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THIS is the terrifying moment a brave wildlife
cameraman comes face-to-face with a deadly 1,000lb polar bear - hunting
for its next meal.
The hungry eight-foot predator repeatedly attacks the safety Perspex box
- the on-ice equivalent of a shark cage - housing helpless Gordon
Buchanan.
Filmmaker Gordon shows nerves of steel as he endures the lethal polar
bear’s 40-minute sustained assault as it desperately searches for a weak
spot in his protective pod.
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The female bear, with its powerful paws and giant teeth, was trying to
get hold of the 40-year-old so she could feed herself and her two young
cubs.
Gordon, who has filmed the world’s deadliest creatures for 20-years,
described the ordeal as his scariest ever experience.
He said: “A lot of people think that carnivores are intrinsically
dangerous but most aren’t - there’s a minimal risk and attacks are the
exception.
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“But polar bears are different, without a doubt she wanted me for lunch.
She was so persistent, looking for a weak spot for almost 45 minutes.
“I was terrified and you could hear my heartbeat on the mic. It really
was a sensational moment and a worrying situation.
“It shows how enormous and powerful they are. It is the most difficult
thing I have done and the scariest. I’ve not been terrified for 40
minutes before.”
Gordon filmed the fascinating creature in Svalbard, in the northern-most
region of Arctic Norway, for his three-part BBC series “The Polar Bear
Family and Me’.
Eton College pupil Horatio Chapple, 17, was killed by a polar bear on
Svalbard, when the animal attacked a school expedition group in August
2011.
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Gordon followed mother Lyra and her cubs Miki and Luca for 12-months to
get closer to a family than anyone has before.
He risked long journeys over and through the ice, often into uncharted
territory, battling freezing winds, violent storms and plummeting
temperatures.
On a number of occasions the crew had to flee on their snowmobiles as
the giant bears edged closer and closer to them.
The perspex ‘ice cube’ Gordon was housed in for much of the filming was
“pretty much bombproof”.
But there was a risk it could get brittle when very cold - making the
task of filming the polar bears even more perilous.
Gordon added: “There’s no doubt polar bear cubs are the cutest animals
in the world and even the adults have an aesthetic which isn’t
threatening.
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“But the polar bear is the animal I have the most respect for, it is the
largest and strongest land carnivore. They are such inquisitive animals
too.
“The landscape is pretty featureless and it is amazing how they appear
from nowhere.
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“With most carnivores you can see their food source but you have to work
really hard to find the animals polar bears feed on."
“The Polar Bear Family and Me’, to be screened over three consecutive
days, begins on BBC2 on January 7th at 9.30pm.
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