The coastal plains and river valleys are the polar bear denning grounds. Females come ashore in autumn to den in the snow drifts, and the island is thought to hold several hundred dens in a good year — the densest concentration known. Summer visitors see bears on the shore and on the remaining ice rather than at dens.

The spits and beaches hold Pacific walrus. When the sea ice retreats beyond the continental shelf, tens of thousands haul out on the island's shores in one of the largest gatherings of the species anywhere — a genuinely overwhelming sight and sound.

The inland tundra supports the snow goose colony, the only one left in Asia, along with introduced musk ox and reindeer, snowy owls, and Arctic fox denning among the nesting geese.

The surrounding waters produce grey and bowhead whales, and the ice edge is where most bear sightings actually happen from a ship.

July and August are the only practical months, when ice conditions may allow an ice-strengthened vessel through.

Access

This is a zapovednik — Russia's strictest protection category — and visits require permission from the reserve itself, arranged through the small number of operators licensed to land there. Voyages depart from Anadyr in Chukotka aboard ice-class expedition ships, and every landing is accompanied by reserve rangers and armed bear guards.

Be aware that access for international visitors has been highly constrained in recent years for reasons that have nothing to do with ice, and sailings are frequently announced and then cancelled. Verify that a specific departure is actually operating, and understand the visa and permit position for your nationality, before committing money to it.