The Bear Family and Me

9pm BBC Two, Monday 3rd January

‘Who’s to say he’s not just a crackpot who’s been lucky for 40 years?’ wonders Gordon Buchanan near the start of this three-part documentary following a group of black bears in Minnesota. The man in question is controversial bear biologist Dr Lynn Rogers, and his jaw-dropping working methods would give pause to the most gung-ho of outdoor adventurers. Keen to reduce the levels of stress suffered by his wild research bears while fitting or replacing their radio collars, Rogers has developed a food conditioning system that enables him to approach or handle them without sedation in exchange for a reward of a few grapes. In theory this promises uniquely intimate footage for any wildlife film-maker willing to tag along – or indeed establish their own reward-based relationship with the bears – but in practice, witnessing the process in action is just nerve-shreddingly tense.

Arriving in Minnesota, Buchanan seems genuinely unsettled by the reality of the project, blanching at the height of a bear’s scratch marks on a tree and maintaining a healthy scepticism about Rogers’ improbable claims. His reservations come to the fore when he heads into the forest – alone, for minimum disturbance – to make contact with a bear for the first time. Filming his own reactions on a body-mounted camera as well as the tangled undergrowth ahead, Buchanan’s panicked eyes say it all: nothing about this situation seems right. Things get even more heart-in-mouth when he finally spots a bear; it’s a female, and she seems rattled enough by his proximity to take a few warning steps towards him. By the time Buchanan is feeding his first grapes to Lily and her cub Hope under Rogers’ watchful gaze, the whole project is starting to look more than a little surreal.

Incredibly, though, it’s not long before the Bear Family team are capturing just the sort of revealing behavioural footage they had hoped for. Lily is a first-time mother and touchingly awkward at times, while the endearing Hope shows off her tree-climbing skills. Their misty woodland territory looks spectacular on film, and there’s even an unplanned comedy moment when some boisterous yearling cubs decide to play with the hired camera equipment. But while the commentary talks affectionately of falling under the bears’ spell, onscreen the jittery tone never goes away. When Buchanan is finally given a warning nip in the thigh by a protective Lily, you can’t help but suspect that he is more shaken by the incident than surprised. The conclusion of this first episode is no less contentious, as Rogers has a difficult decision to make when Lily’s mothering instincts seem to falter, and the subsequent two parts, though hugely involving, pose significant questions about intervention. There is probably just – just – enough acknowledgement of these controversial areas to provide the series with a sense of ethical balance, and it’s a good thing too, as the magnificent photography shouldn’t be missed.