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0One fall,my wife Elli and I had a single goal:to photograph polar bears.We
were staying at a research camp outsid e"the polar bear capital of the world"
-the town of Churchill in M anitoba,Canada.
Taking pictures of polar bears is amazing but also dangerous.Polar bears-
like all wild animals - should be photographed from a safe distance.When
I'm face to face with a polar bear,I like it to be through a camera with a
telephoto lens.But sometimes,that is easier said than done.This was one of
those times.
As Elli and I cooked dinner,a young male polar bear who was playing in a
nearby lake sniffed,and smelled our garlic bread.
The hungry bear followed his nose to our camp,which was surrounded by a
high wire fence.He pulled and bit the wire.He stood on his back legs and
pushed at the wooden fence posts
Terrified,Elli and I tried all the bear defense actions we knew. We yelled at the
bear,hit pots hard,and fired blank shotgun shells into the air.Sometimes loud
noises like these will scare bears off.Not this polar bear though-he just kept
trying to tear down the fence with his massive paws(爪子).
I radioed the camp manager for help.He told me a helicopter was on its way,
but it would be 30 minutes before it arrived.M aking the best of this close
encounter(相遇),Itook some pictures of the bear.
Elli and I feared the fence wouldn'tlast through30more minutes of the
bear's punishment.The camp manager suggested I use pepper spray.The
spray bums the bean s'eyes,but doesn'thurt them. So I approached our
uninvited guest slowly and,throughthefence,sprayed him inthe face.With
an angry roar (吼叫),the bear ran to the lake to wash his eyes.
A few minutes later, the bear headed back to our camp. This time, however, he was no longer trying to destroy the fence. Instead, he simplyy walked around it, and continued towards us. Elli and I retreated into our tent, and the bear followed us. We could hear him breathing heavily outside. The noises tured Elli and I pale with horror. Elli seized this opportunity to take some pictures of the bear.We betrayed our feelings by huddling together, shivering with fear.
At that very moment, the helicopter anived Elli used pepper spray again to buy us enough time. We had mixed feelings about leaving our encounter with the polar bear behind us, but we also knew it was the safest course of action.
As we looked down at the forest below us,Elli and I knew we would never forget the experience. We had been fortunate enough to capture some amazing pictures, but we also had a newfound respect for the dangers of the Anctic wilderness. We had learned firsthand that sometimes, the best way to stay safe is to keep your distance.But when that's not possible, a good fence and a can of pepper spray can be a lifesaver.(184 words)
