Polar bears realize that food can be scarce at times, and that’s a problem considering just how much they like to eat. In many cases, they find food with the help of their incredibly powerful noses, which can detect the scent of food from several miles away.
For this particular family, comprised of a mother and her young cubs, a rather discernable smell of food has presented itself. Carefully following the scent, they arrive on a shoreline where a bowhead whale had washed up. Unfortunately, they weren’t the first polar bears to discover the ripe meat.
The mother takes a substantial risk bringing her cubs into the presence of other polar bears, as males are known to kill and eat smaller polar bear cubs. The group begins eating, but it isn’t long before the mother and her cubs gets noticed by a nearby male, and she must decide whether she will compete for eating rights or go hungry.
The mother calls the opposing male’s bluff, and after standing her ground, it seems her size works to her advantage. The aggressor backs off, enabling her and her cubs to enjoy a bite to eat so they can live another day.
Related: These polar bears are practicing an act known as 'porpoising'
