[00:00.000]It may look like fun
[00:03.108]but this is serious training for the task ahead
[00:06.707]There's no food on the slopes
[00:08.681]and the family will need to head out across the frozen sea
[00:12.025]before the mother's milk runs dry
[00:15.310]Two weeks later they're ready
[00:19.675]Out on the sea ice the female can hunt for seals
[00:23.786]but it'll take all her mothering skills
[00:26.343]to keep her cubs safe in this dangerous world of ice
[00:33.506]The annual melt has begun
[00:38.522]This is a challenging time for the bear family
[00:42.469]One out of every two cubs do not survive their first year out on the ice
[00:49.679]As the sun's influence increases
[00:52.047]the sea ice seems to take on a life of its own
[00:56.227]Glacial melt waters pour from the land mingling with the sea
[01:00.964]and speeding up the thaw