2014 Polar Bears

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After being hunted near extinction, the polar bears in Svalbard have been protected since about 1970.  They are still very shy of people, abut are also the top of the food chain. Local law requires everyone to carry a firearm, except within the only towns (Longyearbyen and Barentsburg) and the research station at Nye Alesund Polaris, a French "expedition" cruise ship (small one with a dozen guests, who goes into small anchorages like us) called us on the radio about 6 one morning to say there was a bear sleeping in the rocks above us.  We could not see him, and finally one of the crew kindly came over in a dinghy to show us.  Only a little white fur was visible, later a pair of ears showed up.
After a couple of hours, he wakened up and started to look us over, first one eye, then quite attentively, perhaps evaluating his chances of having one of us for lunch
	After half an hour's careful examination, he decided we were too smelly, to difficult to catch or whatever and ambled off over the hill.
	Later, we saw this other bear on a small island, and drew the attention of the guests on Polaris to it.  Water was too shallow for Milvina to go close, and the falling snow did not help the photo. After seeing the bear, reviewing our schedule and disliking the wet snow, we headed South towards Lillehook Fjord
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