Muskox, near Laptev Sea. © Tom Arnbom / WWF-Canon
I do not know where to start. Today, at more than 74.5 latitude, we have experienced more Arctic wildlife than most people do in a lifetime:
- more than 600 walruses
- five polar bears
- three snowy owls
- muskox
- reindeer
- stoat
- siberian lemming
- red-necked stint
- thick-billed murre
- snow bunting
- arctic tern
- pomarine and long-tailed skuas
- and to our surprise, breeding Sabine’s Gull.
Walrus haulout, Laptev Sea. © Tom Arnbom / WWF-Canon
On top of that we sampled DNA from polar bear, walrus and arctic wolf (the last from scat).
Tomorrow we will move 50 kilometer south to a sand spit with more than 400 walruses. We do not know how we can top this, but I guess something unexpected could still happen.
– Tom