All language subtitles for Frozen.Planet.s01e01.1080p.BluRay.x264

Over one third of our planet is frozen,

and yet the icy worlds
of the Arctic and Antarctic

are as alien to most of us
as the surface of another planet.

They are places of superlatives,

from ice caps that hold nearly 80%
of our planet's fresh water

to frozen forests
that encircle the entire globe.

These are places that feed
our imaginations,

places that seem to be borrowed
from fairytales.

They're dominated and shaped by the ice,

both by its coming and by its going.

This is our planet's
last true wilderness

and one that is changing just as
we are beginning to understand it.

In this series we'll be travelling
to all parts of these lonely lands,

both north and south,

to witness its wonders,
perhaps for the last time,

and to discover
some extraordinary examples

of survival against all the odds

as can be found anywhere on the planet.

The Poles are
permanently capped with ice.

Nowhere is colder,
windier or more hostile to life.

I'm standing at the North Pole,

the very top of the Earth.

Up here, it's easy to see
why the polar regions are so cold.

The sun never rises high enough
in the sky to warm my back

and those rays
that do strike the surface

are mostly reflected back
from this great whiteness.

But the fundamental problem

is that there's no sun here at all
for half the year.

The polar winter
is unrivalled in its harshness,

a night that lasts for months.

Only the toughest stay,
as temperatures plunge

to minus 70 degrees centigrade.

And yet the greatest challenge
to life here is not the cold,

but the extreme swings
between the seasons.

When the sun finally returns,
an extraordinary transformation begins.

This frozen world begins to melt away.

The polar spring
brings a brief opportunity for life.

By summer, the sun no longer sets
and works its magic for 24 hours a day.

Now it's a race to breed
before the sun departs.

By autumn, all but the hardiest
abandon the Poles

and the ice extends its grip.

Land and sea close down
for the long polar winter

until, once again, the sun returns.

It's spring in the high Arctic

and the sun illuminates
a giant frozen ocean,

the first stop on our journey.

The most powerful land predator
is on the prowl.

A male polar bear
is searching for a mate.

Willing females are few and far between

and the sea-ice on which he travels
will soon melt and vanish.

He's running out of time to find a mate
in this vast frozen desert.

Ten miles ahead,

a single female without cubs,

exactly what the male is seeking.

He seems to relish her scent,
even though she's miles away.

This is an exciting prospect.

She's clearly giving off
the right signals.

He locks onto her tracks,
eager not to lose her trail.

It's easier to tread
in the compacted snow of her footprints.

This pursuit could last for days.

The female eventually comes into view.

The search is finally over.

For the female, only half his weight,
this must be a nerve-wracking encounter.

The male could kill her if he chooses.

But he has other intentions.

And she is ready and willing.

She leads him to higher ground.

It seems that courting polar bears
prefer privacy,

often leaving the sea-ice
and heading for the hills

to avoid the prying eyes
of rival males who might disturb them.

Few have witnessed this moment.

For the male, his only tender encounter
in an otherwise solitary life.

But it doesn't last long.

A rival suitor has also caught
the female's scent.

Courtship has to be put on hold,
he must fight for his rights.

He sees off this first challenger
without injury to either party.

But bloodier battles are to come.

Another battle won,
though he has been slightly injured.

He hurries back to his mate,

but now she seems
to have lost her enthusiasm.

Female polar bears are high maintenance.

Wherever she goes he will follow,
mating with her when she allows

and guarding her at all times.

Over the next two weeks,
the male sees off many rivals,

but the battles take their toll on him.

He is almost spent,

but he has ensured that no other bears
have mated with his female.

It's time for the couple to go
their separate ways.

She will give birth to his cubs, alone,
in nine months' time,

and he may never see her again.

He returns to the frozen ocean,

no doubt relieved
to resume his solitary ways,

and just in time.

The ice beneath his feet
will soon be gone.

Each spring the Arctic Ocean undergoes
an extraordinary transformation.

An area of sea-ice
the size of Europe melts,

exposing the rich waters beneath.

Short-tailed shearwaters have travelled
10,000 miles from Australia to be here.

Eighteen million visitors
darken the skies,

the largest gathering of sea birds
on the planet.

Humpback whales have come all the way
from the Equator

to feed in these rich polar waters.

Their giant tails are
five meters across.

Simply raising them above the surface

gives the whales
enough downward momentum

to reach the great swarms of krill
and herring below.

The shearwaters follow the giants' lead.

For those who can get here, in summer,

these waters provide a feast
of epic proportions.

But the good times will be very short,

a problem that faces all life
in the polar regions.

