This is the adorable moment a pair of polar bear cubs seem to say ‘hi’ to the group of people that were filming them, by waving straight to the camera. The lovely scene was caught on camera by Laura Keene, a 57-year-old amateur photographer, on Barrier Islands in Alaska.
Though the incredible snap show the one-year-old cubs appearing to wave to the camera, the story behind it explains what really happened. As it turned out, the bears – a female and her two cubs – were actually spotted another polar bear family far behind. So the youngsters stood up on their hind legs to better notice what was happening.
“It was such a surreal moment for me as a photographer when I saw that wave movement, Laura who works as a clinical pharmacist, said. “Though intellectually I knew it was simply the cub moving to keep his balance as he stood upright, I pressed the shutter desperately hoping that I could capture that scene in focus as our boat rocked and pulled away.”
The two polar bear families got alerted by a massive male they’ve been spotted sleeping in the area. So the mother became extremely vigilant as the males are extremely aggressive with the cubs.
“That day, our bear guide Ketil Reitan scanned the islands and noticed two families of bears, each with a mum and two cubs,” Laura explained. “From a distance he could see unusual behaviour, the mother bears were occasionally standing.
“He navigated the boat to the area and when we arrived he saw the reason – there was a huge male polar bear sleeping nearby.”
