February 27 marked ‘International Polar Bear Day’, with no reason to celebrate at Svalbard where the entire west- and north coasts of Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet are open waters: polar bears depend on sea ice for hunting seals and, on thin ice, more polar bears move to Franz Josef Land, a Russian archipelago northeast of Svalbard. The ‘Norwegian Polar Institute’ in Tromsø tracks polar bears’ movements since 1987, with a special eye on where they are heading to give birth, as denning is the most vulnerable time in a polar bear’s life. Luckily, polar bears are really good swimmers: some have been swimming 2-300 km from Svalbard to the ice edge. Although, occasionally, some stay in Svalbard.
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