Snowmobile to Elveneset, Svalbard 15.-19. April 2018
Thomas’ former colleague has recently moved to Svalbard and offered to take us on a snowmobile safari. We paid around 2500 NOK to rent a snowmobile including all necessary gear for two persons. Quite expensive, and in line with our experience that everything costs about 2500 NOK in Svalbard. Neither of us have ridden a snowmobile before, but luckily Thomas prepared for the trip by reading “Storebjørn”, and picked up some useful tips there. We were of course hoping to spot a polar bear during our trip, but let’s be realistic - even though the Barents-population of polar bears is estimated to be around 2500 individuals, only 10 % of them are found in Svalbard. These bears are usually found in the northern and eastern parts of Spitsbergen, so meeting one so close to Longyearbyen would be incredible luck. If you want to learn more about polar bears - check out this article from the Norwegian Polar Institute.
Fortunately there are other animals that are easier to spot. It did not take us long to find the Svalbard reindeer, a smaller version of the reindeer that we have on the mainland, with shorter legs - an adaptation that helps it keep its body temperature during the cold and dark winter months. Another adaptation to conserve energy is that the Svalbard reindeer is very sedentary, and they can withstand long periods with little food by using their body reserves (fat and muscle tissue) for energy.
The Svalbard reindeer is not shy, and is easy to approach for a photographer.
The main cause of death for Svalbard reindeer is the same as for most wild animals. Toothache. Most wild animals die of starvation due to poor dental health, and this is especially true for the Svalbard reindeer. They wear down their teeth while feeding on plants, moss and lichens on the hard ground, and when their teeth are worn down they become unable to feed themselves.
Another threat to the Svalbard reindeer is the milder climate that we are experiencing. This means more rain that freezes to the ground an incapsulates the food and thus making it unreachable for the reindeer.
We found this unfortunate reindeer. It is probably dead from starvation and has been eaten by arctic foxes and other scavengers.
Arriving at Elveneset we had a nice little picnic with hot dogs, sandwiches and a magnificent view of the Temple Mountains.
Our picnic site in Elveneset.
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