Spring The Polar Bear Family & Me

This bear is coming... right up to me.

'My name is Gordon Buchanan.'

She is enormous.

'I'm a wildlife cameraman.'

Gosh! Look at the size of those paws!

'I've spent my career getting close to big predators.'

She is one of the most powerful animals on the planet.

One of the most intimidating animals on the planet.

'But I've never been this close.'

Ooh, not sure if I like that.

'I want to do something that no-one has done before.

'Reveal the family life of the world's largest carnivore.'

Look, look, look, look, look!

'From the first day they emerge in spring...'

The face of a baby polar bear!

'..I'll follow their every move.'

Oh, look.

Pass over.

-Hey, little bear.

-Fast asleep.

Aaah.

'I want to really get to know these bears.'

How does that sound?

How does it sound if I follow you around

and we become good friends, until you get big enough to eat me?

'I've come to the Arctic

'to get closer to polar bears than anyone before.'

'It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

'And the most extreme.'

There's an incredible amount of ice on the front of the boat.

Every single wave that this boat has hit on the journey here has kind of

come up into the air and instantly frozen as soon as it hits the boat.

'To reach the bears, we've got a difficult voyage ahead of us.'

Now that the boat is here we have to prepare

for the next part of the journey, which is to get rid of all this ice.

This is probably - no, definitely - the coldest place I've ever been

but we've got to go, we've got to get a hustle on.

We've got a days' worth of travelling to go before we get into

the area where the polar bears are denning and they're getting ready

to get up and get out, and we've got to get there as fast as possible.

'Our destination is Edge Island in eastern Svalbard.

'It's home to the world's densest concentration of polar bears.'

'By following a family this year,

'I hope to help scientists learn more about them.'

'We've come at a critical moment in the Arctic's history.

'Since records began, there's never been so little sea ice.

'It's April. We should be making this journey

'across a completely frozen ocean by snowmobile, and not by boat.'

We shouldn't even be able to take a ship through here at this time of year.

In 20 years of sailing these waters,

the ship's crew have never, ever seen conditions like this.

So, whether it's global warming

or whether it's just freak weather conditions, we don't know.

One thing we do know, it makes for a very dangerous,

and very difficult and incredibly slow journey.

'Captain, Bjorne Marvel,

'has never attempted to get to Edge Island this early in the year.'

This is a new situation for me.

You shouldn't be here in April at all.

In this area there are heavy currents

and the...the ice is drifting over the rocks.

If we get stopped in the ice and drift into a rock, that's it.

'It's dangerous for us, but it's disastrous for the bears.

'The sea ice is the polar bears' hunting ground.

'It's where they catch most of their prey - seals.

'But with less ice, there are fewer seals

'and the bears are going hungry.'

'By following a family, I'll be able to see first-hand,

'the effects of climate change on these bears.

'If we can get there.'

'For four days, we try to pick a path through the ice.

'It's a reminder of just how tough this year is going to be.'

The captain's been trying to find a channel through

and he's got us this far, but we've...

got to a point where we're going to find it very difficult to go on.

'The captain has wedged the boat in the ice.

'This is as close to Edge Island as we're going to get.

'We prepare to go ashore.

'Our plan is to find a polar bear den as soon as possible.'

Yesterday, things were looking pretty bleak.

Actually I thought we were going to have to turn around

and head for home, but here we are.

We've managed to get in, lodged ourselves in close to shore so it's looking good.

We just have to get out there and start looking for bears.

'Helping me find a den is polar bear expert Jason Roberts.

'And it's a good thing he's here.'

Look, look, look, look, look!

'It's my very first polar bear.'

As is always the way, the animal that you're looking for

more often finds you than you finding it.

What a beautiful bear.

'It's also a potentially deadly bear.'

No. No guns, no guns.

'Fortunately, there is no-one who's had more experience

'in dealing with polar bears than Jason.'

It's a three-to-five-year-old, probably male from the way it's acting

but its hard to tell at that age. Most likely males.

