08/01/2026
This Christmas we got an amazing gift! First prize in the mammal category at the global Share the View contest with an image made from our first attempt at photographing bears in the wild.
Prashant has had a fascination with bears ever since he was 8 years old, and seeing bears in the wild has been high on our bucket list since we took to wildlife photography. That dream came true in July when he traveled to Alaska to photograph coastal brown bears.
This image is titled “My Hero!”.
Being a mother bear is hard work! The cubs need constant feeding as they need to double in weight every fortnight to have any chance of surviving the winter months. Even if they solve for body weight, multiple other factors mean that bear cub mortality rates are obscenely high. As we tracked this mother bear at Lake Clark National Park, we got some insight into why this could be. Aggressive male bears everywhere and other female bears a-plenty, this mom was always alert and proactively keeping her cubs away from the slightest danger. Yet she did so with great calm, grace and seeming good spirit. So much so that this cub seems to be looking up at her saying ‘Thank you. You are my hero!’
