26/08/2026
Polar Bear Pops Up at Seal’s Breathing Hole in Jaw-Dropping Wildlife Photo
A polar bear gave one wildlife photographer the ultimate close-up — peering straight into an underwater camera from a seal’s breathing hole in the Canadian Arctic.
Norwegian photographer Audun Rikardsen captured the extraordinary encounter after rigging a motion-sensor camera beneath the hole while working as a guide with Arctic Wildlife Tours.
Then, at 4 a.m., a female polar bear appeared.
The massive predator approached the breathing hole and looked down directly at the camera, producing a stunning image from what appears to be the seal’s point of view.
Rikardsen wasn’t exactly in a hurry to retrieve the camera.
He waited eight hours for the bear to move away before finally collecting it and checking the images.
His reaction?
“I was so extremely happy. I was screaming, so I probably woke up all the polar bears for miles.”
The image earned a Highly Commended spot in the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Rikardsen is no stranger to the competition. He previously won the Birds category in 2019 and Oceans: The Bigger Picture in 2025.
The competition’s overall winners are set to be announced Oct. 13, 2026, with an exhibition opening at London’s Natural History Museum three days later.
For Rikardsen, however, the prize may already have been the picture of a lifetime: a polar bear looking straight into his lens from beneath the Arctic ice.
