";s:4:"text";s:3032:" With bears becoming scarcer in other parts of the North, those in this little-visited corner of the Russian Far East were, at least for the moment, still bright-eyed, curious – and plentiful. In 1976 the Soviet Central Government deemed the island to be a strict nature reserve. It is sometimes referred to as a Polar Bear maternity ward on account of the large numbers of cubs born here. "Many of the Polar bears arrive on the island in bad physical condition and suffering from malnutrition. As the largest carnivore in the world, the bear can weigh up to 1,700 pounds, and are up to five-feet tall on four legs. The island is located in the Arctic Ocean between the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea. They are most prevalent on Wrangel Island in the Arctic where your best bet to see them is in July and August when the ice is breaking up.
Who will take you there? Wrangel Island has the largest concentration of polar bears in the world, and serves as a breeding ground, having the most dens of any location where polar bears are found. It is a major Polar Bear denning area and one of the few areas of the Arctic to not be glaciated during recent glacial episodes. Polar Bears on Wrangel Island It has been a privilege to travel far and wide in my job, and the polar regions are as far and wide as you can get. This time it was the Russian Arctic, across the top of the world to Wrangel Island, 71.2° North in the Arctic Ocean, between the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea, as a guest of Heritage Expeditions. Wrangel Island, is one of the most remote islands in Russia. Wrangel Island boasts the world’s largest population of Pacific walrus, with up to 100,000 animals congregating in the island’s rookeries, and the highest density of ancestral polar bear dens. What appears to be sheep from the distance are actually polar bears. Wrangel Island is a Federal Nature Reserve and World Heritage Site of international significance. Norway is also the best place to spot reindeer. Wrangel Island, off the coast of Russia's Chukotka in the northeast, is where polar bears rest after ice melts in early-August until November, when they can leave land to hunt for seals. Looking for polar bears?