Featured Image Credit: GrindTV
By Kira Krall
While many humans are typically groggy in the morning, visitors to Canada’s arctic got to experience the spunkier side of waking up before dawn. A mother and her two, two-year-old cubs were wandering near the group of humans. The cubs approached the electrified fence and spent some time investigating the strange bipedal humans. Watch the video of the encounter here!
The tourists were on the expedition with Arctic Kingdom, a company that specializes in wildlife safaris to the Canadian Arctic. They spent four days traveling the ice with Inuit guides in search of its residents when they got up-close to its most famous species. Expedition leader David Briggs captured the video of the encounter and even this seasoned expert was delighted by the cub’s curious nature.
Guides spotted the bears on the horizon as the sun began to rise and were optimistic that their presence would invite the bears over to get a closer look. The group had plenty of time to set up their equipment to get the perfect vantage point for videos and pictures.
Polar bears have a reputation for being pretty aggressive, and for good reason. Life on the ice makes finding a meal tough and a polar bear (especially a hungry one) might see a human as a potential meal. The non-invasive electrified fence shown in the video is the primary barrier between humans and the Arctic’s apex predator. The experienced expedition guides paid close attention to the bear’s behavior and were prepared with rifles to scare the bears off if things went sour.