It's more inquisitive than anything and we're giving off so much smell.

But it's most likely easily scared,

just a bit of a bluff charge and it'll scare it.

So do you find these young males are potentially the problematic ones?

They are actually the ones that do the most damage to people.

Completely unfazed by us.

Instead of running and trying to get away,

they're coming straight towards us.

'Young bears can sometimes be scared off by facing up to them.'

Hup!

Stay that distance.

I suppose he's a relatively small polar bear,

-but compared to us it's a big, big animal.

-It's a big polar bear.

He'd still rip you to pieces in seconds.

'This one's persistent. He must be hungry.'

He's liking the smell.

HAND CLAPS

Thing is we can't let this bear get too close.

'I've spent 20 years filming dangerous predators.

'Normally I go looking for THEM.

'This is the first time they've come looking for me.'

ENGINE STARTS

'The young bear moves on and I can now concentrate on the next step -

'finding a den.'

'Edge Island's slopes collect deep snow drifts.

'Perfect for mother bears to dig dens.

'But finding one is next to impossible.'

It is so tricky.

We're looking for not for the bears themselves,

that'd be the easy part, but these bears are in their dens

underground, so what we're looking for is an indentation in the snow.

'It's caused by the body-warmth of a bear underground,

'melting the snow above.

'But everything looks like it could be a polar bear den to me.'

The good thing is Jason's been here many times before

looking for polar bear dens, so he's kind of...

he's the expert and I'm the humble assistant.

But I think it's just a case of keep searching.

'It can take weeks to find a polar bear den.

'Time we just don't have.'

'After two days' searching, we head inland.

'Finally, Jason spots a sign.'

We've just come up the valley, over the top here

and Jason has stopped in front of me and he's found a den.

Stay low.

You can see there's a hole

and just kind of a lot of disturbance in the snow.

I don't know if the bear is still there.

'I'll let Jason go in front this time.'

-Right, I'll be right behind you.

-You'll be right...

-Right behind you.

And if she pops her head out, the first thing we do

is just get down low and not disturb her.

And we've both got signal pistols so we can't hurt her,

but we can scare her with an explosion pistol. So...

So what do you think her reaction would be

if she popped her nose out and saw us?

Most likely her reaction

if she popped her nose out would be to pull back in if she sees us.

The den is a safety zone for her,

but I've had it once where she just looked and went "Oh, dinner"

and shot out the den straight after me and I was on skis then

so I just skied down to get away from her but she come at full speed.

I reckon if there's a bear in there it's going to have

maybe heard us, almost definitely smelt us long before I got there.

It does seem a little bit crazy, heading straight towards

a hole in the ground that might contain a polar bear.

So it's an open den,

but I can't see if this is a track coming down here or not.

'We're close enough. Now the waiting begins.'

OK, we've got a hole, and not a single track round about it,

but, erm, it's definitely been made by a bear.

You see.

All that snow looks quite fresh or recently excavated.

Now I just have to keep training my binoculars on the hole

and hope that a face pokes out.

Or even better, hope that several faces poke out.

Jason spotted this hole from probably about a mile away

on the opposite side of the mountain

and we've got as close as we really dare.

Look, look, look, look, look!

The face of a baby polar bear!

'I really can't believe we've found a den with at least one cub.'

OK, just one. Look at that!

Oh, fantastic.

Great.

No sign of mum,

but she'll be down in the den.

But this is just perfect.

Exactly what we're looking for.

'I'm curious if there's another cub.

'When times are hard, often only one will survive.'

This is the best thing ever, really.

After everything that we've been through,

even at this early stage of the project,

to be here sitting watching a cub in its den is just brilliant.

'Eventually this cub will leave the den with its mother.

'And when they go, I'll follow.

'It could be two days or two weeks.'

Absolutely nothing. We've been here for about eight hours now.

'There's a mother bear in that den.

'I'd love see what condition she's in.'

-What's going on? They're in no great rush, Jason.

