For 15 years, wildlife photographer Jason Leo Bantle has travelled to the arctic region of Canada to witness the life cycle of the polar bear.
With his keen appreciation for the iconic species and a decade and a half of photos taken, Bantle recently released the self-published coffee table book State of Grace: A Photographic Tribute to Canada’s Polar Bears.
The aim for Bantle, who’s fascination with the large carnivore began after finishing a master’s degree in biology and he began eco-guiding, was to show the bears in all stages of their life.
“It is just about the beauty of them; it starts with cubs emerging from the den all the way to polar bears on Arctic Ocean ice and so through the photography images my hope is that people view the book and go ‘wow we have this in our back yard,’ ” he said. “I think the images really do justice to express the different aspects of polar bears’ lives.”
Bantle said he wanted the images to show the relationship of polar bears with the cold harsh climate of the north, and their ability and tenaciousness to survive.
“They are really well adapted to the north,” he said. “(They are) large carnivores, so they are just something to be respected beyond belief, and then so gentle with their cubs. They are known for their affectionate nature toward their cubs and of course you have big white bears that are playing and that is just cool.
“They are very majestic for sure, there is something about these bears that really speaks to their presence; they are kings of the Earth.”
The book contains intimate images of a mother bear and two young cubs emerging from the den and rarely captured images of the life of polar bears out on the Arctic Ocean ice.
It also tells the tale of Bantle’s own adventures being in the north with Inuit guides following the species’ journey through life — something the part-time Canmore resident says is not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced.
Bantle was in the north this past April and May, and those photos are included in State of Grace. He said logistically he has to plan weeks ahead of his arrival to make it safely and successfully into the northern parts of Canada to photograph the animals.
“I hire a local Inuit guide, local knowledge is so important, and then you begin to pack up and get your gear ready,” he said. “We have a number of different rustic cabins on the land that are available to the Inuit and we travel to a series of those cabins until we get to our destination. It can take a day or two travelling across the rough Arctic Ocean ice, so by the time you get there you you’re pretty sore — it is usually 16 to 18 hours to get to the location.
“And then the fun begins because you have to get camp ready and a polar bear may have been into camp while you are gone. The camp is completely clean, but bears are curious. For instance, we leave the door open to our camp and it is usually full of snow that has blown in, so you get that cleaned up after a long day and then you get your tent set up and your electric fence set up.”
The title image of the book depicts a female polar bear Bantle was watching with his Inuit guide that was being pursued by two males that were interested in mating with her. The image captures the bear in the beautiful blue light of the surrounding ice.
“For me it is about them being in a state of grace,” he said. “It just really kind of spoke to the presence of these bears, they are just in a state of grace, they are a graceful animal in the environment they live in, that is the place for them.
“I think there is a lot of mis-education out there that these bears are just out there to hunt and kill everything and to a certain extent people have a real fear of polar bears, but they are just to be respected.”
And that is the legend of Nanuk, the Inuit word for polar bear, that Bantle tells with his new book. With Nanuk, he said, if you respect the polar bear in its environment, it will respect you back.
“Polar bears want to be respected and if they are respected they will respect back, if they’re not, then you should fear polar bears, that is basically the legend of Nanuk,” he said.
But polar bears are facing an uncertain future in terms of climate change and how it affects Arctic ice. The greatest decline of Arctic sea ice in recorded history happened in 2012.
“There is no question things are changing,” Bantle said. “Are the bears going to go extinct? No they are not, but we are potentially going to lose southern populations.
“We are going to have a lot fewer bears if the current trend continues and we are going to have a lot more human/polar bear conflicts.
“This is a bear that has an easier time staying warm than staying cool, they don’t care about winter they love winter – they hate summer.”
It is small changes with big results Bantle says he hopes to inspire through his work. That includes a percentage from all his artwork and books sold at his galleries, including ones in Canmore and Banff, going to conservation initiatives.
“We have a land trust we purchase land for,” he said. “We were only able to purchase 40 acres so far and will continue to do that through the course of my career and we donate to a number of groups.”
Copies of State of Grace and newly-released images from the book are available for purchase at Bantle’s two Bow Valley gallery locations.
