Polar bear caught on camera chilling out in Arctic

By Dean Murray

A British wildlife photographer has captured cool scenes of a polar bear seemingly doing yoga - and then chilling out.

Paul Goldstein spotted the agile animal while guiding in the Arctic this month.

He said: "When you are way, way above the Arctic Circle, above 81 degrees, in the pack ice, the nearest marker North is the pole itself so finding polar bears is challenging.

"But if you strike gold, or in this case, an initial ivory blob, it is utterly captivating.

"There is 24-hour daylight here, so in instances like this, schedules and routines are utterly misplaced, like they should be on all wildlife expeditions and safaris.

"We immediately went onto bear time, when he slept, so did we.

"He'd been feeding on a seal, and after a post-meal sashay across the pans of ice and a gentle swim, he proceeded to put in a workout shift that many pilates or yoga studios would have been proud of.

"Bears, like us, get hot when they eat, so he is actually crushing his hollow fur to cool down, but it was an extended session.

"There was no ship within a hundred nautical miles except us. I am thankful to my boat captain's remarkable spotting skills at 12km out.

"A dozen of us, and a large male Ursus Maritimus.

"Bearly believable."