Polar Bear cubs playing, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Two polar bears stand upright on their hind legs, locked together in a sparring match on the snow and gravel of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coast. Both bears have their forelegs wrapped around each other, mouths open, pushing and testing each other's strength. Low golden light rakes across the scene from the side, and the Beaufort Sea is visible in the background.
This kind of standing sparring is most often seen between young males during the fall season, when bears gather along the ANWR coastline waiting for freeze up. It looks intense, but these bouts are typically more about practice than real conflict. The bears push, shove, and mouth at each other, then break apart and do it again. It is a way of gauging each other's size and power without the stakes of a real fight over a mate or a food source. The upright posture lets both bears use their full body weight, and you can see the muscles working through their shoulders and forelegs.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the few places where photographers can observe and photograph polar bear sparring behavior at relatively close range from the ground. These interactions happen most frequently in October, when the density of bears along the coast is highest and the animals have time and energy to burn before the ice forms and the serious business of seal hunting begins. Photo © copyright by Carl Donohue.