Katarzyna Kudłacz was making ready a breakfast of scrambled eggs at a analysis station on Svalbard when she seemed as much as see she had three sudden visitors.
Shocked and in awe, the meteorologist instantly alerted her colleagues to the feminine polar bear and her two cubs peering into the Polish analysis station in Hornsund, within the south of the Norwegian archipelago, their noses pressed up in opposition to the window.
Her images of the shut encounter present one of many bears with their paw on the window, board video games within the foreground.
“That day I used to be on obligation, the so-called station obligation, when one individual is in control of the station, keeping track of the satellite tv for pc radio, cooking or cleansing,” stated Kudłacz, who has been based mostly on the station since June.
“Whereas making ready breakfast, I noticed from the kitchen our majestic visitors wanting with curiosity on the home windows.”
The household seemed wholesome, she stated, and “solely checked out our home windows with curiosity”, however the staff determined to fireplace a flare gun to frighten the bears away.
“It was a beautiful expertise, however we should keep in mind that they’re wild animals and for them and for us it’s higher to maintain our distance. They weren’t aggressive. Nevertheless we most well-liked, by making noise and firing a sign gun, to scare them away.”
Daniel Kępski, the chief of the forty sixth Polish polar expedition, stated they usually noticed polar bears, however the animals not often stopped to look contained in the analysis station. “It was wonderful to see them so shut throughout that day, however after all it was additionally a bit irritating.”
This yr yr the staff had seen extra polar bears than standard, he added. Normally there have been round 20 bear sightings a yr, however this yr there had been near 40 sightings since June and so they anticipated to see extra of their remaining three months.
“Thus far, we’ve not noticed any clearly emaciated people. This yr might be a superb yr for Svalbard’s polar bears as a result of there’s a whole lot of sea ice right here in comparison with latest years,” he stated.
