Hold Her Tight
Hold Her Tight
Nunavut
A mother polar bear awakes with her newborn cub of the year. The mystical light seemed to mirror the Arctic cold. She spent only a few seconds examining my good friend David and me, then meandered back into the sunset. I and David, an Inuit elder and accomplished guide, had waited hours for a surreal moment such as this. I immediately reviewed the images, then high-fived my friend. But it was a bittersweet moment. A tear rolled down my cheek as we snowmobiled back to camp that night, because I couldn’t repress what I knew about the risks now facing this mother and her species. It made me cherish even more the rare and splendid privilege of sharing these hours with a mother polar bear. I was also grateful for David, who has become a lifelong friend and mentor. Without him, this image would never have happened. Every year that I have travelled with David, he has always reminded me, “You only have a mom and a dad once.” Those words strongly resonated within me. This cub knows its existence depends on the determination, nurturing ability and love of its mom. In polar bears, as in all of nature, we can see ourselves.
