Playful Photos Of Polar Bears In The Summer, Captured By Martin Gregus Jr.
Since we usually see polar bears in the backdrop of a snowy Arctic environment, it’s difficult to imagine them playing around in a field of flowers. Turns out, these giant white bears love having fun in summer too! The photographer Martin Gregus Jr. managed to capture these bears frolicking around fireweed while studying and documenting their behavior during summer.
Martin and his team spent 33 days camping in a remote part of the Canadian Arctic and captured intimate and peculiar portraits of polar bears that might give you a glimpse of their lesser-known summer lives.
“The idea came to me when I saw my first polar bear with my father in the summer of 2015,” Martin told DeMilked “They were playing and living their life. Their behavior was very unique.” The idea finally came to fruition in 2020 when he decided to do a project with his team. “It took a lot of work, patience, and funding,” he added. His father also joined him in the last 10 days of this project.
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The photographer captured these majestic animals playing amidst fireweed and napping in the green fields
Martin started photography when he was around 8 years old as he went on various photography expeditions with his father. His talent has been recognized in many photography competitions around the world. When he was 11 years old, he won a special commendation in the Natural History Museum’s “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” competition. In 2021, he won the Rising Star Portfolio Award in the National History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) competition , and his documentary 33 Days Among Bears , released last month, has been gaining lots of praise.
There were many challenges that made this project thrilling and adventurous
While camping with these majestic animals, Martin experienced lots of challenges. “It’s difficult physically and mentally to be isolated from the world,” said Martin. In addition to mental and physical challenges, there were storms and other environmental obstacles that made this project dangerous but thrilling. The photographer said that he wasn’t scared of the polar bears but the arctic storms seemed really threatening to him.
The team lived in a remote boat housing for 33 days and used drones, GoPros, and underwater cameras for this project
Martin adapted to the surroundings in a few days and got close to the polar bears to capture some intimate shots
Although these photos are wonderful, they also indicate a threat of increasing climate change
The photographer also highlighted the fact of climate change with this project. It is worth noting that arctic summers are getting long due to climate change. “The unpredictability of the arctic is apparently the biggest threat to the bears,” said Martin. Although the bears adapt to the warm climate by shedding their thick winter coat in the summer, the environment is still very challenging for them to survive. They also become much less active and spend more time in the water.
Saumya Ratan
Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.