Journeying south
across the Arctic Ocean,

the first land you reach is Greenland,
the largest island in the world.

Despite its name,
Greenland is mostly white,

covered by a giant ice sheet

six times the size
of the United Kingdom.

In the middle of the island,
the ice is nearly two miles thick.

It's a bleak, quiet world.

Sapphire-blue melt-lakes
are the first sign

that a dynamic process is underway.

Each lake forms in a matter of days,

expanding until it's miles across
and starts to overflow.

The spill water then carves its way
through the ice.

The water courses through an icy delta

like blood along the arteries
of a cold-blooded monster,

a monster that is stirring.

And without warning, the water suddenly
plunges down an open shaft,

falling a vertical mile
into the heart of the ice sheet.

This meltwater has a surprising effect.

It lubricates the junction between
the ice and the rock floor beneath,

so the entire ice-sheet
is now on the move,

sliding downhill into the ocean.

This, Jakobshavn Isbrae,

is the fastest flowing glacier
on our planet

moving as much as 40 meters a day.

As it advances,
it destroys everything in its path,

even cutting its way through
Greenland's great mountain ranges

on its drive downwards towards the sea.

When speeded up,
these solid rivers of ice

seem to flow just like liquid rivers.

This is the titanic force

that cuts down mountains
and levels the surface of continents.

The ice is now entering
the last stage of its descent.

As it gains speed, huge crevasses open
that extend down to its very core.

It's reached the ocean,
and millions of tons of ice

have lost the support
of their rocky bed.

Something must give.

These icefalls are an ominous sign
of what is about to happen.

A rupture deep within the glacier.

A colossal iceberg is born.

This single block of ice,
many hundreds of meters across,

would dwarf the biggest
of mankind's buildings.

Every year,
tens of thousands of icebergs

are spawned by Greenland's glaciers,

and their number is steadily increasing
as the climate continues to warm.

The break-up of the bergs

fills the bays of the Arctic
with exquisite ice sculptures.

It also releases great volumes
of cold fresh water into the sea.

Greenland's meltwater influences
the course of the ocean currents,

which in turn has an effect
on the weather around the world.

The Arctic is closer to home
than many of us realize.

It includes the northernmost parts
of the three continents

on which most of us live,
Europe, Asia and North America.

The first bare land we reach
on our journey south

is a bleak, treeless wilderness
known as tundra.

Each spring, animals travel up
from the south

to be ready for the rich grazing

that will be unveiled
by the spring melt.

For the caribou, the timing is critical.

Arrive early
and a winter storm could kill you.

Delay too long and you may fail
to lay down the fat needed

to survive a polar winter.

Further south still
and stooped, shrouded figures

end the flat monotony of the tundra.

This is the tree-line,

the first place on our journey
with sufficient warmth and liquid water

to enable a tree to grow.

Surviving here
is so crushingly difficult

that it can take hundreds of years
for a seedling

to grow into a stunted shrub.

But even small trees
can provide cover for a predator.

Wolves.

These in northern Canada

are the largest
and most powerful in the world

and they are setting out to hunt.

The pack is 25 strong,

a sign that the prey they are seeking
is formidable.

These bison are even bigger
than their southern cousins

and the largest land animals
in North America.

For generations, wolves and bison here

have been shaped by their battles
with each other,

making each the most impressive
of its kind.

The bison will not stay long
among the trees.

They are not safe here.

The wolves are closing in,

but their chance of ambushing the bison
in the woods has passed.

Their prey are now in the open
and grouped together for safety.

The wolves will need to work as a team
if they're to make a kill.

They circle the herd,
trying to unsettle it and split it up.

But the bison are armed and dangerous,

they will be safe
as long as they stick together.

The wolves up their game,
harrying the herd,

a ploy to trigger a stampede
and split away one of the smaller ones.

The bison form a defensive circle
around their young,

- horns pointing outwards.

The wolves need a bison to break rank.

But the tables are turning
and now the wolves have to retreat.

The pack focus their attention
on the rear of the herd

and the bison begin to panic.

A young bison falls behind.

Even this yearling dwarfs the wolves.

Running head-down,
the herd's only thought is escape.

A stroke of luck for the wolves.

The kill will feed the pack
for several days.

But then they will have to resume
the chase.

At the frozen ends of our planet,
the struggle for survival never eases.

South of the tree-line
the winters are shorter,

so trees grow faster and taller,
and forests begin to appear.

As the warm, humid air from the south
meets the cold Arctic air,

the moisture it carries crystallizes,
and snowflakes fall from the sky.

Each crystal forms around
a particle of dust.

All have a six-fold symmetry

but no two have ever been
found with exactly the same shape.

