Past and Present Distribution of Walruses in Svalbard

Walruses were once very abundant in the Svalbard archipelago. However three and a half centuries of commercial exploitation had caused the walrus to be on the verge of extinction in this region when it finally was totally protected in 1952. Since the mid-1980s walruses have again been commonly seen in parts of Svalbard. Based on information from literature, interviews and field observations, we attempt to identify in which areas of Svalbard, both historically and presently, walruses most frequently are observed and indicate the presence of all known walrus haul-out sites in the archipelago. Our study shows that walruses most frequently have been encountered during summer in four main areas. The results further indicate that walruses in Svalbard are predominantly males. Females and calves are, when encountered, mostly found in the extreme northeast part of Svalbard, neighboring the Russian archipelago Franz Josef Land. We discuss the possibility of migrations occurring between these two geographical areas and suggest that walruses in these two archipelagos are part of one common stock.Key words: walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, Svalbard, distributionLes morses abondaient autrefois dans l'archipel du Svalbard, mais trois siècles et demi d'exploitation commerciale avaient amené cette espèce animale au bord de l'extinction dans cette région, quand elle fut finalement déclarée espèce protégée en 1952. Depuis le milieu des années 80, les morses sont de nouveau observés couramment dans diverses parties du Svalbard. En s'appuyant sur des documents publiés, des interviews et des observations sur le terrain, on tente d'identifier les régions du Svalbard où l'on a observé ces animaux, dans le passé et de nos jours, et d'indiquer la présence de tous les sites connus où abordent les morses dans l'archipel. Notre étude révèle qu'on a aperçu le plus souvent les morses durant l'été dans quatre grandes régions. Les résultats indiquent en outre que les morses du Svalbard sont en majorité des mâles. L'observation de femelles et de petits a été faite en majorité aux confins nord-est du Svalbard, jouxtant l'archipel russe François-Joseph. On discute de la possibilité de migrations se produisant entre ces deux régions géographiques et on suggère que les morses peuplant ces deux archipels font partie d'une population commune.Mots clés: morse, Odobenus rosmarus, Svalbard, repartitio

Norwegian Arctic Expansionism, Victoria Island (Russia) and the Bratvaag Expedition

Victoria Island (Ostrov Viktoriya in Russian) is the westernmost island of the Russian Arctic. The legal status of this island and neighbouring Franz Josef Land was unclear in 1929 and 1930. At that time Norwegian interests attempted, through a secret campaign to annex Victoria Island and gain a foothold on parts of Franz Josef Land. We describe the events leading up to the Norwegian annexation, which was later abandoned for political reasons.L'île Victoria (en russe Ostrov Viktoriya) est l'île la plus occidentale de l'Arctique russe. En 1929 et 1930, le statut légal de cette île et de l'archipel François-Joseph voisin n'était pas bien défini. À cette époque, les intérêts norvégiens tentaient, par le biais d'une campagne secrète, d'annexer l'île Victoria et d'établir une emprise sur des zones de l'archipel François-Joseph. On décrit les événements menant à l'annexion norvégienne, annexion qui fut délaissée par la suite pour des raisons politiques

Food sample analysis of seabirds collected during the 'Lance'-cruise in ice-filled waters in Eastern Svalbard 1984

This report gives a preliminary account of the analysis of stomach contents of seabirds collected in ice-filled waters in the Eastern parts of Svalbard during the "Lance"-expedition in summer 1984. A total of 40 seabirds of 7 species were collected. The dominating seabirds were Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis and Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla, with 8 and 18 individuals respectively. The results confirm earlier investigations and state that Arctic Cod Boreogadus saida and different crustaceans, both pelagic and epibenthic forms associated to the sea ice are the main prey species of the seabirds. Fulmars also depend on polychaetes and squid

Ringed seal Phoca hispida fright behaviour caused by walrus Odobenus rosmarus

Other marine mammals tend to avoid walruses. The present paper describes two incidents of avoidance behaviour displayed by ringed seals in the presence of a walrus

Reindeer on Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard

Svalbard reindeer were exterminated on the island of Prins Karls Forland just after the turn of the last century. In July 1994, after a period of 90 years, reindeer were again observed on the island