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How would it feel to find yourself face to face with one of the Arctic’s most formidable predators?<\/b><\/p>\n
This stunning image captures life from a seal’s perspective. Taken by Norwegian wildlife photographer Audun Rikardsen, it was among the ‘Highly Commended’ entries in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.<\/p>\n
While working as a guide with Arctic Wildlife Tours, Rikardsen rigged an underwater camera with a motion sensor beneath a seal’s breathing hole, and then waited. At 4am, a female polar bear approached and peered down.<\/p>\n
Rikardsen then waited eight hours for the bear to move away before retrieving the camera and reviewing the images. <\/p>\n
When he saw what he had captured, he said: “I was so extremely happy. I was screaming, so I probably woke up all the polar bears for miles.”<\/p>\n
Rikardsen has previously won two Wildlife Photographer of the Year categories: Birds in 2019<\/a> and Oceans: The Bigger Picture in 2025<\/a>. <\/p>\n The overall winners will be announced on Tuesday 13 October 2026, followed by an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, external<\/span><\/a> from Friday 16 October 2026.<\/p>\n Scroll down to explore other highly commended works from the competition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n