Polar bear in Svalbard, Norway

© Dennis Stogsdill/Getty Image

Taking a New Year nap. Polar bear in Svalbard, Norway

A bracing dip on New Year’s Day is a traditional way to start the new year for some, as warmly dressed crowds watching hardy swimmers take the plunge, often in fancy dress to raise money for charity. In the UK, most of these events happen at Christmas but New Year ‘polar bear plunges’ are also popular around the world.

Of course, for actual polar bears, like this sleepy fellow in the Svalbard islands of Norway, icy plunges are an everyday occurrence and won’t elicit much more than a yawn.