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Several polar bears have been sighted on the SIKULIAQ. The first sighting of a polar bear was made in Seattle, Washington by STEMSEAS participants as they explored and settled on the ship. Students were in shock, and the polar bear sighting came as a surprise to advisors Dr. Jon Lewis, Dr. Kris Ludwig, and Dr. Karen Thomson as we. As if one were not strange enough, students saw several additional polar bears in close proximity, including more than one in the mess hall.
Why would there be ANY sighting of polar bears south of the Arctic Circle?
Students brought their concerns to Captain Adam Seamans. The Captain concurred that the sighting of polar bears this far south of their native range was strange, even more so since it is summer. Captain Adam left us with no further explanation, but pointed the finger at the previous captain, Mike Hoshlyk.
Mike Hoshlyk was the former captain of the Sikuliaq, and as Captain Adam expressed, “Mike Hoshlyk was always looking for things to do that took people’s mind off of work” when they were off-duty.
STEMSEAS participants were able to find ten polar bears in all. However, Captain Adam inquired that Captain Mike Hoshlyk had strategically placed — sited — about twenty polar bear figurines in total throughout the ship. There are some polar bears we will never see because they inhabit uncharted land – restricted areas, accessible to crew members only.
While we may never have the opportunity to meet and shake hands with Captain Mike Hoshlyk, his enthusiasm for sailing the deep seas is sensed with every polar bear found on the Sikuliaq. Captain Hoshlyk’s whimsical and quirky personality encourages us as undergraduate researchers to embrace adventure with wide arms and find excitement in scientific exploration of the deep, deep blue.
