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  Adult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) resting on sea ice

  Olgastretet, Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean), within the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway

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  Adult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) on sea ice next to an open lead.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

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  Adult male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) play-fighting on sea ice.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

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  Adult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) swimming in an open lead between floes of sea ice.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

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  Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) triplet cubs, about 3 months old, next to their mother.

  Western Hudson Bay polar bear denning area, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada.

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  Adult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) following a scent on the sea ice.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Adult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) traveling on sea ice.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Adult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) resting on sea ice just before sunset.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) sleeping in a snowstorm.

  Edge of western Hudson Bay, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada.

• A friendly encounter on the sea ice at sunset between two adult male polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and cub (about 11 months old) traveling on sea ice.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and yearling cub traveling on sea ice.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and twin cubs (about 6 months old) on sea ice in a fjord.

  Arctic Ocean, northern Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

• Adult male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) confront one another on the sea ice at a seal kill site.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Adult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) warily approaches a seal carcass on the sea ice.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Adult male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) interacting playfully on sea ice.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Adult male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) interacting playfully on sea ice.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) hunting on sea ice next to an open lead.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) interacting playfully on sea ice at sunset.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), about 6 months old, playing with a fishing net it has discovered on the sea ice, pouncing on it like prey.

  Hinlopen Strait, Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean), within the Svalbard Archipelago.

• Adult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) "still-hunting" on the sea ice -- waiting for an opportunity to grab an unsuspecting seal as it surfaces to breathe.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Adult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) "still-hunting" on the sea ice -- waiting for an opportunity to grab an unsuspecting seal as it surfaces to breathe.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) resting on sea ice.

  Olgastretet, Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean), within the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

• An adult female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) swimming stealthily among ice floes.

  North Spitsbergen, Arctic Ocean, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and cub (about 6 months old) traveling and hunting on sea ice.

  Arctic Ocean north of Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and twin cubs (about 6 months old) hunting on sea ice in a fjord.

  Arctic Ocean, northern Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

• Subadult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) cleaning his fur on the sea ice after feeding, being watched by an ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea)

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Subadult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) traveling on sea ice.

  Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Adult female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) resting on sea ice next to an open lead.

  Olgastretet, Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean), within the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.

• Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and triplets (about 2 years old) on sea ice.

  It is very uncommon for all three triplets to survive to this age. Triplet litters are becoming increasingly rare due to the effects of climate change on adult female polar bears. Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.

• Adult male polar bear (Ursus maritimus) traveling on sea ice.

  Arctic Ocean north of the Svalbard Archipelago, near 81-degrees North.

• Adult female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) sleeping on sea ice.

  Olgastretet, Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean), within the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway.