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Bears have captivated my imagination from the time I was a small child. I saw my first bear when I was about six years old while camping with my parents on Vancouver Island. Since that time, I have been no less fascinated by their behaviour and intelligence. But I think the true attraction to observing bears comes from that strange mix of emotions that the experience encompasses, and it is always one of utmost respect and awe with a bit of well-managed fear. With all the bear species in these collections, the juxtaposition of what I know of bears’ ferocity and power is matched with their penchant for displaying playfulness, curiosity, and gentleness. What could be more enchanting?
Debra’s polar bear images have garnered international acclaim. “Warm Embrace” was a People’s Choice Award winner in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards and was part of a world-wide exhibition at Royal History Museums around the world. “Peer Amid” was Highly Honoured in the Polar Passion Category of Nature’s Best Photography and was included in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum photography exhibit in Washington, DC. Debra endured temperatures of -50C (-58F) to capture these winter den emergence images.
Polar Bears hold a special place in the lives of Indigenous northern people. The Inuit call the polar bear Nanuq, or “king of the iqsinaqtuit” or “those that make one frightened”. The Inuit have many other names for the ruler of the Arctic including: ‘the ever-wandering one’, ‘the one who walks on ice’ and ‘the great white one’. There are several Inuit legends that depict the bear as humans in disguise, where they would be bears outside the igloo and then shed their skins to come inside.
In western culture the Polar Bears (ursus maritimus) have become the symbols for climate change as the disappearing sea-ice is what they depend on for hunting seals. Their conservation status is listed as vulnerable.
Debra’s polar bear images have garnered international acclaim. “Warm Embrace” was a People’s Choice Award winner in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards and was part of a world-wide exhibition at Royal History Museums around the world. “Peer Amid” was Highly Honoured in the Polar Passion Category of Nature’s Best Photography and was included in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum photography exhibit in Washington, DC. Debra endured temperatures of -50C (-58F) to capture these winter den emergence images.
Polar Bears hold a special place in the lives of Indigenous northern people. The Inuit call the polar bear Nanuq, or “king of the iqsinaqtuit” or “those that make one frightened”. The Inuit have many other names for the ruler of the Arctic including: ‘the ever-wandering one’, ‘the one who walks on ice’ and ‘the great white one’. There are several Inuit legends that depict the bear as humans in disguise, where they would be bears outside the igloo and then shed their skins to come inside.
In western culture the Polar Bears (ursus maritimus) have become the symbols for climate change as the disappearing sea-ice is what they depend on for hunting seals. Their conservation status is listed as vulnerable.
In the west coast Haida culture, the bear is known as the “Elder Kinsman” and treated as a noble guest. Legend says that a First Nations chief’s daughter fell in love with and married a Bear, who happened to be the nephew of the Great Bear Chief. She gave birth to twin bear cubs and was known as the Bear Mother. This created a close relationship between Bears and humans.
The Indigenous legends of the Spirit Bear tell us that he was given his white coat by Raven, the Creator. The white coat was given to the black bear to remind us of the long-ago Age of Ice, when all the bears were white. The spirit bear is said to have the ability to swim to great depths with ease and to take people on spiritual journeys.
Western science tells us that the Spirit Bear is a black bear (ursus Americanus) with a rare recessive white gene. This white gene is thought to be a chance mutation. Also known as the Kermode bear (ursus Kermodei), the white bear lives on the northwest coast of British Columbia, where on certain islands near the Douglas Channel, one in ten black bears express the white coat.
In the west coast Haida culture, the bear is known as the “Elder Kinsman” and treated as a noble guest. Legend says that a First Nations chief’s daughter fell in love with and married a Bear, who happened to be the nephew of the Great Bear Chief. She gave birth to twin bear cubs and was known as the Bear Mother. This created a close relationship between Bears and humans.
The Indigenous legends of the Spirit Bear tell us that he was given his white coat by Raven, the Creator. The white coat was given to the black bear to remind us of the long-ago Age of Ice, when all the bears were white. The spirit bear is said to have the ability to swim to great depths with ease and to take people on spiritual journeys.
Western science tells us that the Spirit Bear is a black bear (ursus Americanus) with a rare recessive white gene. This white gene is thought to be a chance mutation. Also known as the Kermode bear (ursus Kermodei), the white bear lives on the northwest coast of British Columbia, where on certain islands near the Douglas Channel, one in ten black bears express the white coat.
Of all the wildlife experiences of my career, my time spent in Katmai National Park, Alaska with the Coastal Brown Bears, are among my most treasured encounters. It has been an honour to observe and photograph brown bears in the pristine wilderness of remote Alaska, 100 miles from any road or civilization. To see their daily activities and interactions – from hunting salmon to digging for clams, protecting cubs, and interacting with coastal wolves – to stand on the tidal flats and have as many as fifteen bears around you as they hunt salmon – is an experience unparalleled.
The brown bear is a symbol of wisdom, strength, power and protection and as such has become an important icon of Indigenous cultures from the northern reaches of the Arctic to the Coastal Rainforests, to the plains of the Prairies.
Of all the wildlife experiences of my career, my time spent in Katmai National Park, Alaska with the Coastal Brown Bears, are among my most treasured encounters. It has been an honour to observe and photograph brown bears in the pristine wilderness of remote Alaska, 100 miles from any road or civilization. To see their daily activities and interactions – from hunting salmon to digging for clams, protecting cubs, and interacting with coastal wolves – to stand on the tidal flats and have as many as fifteen bears around you as they hunt salmon – is an experience unparalleled.
The brown bear is a symbol of wisdom, strength, power and protection and as such has become an important icon of Indigenous cultures from the northern reaches of the Arctic to the Coastal Rainforests, to the plains of the Prairies.
