But there is still an arctic climate with around 5 C in summer and -20 C in winter. I've had the privilege to study Barnacle Geese in Ny lesund for three summers and to work as a guide for Oceanwide Expeditions on trip around Spitsbergen . On these pages I try to give you some information about the nature and birds of this remarkable place. The mammals There are only 3 land mammals on Spitsbergen, the Arctic Fox, the Svalbard Reindeer and the Polar Bear. In the sea the diversity is much larger although whalers tried very hard to eliminate all sea mammals.
Seals are still quite common.
There is a fair chance on Bearded Seal, Ringed Seal and some more. While walking around on Spitsbergen special precautions should be taken in case you meet a Polar Bear. For a Polar Bear you can look like a nice change of his diet of seal meat and he might attack almost without warning. Even in Ny lesund, where almost no Polar Bears are seen, almost everybody carries a gun with him when he goes outside the village. That this is not an unnecessary precaution is shown by the following.