Animals on Svalbard
Bears, reindeer, seals, whales, walruses and terns
On Svalbard you can watch animals in their natural habitat: the Arctic environment. Animals are perfectly at home among the ice and snow of the archipelago.
Every moment is good to observe the wild Polar nature. Trekking on Svalbard gives you the chance to live with these animals, in particular with the birds which visit the base camps in search of food.
You also meet reindeer and bears: it is not rare to see them during the excursions.
I could see many animals from the boat but also on shore and during our walks. I saw all kinds of species: from bears to reindeer, from seals to whales and many birds.
- Polar bear: we saw it at the end of the first camp. It was resting in the snow only 200 metres away from us. We saw another bear from the boat.
- Reindeer: reindeer are a very common species in Svalbard. We saw many of them when trekking and disembarking. You can also see them in the settlements, such as Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund.
- Seals: they are shy animals. You can watch them resting on floating pieces of ice or swimming in the cold sea from the boat or when disembarking.
- Whales: it is very rare to see them. We only saw some small puffs of vapour coming from the waters.
- Walruses: we saw one in the water from the boat.
- Arctic tern: this is a common animal. It attacks people who try to get close to its eggs.
- Skua: This well-natured bird is also rather common in Svalbard. We encountered many of them at the second base camp. They came close to get some of our food leftovers.
- Eider ducks: you often see them on shore, looking for food. If you try to get close to them, they immediately fly away.
- Geese: we encountered them in the tundra, in Ny-Ålesund.
- Seagulls: white seagulls are also very common. We saw them both at the camps and from the boat.
- Snow buntings: we saw them at the second camp. These birds are small and similar to the sparrow. They move around on the beach looking for food.
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