We are seeing polar bear everyday here in The Hudson Bay!
This series of shots are a mama and cub at play.
Polar Bear health is rated on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being too thin and starving, and 5 being overfed and obese.
I am happy to report that all the bears we are seeing are healthy fours!
The population of polar bears at Hudson Bay are thought to number between 900-1000.
Some estimates indicate Hudson Bay populations may have declined approximately 17%- 22% in recent years, but they have rebounded from all time population lows in the 1950’s-70’s.
All the bears we are seeing look really healthy.
During the end of August, polar bears are in a state of semi-stuporous, walking hibernation, waiting for the waters of the bay to freeze up, so they can head out and hunt seals.
They still do eat and hunt though, and I will show you some photos of this in my next post.
But, for the most part, these lazy August days are spent sleeping, playing and swimming.
This little cub though, seems quite intent on depriving mama of her nap!
The affection between them was beautiful to see.
Cheers to you from the happy, healthy bears of The Hudson Bay~
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You meet up with the nicest friends.
I do, and friends of friends, like these ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ s and you Rebecca <3
I can’t quite believe those photographs; they are simply wonderful. A genuine pleasure to see – you must be VERY pleased. And what a privilege to see those creatures at play.
Thanks so much. The whole thing as been like a dream. We saw our first bears about five minutes after landing and have been seeing them everyday since!
That must have been amazing!
Yes. A thrill I have waited a lifetime to see.
Thank you for sharing those wonderful photos, Cindy 😀
Thank you more Irene for appreciating the ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ s
Loved seeing these truly amazing photos, Cindy. Hopefully the waters do freeze for them. You’re so close to me. Just slightly further north. 🙂
Where are you? You live in such a stunning part of the world.
Sudbury, Ontario 🙂
You’ve got the borealis, the berries, the wildlife, and the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area, all so close to you! Lucky you.
What magnificent creatures they are! And, they look so cuddly… were you tempted to join in on the fun 🙂 Great shots!
It is super hard to imagine them as fierce predators, even though one bear was walking around with a seal spine and a couple of ribs in his mouth!
They are around in the summer! Excellent! Glad to see them healthy 🙂 Great photos!
Thank you! They laze around mostly in August, waiting for the freeze-up so they can go sealing on the ice. I actually saw a group of belugas surround a swimming polar bear and bother it.
What a beautiful post! Thanks, Cindy. I’ve seen photos and videos of starving bears, and it breaks my heart and makes me furious, at the same time, so I’m relieved these 2 are healthy. Let’s hope they will continue to thrive, in spite of human activity and climate change.
I share your hopes and feelings. The bears we have seen so far are looking quite good. But in terms of the Hudson Bay population, they are an n of 8 out of 900.
What a pleasure that you make us see these splendid creatures ! Thank you very much, Cindy!:)
Thank you more for appreciating them Marina <3
They’re beautiful!!
<3 ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ <3
These are wonderful photos, Cindy. How lucky you are to see these guys!
Thank you! It was an exceptional experience.
Such cuties! Thank you for sharing these!
Thank you for appreciating the ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ s
The ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ s and I thank you!
We we’re so moved by your pictures that we even double-comment! Sorry about that, but we’re definitely not sorry for seeing those little bears on your replies! Thank you!
You just made me smile, and chuckle, so thank you!
These are stunning!! You must be very brave or have an excellent telephoto lens. 😉 x
I credit my trust Sony which can zoom up to 1200mm equivalent.
My son Domer had a polar bear stuffed animal when he was little — way whiter than this mama and her cub! They’re just so precious — thank you, Cindy, for capturing them at play.
My daughter did too and she was completely attached to her. She called her Gunny Bear and kept her into adulthood.
These are incredibly beautiful shots, Cindy! Polar bears at play, so cute. Was this in the wild?
Thank you Peter, and yes indeed, this is in the very wild, on the shores of The Hudson Bay in Manitoba. We have seen bears everyday and thousands of beluga whales too.
