Ingrid Kuster, Polar bear water reflection (SINGLE SHOT 2023)

During a recent expedition cruise to the Arctic, we had this amazing close encounter with a young male polar bear. This bear was first sighted some distance from our stationary ship and over a period of 10-15 minutes the polar bear made his way toward us, swimming between the ice packs and walking over it. He came within 100 meters of our ship but seemed oblivious to us and just walked past the ship on his merry way. He then disappeared from sight between the ice packs. What am amazing experience to see a polar bear in such close proximity its natural environment.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.