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A female polar bear emerges from her den beneath the snow. The sun must be a welcome relief after so long in the darkness. Her den is on a high slope, well away from hungry male bears who would kill her cubs, but close enough to the sea ice where she can find food for her extraordinary new family - three young cubs.

If she can raise them all to independence, it’ll be a rare achievement.

One of the cubs is underweight and will be fortunate to survive these early weeks. If the family reaches the sea ice, where the female can catch seals, her milk will be enriched, and the smaller cub will quickly gain size and strength.

The sea ice, though, is a dangerous place. The male polar bear has been out on the frozen ocean all winter. Times have been lean, and a bear cub would certainly make a welcome snack. However, the mainstay of his diet is seals, and now is the time when they have their pups. The surface of the frozen sea is marked with pressure ridges, and cracks created by the fluctuating tides.

Both are good places to look for seals. He has detected a seal den beneath the ice. Now he must pin-point it, using only his extraordinary sense of smell. By treading lightly, he can avoid scaring his prey.

He will need to punch through a metre of snow to reach the den, and if his aim is not exactly on target, the seal will certainly escape. In fact, the ringed seal abandoned her den just a few hours ago and her pup has climbed up onto the surface. It’s more exposed up here, but it’s easier to see an approaching bear. The pup is well camouflaged. Difficult to see when its mother has left to go fishing.

But the bear can still smell it. Nine out of ten polar bear hunts end in failure.

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The polar bear mother has made it to the edge of the sea ice, but the smallest cub is nowhere to be seen. It’s a sad outcome, but the disappearance improves the chances of the remaining two, who now have more milk to share.

Having led her cubs to the edge of the ice, the mother’s next challenge is to catch a seal. Not easy with two boisterous cubs in tow. Her prey, beneath the ice, can detect the slightest vibration, especially from bears. And this is not the stealthiest of hunting parties.

Leaving her cubs behind, however, is not an option – a male bear would eat one in a moment.

It seems that the cubs already see themselves as fearsome hunters, but they’re still young enough to accept their mother’s discipline. It’s the naughty corner for you!

This is not going to be their lucky morning. They saw no sign of a seal and the cubs are hungry again. The mother has been nursing for four months without once eating herself, and now her milk is drying up. She must catch a seal soon, or the whole family will starve.

The challenge of finding food is getting harder. She needs the sea ice as a platform from which to hunt and it’s breaking up faster with each passing day. Even the ice around the coast is starting to break.