Ocean and wildlife photographer Greg Lecoeur relives his unbelievable encounter in Svalbard with both polar bears and belugas.
A wildlife photographer proved that patience is a virtue when waiting for bad weather to pass resulted in an incredible encounter with a pair of polar bears and a pod of beluga whales.
Ocean photographer Greg Lecoeur was in Svalbard, Norway, on a photography assignment. One day, he was sailing through the ice pack in thick fog. It was so foggy that the crew decided to stop the boat for a while and wait out the weather.
They turned off the engine and went to get some rest for the night. “At four o’clock in the morning, the captain came to my door – knocked on my door,” he says. Going up on deck, he saw that a curious mother polar bears and her calf had approached the boat.
While he was taking photos of the mum and calf, Lecoeur heard a noise – something was singing. “The belugas passed under the boat and they just appeared,” he says. “We were very surprised and I think the polar bear was also very surprised about the big pod of beluga coming so close.”
See the amazing moment the pod of beluga whales passes the polar bears. Credit: Greg Lecoeur
Although he appreciates how lucky he was to be in exactly the right spot to witness the magical moment, for Lecoeur it’s also a reminder that the very best wildlife encounters happen when we let the animals set the terms.
“When you wait and you don’t make noise, and you don’t chase wildlife, after a while they come to you,” he says.
This article by Melissa Hobson was first published by Discover Wildlife on 1 December 2025. Image and video credit: Greg Lecoeur @Greglecoeur www.greglecoeur.com.
