We rarely see polar bears outside of a snowy Arctic environment, but these bears are no strangers to having fun in the summer! In a rare series of images by Canadian photographer Dennis Fast, these white giants are seen frolicking in a field of fireweed. The photos were taken in Northern Canada’s Hudson Bay, near lodges run by Churchill Wild in Manitoba. Fast explains his fascination with polar bears in this interview excerpt.

“[I]t’s not just their colour that makes them a favourite target of my camera,” Fast tells My Modern Met. “They have a slow, ambling gait as they drift about looking for anything that moves. It looks like they don’t have a care in the world, and that there is nothing they are afraid off. It’s not arrogance, exactly, but a quiet confidence that we often respect in humans and that translates well to the polar bear.”

More info: dennisfast.com | churchillwild.com (h/t: mymodernmet)

“Most people are familiar with shots of polar bears in the ice and snow of Hudson Bay in Northern Canada and in other polar regions”

“They are so ingrained in people’s minds that you might think the North experiences only winter,” Fast told My Modern Met

“Polar bears will play with anything in their environment”

“I have seen a huge male hold several blades of grass in his giant paws and chew on them for a long time as though he enjoyed the texture”

“On another occasion, I laughed out loud as I watched a relaxed polar bear bare his teeth to pluck a single flower from a stem of fireweed blossoms and roll it around between his lips!”

“Like many people, I love white animals, whether it is Arctic foxes, snowy owls, or polar bears”

“However, it’s not just their colour that makes them a favourite target of my camera”

“They have a slow, ambling gait as they drift about looking for anything that moves”

“It looks like they don’t have a care in the world, and that there is nothing they are afraid of”

“In the end, I hope my photos inspire people to care about all wildlife and to do their part”

“It would be a shame to lose something as iconic as the polar bear”