Category: Animals

Our group had been following this herd of reindeer (especially this big boy) all around from a large distance for hours. They always kept just a little to far away for a good shot. So one of the guides took a group down to the water to see the birds. I was birded out by then so I stayed up in the rocks with the high scout keeping an eye out for polar bears..

This reindeer came right up to my rock. He had a 2ft section of blue fishing net stuck in his antlers that he kept rubbing in the ground. He was right next to me. So I very slowly moved forward and slipped one part of the net off–then he back up. Then he came and rubbed on my rock again and I was able to trap part of the net and he pulled back and it came off!

Then he went straight down toward the water munching grass all the way. He was walking just 20Ft behind my friends for a good 15 minutes. They never turned around. I couldn’t say anything or I would have scared the whole herd.

I kept hearing my mentor David McKay saying “remember shoot and move, turn around-get different perspective” is ever right!

When we saw these two polar bears at the top on the ice field, we thought oh a mom and her cub. But our guide said it was a BIG male bear (you can tell by the size and their big neck) most likely hunting the younger lone bear that looked pretty skinny.

Of the 22 bears that we saw this one bear was the only one that didn’t look fat and healthy.

Bears were photographed in the high arctic at above 82 degrees N at the ice edge.

We were fortunate to encounter 22 bears. All but one seemed very healthy.

This mom and cubs were feeding on the very last remains of a whale. The cubs were thought to be about 1 year old.