Sighting of a Polar Bear | The Search for Polar Bears | BBC Earth

We're going to stop behind an iceberg to lay low and keep watch. At last, my first polar bear. He knows we're here, yet he's still coming closer. He's either inquisitive or incredibly bold. Watching this great bear coming ever closer to me, I have to admit my heart is absolutely racing. This male is twice the size of a female, measuring about just under three metres from nose tip to tail and weighing in at a good 600 kilos. If he rears up, he'll be twice as high as me and almost 10 times as heavy. A bit alarming as he keeps coming towards us. Everyone stand by your machine ready to start. Turning on the snowmobile will be enough to stop him from coming any closer, which is reassuring. He's showing remarkably little fear of us. And now I can see better from only a few metres away. He's an adolescent, probably only about five years old, but still very impressive. Considering the size of this vast wilderness, we're incredibly lucky to have such a close encounter with a polar bear. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to be too interested in us. Something else is catching his attention. He's using that great nose of his to sniff the air, most likely hoping to find a ringed seal. He can pick up the scent of seals hidden in dens under the ice from over a kilometre away. But that's not what he can smell. It's that female over there with her young, my first mother and cub. Jason's certain she's not one of our two, as we're not in the right area, but still it's a fantastic sight. A young male is a reason for a mother bear to be wary. If he's hungry enough, he may attack her cub.