Giving them the cold shoulder! Exhausted mother takes a nap as her cheeky polar bear cubs mess around in these intimate photos

By David Baker
PUBLISHED: 20:26, 6 November 2012 | UPDATED: 20:36, 6 November 2012

Rolling around in the snow these two youngsters seem determined to make use of some free time together.
But it appears not everyone has the same amount of energy to spare.
Because while these cheeky two-month-old polar bear cubs frolic and climb trees - their mother has clearly been worn out.

Playtime: These adventurous polar bear cubs had fun messing about in the snow and climbing trees

Nap time: While the youngsters enjoy themselves their mum opts to use the time to catch up on some sleep

Photographer Shogo Asao couldn't believe his luck as he watched the adorable cubs playing, while mum takes a snooze, from just 100 metres away.
The magical moment came on a three week trip to Wapusk National Park, on the Hudson Plains, Canada, to look for the endangered bears.

 

Mr Asao, 60, said: 'The mother polar bear had eaten nothing for months and was very exhausted with her babies.
'She seemed dead tired and was not moving much.
'The baby bears dearly wanted to play with their mother but she ignored them.

Shattered: The cubs play on the tree and clamber over their mother as she desperately tried to nod off

Wake up: The cubs try their best to get the mother involved as they clamber on top of her to join in the fun

Branching out: One of the cubs makes its way up a tree as it messes around in the snow

'They tumbled about all over the place, playing on her back and climbing up the trees.'
The polar bear cubs may have been young but that didn't put them off scaling the three metre tall trees in the chilly tundra.
Mr Asao, from Tokyo, added: 'When the wind blew, the temperature was between -40 to -60 degrees.

Get your paws off me: The pair of youngsters have a play fight after giving up on waking their mum

Polarback ride: The mother seems to be more alert for a moment as one of her cubs hops on her back

'The bears didn't notice at all.
'Their den is around 50 kilometres from the sea.
'Sadly they started to move off after a while, moving little by little closer towards the shore to hunt for seals.'

Cute: The family were spotted by a photographer on a trip to Wapusk National Park, on the Hudson Plains in Canada