A wildlife photographer proved that patience is a virtue when waiting for bad weather to pass resulted in an incredible encounter with a pair of\u00a0polar bears\u00a0and a pod of\u00a0beluga whales.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ocean photographer\u00a0Greg Lecoeur\u00a0<\/a>was in\u00a0Svalbard, Norway, on a photography assignment. One day, he was sailing through the ice pack in thick fog. It was so foggy that the crew decided to stop the boat for a while and wait out the weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n They turned off the engine and went to get some rest for the night. \u201cAt four o’clock in the morning, the captain came to my door \u2013 knocked on my door,\u201d he says. Going up on deck, he saw that a curious mother polar bears<\/a> and her calf had approached the boat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n While he was taking photos of the mum and calf, Lecoeur heard a noise \u2013 something was singing. \u201cThe belugas passed under the boat and they just appeared,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were very surprised and I think the polar bear was also very surprised about the big pod of beluga<\/a> coming so close.\u201d<\/p>\n See the amazing moment the pod of beluga whales passes the polar bears. Credit: Greg Lecoeur<\/p>\n Although he appreciates how lucky he was to be in exactly the right spot to witness the magical moment, for Lecoeur it\u2019s also a reminder that the very best wildlife encounters happen when we let the animals set the terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you wait and you don’t make noise, and you don’t chase wildlife, after a while they come to you,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n