Polar bears aren’t known for being particularly religious but this one seems to have a spiritual side. Photographs taken in Canada show a bear seemingly praying next to a large cross.
Wesleyville photographer Jessica Andrews, who describes herself as “a huge animal lover,” noticed a bear on an island in a cove behind her house on Wednesday.
She rushed outside to capture the bear, and managed to take more than 200 photos as she watched it play in the snow for almost two hours.
“I was amazed when I saw it,” Andrews told RT. “It was my first time seeing one and it was such a beautiful animal!”
The bear was “roughly 200 yards away,” Andrews said, but she wasn’t afraid as she watched it playing in the snow, swimming and even ‘praying’.
Andrews captured the polar bear sitting next to a large cross, staring up at it with its front paws appearing to be clasped together, as if it was deep in prayer.
“I didn’t notice it when I was taking them, but when I started to go through to edit them, oh my God, I was like, ’Holy crap, he’s praying,” she told the Toronto Sun.
Another photograph shows the bear standing on its back legs with one front paw resting against the cross, facing the direction of the camera. “It was almost like he was staring right at me,” she said.
Andrews is surprised by the amount of attention her photographs are getting. “It's amazing how far something could get shared,” she said.
Despite the bear’s apparent piousness, police have warned locals to stay away from the polar bear.