A preview clip from a new BBC nature documentary shows the moment when a cameraman got a little too close to his subject, a hungry polar bear.
Gordon Buchanan’s reinforced perspex pod protected him
The incident occurred as Scottish wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan followed a wild polar bear family in Svalbard, Norway over the course of three seasons for a new documentary series that starts on BBC Two next week.
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.
This is the moment that wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan came face to face with a hungry polar bear
Mr Buchanan, 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.
‘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.
This shows the size of the adult polar bear compared to the cameraman
‘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.
Mr Buchanan followed mother Lyra and her cubs Miki and Luca for 12 months to get closer to a polar bear 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 predators edged closer and closer to them.
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Starving polar bear attacks BBC cameraman in pod in Arctic Norway