-No.

It's a bit of a waiting game, but the unfortunate thing

is that they're better than us at waiting in the cold.

I suppose she's been in there for months now so she's not going to

exactly run out and do the fandango down the slope just cos we're here.

No.

'Jason's sure the cub will stay put for the moment.

'So we head back to the boat to thaw out.

'But on the way back,

'our snowmobiles attract interest from a large male.'

OK.

Yeah, Jason he's coming, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming.

'This is a big, confident bear.'

This bear, like every polar bear, is intrinsically curious.

He's walked almost a whole kilometre,

straight towards us, just to check us out.

'All other species of bear mostly eat plants and insects.

'Polar bears eat meat and this one has his eye on me!'

-We have to be primed and ready to go, don't we?

-Yeah, we...

This is getting to a point where it's a little bit dodgy.

This male is paying attention to us, and to us only.

And he's not stopping. He's getting closer and closer.

Look how close he is. Right there, so we're going to have to

get ready to start the Skidoos and get out of here.

OK he's getting to about, what is he? Ten metres, not good.

OK, drive, drive, drive, drive, drive! Go, go, go, go!

Slight disaster here.

This bear was paying us too much attention

and we had to get out of it. Hang on.

Not good. But that just shows you

they're animals that we can't entirely trust.

Look at that. Unbelievable.

He got way too close there.

And even starting up the scooter,

something that would normally put a bear off,

hasn't bothered him at all.

Jason's just going to see if he can scare him off.

There you go.

There's a bear that was thinking about food

and he saw us, and we were on the menu.

In April, this male should be hunting on the sea ice.

But behind him there's mostly open water.

It's no surprise that he meant business.

And he's still there, still watching.

Hum, woooh!

That was about as close to a polar bear as I want to get.

'But to really get to know my family,

'I'm going to have to get closer.'

'To do that safely, I've brought a secret weapon...

'the Ice Cube.'

'Built of aluminium, toughened plastic,

'a lot of nuts and bolts,

'it's been engineered to resist polar bear attacks...

'hopefully!'

The whole idea with this is the cameraman sits inside...

..doesn't forget to close the door,

and we wait for an obliging bear.

This, um, really doesn't feel too safe.

I'm not worried about the bear so much as the ice.

Big dark pools, you can see right down into the depths

and if it tilts on the side with the doors on,

there's absolutely no way of getting out,

and I'm going to be stuck in here just sinking into the ice.

'My biggest worry is the plastic.

'It gets brittle when it's this cold.'

'Oskar is the strongest crew member.'

It won't break.

I thought it won't break.

It won't break.

Any worries?

No, not at all.

I'm not going in it.

Why should I be worried?

That's reassuring(!)

'But before I risk life and limb in the Ice Cube,

'I want to see what's happening back at the den.

'Jason and I are keen to find out if there's more than one cub.'

You can see... look at his little face!

I reckon that's the same cub each time that's poking its head out.

'Jason finds it easier to remember bears if they have a name.

'This one, he's called Miki.'

Look at that! Oh!

Oh, very, very cute.

Wow, look, there's another cub!

Aw, this is going to be fantastic.

It is going to be so great.

'Jason's named this second cub Luca.

'Luca is slightly smaller than Miki.'

You can already get an idea of this cub's character.

It is much more interested in the outside world than its sibling

and the other...the other cub

is probably just taking its lead from its mother.

The mother hasn't got the slightest bit of interest in looking out.

Not yet.

'And then...she appears!'

Oh, look! There's the mother.

'The mother must be hungry.

'She dug this den six months ago, and hasn't eaten since.

'AND she's had Miki and Luca to suckle.'

Whoa!

She's enormous.

She's huge.

The cubs are about the size of her head, actually smaller than that.

'Jason's called her Lyra.

'For a hungry polar bear, she's amazingly relaxed with us.

'She's adapted to survive long periods without food. Unlike me!'

So we have, erm, this type of wild casserole of reindeer meat,

and chicken and curry.

