The Case of the Most Curious Canadian Polar Bear: August 22 - 23, 2026

Cecilia Clark

Sep 27

3 min read

Updated: Sep 28

Much of our voyage is along the path of the doomed Franklin Expedition of 1845. The expedition, led by Captain Sir John Franklin, hoped to find and map a sea route through the unnavigated parts of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The expedition consisted of two Royal Navy vessels: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. There were 129 crew members and sufficient food and supplies for three years.

The Captain Franklin chose the protected harbor of Beechey Island for his first winter encampment (1845-1846). Three of the expedition's men are buried on Beechey Island. Beechey is now a national historic site and is part of Parks Canada. There are several memorials to Franklin and other polar explorers and sailors on Beechey Island.

The ship was bound for Beechey Island to allow passengers to kayak and/or explore the island. However, on the way to Beechey Island a swimming polar bear was sighted on the starboard side. Our room was on the starboard side so we had a great photo view. Eventually, he swam past the ship to the other side. The ship backed up a bit to let him pass.

The polar bear was left behind and the ship continued for another 2.5 km/1.5 mi to Beechey Island. We stopped at Beechey Island, the zodiacs were launched, and the reconnaissance crew went ashore to secure a zone for our landings.

After the zodiacs were in the water, the bear caught up with us. Polar bears can swim about 14.5 km/9 mi per hour and can do that for several days. (Olympic medalist Michael Phelps swam 9.7 mi/hr at his peak). They can also sprint for a short amount of time. Polar Bears dog paddle using only their front paws to propel themselves through the water.

The crew ashore sounded the alarm and they all got back in the zodiacs and headed away from the ship and the bear. The bear was within about 20 feet of the ship's open tender bay.

Photo by Timo Heinz, HX cruise photographer

After the cat and mouse game, the bear swam back to the shore and walked along the beach to the Franklin expedition graves. According to those closer to Beechey Island, the bear put his front paws on the gravestones and rose up on his hind legs. He then walked to the signpost, put his paws on top, and knocked it over. Interestingly, the present tombstones are replicas as the original tombstones suffered bear damage and were removed in the 80s.

The zodiacs were able to get back onboard safely.

Another swimming bear was spotted and Plan B was to move on and leave Beechey Island behind.

Unfortunately, the Franklin expedition continued to face difficulties. Both ships got stuck in pack ice in 1846 near King William Island (also in the region of Nunavut). The expedition had sufficient food to survive the winter and planned to wait for the thaw but the thaw didn't happen in 1847, and Captain Franklin died on June 11,1847. In April 1848 the surviving crew left the ships to walk south to the Canadian mainland. They did not survive.

On the previous day, August 22, we were right next door at Devon Island which is the largest uninhabited island in the world. We stopped there for some zodiac cruising and a landing at Dundas Harbor to visit a cemetery and the ruins of a RCMP outpost and a Hudson's Bay station. During the harbor cruise, we saw groups of playful harp seals that swim along in a line with some members doing a back stroke while the others are doing breast strokes (sort of), and kittiwakes.

The RCMP established an outpost at Dundas Harbor to mark Arctic Canadian territory. Two officers manned the post in 1924-1933 and in then again in 1945-1957. From 1933 to 1936 the outpost was leased to Hudson's Bay Company. The cemetery is maintained but the buildings are in ruins. Two RCMP Constables, ages 25 and 27, are buried there. A young Inuit girl is buried nearby under some rocks.