Bearly Escaped

An Inupiat (native Alaskan) guide armed with a rifle stands watch while WHOI senior engineering assistant Jeff Lord works inside the tent to gather data during a recent sea ice survey mission. Just a few hours earlier, a polar bear approximately 11 feet tall approached the tent, but quickly turned away after being confronted by the guide. Note the footprints in the foreground; native people of the North know such tracks are a better way to measure the size of a bear than in person. (Photo by Sean Whelan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)