See one of the world’s most dangerous predators like never before through the lens of covert “spycams.” POLAR BEAR: SPY ON THE ICE captures the true habits of polar bears in the two-part special premiering Saturday, May 7 at 8 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT on Discovery World HD. Award-winning filmmaker John Downer (ELEPHANTS: SPY IN THE HERD, TIGER: SPY IN THE JUNGLE), who revolutionized natural history filmmaking by pioneering the use of spy cameras to capture animals’ most intimate moments, has created a new team of “spycams” – as featured on 60 MINUTES – to film polar bears in Norway. These state-of-the-art camouflaged cameras reveal the extraordinary curiosity and intelligence of the polar bear.
POLAR BEAR: SPY ON THE ICE follows polar bear mothers Aesa and Svanna as they lead their cubs on a journey across frozen land in arctic Norway. Their destination: sea ice on the edge of the polar ice cap surrounding the North Pole – the ultimate hunting grounds for life-sustaining seals. It’s an expedition that will take months and the perils will be especially great with brand new cubs in tow. Each mother will need endurance, ingenuity and steadfast determination to safely make it through this incredible journey alive.
Narrated by Novella Nelson (The Last Airbender, 30 ROCK) and composed by Will Gregory of the pop-group Goldfrapp and Richard Fiocca of the miniseries LIFE, POLAR BEAR: SPY ON THE ICE presents viewers with an enchanting look at the daily life the two polar bear families and the other bears they encounter along their journey – all while focusing on the innate curiosity of these extraordinary animals. To capture this personal perspective in one of the most barren and harshest environments on Earth, the special utilizes an impressive photographic arsenal of devices created especially to infiltrate the world of the polar bear:
• Snow-cam: Disguised as a clump of snow that can trundle across both land and ice using four-wheel drive and tundra wheels.
• Blizzard-cam: A mobile unit powered by propellers that can travel up to 60kph.
• Iceberg-cam: Sculpted to look like a mass of ice, this camera manoeuvres through the water in between sheets of ice and even captures swimming bears beneath the icy surface.
• Snowball-cam: Travels with no visible moving parts, operating like a mouse wheel – with weights that control its movement and direction, and a lens that has a self-righting mechanism