Their variety and complexity
is breathtaking.

Each snowflake is water
waiting to be released in spring.

For this reason, snow is the lifeblood
of these silent forests,

and all that live here depend on it
in one way or another.

Some, like the great grey owl,

appear in spring for the boom times,
then vanish like phantoms.

Others, like their lemming prey,
are here year-round beneath the snow,

insulated from the cold air above.

The northern forests are a crossroads
for seasonal visitors

and Arctic specialists.

But they are so much more than this.

Together they make up the Taiga,
an unbroken belt of forest

that stretches 7,000 miles
around our planet

and contains one-third of all the trees
on Earth.

The Taiga forest marks the end
of our journey through the Arctic,

from the frozen ocean
down across the lands that surround it.

The other end of our planet,
the Antarctic, is starkly different,

a frozen continent
completely surrounded by ocean.

Icebergs here are so large

that they're measured in miles,
not meters.

They are the only obstacles in the path
of giant waves,

which circle around the continent
unchecked by other lands.

These seas may be cold and storm-racked,
but they're bursting with life.

No bird is more at home in water,
and they are masterful surfers.

Penguins are found only
in the Southern Hemisphere.

They can't fly, but they don't need to.

There are no polar bears here.

These are Gentoo penguins.

Each spring they come ashore
to lay their eggs and rear their young.

Their hungry chicks demand
so much seafood

that both parents have to go fishing.

And fishing can be dangerous.

A southern sea lion.

It uses the speed of a breaking wave
to catch up with the Gentoos.

Sea lions normally eat fish,

so he's used to catching
streamlined swimmers.

But the Gentoos seem more than
his match out at sea.

He must change tactics.

Perhaps it will be easier
in the shallows.

But no, it seems penguins
are uncatchable in water.

How about on land?

The penguin's wings,
so powerful for swimming,

are of no help when it comes to running.

Now, surely, the sea lion has a chance.

But on the beach,
both are like fish out of water.

Rarely do hunter and hunted
play their roles with so little skill.

The outcome is anyone's guess.

Every summer, over 40 million penguins
take to the Southern Ocean to feed.

They're joined by thousands of whales.
Minkes are the most numerous.

They all come here to
harvest the richest ocean on Earth.

Carrying on south,
we get our first glimpse

of the frozen continent.

Southern humpbacks, after travelling
4,000 miles from the Equator,

are finally arriving in Antarctica.

Humans have long felt the lure
of this mysterious world,

yet it was only 100 years ago
that the first explorers walked inland

and were confronted by the highest,
driest and coldest territory on Earth.

Every year the continent is transformed

as the sea-ice that surrounds it
begins to disappear.

This melt halves the size of Antarctica.

It's the most spectacular
seasonal change

occurring anywhere on our planet.

The remnants of the sea-ice
are occupied by sunbathing seals

that have been here all winter.

But new arrivals are
following the retreating ice edge

and they have come here to hunt.

Killer whales, the ocean's top predator.

Killers are like wolves,

for they will hunt animals far larger
than themselves.

But even smaller prey are a problem
if you can't reach them.

The solution is teamwork.

Swimming in perfect formation,
they flick their tails in unison

and create a wave that cracks the ice.

They regroup and assess the damage.

A more powerful wave is needed.

The ice floe is breaking up.

Now they are close enough
to get a good look at their target.

The seal is a crab-eater,
sharp-toothed and feisty.

Not their favorite.

The wolves of the sea move on,
in search of easier quarry.

A Weddell seal. That's better.

These are more docile
and easier to tackle.

The pod stays close together
and travels silently.

This time they unleash
a far more powerful wave

and with astonishing accuracy.

These big waves are not intended
to break the ice,

but to knock the prey into the water,
and they rarely fail.

The seal is now
where the killers want it.

But the hunt is far from over.

They need to grab their prey
by the tail,

while avoiding its snapping jaws.

Only then will they be able to
pull it down and drown it.

Sideswipes create violent
underwater turbulence, a new tactic.

Blowing bubbles gives cover
for others to lunge at the seal's tail.

Somehow the seal manages
to reach a tiny ice floe.

The killers could easily grab it,

but now this seems to have become
a game.

The seal's life hangs on
a roll of the ice.

Yet again, the pod joins forces
to dislodge the seal.

The seal sees a chance to escape.

Exhausted, it no longer has the energy
to pull itself to safety

and the killers are moving in.

Game over.

Although such team hunts
are rarely seen,

scientists believe they may be
the most complex ever documented

in the natural world.

They were first witnessed
by Captain Scott and his men

when they came to explore Antarctica
100 years ago.

