Toughing it out on top of the world
Polar bears are deemed by many to be the most charismatic and elusive bears of all. Filmed in the Arctic islands of Svalbard, Norway this beautiful program gets closer than ever before to the world's greatest land predator with the help of Icebergcam, Blizzardcam and Snowballcam. Backed up by Snowcam and Driftcam, these camouflaged cameras reveal the extraordinary curiosity and intelligence of the polar bear.
The cameras are just a breath away when two sets of cubs emerge from winter maternity dens. They also capture the moment when the sea-ice breaks away from the island in the spring. As one set of mother and cubs journey across the drifting ice in search of seals, the other is marooned on the island with very little food. How they cope with their different fates is captured in revelatory close-up detail.
The cameras also follow the bears as they hunt seals, raid bird colonies, dive for kelp and indulge in entertaining courtship rituals. Icebergcam even discovers their little-known social nature as seven bears share a washed-up whale carcass.
Often just a paw’s swipe from the play-fighting and squabbling bears, the spy cameras face their most challenging subject yet. When their curious subjects discover the cameras, they are subjected to some comical-but-destructive encounters.
As the film captures its intimate portrait of polar bears’ lives, it reveals how their intelligence and curiosity help them cope in a world of shrinking ice.
REVIEWS:
“Filmmaker John Downer gets up close in the frosty islands off the northern coast of Norway. The results, as you’d expect, are stunning” - Guardian
“Spellbinding” - Observer
CREDITS:
A John Downer Production for BBC and Animal Planet. Executive Producer: John Downer (TIGER - SPY IN THE JUNGLE, "Bears - Spy In The Woods," "Trek - Spy on the Wildebeest"). Producer: Philip Dalton ("Bears - Spy in the Woods," "Pride," "Superswarms").
