16 NAT GEO KIDS^ • DECEMBER 2019 | JANUARY 2020
CUBA polar bear mom and her one-
year-old cub are crossing an icy
cliff near Baffin Island, Canada.
The curious youngster wanders
off to explore—but panics when
it loses sight of its mother and
becomes trapped at the bottom
of the ice wall. Hearing a radio
report of the situation, wildlife
photographer Paul Goldstein snow-
mobiles to the scene to capture
the drama from a distance.A MOTHER
POLAR BEAR
MUST FIND
HER LOST CUB.STUCK
ON THE ICE
The cub decides to climb
in the direction of its
mother’s calls, straight
up the ice cliff. “Polar
bears have superstrong
paws and can grip well,”
Goldstein says. “But this
cliff was way too steep
for the cub to climb.”
The youngster success-
fully scales some large
chunks jutting out from
the wall but eventually
gets stuck when it
reaches a section of
solid vertical ice.2
SEPARATED
“When I got to the scene, I could see only the mother at the
top of the ice,” says Goldstein, who’s been photographing
animals for almost 30 years. “After a few minutes, I finally
located the youngster at the bottom of an 80-foot ice
cliff on the opposite side of the ice.” The one-year-old cub,
called a yearling, is distressed, and the mom is calling back.
“You usually never hear polar bears make this noise unless
they’re really anxious,” Goldstein says.1
DARING
JUMP
At the cliff, the concerned
mother knows her cub is
close. “Like any bear, she
‘sees’ with her nose,”
Goldstein says. “She’s
tracking her baby by its
scent.” But she needs to
find a safe way down.
Spotting a soft, snowy
ledge 20 feet below the
top of the cliff, the big
bear carefully backs out
over the edge and slides
down with her claws dug
in to the cliffside. She
lands clumsily but safely
on the ledge below.3
Family Reunion