Melting fjords, increasing avalanches, imperiled wildlife: One Nat Geo photographer saw an environment in peril in Svalbard, Norway
Unterthiner fears the area is “changing so quickly that most of the species—because they are so adapted to this environment—eventually won’t be able to evolve in such a rapid way.”
Male Svalbard reindeer fight over a harem of females that one had gathered during mating season. The winner chased the loser away. Rainfall instead of snow imperiled reindeer, encrusting the plants they survive on in ice.Two male reindeer battle for dominance. What really surprised Unterthiner during his year in Svalbard? “The transformation of this environment is so quick,” he says. In August in Adventdalen, a valley on Spitsbergen, he marveled at this view: the tundra colors changing as the short Arctic summer ended.A curious young polar bear watches photographer Unterthiner from shore. When winter sea ice forms, polar bears traverse it searching for food.
Arctic foxes grow thick, protective coats in winter. A fox looks for scraps on the picked-clean carcass of a reindeer, a sought-after winter food source. Once summer arrives, foxes feed primarily on eggs and chicks from nests and occasionally on seal pups. As summer ends, the sparse vegetation on Svalbard begins to yellow, providing a colorful landscape for this lone polar bear. “The transformation of this environment is so quick,” says Unterthiner. “That’s something I was really surprised about.”Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.