How not to pull a bird: Blundering polar bear takes on a tiny seagull in 10-minute battle... and loses

This brave seagull heroically took on a polar bear in an epic battle of David v Goliath - and won.

The ten-minute encounter between bird and beast stunned onlookers as the seagull dramatically escaped with its feathers intact.

After the scrap the shame-faced half tonne bear scampered off in search of easier prey to pick a fight with.

Everything but the gull: Polar bears may be at the top of the food chain, but the only thing this bear got to swallow was its pride

Photographer Ole Jorgen Liodden was shocked when he captured the incredible moments on film.

Before the bruising encounter Ole had been happily snapping away at the Glaucous gull as it gently bobbed on the water minding its business.

The polar bear appeared from nowhere and unusually, instead of hunting for its preferred prey of seals, decided to dive into the water and swim up to the bird.

The bear launched a ferocious attack on the gull by biting it on its back and following up with a flurry of blows.

On the back foot: The polar bear is on the defensive as the tussling pair move into shallow water

Bear bites back: The polar bear surfaces immediately behind the unsuspecting gull and clamps its jaws into the bird's back

On a wing and a prayer: The seagull managed to fend off the bear for several minutes

However, this gull was no bird brain and, using its beak, instinctively landed a few hits of its own to the bear's sensitive eyes and nose.

Sensing the bird was not about to become dinner, the bear swum off and the fearless gull was able to make a getaway.

Ole, 37, from Norway, took the photos in the north of the country, in Svalbard.

'This was our second photo expedition to Svalbard and we experienced an incredibly rare situation between a polar bear and a Glaucous gull,' he said.

The brave bird just doesn't know when it is beaten as it twists and turns on the giant hungry bear

The bear plunges its head beneath the water as it attempts to subdue the gull

The bear has a grab at the anry gull's wing but gets nothing but a mouth full of wet feathers

Finding itself free of the giant carnivore's jaws, the bird snatches its chance of freedom and flies off

'The bear suddenly dived and swam a good ten to 15 metres underwater before it attacked the surprised young gull.

'I have never seen anything like this on previous expeditions and the fight was more interesting than I had expected.

'Usually a polar bear can easily kill a 100kg seal, and a gull weighing in at 1.5 kg should be an easy catch.

'After the first bite to the back of the gull, the bear continued its attack in the water.

'The gull fought heroically, and with its bill managed several direct hits to the bear's eyes and nose.

'This made the bear back off and the gull escaped after ten minutes.'

The disconsolate bear is left to rue its inability to pull a bird