By Mark McConville
AMAZING action shots have captured a pair of Polar bears grappling with each other in the snow.
The striking snaps show the Polar bears squaring up on two legs before they really go for each other as one appears to have the other in a head lock.
Other incredible images show that one of the bears clearly won as it pins the other to the ground before they are both pictured taking naps separately.
The male Polar bears were photographed fighting in Churchill, Canada by British photographer Danny Green.
“I became interested in nature from a young age and was very rarely at home, always wandering the woods and rivers looking for wildlife,” he said.
“My late Grandfather was a big influence in my childhood always showing me signs of nature and pointing out different aspects of life from habitats and seasons, day and night, he is sadly missed as I would have loved to have shared my many experiences and encounters with nature with him.
“Some thirty years on and I am still as restless and keen to learn more about the natural world to this day. All kinds of natural history are of interest from mammals, birds, insects and reptiles.
“I like the excitement of travelling to exotic locations but most of my work is achieved in the UK. My favourite destination in the UK is the Shetland Isles, if the weather conditions are right it is a wildlife photographer’s dream, with vast seabird Colonies and northern specialties there is always something to photograph.”
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses.
Because of expected habitat loss caused by climate change, the polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, and at least three of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations are currently in decline.
However, at least two of the nineteen subpopulations are currently increasing, while another six are considered stable.
For decades, large-scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species, but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect.
