Wildlife drone captures rare meeting between chubby polar bear enjoying a swim and pod of confused beluga whales

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Jun 30, 2026 8:15 AM EDT

Don't you just love anything involving polar bears?

I remember the first time I ever saw a polar bear. I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and we used to go to the D.C. zoo when I was a kid. Of course, we would go in the summer, and the summers are surprisingly hot in D.C. I saw a polar bear in the zoo, on a 90-degree day in August. He was tired, slumped against a rock, probably trying to soak up any coolness he could from his barely-shady enclosure. I didn't realize how sad it was then, but I only saw how glorious it was, even on a hot, sunny day, far away from its natural environment.

Today's story, thanks to @SceneryCHN's X page, shows polar bears in a completely different light. A wildlife drone caught the most magnificent scene: a polar bear swimming with a pod of confused beluga whales. Even though they both live in the same arctic environment, the two cold-weather animals hardly ever meet this way. If you watch closely enough, you can even see a few of the whales doing a double-take after seeing the chubby, white bear swimming next to them.

It's more than just a cool video to watch; it's also a metaphor for coexistence. Both animals feed from the water and use up the same resources, but they can also be together without fighting. The whales will have a wild story to tell their children, and the bear the same to tell their little bear family. It also helps us understand a little better our place in the world - that we're all just tiny little organisms running around on a giant rock orbiting the sun. Maybe if we stopped and thought about that more, the world would be a kinder place.

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As much as we know about polar bears, they don't swim long distances in open water to fish for food. So, the only reason we can think of for this bear going for a swim is to either move to a different part only accessible by swimming, or he just felt like going for a nice, cool dip in the ocean. Either way, it's pretty wholesome.
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This whale is like, “Who are you? Are you guys seeing this??" No, you didn't eat some bad fish, that really is a polar bear swimming behind you.
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