At this time of year.
Polar bears on average succeed only once
in 20 hunts.
If the hunter is skinny like this one,
that may not be often enough.
All she can do
is keep trying.
To prevent her scent betraying her.
She makes a wide sweep to get downwind
of the seal.
Getting close.
She’s now right
behind the seal.
Incredibly,
she caught the seals underwater.
It’s only small,
but even so,
its blubber alone will contain
100,000 calories.
Enough to sustain this bear for a week.
And in that time,
she might even catch another one.
But this can’t go on forever
as summer continues,
temperatures are rising.
Each hunt requires more energy,
draining the bears of their reserves.