Polar bears on Spitzbergen

This extraordinary series of photos was taken in June by guide and photographer Paul Goldstein who was leading a holiday to Spitsbergen on the 100 berthed Sergey Vavilov. He takes up the story

‘This two year old whale carcass was attracting a number of bears from the north of Svalbard. However, with relatively mild weather (5 degrees) making them dozy we needed time here. Fortunately on a small ice vessel we are not governed by timetables so we took plenty of time. On the fifth Zodiac excursion this mother brought her young cub down to the whale. She dived for the choice cetaceous canapés, whilst the cub waited for some scraps.

However with eyes bigger than belly the little cub ignored her mother's shaking, tiptoed one step too far and tumbled in. It was a remarkable moment: funny, poignant and memorable. I am not likely to see this again. Everyone was entranced by it and relived it in the bar for hours.

There is 24 hour daylight this far North, we make the most of it, the last Zodiac came back at midnight and the bar stayed open most of the night. These expeditions are not sterile cruises, they require plenty of time at the polar coalface, but with that time comes reward and this was pretty much the grail. Canon 1DS Mark 3 500mm F4IS 1.4x converter, monopod from Zodiac - priceless

Scroll down to see the 4 photos from the sequence