Explorer fulfills lifelong dream to swim with polar bears

A veteran explorer has captured the amazing moment a mother polar bear taught her cubs to swim.

Amos Nachoum, 65, came face to face with the apex predator whilst diving off the coast of north-east Canada in August.

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Amos attempted to take a similar set of pictures 10 years ago with a single, male polar bear - but unfortunately the bear perceived him as a threat and chased him to a depth of 75 feet.

Amos has previously taken up close underwater pictures of Nile crocodiles, anacondas, leopard seals, orca.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, Polar bears spend over 50% of their time hunting for food, but less than 2% of their hunts are successful. Their diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat to survive.

Because of ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US under the Endangered Species Act in May 2008.