sea ice directly toward the ship. So far on our journey through the vast Norwegian Arctic, we had seen a mother and two cubs far in the distance, yet this bear was coming closer and closer and all of us on deck knew something extraordinary was about to happen.
The captain pulled the ship right up next to the ice edge, and in moments, we were staring into the eyes of a massive 900-pound (400-kilo) teenage bear who seemed just as interested in us as we were in him. With all eyes and cameras trained on the bear, he came right to the ice edge and promptly sat with his front feet crossed just 30 feet below us! (That’s my photo above!)
I was literally shaking with excitement, and after watching him for a few minutes with his massive clawed feet, flat black nose, and searching, eager eyes (probably wondering if we were edible), tears suddenly poured out of me. I felt honored to be able to see this powerful, beautiful animal at such close range. I don’t cry easily and I've traveled all over the world, yet I felt something life-changing happen to me in the presence of this magnificent creature.
Now it’s 2024, and as the leader of a sustainable travel company, I’m more determined than ever to protect these majestic, beautiful creatures whose Arctic home faces extreme threats.
The outlook for polar bears remains critical as climate change rapidly degrades their Arctic habitat. Melting sea ice has led to a 15% loss in polar bears' genetic diversity, leaving them more vulnerable to inbreeding and decreasing their ability to adapt. The Greenland Ice Sheet also continues to lose massive amounts of ice nearly every year, with a significant loss reported in 2023 alone, impacting Arctic ecosystems and contributing to sea-level rise.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently reaffirmed the polar bear's "threatened" status, noting that ongoing sea ice loss hinders their ability to hunt, rest, and reproduce. With polar bear populations in the Southern Beaufort Sea declining by 40% since the early 2000s, experts like those at the World Wildlife Foundation stress that only rapid, global climate action can stabilize their habitat and prevent further declines.
According to Dr. Steven Amstrup, chief scientist at Polar Bear International, “We must act swiftly and collectively. If greenhouse gas emissions continue as-is, the trajectory polar bears are on is not a good one… most will disappear by the end of this century. But we still have time to protect polar bears, benefiting all life on Earth, including ourselves.”
What can we do about this? Here’s a free, fantastic, uplifting video class highlighting the top 100 activities we can do to start removing CO2 from the atmosphere instead of generating it by 2050. You’re bound to find an activity or two on this list you’ll actually enjoy doing! If we all do our small part, it gets done. These ideas come from Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown. This course eased my climate change anxiety more than anything else ever has, and it’s based on computer-modeled scenarios. I highly recommend taking the time to watch it.
I strongly recommend that you do whatever it takes to go see polar bears, as you need to see them NOW or SOON. If you can possibly see them on the ice, hunting seals and raising their young in their natural habitat before all this changes, do it! Bring your kids, your parents, everyone you love, and you will consider it one of the most moving experiences of your life.
And, you’ll want to travel sustainably! Wild Nectar will help you choose a trip that has a demonstrated commitment to sustainability and has been assigned an Eco Score™. Plus, we'll help you carbon offset your entire trip so you can stay in balance and not contribute to the vanishing sea ice. Check out our Sustainability Platform and our Sustainable Travel Guide.
I traveled on this outstanding trip with a world-class luxury operator now offered on L’Austral, twin sister to Le Boreal. My award-winning expedition team knew exactly where to find bears. I also highly recommend the veteran operator of Land of the Ice Bears offered on the state-of-the-art X-bow ship, the National Geographic Endurance. Or, if you’d like to stay on land, this Premier Polar Bear Adventure in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, will allow up-close polar bear viewing and photography from custom-built terrain-mastering Polar Rovers.
I’ve helped hundreds of people travel to the Arctic to see polar bears. If you’d like to learn more about the kinds of trips that travel there, check out our comprehensive Arctic Guide. If you’re ready to go, contact me. I’m here to help with all the details, including traveling to your gateway city, what to bring, and everything else. I hope you get to see Earth’s majestic and precious polar bears too!
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