'Praying' polar bear from Newfoundland goes viral
Digital Reporter
Friday, March 31, 2017, 5:03 PM - A distant shot of an uncommonly devout polar bear is making the viral rounds, thanks to a sharp-eyed photographer in Newfoundland.
Wesleyville photographer Jessica Andrews had seen an alert on Wednesday about a polar bear making the rounds in the area, and was fortunate enough to spot it with binoculars on a nearby island.
She started snapping pictures, and took around 200 photos, later sharing the pictures on the Facebook page of her photography business, Ocean View Photography. The album, containing now-famous shot of the bear 'praying' at the cross on the island, has been shared more than 800 times on Facebook.
"I didn't realize that I had taken the picture until I started looking through them," she told CBC News this week.
Andrews told the Toronto Star the animal wandered around the area before she lost sight of it. Though Andrews was at a safe distance, police generally warn people to stay away from polar bears when they are sighted.
In Newfoundland, polar bears are considered a vulnerable species, in part due to declining sea ice on which they rely for travel and hunting.
SOURCES: CBC News | Toronto Star | Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Environment and Climate Change
