Video: Polar bears uncover spy cameras

The BBC recently launched camouflaged spy cams to track the activities of polar bears in their snowy environment. But the polar bears turned the high-tech cams – named Iceberg Cam, Blizzard Cam and Snowball Cam – into playthings.

The footage, which is airing on in the United Kingdom on BBC One, shows bears searching for food and grappling with thin ice. It also shows the natural curiosity of the bears which, in the end, discovered the cameras and tore them apart.

The BBC aired some of the footage showing the cams approaching the bears on the Arctic islands of Svalbard. The cams were built to withstand temperatures way below freezing but in the end had met their match.

"Of all the subjects ever filmed by spy cams, the polar bear has shown the greatest curiosity and intelligence," the narrator, David Tennant, said as footage showed a bear playing with one of the camouflaged cams. "The cub faced many challenges over the summer, but to reveal his story, the snow cams faced challenges of their own."

Snowball Cam fell victim to a bored cub. Blizzard Cam became a plaything as the bear chased it across the ice, eventually getting Snowball Cam, which fell off Blizzard Cam in the escape.

The bear cracks it like an egg.

The UK Guardian said in the beginning the bears cooperated. A mother bear even points one camera at her baby and wipes the lens clean when it gets frosty.

Eventually the bears get bored and start smashing, destroying more than $200,000 worth of equipment.

The BBC said the cameras captured other sights such as the bears hunting seals, diving for kelp and engaging in courtship rituals. They also captured newly born cubs emerging from their dens.

Even the destroyed cameras are used to tell the story, describing how it's that curiosity that keeps the bears alive.

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