National Geographic

Video by acacia.johnson | On January 31 the EPA moved to conserve Alaska’s Bristol Bay under the Clean Water Act, protecting one of the world’s most productive wild salmon habitats from a proposed open-pit copper and gold mine called Pebble Mine. After decades of controversy over the mine, the decision is considered a win for the environment, for the bay’s salmon fishing industry, and the region’s many Alaska Native communities who depend on salmon for subsistence. It also means the brown bears of the Alaska Peninsula—which gather in the largest numbers seen anywhere on Earth—now have their habitat protected too. To celebrate, here’s some footage from the summer I spent documenting their story for natgeo in 2019. #alaska #bristolbay #pebblemine #brownbears #environment #conservation #epsilon-alerts

Video by Keith Ladzinski ladzinski | Watching this mother polar bear and her two cubs descend slippery coastal cliffs in Norway's Svalbard archipelago during a blizzard was nothing short of impressive. These animals are deserving of the title apex predator; with agility on steep rock and slippery ice and in the water, polar bears are in a class of their own. Filmed in slow-motion. To see more photos and videos, please visit me ladzinski.