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Now, today was rather laid back. In the morning we did
samples, and in the afternoon we did fluorometer. Not a
whole lot in between. I'd say the most exciting part came
when everyone went to bed. I was debating with whether to go
to mid-rats and eat, or to go look for polar bears. There
were apparently two bears today, one of them as close to the
boat as the first two that I had seen, so it was good polar
bear country. I decided to go out and look for polar bears,
and THEN hit mid-rats afterwards.
 It
was a good decision. I took my usual position on the bow (I have spelled
that word wrong throughout all of my journals), and began my watch. Not
one minute into my "watch," and there was a polar bear frolicking towards
the ship, with the usual polar bear curiosity. This bear was a little
farther away from the ship than the previous bears, but I didn't mind.
I took some pictures of it, which probably won't turn out, and I observed
the keen sense of awareness it exhibited out on the ice. Its objective
was the boat, but to get to the boat, it knew that it would have to be
careful. There was "bad-ice" in spots, where the polar bear would carefully
maneuver around, and it avoided various pressure ridges, taking the tangents
on turns, and basically just choosing the most efficient path. But, the
bear had its priorities straight too.  As
I was watching the bear run across the ice, a seal poked its head up right
along side the boat, swam a little, and then went back down. That is obviously
why the polar bear was here -- because it was good seal territory, explaining
why, all of the sudden, the polar bear stopped in its tracks and began
milling around a classic seal breathing hole. The boat left the polar
bear, its silhouette disappearing into the fog. That is my fifth polar
bear, and the difference between this one and the others, is that it was
just me on the bow, watching the polar bear. I know the people on the
bridge knew, but I was outside, in the same cold, desolate atmosphere
as the bear, sharing its space. No one was around to comment on the indescribable
beauty of the bear's walk, no one was around to dampen the energy that
the bear and I shared. Even if the bear wasn't aware of my presence --
just a little speck on the gigantic boat, I feel as if we had interacted.
And to interact with such an amazing animal is an honor that one can't
buy, or get with anything other than patience and respect.
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