Beliy Medved

Little did I know back in 2019 that this would be the last polar bear I laid eyes on for two years! North winds were ripping off the shores of the world-famous Hudson Bay and the temperature had dropped to about thirty below zero. I stayed on this bear for almost eight hours as we both hunkered down in the stormy conditions.

The snow would pile up on him and every now and again something in the wind caught his attention. It was in one of these moments of attention-grabbing distractions in the wind when I captured this photograph. The bear's head would shoot up from under the snow, sniffing the air a little before settling back down and eventually becoming buried under the snow again. I eventually left the sleeping bear as darkness started to fall.

As I previously mentioned, little did I know at the moment that a pandemic was around the corner and three hundred and sixty-six days would pass before I would find myself face to face with another polar bear. I often wonder to myself at the end of these encounters, with the animals I love so much – ‘is this the last time we meet’? One never knows what the future holds for us. I never take a moment in the wild for granted and soak up all these special moments to create lasting memories.