You've got the choice today.

Chicken would be good.

So, are we all ready for a calorie boost?

I'm having to eat more calories out here just to stay warm.

You think about the majority of mammals - they coincide the birth

of their young with an abundance of food, but not so with polar bears.

This female piled on pounds way back last year

because she doesn't eat for six months.

Literally, half of the year she doesn't eat a single thing.

I think that is absolutely astounding.

Mmm! That's pretty good actually.

Sorry, bear!

Sitting tucking into 500 calories and you haven't eaten in months!

'As soon as Miki and Luca are strong enough,

'Lyra must leave the den in search of food.

'And that's when I could lose them forever.

'To help me follow them,

'I'm joining forces with polar bear biologist, Dr Jon Aars.'

Jon, hi!

Gordon, very good to meet you. How are you?

-How's it been going?

-OK-ish.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

This is a beautiful female.

Is she still around or...?

She's still around, up there just on the side of that slope.

It's good because I think the cubs seem to be ready and able,

and, erm, but she's... she looks great.

'Jon uses the latest satellite technology to track bears.

'We'll team up to follow Lyra.'

What useful work can I do and data that I can feed back to you?

We are very eager to get more information about the cubs. If they, er...

If they survive or if they die, what time of year they die for example.

I suppose it's amazing that you can follow these bears with satellite

collars and get so much data, but then I suppose there's nothing

quite like being able to actually see them and see what's happened.

Yes, so it's a lot of information you get by following the movement

but it's also a lot you miss when you don't see the bear actually.

'Once Lyra has left the den, Jon will fit a special satellite collar.

'While he tracks the bears from his computer,

'I will be able to tell him exactly what they're doing on the ground,

'which at the moment isn't very much!

'While they sleep snugly, we wait for them to reappear.

'But there might be a reason

'why Lyra and her cubs are staying out of sight.

'Below them, is a large male. And male bears sometimes eat cubs.

'Spring should be the easiest time for polar bears.

'That's when baby seals are born on the ice and are simple to catch.

'But this year, there's little ice, so fewer seals.

'So, while Jason watches the den,

'I try to see if this male is having any luck.'

Oh, sniffing down there.

Looks as if this bear's hanging his head in shame.

But what he's doing is standing over quite possibly an air hole,

a breathing hole for a seal.

And he's just peering down at that hole,

thinking about how delicious that seal might taste.

And this is polar bear hunting strategy.

You think of predators, sort of ambush, chase.

Not a polar bear.

They will just sit patiently by a seal's breathing hole

and wait for that seal to come up and take a breath.

And if it does... they're straight onto it.

'Only about one in 20 seal hunts are successful.

'Waiting patiently is the best way to conserve energy.'

Oh, he's seen something.

Oh, there he goes!

He missed.

Nothing that time.

I wonder.

I wonder if that was a seal coming up.

There was definitely something there.

'I'd love to film our bear family close up.

'But they're tucked up in the den.

'So, instead, I'd like to test the Ice Cube on another bear.'

'I drop it off by a seal's breathing hole.

'It doesn't take long before we spot a polar bear.'

OK, we've got a huge bear coming round behind the boat.

Yes, there it is.

I'm just going to try and get into the Ice Cube before it gets here.

'This could be the first time anyone has had the chance to film

'a polar bear hunting at close range.'

This bear is coming right up to me.

'Unfortunately, it ignores the seal's breathing hole

'and heads straight for me.'

She's coming closer and closer. Oh, my God!

She is enormous.

Jeez.

Gee-whizz.

Really it's why I've come here.

To see these animals.

To get to understand them.

See them up close.

Hey, bear.

Oh, my God.

She's right here. Hey, bear.

'The bear's nose is thousands of times more powerful than mine.

'It's gathering information before it approaches,

'like it would when stalking a seal.

'My scent is strongest at the weakest point. The door.'

OK, just checking the lock.

'It's systematically trying from all angles.'

