Wildlife of the Arctic

The Arctic is vast, barren and freezing for most of the year. Remarkably a large variety of wildlife thrives here, and much of it is very visible. The seas, especially in coastal waters and around island archipelagos, are very rich, with whales, walrus, dolphins, seals and Polar bears (Ursus Maritimus) all abundant and mostly (apart from the bears) recovering well from persecution.

The land too can be surprisingly lively, with caribou, musk ox, wolves, bears, moose, foxes, hares and, wolverine and many more all managing to exist in the frozen north. Birdlife is prolific and dominated by sea birds who use some of the enormous sea cliffs to roost. Many birds that winter further south spend their summers in the High Arctic so there is much to see.

Explore run a series of Arctic Cruises and Spitzbergen Polar Bear watching holidays.