Hudson Bay, Northwest Territories, Canada,
1996
Photograph by Flip Nicklin
"Young males play fight on the Hudson Bay shore in a harmless autumn prelude to spring battles for mates that can end in shattered limbs. Lethargic all summer, males may benefit from such exercise and also learn to assess other bears' strength."
(Text from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Polar Bears: Stalkers of the High Arctic," January 1998, National Geographic magazine)