Journeying further south,

the fragmenting ice is replaced
by a permanent sheet

that doesn't melt
even at the height of summer.

It's a barrier that
many creatures find impassable.

It repels even powerful Minke whales.

They have to turn back

if they can no longer reach
the air they need to breathe.

Under the ice, life has to be
extremely specialized to survive.

Few of us will ever experience
this strangely still world,

and as yet, no one knows much about it.

The crystalline surface
of the ice stalactites

provides a home for ice-fish,
whose bodies are full of anti-freeze.

The ceiling of ice shields those
living below it

from the violent polar weather
that rages above.

Little here has changed
for millions of years.

The cold allows animals
to grow very slowly and become giants.

A relative of the woodlouse
is the size of a dinner plate.

And this so-called sea spider
has legs that span half a meter.

Now explorers are revealing other worlds

that lie hidden beneath the ice
on land.

These smoking towers are the gateway
to a network of caves.

Each contains an extraordinary assembly
of ice crystals

unlike any other on Earth.

Like snowflakes,
every crystal is unique.

Some are taller than a man.

Others are thought to harbor life,

seeded by strange bacteria that thrive
in these extreme conditions.

The breeze that
gently sways these crystals

is responsible for making them.

It's steam from the molten heart
of Mount Erebus,

the most southerly
volcano on our planet.

It's now thought that
the ice caves fringing this crater

may even be a home
for hitherto unknown life forms.

From this oasis of warmth
at the edge of the continent,

our journey continues inland
towards the South Pole.

The first great hurdle is the formidable
Transantarctic mountain range.

We are following the route
taken by Scott and Amundsen

as they struggled
to become the first humans

to reach the South Pole.

They were travelling on foot

and their first sight of these mountains
must have been daunting indeed.

In front of them stretched
one of the world's longest ranges,

spanning 2,000 miles

from one side of the continent
to the other.

The winds up here
are the fastest on Earth.

They reach speeds of 200 miles an hour.

An ice-capped mountain
bears the scars of the gales,

bizarre sculptures carved
from solid ice.

It's not only the ice that yields.

This sculptured spire
is a remnant of a mountain,

eroded from all sides
by the ferocious elements.

Beyond, a wholly unexpected landscape,
the Dry Valleys.

Only 1 % of Antarctica is free of ice,
and most of that bare rock is here.

The Dry Valleys are more like
the surface of Mars

than is any other place on Earth.

The floor is covered with
extraordinary natural sculptures,

created by the same winds that help
to keep these valleys free of snow.

Over time, entire boulders are
weathered from the inside out,

until just a shell remains.

At the head of these valleys,
the ice is making a break-through.

Millions of tons are tumbling
in slow motion into the valley.

These ice blocks
are the size of skyscrapers.

And this is the Beardmore Glacier,

which Scott and his men
somehow traversed on foot.

It's over 100 miles long

and one of the largest glaciers
on Earth.

But nothing could have prepared
those early explorers

for what they were about to encounter.

The Antarctic ice cap,

the largest expanse of ice
on the planet.

It's three miles thick in places

and imprisons 70%
of the world's fresh water.

From here to the South Pole 700 miles
away, there is nothing but ice.

I'm at the South Pole
at the end of my journey.

Although it's mid-summer,

the temperature here is a bone-chilling
35 degrees below freezing.

It's exactly 100 years,
almost to the day,

that the first human beings
stood right here,

Amundsen followed by Scott.

In those days, reaching the poles

was regarded as the ultimate
in human endeavor and endurance,

and a source of great national pride.

Today the polar regions
have a rather different significance.

Because now we've come to understand
that what happens here and in the north

affects every one of us,
no matter where we live on this planet.

The greatest challenge for
the team making Frozen Planet

was the extreme remoteness
of their locations.

Many of the shoots
lasted months at a time,

and needed a number of crews
to join forces.

One location that would require
such siege tactics

was Mount Erebus,
Antarctica's most active volcano.

This magical mountain
does not give up her secrets easily.

To capture the full story
of Mount Erebus

from top to bottom
required four different film crews.

The cave team is dropped off
at 12,000 feet, close to the crater.

In howling winds and thin oxygen,

their challenge is to find a way
into the volcano itself.

They are venturing into the unknown.

Somewhere below
are spectacular ice caves,

melted out by volcanic steam.

Getting the team safely underground

is a relief for director
Chadden Hunter.

Excellent, it's a lot warmer down here.

- It's freezing up there.
- Minus 29.

With him
is cameraman Gavin Thurston.

You sort of forget being in here,
you are actually inside a volcano.

You know, above us there's...
and below us, there's bubbling lava.

