In a mesmerizing sight, a polar bear was caught in what seemed like a prayerful pose, with its massive paws joined together and a gaze directed towards the sky, as if longing for a chilly winter ahead.
The cub bear was pictured seemingly looking up to the heavens and asking for divine intervention in the animal’s current plight.
Temperatures in their Alaskan habitat are higher than usual and as a result the pack have been left stranded on land waiting for the ice to freeze.
Until temperatures drop and more ice freezes after melting during the spring, the polar bears cannot go and find seals.
The male juvenile bear made the plea to a higher power just before he went to sleep, while his while his mother and sister were already napping.
Photographer, Shayne McGuire, captured the beautiful bear in Barter Island, Alaska, on the October 7.
She said: ‘It was nap time for the bear, his mum and sister had already curled up, yet, there he sat, contemplating something, that we will never know.
‘Then he looked up at the sky, raised his head and paws, and I heard one of my group say ‘he is praying for the ice to freeze.’
‘It is late in the season and yet, very little snow.
‘ I have seen global warming affect their habitat, I have been going since 2013 and there has always been snow in late September, early October.
‘In 2015, there were snow storms and the snow was deep.
‘Since then, I have been in early October to mid October and have had some ice, very little snow.
‘The temperatures are above normal, and the ice is taking longer to freeze for the bears to leave to go find seals and they are being left on land earlier because of the melting ice in the spring.
‘I think this wee cub had a momentary ‘oh wow’ effect on my group.
‘We had just been talking about the sun being out and the heat waves rising off the shore line, and lack of snow, then, the cub sat up and did the prayer motion.
‘As he finished, he went back to his mum and sister to curl up and I said ‘well, doesn’t everyone pray before going to bed?’
