There has been a lot of publicity around a few polar bears and a whale carcass and many have shown the more 'adult' bears standing on it. But for me, the real struggle in this location is this bear.
Know to us as 'Minnie', she is an 18 month orphan polar bear, half the size of bears her age and has had NO help to the ways of survival. Minnie has become a 'tough little cookie', learning to stand her ground with bears her age and older. If the whale carcass had not been around her fight for survival would have ended very quickly. But fate seems to have turned for the better and the bears located in this area are currently tolerant and well fed.
I hope she does make it and becomes a success story, rather than a statistic!
The shot just to clarify, is of her walking along the backbone of the decaying whale.
By having a very good Naturalist on board the vessel, spending time with the bears and a bit of homework. If you think we have problems with netting, bottles etc on the beaches here, visit Svalbard and see what is lost overboard and swept onto the shoreline. A few of us spent a few hours onshore clearing it up.
Behind the whale was a white carrier bag, it's no longer there now
Posted by Andy Shepherd on October 1, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Hi Steve,
For me, this is your best post to date on UKNP, it's a fantastic image !!
Andy...
Posted by Mark Davies on October 1, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I agree with Andy S ,a tidy pic it is too .Processed smack on for me.
Posted by jack chapman on October 1, 2009 at 12:01 PM
very nice, love the dripping fur and a great setting
Posted by Guy Rogers on October 2, 2009 at 9:06 AM
Hello Stephen.
A excellent image made all the better with the story behind it.
Posted by eric weight on October 2, 2009 at 2:03 PM
That's really good, the brown rock and the yellow by its feet add a welcome splash of colour. interesting background story as well. Makes a post so much more interesting. Eric
Posted by Paul Thomas on October 3, 2009 at 6:46 AM
That's a lovely shot Stephen and an interesting story. The news about all that rubbish is rather disturbing though. Most of us would imagine Svalbard to be pretty pristine so there's a story there that needs to be told.
Discussion
12 repliesKnow to us as 'Minnie', she is an 18 month orphan polar bear, half the size of bears her age and has had NO help to the ways of survival. Minnie has become a 'tough little cookie', learning to stand her ground with bears her age and older. If the whale carcass had not been around her fight for survival would have ended very quickly. But fate seems to have turned for the better and the bears located in this area are currently tolerant and well fed.
I hope she does make it and becomes a success story, rather than a statistic!
The shot just to clarify, is of her walking along the backbone of the decaying whale.
Location: Svalbard
Kit:
MKIII 300f/2.8 f/6.3 ISO400
Behind the whale was a white carrier bag, it's no longer there now
For me, this is your best post to date on UKNP, it's a fantastic image !!
Andy...
A great shot,be tempted to crop from the top as its a tad too central for my tastes!!
Nice story to go with it!
Craig
www.craigchurchill.co.uk
Superb and very interesting shot Steve, nice to know the story behind it as well!
Cheers,
Lewis.
Brett
A excellent image made all the better with the story behind it.
Paul