Ski Conditions

A Sunset So Beautiful Even Polar Bears Stopped to Watch It

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They're usually pictured against a bright white backdrop but this family of polar bears was bathed in vibrant reds, yellows and oranges as they watched a glorious sunset in Alaska. (Sylvain Cordier/Ardea/Caters News Agency)

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They're usually pictured against a bright white backdrop but this family of polar bears was bathed in vibrant reds, yellows and oranges as they watched a glorious sunset in Alaska. (Sylvain Cordier/Ardea/Caters News Agency)

You've probably never seen a sunset quite like this one. Captured by French photographer Sylvain Cordier, a mother polar bear and her two cubs are shown enjoying the last moments of sunset in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

As he positioned his camera for photos of the bears, the sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon when it cast off brilliant yellow, orange and red rays.

Cordier spent three weeks following the bears by boat before he was able to capture this moment, which took place around 6:30 p.m. as the sun was setting near Kaktovik, Alaska.

He said he was lucky to happen upon a "very calm and cooperative" mother polar bear as his subject.

"She allowed me to sit close to the shore in my boat. I found the female to be very relaxed, she wasn't at all anxious, and so their behavior was completely natural," the 67-year-old Cordier told the U.K.-based Daily Mail. "The atmosphere was absolutely extraordinary."

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