Cub coming out from winter den
Polar bears emerge from winter hibernation
Wildlife photographer Steve Bloom recently captured polar bears emerging from their warm dens for the first time since winter.
Polar bear mothers typically give birth to their cubs in early winter between December and January. Females dig snow dens where they nurse and protect their babies, enabling them to grow before leaving the den in early spring. As the cubs acclimate to the outside temperatures, the mother and her cubs make short trips around the den before departing to the sea ice to hunt for food.
In the photos captured by Bloom, the cubs remain close to their mother for protection and milk. The photographer has spent hundreds of hours in the arctic regions of Canada and Norway in order to capture these threatened mammals.
"Imagine a world without polar bears," said Bloom. "It seems unthinkable, yet as climate change gathers pace, the Arctic ice floes upon which the polar bear depends are beginning to break up. In the years ahead, this could be catastrophic for this truly charismatic bear which, when it stands up, is taller than the largest elephant."
