Storfjord, Kapp Lee and Isebukta, Svalbard
Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, was the animal today! The scientific name means “tooth walking seahorse” and walrus belong to the genus Odobenus. There is only one species in the genus and it is easily distinguished by the prolonged upper canines in both sexes.
The walrus tusk was already regarded in the Roman time as an expensive trade commodity. We also know that the Vikings were trading with these items later on. Maybe this is the reason why they went to “Svalbard,” which is mentioned in the Icelandic sagas. Still we do not know what lands the people were referencing when they used “Svalbard” during the Viking period.
The walrus can be singled out from most every other seal species, except from elephant seals by its size. Walrus differ from the latter, as they are shallow divers and mostly feed on clams. The walrus is totally confined to the Arctic waters and very rarely wanders outside the edge of the Arctic sea ice. In size it reaches 1200-1500 kg and the length of 3.2 meters. This is a “large” sea monster, but still remember the elephant seal males one encounters in the southern hemisphere are almost double the weight of a walrus.
Today it was our turn to experience at close range these strange creatures of the north, as we boarded the Zodiacs in the early morning. The Captain and his crew had taken the ship as close as they could to the northwestern tip of Edgeøya, Kapp Lee. In the fog, but well equipped with GPS and tracked by the ship’s radar, we slowly made our way in Zodiacs toward the beach. Soon we were surrounded by curious walrus approaching the fleet of boats. Who was looking at whom? At the beach between 50 and 100 more walrus were in deep sleep. As some of us tried to make a closer, down wind, approach, you could also smell them. The smell of walrus is unique and very significant; something you will remember!
Besides the herd, or should we call it a pile of walrus, we could see a few huts. They were erected by the Swedish division of the Swedish-Russian Arc-of-Meridian Expedition 1899 and later used as a trapper’s cabin. Along the beach we also saw a few red phalaropes. Too soon it was time to venture back to a warm ship because the fact was we were cold out in the fog. We now set sail for the eastern part of Spitsbergen and the aim was Isebukta. Storfjord means “great bay” and it was some distance to cover. Before lunch we had an excellent photo lecture by Sharon about the prolific flower life at these high latitudes. The books tell us that about 165 different plants have been able to maintain their living in this hostile environment with an extremely short summer. Still they survive and thrive.
In the late afternoon we approached Isebukta and, for the second time during the day, we went out. Along the interior of Isebukta a large glacier stands out, Vasilejevbreen. Again named by Swedish-Russian Arc-of-Meridian Expedition 1899. This expedition had the aim of getting very precise measurements of how much the earth is flattened at the poles due to the earth’s rotation.
Alexander Senenovich Vasilijev was a Russian astronomer and took part in this expedition. In fact, he spent the winter 1899-1900 at Hornsund, the location we are now heading for our tomorrow’s delight at Svalbard.
Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, was the animal today! The scientific name means “tooth walking seahorse” and walrus belong to the genus Odobenus. There is only one species in the genus and it is easily distinguished by the prolonged upper canines in both sexes.
The walrus tusk was already regarded in the Roman time as an expensive trade commodity. We also know that the Vikings were trading with these items later on. Maybe this is the reason why they went to “Svalbard,” which is mentioned in the Icelandic sagas. Still we do not know what lands the people were referencing when they used “Svalbard” during the Viking period.
The walrus can be singled out from most every other seal species, except from elephant seals by its size. Walrus differ from the latter, as they are shallow divers and mostly feed on clams. The walrus is totally confined to the Arctic waters and very rarely wanders outside the edge of the Arctic sea ice. In size it reaches 1200-1500 kg and the length of 3.2 meters. This is a “large” sea monster, but still remember the elephant seal males one encounters in the southern hemisphere are almost double the weight of a walrus.
Today it was our turn to experience at close range these strange creatures of the north, as we boarded the Zodiacs in the early morning. The Captain and his crew had taken the ship as close as they could to the northwestern tip of Edgeøya, Kapp Lee. In the fog, but well equipped with GPS and tracked by the ship’s radar, we slowly made our way in Zodiacs toward the beach. Soon we were surrounded by curious walrus approaching the fleet of boats. Who was looking at whom? At the beach between 50 and 100 more walrus were in deep sleep. As some of us tried to make a closer, down wind, approach, you could also smell them. The smell of walrus is unique and very significant; something you will remember!
Besides the herd, or should we call it a pile of walrus, we could see a few huts. They were erected by the Swedish division of the Swedish-Russian Arc-of-Meridian Expedition 1899 and later used as a trapper’s cabin. Along the beach we also saw a few red phalaropes. Too soon it was time to venture back to a warm ship because the fact was we were cold out in the fog. We now set sail for the eastern part of Spitsbergen and the aim was Isebukta. Storfjord means “great bay” and it was some distance to cover. Before lunch we had an excellent photo lecture by Sharon about the prolific flower life at these high latitudes. The books tell us that about 165 different plants have been able to maintain their living in this hostile environment with an extremely short summer. Still they survive and thrive.
In the late afternoon we approached Isebukta and, for the second time during the day, we went out. Along the interior of Isebukta a large glacier stands out, Vasilejevbreen. Again named by Swedish-Russian Arc-of-Meridian Expedition 1899. This expedition had the aim of getting very precise measurements of how much the earth is flattened at the poles due to the earth’s rotation.
Alexander Senenovich Vasilijev was a Russian astronomer and took part in this expedition. In fact, he spent the winter 1899-1900 at Hornsund, the location we are now heading for our tomorrow’s delight at Svalbard.
