For most youngsters, a walk on the sea shore with Mum is a fun day out.

If, however, you are a fearsome predator living in one of the most hostile environments on the planet, it can quickly become a life-or-death struggle against the elements — as these extraordinary pictures show.

Treading carefully: A polar bear leads her two cubs through the Arctic snow

Tough going: A rock bars their progress along the water's edge. And the cubs can't swim

Nothing else for it: Mum has to take them over the top

It's a struggle: But the first cub is equal to the tricky climb

While Britain swelters under a heatwave, a family of three polar bears — one mother bear and two cubs — make their way along a frozen beach in the Arctic.

Reaching a dead end, they are left with little choice but to clamber over the rocks.

With summertime temperatures in the region still well below zero and winds capable of reaching more than 100 miles an hour, swimming in the sea to the other side of the obstacle is clearly too treacherous an option.

Instead, the mother bear leads her young up a slippery rock face.

Leap of faith: The second cub follows its sibling

While one manages the climb easily, his sibling struggles. Precariously balancing on an icy outcrop, he stretches full-length as the freezing waves crash around him, but the climb appears beyond him.

He seems doomed to remain trapped on a lump of ice or, worse, be swept away in the attempt to follow his mother. Though many parents might find the sight of a stranded youngster distressing, this mother appears unperturbed, lounging languidly in the snow.

But do not be deceived. Female polar bears are devoted to their young

Cold comfort: The cub slips back onto the snow

The frozen limit: It's another chilly outcome

Third time lucky? The club clings on in grim determination

Meanwhile, tired of waiting, mum takes 40 winks

Cubs are born blind and extremely vulnerable. The average size of a litter is just two and it is not uncommon for wolves — or even fellow bears — to attempt an attack.

To protect them, mothers escort their young everywhere until they are able to fend for themselves — usually at two or three. Indeed, in forcing her cub to cope for himself, this bear is teaching him an important lesson.

In this environment, only the strongest survive. Her non-interventionist approach works. The cub tries and tries again until he finally pulls himself up and onto the snowy bank where he is reunited with his brother. Success!

Life in the Arctic may be a daily battle against the forces of Nature. But this story, at least, has a happy ending.

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