It's a heart-in-the-mouth moment that would have most parents running for help.
The massive carnivores loom menacingly over their bite-size pool companions in these remarkable pictures.
But there's more to the scenario than meets the eye, in fact the children are separated from certain death by 10-inch thick plexiglas.
Within touching distance: Children swim incredibly close to two enormous polar bears at a rescue centre with a difference in Ontario, Canada
Both children and bears are actually very safely taking part in an amazing initiative by the owners of Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat, in Ontario, Canada, in a attempt to promote awareness about the amazing animals.
The sanctuary takes in only bears rescued from the wild and through letting visitors get so close they hope to foster understanding and reduce hunting in the wild.
Former director at the centre and keen photographer Gerry Robichaud took the amazing photographs of the moment bear meets man in the safety of the tank.
Within touching distance: Children swim incredibly close to two enormous polar bears at a rescue centre with a difference in Ontario, Canada
Both children and bears are actually very safely taking part in an amazing initiative by the owners of Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat, in Ontario, Canada, in a attempt to promote awareness about the amazing animals.
The sanctuary takes in only bears rescued from the wild and through letting visitors get so close they hope to foster understanding and reduce hunting in the wild.
Former director at the centre and keen photographer Gerry Robichaud took the amazing photographs of the moment bear meets man in the safety of the tank.
Centre of attention: The children gather round the bear - but a 10-inch wall of plexiglass keeps them safe from the cute but deadly dangerous bears
'They came to us a cubs after a tribe told us about them because their mother had been shot by a hunter near Winisk, near the Hudson Bay in the far north.'
Gerry, 59, said the aim was to give the bears as much stimulation as possible in their 100m by 200m enclosure.
He said: 'I have been in the water myself when the public have not been here and actually realised one of the bears was stalking me, she was hiding and keeping very low in the water. It was quite an odd feeling.
'I have lived in the far north with the people up there myself and documented their lives, it's a different world up there.'
The massive carnivores loom menacingly over their bite-size pool companions in these remarkable pictures.
But there's more to the scenario than meets the eye, in fact the children are separated from certain death by 10-inch thick plexiglas.
Both children and bears are actually very safely taking part in an amazing initiative by the owners of Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat, in Ontario, Canada, in a attempt to promote awareness about the amazing animals.
The sanctuary takes in only bears rescued from the wild and through letting visitors get so close they hope to foster understanding and reduce hunting in the wild.
Former director at the centre and keen photographer Gerry Robichaud took the amazing photographs of the moment bear meets man in the safety of the tank.
Both children and bears are actually very safely taking part in an amazing initiative by the owners of Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat, in Ontario, Canada, in a attempt to promote awareness about the amazing animals.
The sanctuary takes in only bears rescued from the wild and through letting visitors get so close they hope to foster understanding and reduce hunting in the wild.
Former director at the centre and keen photographer Gerry Robichaud took the amazing photographs of the moment bear meets man in the safety of the tank.
'They came to us a cubs after a tribe told us about them because their mother had been shot by a hunter near Winisk, near the Hudson Bay in the far north.'
Gerry, 59, said the aim was to give the bears as much stimulation as possible in their 100m by 200m enclosure.
He said: 'I have been in the water myself when the public have not been here and actually realised one of the bears was stalking me, she was hiding and keeping very low in the water. It was quite an odd feeling.
'I have lived in the far north with the people up there myself and documented their lives, it's a different world up there.'