Being this close,

you get an appreciation for what this animal is.

It is one of the most powerful animals on the planet.

One of the most intimidating animals on the planet

and one of the few animals that actually see us as food.

'The bear's nose has led it to a gap.'

You can sniff me. Gosh, I could have actually touched its nose.

It's giving a little.

She's feeling the pressure,

and she can actually feel that Perspex is flexing.

She's trying to see if she can crawl through it.

She's trying to see if she can bite through it.

It's getting a little bit hairy in here.

I can feel that he's just pushing all his weight

against this side of the cube.

Oh, not sure if I like that.

Not sure if that's good.

Her best bet would be to get her full weight on top of it,

just like she does when she's breaking into seal lairs, and push.

OK, don't go on top. On top's dangerous.

Look, it's just towering above me.

If I was to be standing side-by-side with this animal,

it would be about seven feet tall.

Oh, you're gonna do it, you're gonna do it.

Ooh-hoo-hoo! Hey, bear.

Every time she pushes,

every time she exerts a little bit of force, she's using up calories.

Is there anything worth eating here?

Is there anything worth using up her energy for?

Inside there is, definitely.

Little old me.

'Once it realises it's too difficult to get in,

'the polar bear moves off.'

Definitely at this point, my fear far outweighs my fascination.

This is closer to a polar bear than I ever, ever imagined I'd ever get.

That's not something that I'm going to want to do again in a hurry.

Definitely not.

If I can summon the courage again, I'd like to see Lyra that close.

I was crapping myself throughout.

We were actually laughing a few times, but at the same time...

It looked hilarious!

Well done!

Oh, we're so envious! So envious!

Pretty intense!

'I return to Lyra's den.

'I want to see how the cubs are developing.

'My family seem incredibly relaxed with me.'

Oh, look!

It is funny to think that I'm as common a sight to this cub

as a mountain or a rock.

It is all that cub's known for three and a half months

is the inside of this den.

And it is quite nice to think that this cub thinks I belong here,

when I really don't.

The mother, on the other hand,

she may never even have seen a human being.

She's constantly looking down at me

but she doesn't seem to be overly concerned.

Polar bears are like people -

every one of them has got a different personality.

She's not bothered by us.

'Miki's doing really well, he's looking strong.

'Lyra tries leading her cubs further from the den.

'She calls to Miki and Luca, encouraging them to follow her.

'Miki leads the charge.

'Luca is less adventurous and reluctant to go too far.

'Lyra is assessing when they'll be strong enough to leave.'

Oh, wow!

HE LAUGHS

Just tobogganing down the slope there!

This is just cubs playing,

but with every young animal,

every little bit of play is an important lesson.

Over the next year, these cubs are going to have to walk

hundreds of miles over snow and ice.

And this is the first time, really,

they've had the opportunity to move around.

'It's great to see the cubs so active.

'But we need to make a move too.

'The weather changes quickly on Edge Island,

'so we have to leave our polar bear family for the night.

'The captain is concerned that the shifting ice

'could crush the ship, and so he's leaving us here.

'We've got to take all the supplies we need for the next few days.'

ENGINES ROAR

'As our boat steams to the safety of open water,

'Jason's arranged for us to move to new, "luxury" accommodation.'

How long has this been here for?

It was built in 1917, the original cabin,

but of course it's been added on and changed.

So it was built as a cabin for trapping, for polar bear hunting.

The most important thing I suppose working in the Arctic

is just having somewhere dry to go.

These polar bears can survive out there

with nothing other than their coats on their backs.

But for us, we need a little bit more comfort.

Comfort is a relative thing around here.

We can open the latch into there.

Lovely.

Really clean and snug.

There's not going to be a bear in there, is there?

Nice.

Home sweet home, hey?

It feels fairly substantial but there's kind of weak points.

The windows are the weak point

but also we'll store all our food in the entry hall,

which is quite good because it's like a freezer box

but it gives off a lot of smell

so that's also a danger zone that a bear just comes through the door

and the doors are quite flimsy and ends up in the entry hall.

