Churchill photographer and guide Alex De Vries – Magnifico captured this rare shot of a polar bear and beluga whales in the same frame. As a Churchill Arctic Summer guide for Natural Habitat Adventures for over a decade, I only encountered a polar bear in the water a few times. Of those amazing encounters I never was able to frame a photo with both animals in the shot.
This sequence is rare since polar bears have little chance of catching a beluga whale in the open water. There have been some reports of polar bears nabbing a whale in the shallows when unsuspecting belugas venture too close to the shoreline. Most of the whale carcasses with polar bears scavenging seen in photos are whales that have beached from sickness resulting in death.
Alex, working as a guide for Sea North Tours, has access to incredible interactions while driving a zodiac on whale watching groups on the Churchill River and out in the Hudson Bay. When something as rare as this occurs very few have the ability to get the shot. Alex reacted and definitely nailed an fantastic image. Enjoy!