Polar Bear, King of the Arctic

Also known as “sea bear”, ”white bear” and “ice bear”.

Nanook, the Inuit word for “polar bear” means “the one who walks on ice” and “the ever wandering one”.

These names reflect the natural behavior of the Polar bear, the largest land carnivore. They can travel thousands of miles during the course of a year as they patrol the ice searching for seals. They have been known to swim 100 miles.

The skin of a polar bear is actually jet black. The hair is translucent and only appears white due to reflected visible light.

Polar bears have a strong sense of smell, being able to detect a seal on the ice 20 miles away!!! Much of their life is spent hunting for food, however, less than 2% of hunts are successful. Key to their survival, they can fast for months surviving only off stored fat.

A Polar bear patiently waits by an opening in the ice for an unsuspecting seal to come up for air. This photo was taken from a helicopter while flying over Hudson Bay.

When polar bears wander into the town of Churchill on Hudson Bay, they become a danger to the residents. They are darted and air lifted out on to the pack ice.

I had the good fortune to participate in a polar bear air lift from Churchill, Canada. A tranquilized polar bear is dangling from the helicopter in a cargo net.

This video was taken from a zodiac (small inflatable boat) in Svalbard, Norway. These bears were found feeding on a decomposing Minke whale carcass.

Bad weather has the potential to create more dramatic photographs. Sometimes the conditions make shooting almost impossible. It’s difficult to hold a camera steady in 50mph wind! This location was Hudson Bay, Canada.

This photo was taken during the blowing snow storm shown in the video