So have you had any scary encounters

when you've actually been in the cabin, and had polar bears trying to get in?

Yeah, I've had it when I've been inside the cabin.

It's strange. When you're alone it's even more scary, but I've had it

when I've been alone and a bear's knocked down the door and

all of a sudden standing in the cabin, and you're inside the cabin.

Most of the time the bear is as frightened of you

as you are of the bear, so it pulls out and goes the other way.

So, a general rule to stick by

is that there could be a polar bear anywhere at any time?

And it's not the bear that you see that gets you.

'What a charming bedtime story(!)

'I'm not sure I'll get much sleep tonight.'

'The next morning, we are back at the den.

'The temperature has dropped,

'so we've built a snow wall to protect us from the wind.

'We need to be here

'when Lyra leaves or there will be no way of finding her again.'

This place is spectacularly beautiful, but it's tough.

I don't feel at home here.

I can enjoy the beauty of it,

but there's no getting away from the fact that this is a harsh place.

And I think experiencing this place, and realising how harsh it is,

I have this growing respect for these animals.

'Miki and Luca are amazing.

'They're so well adapted to the cold.

'But to survive, they need to stay with their mother

'for two and a half years.'

I think it's incredible to think that within the next week

those cubs will be following their mother.

They'll cover tens, hundreds of miles.

'Lyra is starving.

'She's lost half her body weight in the den.

'She must eat soon or else her milk will run dry.'

You can see what she's doing.

She's taking the cubs on their first real walk.

So far these cubs have just been playing about the den entrance.

And now they're 50, 70 metres away.

'At any moment, I expect them to turn round and head back.

'But Lyra just keeps on going.'

I think this is it. She's definitely going.

In some ways, for a cub, this is when life begins.

She's definitely going.

She's miles away from the den now.

She keeps looking back though.

She's thinking,

"Are these cubs ready for this journey?"

She knows of all the dangers that lie ahead.

Despite all of her hard work so far,

the most difficult part of these cubs' lives is now.

They've left the safety and security of the den.

Miki is keeping up. But Luca is lagging behind.

The cubs' world has suddenly expanded. It's not just the den.

It's not just this mountain.

Almost the whole of the Arctic is their playground now.

And that is a place of... great danger,

great hardship.

Lyra will have experienced hard times before,

but this was the warmest winter on record.

The retreating sea ice means it's going to be the toughest year ever

for polar bear cubs.

Once the family leave Edge Island, it will be impossible for me

to follow Lyra by snowmobile.

Even at this early age,

Miki and Luca can travel 20 miles in a single day.

Her track's coming round the mountainside,

taking her way across the ridge there.

Trying to follow those tracks,

ideally I'd follow the tracks very close to them.

But it's way too steep up there, so I've come a lot further away.

And just hope I can pick them up from here. And I can see them...

Hang on, hang on, hang on.

Oh, yeah, look, there we go. Look.

Hey, Papa Whiskey there, it's Jason calling.

HE SPEAKS NORWEGIAN

'Jason lets the scientists know that Lyra has left the den.'

OK.

HE SPEAKS NORWEGIAN

'Biologist Jon Aars

'hopes to put one of his satellite-tracking collars on Lyra.'

This is tremendously exciting,

because, all going well, over the next hour, this is the moment

that we should be able to follow our female for the rest of the year.

Jason, Jason, Jason.

-Can I get...

-Do you want me to drive over?

-Yeah, please.

'Jon is hoping to shoot a tranquilising dart

'from the helicopter.'

Plonk her anywhere.

That's cool.

She's wondering what on earth is going on to get a helicopter

hovering overhead.

'Lyra has sniffed out an empty den. The cubs are already inside.'

And for Jon to get a clear shot of her

she's got to be out of that hole.

He's just hovering up there and seeing what she does.

'Unfortunately, Lyra picks this moment to disappear.

'There is nothing Jon Aars can do.'

