As one of the world’s best wildlife photographers, Paul Nicklen has seen more than his fair share of tooth, claw and flipper. The Saskatchewan-born, Baffin Island-raised former biologist (below, at his home in Nanoose Bay, B.C.) has braved everything from icy waters to lush rainforests, to capture jaw-dropping images of swimming polar bears, hungry leopard seals, airborne penguins and British Columbia’s elusive spirit bears. His awardwinning work — for which he recently scooped first prize in the World Press Photo nature category in 2013 and the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in 2012 — allows us to see species we might not otherwise ever catch a glimpse of, surviving in what’s becoming an increasingly uncertain landscape.

Here, along with his own explanation of what makes each image so powerful, are Nicklen’s favourite shots.