When two wildlife photographers saw a polar bear approaching a chained up sled dog, they were frozen stiff with horror – but the encounter actually turned out to be more heartwarming than anticipated.

The photographers had been exploring the Churchill region of Canada's Hudson Bay, which is known to be the polar bear capital of the world.

Polar bears are also renowned for being aggressive predators. So when they saw one of the massive mammals meandering up to a the sled dog, they expected the worst.

The bear, however, was apparently only looking for a playmate – and the dog was more than happy to oblige.

(WATCH the video below)

We Can't Bear How Sweet This Is: Click To Share The Pawesome Video With Your Friends – Photo by Nat Geo