WOW these are FANTASTIC pics Cindy! Thanks for sharing!
The ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ s and I thank you Gary!
Hey Cindy..I’m not that smart on WordPress. I wanted to send an ecologist friend of mine your link so he can see all of your blogs. I thought he would love your pics and info. Do I just give him your https://cindyknoke.com link or does he need to do something else to see all your past blogs. Thx Cindy
Ahh, so thoughtful of you Gary. Thank you! You can send him the link but there is a lot of content. It might be better for him to just google anything he might be interested in, like “cindy knoke parrots”, or bears, or elephants, or countries, Africa, Antarctica etc. I used to be good at tagging posts with topic tags, so they would link together by topic, but I have done less of it lately because WP seemed to discourage it, but it should still work. Also WP does link similar topics on posts for the reader to see related content, so posts on polar bears link to grizzly bears etc which is helpful to see other posts on related topics.
So nice of you Gary. Thanks again & cheers my friend!
Such fun to see them play like this Cindy, what a treat! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂💖 xxx
Thank you! Watching them play clarifies what is important in life <3
Absolutely stunning photos of the polar bears playing. Thank so much, Cindy.
Thank you more for appreciating the ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
Such wonderful photos. Good to see them healthy and happy. 🙂
We are also starting to experience the “grolar bears” – polar/grizzly hybrids caused by the warming Arctic.
Yes. They are mixing up to The Hudson Bay. Grizzly are dominant over polars which surprised me because polars are bigger.
Thank you for these amazing pictures of healthy polar bears. They are adorable, although I would not want to encounter one face to face.
No. Polar bears are best viewed from a safe position and it helps if they just ate!
Fantastic, charming shots!
Thank you beary much <3
How awesome to see them in the wild, majestic creatures!
Aren’t they gorgeous. It is almost hard to imagine them fierce, but they are.
Such beautiful shots, I thoroughly enjoyed watching mama play with her babies. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you for caring about the ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
How a stunning series, Cindy! And, you get to see them everyday! They both look healthy and happy. Thank you for sharing these beautiful and precious photos with us！
Thank you more for appreciating the ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
They do look healthy Cindy, I’m glad they’re okay because there are some who are starving.
Leslie xoxo
I know. Hudson Bay may be the exception. There are thousands of belugas in the bay too and it is basically devoid of development.
It would be nice if it could stay that way….
What a wonderful nature scene you’ve captured with your camera, both the bears and their surroundings! It must have been such a thrill to see them in person.
Yes. I has been and incredible experience. We were seeing bears everyday!
What great family portraits you’ve captured Cindy!!!
I have photographed two sets of moms and cubs. The obvious love and devotion between them is quite moving.
Thank you for sharing. It’s so nice to see this NOT in a zoo.
They are so cute!
It is a bit alarming that their population is declining. I do not know how big the area is but I feel 900-1000 do not seem much.
Hudson Bay is huge, and your are correct. It is a small population for such a vast area. In comparison, there about 50,000 beluga whales in the bay.
That is a concern.
Amazing shots, Cindy, and beautiful play between Momma and her cub! They really made me smile! ❤
That was absolutely wonderful in every way. Thank you so much, Cindy. Beautifuland heartwarming. I’m going to reblog it so more people can see it. <3
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Marvelous images, Cindy. They do look so very healthy and happy, too…thank you for letting us share the love with you.
Aww! They’re precious! Thank you for sharing these and the statistics!
Thank you more for appreciating them <3
You’re most welcome!
ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
How near are you to these frolicking bears?
Boy, I am bad at estimating distance, but I shot most at full zoom which is 1200mm which gives you an idea.
Great photos!
Grazie mille <3
Wow! So very cool.
They are the ultimate cool bears ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ !
Yes indeed!
