Sea kayaking in Greenland and Arctic Canada can produce some of the most extraordinary wildlife encounters anywhere in the world. A whale surfacing beside an iceberg, a polar bear walking along a distant shoreline or walrus hauled out on sea ice are experiences that stay with you for a lifetime. The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators visitor guidelines help you to stay safe Kayaking with Arctic Wildlife.
The Arctic is not a wildlife park. Arctic wildlife kayaking safety is vital. These are genuinely wild animals, some of which are potentially dangerous, and both Greenland and Canada have rules designed to protect wildlife from disturbance. For kayakers there is another important consideration: sitting only centimetres above freezing water puts us very much at the animals’ level.
Having recently been sea kayak guiding around Greenland, Baffin Island, Devon Island and Lancaster Sound, I was constantly reminded that the best wildlife encounter is one where we can enjoy the animal without changing its behaviour.
Polar Bears: The Wildlife Encounter You Don’t Want in a Kayak
Seeing a polar bear is one of the great privileges of travelling in the Arctic. Seeing one unexpectedly from a sea kayak is a very different matter.
Polar bears are excellent swimmers and can cover considerable distances in open water. A kayak is therefore not a safe refuge simply because you have left the shore.
The basic principle is straightforward: never deliberately approach a polar bear by kayak. If a bear is spotted on the coast, give it an extremely wide berth and consider whether continuing the paddle is sensible at all. Remember that the bear you can see may not be the only bear present.
Fog makes this particularly important. Much of the coastline of Baffin and Devon Islands can disappear into fog remarkably quickly. Paddling close to shore when visibility is only a few hundred metres dramatically reduces your ability to spot a bear before you are close to it.
Polar bear safety therefore starts long before an encounter. Scan shorelines with binoculars, pay particular attention to beaches, headlands, carcasses and places where visibility is restricted, and keep the paddling group together. Parks Canada similarly recommends travelling in groups, scanning regularly with binoculars and being particularly cautious along coastlines where bears can be concealed behind rocks or other features.
If a bear is encountered, don’t paddle towards it for photographs. Increase the distance and follow the instructions of the expedition leader or appropriately trained guide.
Going Ashore Changes Everything
Landing a kayak means entering polar bear country.
Before landing, the entire shoreline and surrounding ground should be carefully scanned. Once ashore, groups should remain together rather than wandering independently. In organised expedition operations, guides may carry approved deterrents and firearms and have specific polar-bear procedures. Guests should never handle those firearms and should remain with the guides responsible for their safety.
The principle applies equally to independent travellers: prevention is far preferable to dealing with a close encounter.
Low visibility deserves particular caution. Fog, boulder fields, ridges and convoluted coastlines can all conceal a bear. Fresh tracks, droppings, a carcass or other signs of recent bear activity are reasons to reconsider your plans.
Walrus: Give Them Much More Space
Walrus look cumbersome on land but they are remarkably powerful marine mammals. A large Atlantic walrus can weigh well over a tonne and is considerably more manoeuvrable in water than a sea kayak.
For paddlers, the message is particularly important: don’t kayak among walrus.
AECO’s Arctic wildlife guidance specifically advises against swimming, kayaking or diving in waters occupied by walrus. If swimming walrus are encountered, withdraw rather than allowing them to surround the group.
Distances also vary between Greenland and Canada. Current AECO guidance specifies at least 400 metres from walrus hauled out on land in Greenland, while in Canada the minimum is 300 metres from walrus on shore. Walrus on ice also require substantial separation – at least 75 metres in Greenland and 200 metres in Canada during the specified summer season.
Females with calves are particularly sensitive to disturbance. A frightened herd can stampede towards the water, potentially crushing calves. Never position yourself between walrus and their escape route to the sea.
Whales: Let Them Come to You
Whales provide a very different kayaking encounter. They are generally not interested in us, but their sheer size demands respect.
In Canada, federal Marine Mammal Regulations establish minimum approach distances. For most whales, dolphins and porpoises the general minimum is 100 metres, increasing to 200 metres when animals are resting or accompanied by a calf. Local and species-specific rules can be stricter.
The important word is approach. A whale may decide to approach you.
If that happens in a kayak, stop actively trying to close the distance. Remain predictable, avoid frantic paddling and allow the animal to choose what happens next. Never chase whales, cut across their direction of travel or deliberately position kayaks where whales are likely to surface.
AECO similarly recommends allowing curious cetaceans to determine the encounter and, where appropriate, letting watercraft drift passively.
A whale surfacing surprisingly close to a kayak is unforgettable. It doesn’t need to be pursued afterwards.
Respecting Nunavut and Inuit Land
Wildlife safety is only part of responsible Arctic travel. In Nunavut, visitors also need to understand that much of the land is Inuit Owned Land.
There is not a general right for visitors simply to wander wherever they choose. Canadian legislation implementing the Nunavut Agreement makes clear that, except where the Agreement provides otherwise, people who are not Inuit require consent from the appropriate Designated Inuit Organization to enter, cross or remain on Inuit Owned Land.
Some coastal access provisions exist, but paddlers should never assume that arriving by kayak automatically gives unrestricted access inland.
National parks, territorial parks, wildlife areas, archaeological sites and culturally important places may have additional permit and access requirements. At Ukkusiksalik National Park, for example, visitors must register and attend an orientation, while permission is required from the Kivalliq Inuit Association if travelling onto Inuit Owned Land.
There is also a wider principle that matters more than simply complying with regulations: you are a visitor in an Inuit homeland.
Listen to local guides and community advice. Respect hunting activity. Don’t interfere with wildlife being harvested. Never assume that an apparently abandoned structure, tent ring, food cache, grave, archaeological site or collection of bones is yours to investigate or move.
Archaeological remains are protected. Leave stones, artefacts and bones exactly where they are. Don’t build cairns, rearrange rocks or create unnecessary paths across fragile vegetation.
Wildlife Comes First
Perhaps the simplest rule for Arctic wildlife watching is this: if an animal changes its behaviour because of you, you are probably too close.
A resting walrus raising its head repeatedly, birds leaving nests, a whale changing direction or a polar bear becoming focused on your group are not signs of a successful wildlife encounter. They are warnings to increase your distance.
Sea kayaks are wonderfully quiet craft. They allow us to experience the Arctic at almost water level, without engines and with remarkably little disturbance. That privilege brings responsibility.
Keep your distance. Stay together. Watch the weather and fog. Scan the shoreline before landing. Respect Inuit land and local knowledge. Follow national, territorial and expedition rules, and never pursue wildlife simply to get a better photograph.
The Arctic will usually provide the encounter. Our job as paddlers is to make sure we don’t spoil it.
Why not take the opportunity to read our other blogs about Nunavut and the Canadian arctic;
- Beechey Island: Polar Bears, Franklin and Three Graves Beside the Sea
- Croker Bay: Paddling Beneath the Glaciers of Devon Island
- Dundas Harbour: Ghosts in the Fog on Devon Island
- Duart Bay: Sea Kayaking into a Scottish Corner of Baffin Island
- Isabella Bay: In the Realm of the Bowhead Whale
- Qikiqtarjuaq: Gateway to the Wild Mountains of Baffin Island
- Port Leopold: Paddling Through the Search for Franklin
- Prince Leopold Island: Paddling Beneath a City of Seabirds
- Radstock Bay: Paddling Through a Thousand Years of Arctic History