And you've got all these gases
seeping up through here,

which is how these caves are made,

so there's also increased
carbon dioxide in here.

As the cave team head deeper,

dangerous volcanic gases
make breathing difficult.

- The clock is ticking.

They will not have long
to find the caves of crystals.

Above ground, the aerial team
is pushing for the summit of Erebus.

Series producer Vanessa Berlowitz
directs from the front seat,

while aerial cameraman Michael Kelem

controls the camera
attached to the nose.

We're going to be around 14,000 feet,

we're going to be on the
performance limits of this aircraft.

Any bad weather comes in up there,

and you're pretty much screwed, really,
you've got to get off the mountain fast.

Above 10,000 feet,
the pilot must breathe oxygen

-through a plastic tube in his nostrils.
- Yeah, that's fine.

Approaching the crater,
conditions do not look good.

Today Erebus is belching out
steam and gases,

making flying extremely risky.

Up here, the air is so thin,

the helicopter can't hover
and must keep moving.

This is aerial filming
at its most extreme.

They struggle to get a clear view.

We're just coming up to 14,000 feet,

you can actually look
right into the lava lake.

Oh, that's looking
really good, Mike, just hold that there.

The cameraman captures
a rare shot of the molten lava,

but it's soon obscured again.

The volcano is temperamental.

The team have seized a rare opportunity
to see into its molten heart,

but now they must descend to safety.

As the weather closes in above,
the cave team are making progress below.

It's Christmas Day, and the crew
are dressed for the occasion.

Just watch
my back on these icicles.

- I don't want to snap that top one off.
- No problem.

Oh!

Right. How strong
are these pillars of ice, Matt?

How big around is it?

- It's about that round, about five...
- Really strong.

So, if I squeeze past,
it's not going to snap it.

Gavin is reassured
by advice from the scientist.

--Oh, Gavin!

I'm sorry.

That's terrible. Oh, look, look.
It fits perfectly, look. Look at that.

Fortunately,
these crystals are made of frozen water

and can grow back in weeks.

You've got these beautiful,
clear, glass-like pillars,

and right next to it,
this really delicate...

Look how thin that filament is there.

As the cave team
explore deeper,

each chamber reveals ice crystals

more strange
and spectacular than the last.

No one on the team imagined
a single Antarctic mountain

could house so many wonders.

Down at the foot of Mount Erebus,
a third crew, the dive team,

plan to explore
the volcano's lower slopes,

which extend beneath the frozen sea.

On board is underwater cameraman
Hugh Miller.

The problem is we don't actually know
what's under the ice here.

So who knows?
It's a bit of an adventure.

Old-fashioned tools
still work best.

First, a hand chisel
to create an opening,

then a saw to widen the hole.

Ice-diving in the coldest waters
on the planet

should be taken extremely seriously.

This dive's going to be a lot of things

and warm is not on that list.

Insulated suits
will keep them alive

under the ice for only 60 minutes.

Once the helicopter departs,
there's no margin for error.

The dive team begin to explore
the lower slopes of Erebus,

discovering a hidden world
rarely seen by humans.

Patrolling the icy shores
of the volcano are killer whales,

the most southerly in the world.

Tracking them from above
is the Orca team.

They need a helicopter
to get ahead of the whales

and to land them on the fragile sea-ice.

Cameraman Jamie McPherson
must pick his spot carefully.

His aim is to get the cameras

as close to the killer whales
as possible without disturbing them.

He uses a film camera
to capture the action in slow motion.

And orcas come right by him!

Even in the extreme cold,

a film camera proves to be
rugged and reliable,

provided there's enough film
in the camera.

- End of the roll.
- No!

I got him coming out,
I just didn't get him going back in.

Below the sea-ice,

the dive team is setting up
an underwater studio.

Using a range of waterproof lights
and time-lapse cameras,

they hope to capture the growth
of bizarre underwater ice formations.

Over the coming weeks,

the dive team would go
below the ice over 100 times

to film the extraordinary secret world

on the lower flanks of Mount Erebus.

On top of the ice,
the Orca team has repositioned.

Their new goal is to get
underwater shots of the whales.

They don't dare
to get in the water with Orcas,

attaching a camera to a pole
is a safer option,

provided the whales
aren't put off by it.

No one is prepared
for what happens next.

Tell Scotty what you just saw.

Hello!

The entire pod arrives.

Eyeball to eyeball,
this is about as close

to killer whales
as it's possible to get.

By using multiple crews and cameras,
the Frozen Planet team

have been able to capture
the full Erebus story,

from the fire at its crater

down to the whales
that patrol its frozen shores.

It's quite a privilege
to feel whale breath on your face.