Awesome photos! I love polar bears! Hugz sweetie
I <3 people who <3 ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
What a beautiful post! As soon as I saw the first frame, I wanted to see more and you delivered…I’m so glad to read that they are wonderfully healthy. Some of our polar bears are mating with the local brown bears in order to survive…
Yes, I have heard this, which is a surprise. I was also surprised that grizzlies actually dominate polar bears who are bigger. But, I suspect, in winter, the dynamic may change, as polar bears have the advantage of camouflage and can sniff out the sleeping grizzly dens.
You are like an umpire “Play Bear!” Beautiful photos. The first photo looks like they are playing Pattycake. Bears can be so playful and innocent looking, but they are not ones to be played with.
Polar bear appearance is so incongruous. They look like fuzzy teddy bears and their affection for each other reminds me of Paddington Bear, but they are the ultimate predators.
After seeing so many horribly sad stories and photos of starving polar bears lately, these are just pure joy! Thank you so much for sharing them Cindy. You’ve given me a little hope.☺️
Thank you for caring <3 We need hope and so do the bears. You make me happy I posted ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
You take the most fabulous trips! It’s lovely to see these bears and see that they are healthy. They have a lovely floppiness to them when they fall back, don’t they?
The mamas certainly do have this almost disjointed, totally relaxed appearance, as they flop on their backs and are attacked by their cubs. I have seen multiple bears do this and it is utterly charming.
Such a thrill to see your photos, Cindy. The bears are beautiful. Love your polar bear graphic/emoticon too.
Thank you Mandy. These are thrill inducing creatures and I am glad I was able to communicate this to you. Hugs to you my friend ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
OMG!!
WHAT A STUNNING CREATURE!!!!
Thank you, Cindy! These bears may be the head of our survival.
I sense a poem…
I’m not a poet… Polar Bear with me! 3
I’ll write one!
Please,
come polar bear,
with me,
and we shall be,
happy and free ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
Okay!!! xo
<3
Wonderful photographs, Cindy! And thanks for sharing this and making me smile! 😊
Thank you for making me smile ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
😊
You bring us good (much needed) news! Heartening!
Boy, do we ever need good news in a world so filled with tragedy. Thank you Eliza and hope you are well.
fascinating… seems so curious to see these healthy Polar Bears romping about in the greenery! I guess I’ve only seen them on ice and snow and, well… polar scenery. How soon will the Bay freeze and has that changed a lot in recent years?
I am surprised and pleased to see so many happy healthy bears. I haven’t seen any starving bears, but I have also seen a very small n of the total population estimated to be around 900. Their numbers are declining and here is a link to an article about global warming in Hudson Bay:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/14/canada-hudson-bay-climate-change-study-warm-temperatures
Just amazing- thanks so much for this very interesting article about this ironic situation, Cindy!
You are most welcome. It is ironic isn’t it.
Wow! Just fantastic!
I <3 people who <3 ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ s! Thank you.
😊😊😊
So special!
Precious, come to mind. Oh, and heartwarming!
Ahhh, thank you. You make me happy I posted them. Cheers to you my friend. ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
Polar bears in a green environment – interesting contrast. And the scenes are just adorable.
They seem to love rolling around on the tundra for a change, but when the temp reaches around 50F, they start to pant, and go for a swim.
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
Lovely pictures of a polar bear mother and her cub playing at The Hudson Bay taken by Cindy Knoke.
The ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ s and I thank you Patricia <3
Love them!!! Great pictures and they look like they are having so much fun! Thank you for making me smile tonight!
Your comment makes me happy I posted. <3 ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้
WOWZA!!! What an amazing and wonderful thing to observe and photograph! They’re beautiful, silly, and real. Thank you for sharing your amazing experience and time there with us. Wow! Just WOW!
Ahhhh, so kind. I so appreciate people who care for our wild creatures. I just feel thrilled to be in their presence. ก็็็็็็็็็็็็็ʕ•͡ᴥ•ʔ ก้้้้้้้้้้้ <3