RADIO CHATTER

HE SPEAKS NORWEGIAN

-They're giving up.

-It's not good.

She didn't come out of the hole,

she's got to be out onto the snow for them to get a clear

view of her, and they've just turned round and come down.

And I think they'll be giving up.

'If they don't manage to collar Lyra here,

'we'll probably lose her for good.

'Once she reaches the remaining sea ice,

'it'll be impossible to land a helicopter.'

I thought it was a good thing

that she'd gone into that hole and stayed in this area,

but it would have been much better maybe if she had kept on walking

and Jon could have picked her up from the helicopter, and it's much

faster and easier to track from a helicopter than it is by skidoo.

'This is a huge setback.

'While Jon waits for another chance, I can check out Lyra's old den.

'The entrance has been covered up with snow, so Jason checks

'that another bear hasn't taken up residence in the meantime.'

You're going to have a listen?

Jason's just going to shove his ear close to the hole to see

if he can hear anyone down there.

'I think I'll just let Jason make sure that the den IS empty.'

-Looks fine.

-Yeah?

-Looks good.

I can get a good look in there. Heavens!

It's very small.

Much smaller than I'd imagined.

-Incredible.

-HE CHUCKLES

'No matter how cold outside,

'the den will always be at least three degrees above freezing.'

Wow, look at this. Cosy, cosy.

It's really quite strange sitting in here.

But you can imagine when the cubs were born in here.

There could be storms raging outside, yet inside this den

there's a mother bear with two tiny cubs.

Completely safe inside.

You can see the whole inside of the den has been sculpted

by her big claws, and it's rock solid.

I can't even hardly make a scratch in it.

These little...lovely little Christmas-decoration-like jewels.

Each one of those is an individual polar bear hair that's got

stuck to the ceiling and become frosted.

'Jason gets a call from Jon that Lyra is on the move.

'Bums on shovels is the fastest way down.

'Jon is going to have one more attempt to collar Lyra,

'while she's in the open.'

OK, we've got her, just up there on that little escarpment.

This bear is giving us the run-around.

It is a real rollercoaster ride, this.

Every time I lose her,

I think that's the last time I'm ever gonna see her.

'This will be our last chance.'

The helicopter's coming down and getting closer to the bear.

She's... OK, she's moving down the bank.

'The pilot coaxes Lyra to a safer place to dart her.'

This really is our last chance now,

if we don't get her now we've had it.

She's not making it easy for us.

The helicopter's just waiting for an opportunity for her to be

in the right place, somewhere they can land.

Somewhere they can get a clear shot of her.

'It looks alarming, but Jon has done this hundreds of times

'without causing any harm.'

She's got the dart in her, she's got the dart in her.

We're just moving in to where our bear is

and they've already started the process.

She's only out for a relatively short time

and it just allows the scientists to do their work.

And then they'll be up and off.

'Lyra is one of 20 mother polar bears being collared this year.

'Tracking them will give Jon information about how far

'they roam and whether cubs like Miki and Luca survive.'

I think she's pretty much asleep now.

But it's good to be as much as possible on the...back side.

I think she's going to sleep quite well now, quite a while.

So how long will this process take?

I guess it would be...

It's quite strange being so close to her.

-Can I come in closer, Jon?

-Yeah.

JON SPEAKS NORWEGIAN

Hey, cubs.

Hello. Do you recognise me or just recognise my smell?

'Miki and Luca are on a leash

'so they don't get separated from their mum.'

CUBS GRUNT

GORDON CHUCKLES

They are looking quite relaxed now.

Actually, you look a little bit different to you.

Are you a boy and you a girl?

Just going to measure your mother and see how big she is.

Look at the job that she's done, these cubs are in perfect health.

Incredibly healthy.

So how old is she?

Well, we guess that she might be, you know, 14, 15, 16 years old.

Really?

'She's an experienced mother.

'So they will hopefully have a better chance of surviving.'

'Jon is taking blood samples to check Lyra's health.

