Country Images Magazine Derby Edition November 2016 | Page 9

Into the
Realm of the Ice Bear
Part One
By Brian Spencer

The call came down from the bridge to say there was a bear near the edge of the ice
shelf a short distance away and Captain Sergey Nestarov proposed to sail as close to it
as possible. Armed with cameras and binoculars, we rushed up on deck only to find that
rather than move away the bear was moving to meet us. We stopped, gently touching the
ice and waited to see what would happen next. The polar bear must have thought it was
facing a hundred ready meals and came right up to the side of the ship. Here it stayed
for at least half an hour, moving back and forth, once dashing off as something spooked
it, but returning to within a few feet of all the waiting cameras every time. Eventually
he must have tired of all this fruitless activity and lay down and went to sleep, no doubt
dreaming of the lovely meals just out of his grasp.

Our visitor who went to sleep!
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