POLAR BEAR!!

Beechey Island, Arctic Canada

From Paul Bryers, August 26, 2025

We have had a remarkable morning, and it is only 10:00 am.

Around 07:00 am, we arrived at Beechey Island, renowned for containing three graves of the ill-fated Franklin expedition members, first discovered in 1850 by searchers for the lost Franklin expedition.

The island and surrounding areas offered breathtaking vistas with snow-covered mountains, cliffs, and turquoise and black waters.

The first two zodiacs successfully landed those of us who were going to hike to the top of Beechey Island.

I was taking sone distance photos of the graves……

….Suddenly, the alert went up “Polar Bear! Polar Bear!” from one of the guards high on the hill.

The speed with which the HX guides got us back on the zodiacs and evacuated the island was very impressive. Adrenaline was running high!

Back at the ship, we joined everyone else outside on the upper decks, following the progress of the bear. Initially, he was prowling on the shore, then went for a swim.

After coming back on shore, he walked adjacent to the ship for quite a while before heading inland.

The ship has just reported that the bear is now well inland and walking away from us, so we are resuming landing activities. However, we will be in very small groups and restricted to the area immediately beside the graves. No hike for us today!

What a fun morning!