A local tour guide in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, watched on nervously while a determined polar bear tracked a mum and her two vulnerable cubs. Male polar bears often kill cubs to bring females back into heat.
“Heart-stopping encounter!” says Leroy Whitmore, owner of Sub-Arctic Tours while sharing the nail-biting footage on Instagram. “A male polar bear stalked a mother and her two cubs for 40 minutes, but she defended them fiercely and stayed in front of her babies at all times.”
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In the footage, the mother and cubs can be seen clustered together closely in the water while the male repeatedly swims towards the three bears, getting terrifyingly close. One of his intended victims even lunges towards the male to try to keep him away.
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Thankfully for the young family, they escaped safely from their pursuer. “The male was relentless, but the trio stayed one step ahead, swimming backwards and changing directions,” says Whitmore who watched the encounter with bated breath. “When they reached shore, the male backed off, seemingly deterred by the cubs' size.”
“Mother polar bears are truly remarkable, protecting their young with bravery and cunning,” he says, admitting that he was hugely relieved that the mother and cubs didn’t come to any harm. “A few times even one of the cub's attempted to scare off the aggressor, he was so brave to help his Momma.”
Credit: Leroy Whitmore, Sub-Arctic Tours, https://subarctictours.ca/
