Hold Her Tight Format:Matted As I trekked into the

As I trekked into the forest in early February

It was fall

One morning

I first spotted these black bear cubs feeding their mother along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park

Hold Her Tight Format:Matted As I trekked into theNunavut A mother polar bear awakes with her newborn cub of the year. The mystical light seemed to mirror the Arctic cold. She spent only a few seconds examining my good friend David and me, then meandered back into the sunset. I and David, an Inuit elder and accomplished guide, had waited hours for a surreal moment such as this. I immediately reviewed the images, then high fived my friend. But it was a bittersweet moment. A tear rolled down my cheek