'It's a fantastic opportunity for me to examine a polar bear.'

Just being so close like this, you can see how she's able to live in this environment.

Her coat is...incredibly dense.

You've got all these guard hairs

and, underneath, this thick, thick thatch of wool.

Her coat is actually very, very cold on the outside and that's

because she's losing very little heat from her body.

You can actually see how she's able to grip even on very slippery ice.

Huge feet, and the pads of her feet are incredibly textured.

Not rough, but velvety, with very, very strong claws on the end.

Not just necessarily for catching prey but for gripping

when she's climbing these slopes, digging dens.

'Now it's Miki and Luca's turn for a check-up.

'They're given a light sedative and they'll snore through it all.'

Just lay her down beside the other one?

Relax a bit.

CUB SNORES

And this will just keep her out for as long as the mum's out?

Yeah, and also for us to... take a couple of samples.

They are completely out.

'And while they're out we can check whether they're girls or boys.'

This is a boy.

This is a boy as well.

OK, we've got two boys.

They've been both sedated at the moment,

just like the mother, and there's a little bit of work to do on them.

Take the weight, size, measurements, and ear tag them.

'While these two snooze, we measure them.

'In some regions of the Arctic, cubs have been getting smaller.'

JON SPEAKS NORWEGIAN

'Keeping track of their size is a good way to judge

'the health of the population.'

SNORING

'As they sleep off their sedative,

'there's time for Jon to fit Lyra's satellite collar.'

So is the collar already fired and sending up to the satellite?

Yes, actually it's been sending for quite a few days, so it's started.

It should send one e-mail every four hour and tell where the bear is.

'The collar is surprisingly light.'

It's only females that you collar? You can't collar the males?

You can't. Because the neck is wider than the head.

So they would just take the collar off.

'A satellite collar with this range and accuracy

'has never been available before.

'For the first time we'll be able to follow a polar bear family.'

And it is a little bit of relief that I'll be able to find out

what happens to these cubs.

What I'm hoping to do is follow these three

throughout the rest of this year.

The most difficult year of these cubs' lives.

And that's something that no-one has ever done before.

How does that sound?

How does it sound if I follow you around?

That would be nice, wouldn't it? That would be very nice.

We could become good friends, until you get big enough to eat me.

'It's been amazing to get this close to my bear family.'

-Well, thanks.

-Thank you. Thank you very much.

Well done.

'Jon's field season is over.

'Once Lyra wakes up, she and her cubs will join other bears

'out on the remains of the sea ice.

'For the next six weeks it will be impossible for me

'to follow them there.

'The ice is too dangerous to travel over.

'But as soon as there's enough open water

'I'll be able to return with the boat

'and find them with Jon's collar.

'For now, all I can do is enjoy my last glimpse as they head off.'

Oh, there she is, there she is!

It is epic to see these tiny animals just setting out on this journey.

HE CHUCKLES

Look at them go.

They are...an amazing little duo.

'The first phase of my project has been a success.'

Look at that, ohhh.

Oh, very, very cute.

'I've found a polar bear family and I've been with Miki and Luca

'from the moment they first emerged from the den.

'I'm part of these cubs' lives.

'And they are part of mine.

'But it's going to be the most challenging year ever

'for polar bears.

'This is where the drama really begins.'

'In the next programme, we brave the hazards of the sea ice,

'as the cubs get their first taste of arctic waters.'

Wow, here he goes, here he goes. Big leap, splash.

That is great.

'As do I.

'Bears descend to the hunting grounds en masse.'

That's amazing, we've got how many? Three, six, seven bears.

'And I get to know Lyra...'

She is completely tolerant, really happy for me to be 100 metres away.

'..a little too well.'

-OK, there she is, you see.

-She's still coming towards us.

Never let a polar bear get between you and your boat.

'And in the hardest season for polar bears...'

About half of all polar bear cubs don't even make it

past their first year.

'..I'll find out if Miki and Luca can beat the odds.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd