The mother and cub are thrown a lifeline by a change in the weather and ocean currents. It is a huge swim out to the ice floes for the little cub. He finally makes it to the ice, nine months after he was born. His mother has triumphed against the odd...
Finally she leaves him some scraps to chew on. A young male arrives, a dangerous situation for the cub. She growls a warning. Its not enough. The cub slips. The mother must get her cub away from danger as quickly as possible. They head north. She kno...
Calcium from the bones will help the mother's milk supply, but the cub needs meat to survive. Now they have another problem. Other bears can't be trusted with small cubs. But fortunately they seem more interested in what lies beneath the surface. It...
At last, there is hope. They have finally reached the pack-ice that forms the polar icecap. Its the ultimate hunting habitat for polar bears. The icecap stretches all the way to the North Pole. Seals are found wherever it meets the sea. Its been a lo...
But it's not enough. For a hunting bear, it doesn't get much worse than this. The seal could hardly fail to notice. But this battle-hardened seal is in no rush. Finally he gains some purchase, he's back in the game. He still believes he's in with a c...
Time for kick off. It's polar bear football. Their ball control needs practice. But they are experts at dribbling. The game descends into argument. The spycams return to the benches, the bears may be play-fighting, but things still get out of hand. M...
This is a high-risk strategy. Like the male at the whale carcass, some bears don't do sharing. She stands up to make herself look bigger. The cub copies. Luckily, this bear has no appetite for a fight. There is a feeding etiquette around a seal carca...
If it hasn't already been seen, that is. The bears at the whale carcass are in food heaven, but their peace is about to be shattered. This male heavyweight prefers to eat alone. He is bigger than the other bears and likes to throw his weight around....
They continually chatter away to each other. It's all about keeping aggression under control. Their massive claws rake the skin like knives, cutting it into strips. At two years old, this bear is testing his status, standing up to other bears. Sharin...
Back on Svalbard, it's high summer. Barnacle geese that had overwintered in Scotland have started to breed. Their calls bring hope to hungry bears. The cub stays back as his mother explores the possibilities. Bears have only recently discovered this...