Photographer Benjamin Hardman reposted footage filmed last year showing a polar bear hopping across storm-tossed pancake ice in the Arctic's marginal ice zone. The clip highlights the bear's surprising agility as frozen discs rise and fall on storm-driven swells. Scientists warn that declining seasonal sea ice forces polar bears to swim farther, spend more time ashore, and face reduced hunting success, making this footage both remarkable and sobering.
Mesmerizing Video: Polar Bear 'Surfs' Pancake Ice During Arctic Storm
Watch Polar Bear ‘Surf’ Rolling Pancake Ice in Hypnotic Arctic Storm Clip (Video)
A striking clip captured by Iceland-based photographer Benjamin Hardman shows a polar bear bounding across rolling slabs of pancake ice as storm-driven swells push through the Arctic Ocean. The animal hops from one floating disc to the next with uncanny balance — for a few hypnotic seconds it almost looks like it is surfing the frozen sea.
Watch the video on YouTube. Hardman recently reposted the footage, which he filmed last year, with the caption:
"The craziest thing I've captured in the Arctic. A Polar Bear walking over a wave of pancake ice during a storm in the marginal ice zone."
What Is Happening Here?
The scene unfolds in the marginal ice zone — the ever-shifting edge where compact sea ice meets open ocean. Wind and swell in that zone fracture the ice into circular discs called pancake ice. During storms those plates rise and fall with the swell, creating a dynamic, moving seascape that few animals are adapted to navigate.
Why the Footage Matters
Despite the violent-looking conditions, the bear moves with surprising agility. Polar bears are powerful swimmers and routinely travel long distances across sea ice to hunt seals, their primary prey. Their physiology and behavior let them negotiate unstable floes that would challenge most land mammals.
At the same time, this footage is a reminder of a broader challenge: seasonal sea ice is declining as global temperatures rise. Scientists report that many polar bears are being forced to swim farther, spend more time on land, and experience lower hunting success. Conservation groups warn that shrinking sea ice remains one of the greatest long-term threats to the species because it limits access to the platforms they rely on for feeding and movement.
Hardman's clip offers a rare glimpse of both resilience and vulnerability: a powerful animal skillfully negotiating a turbulent, changing environment.
Originally published by Surfer on Aug 3, 2026.
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