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Both poles of our planet are covered with ice.

They're the largest and most demanding wildernesses of all.

Nowhere else on Earth is seasonal change so extreme.

It causes the ice to advance and retreat every year

and all life here is governed by that.

When the first polar explorers headed south

giant cathedrals of ice marked their entry into uncharted territory.

Passing the towering spires they must've wondered what unearthly sights lay in store.

As they battled on the ice became increasingly dominant

but nothing could have prepared them for the ice world that finally loomed into view.

Terra incognita - the unknown land.

At the southernmost extreme of our planet the continent of Antarctica

is as large as the United States of America.

Ninety percent of all the world's ice is found here.

This frozen world is largely deserted until the start of spring.

Adelie penguins

in a hurry.

The clock is ticking.

Instead of waiting for the summer melt the new arrivals hasten south over the frozen sea.

They have come here to breed but polar summers are so short

they must be in position before the thaw starts.

As the sea ice retreats life can journey farther south.

Antarctic waters are so rich that visitors come from far and wide to harvest them.

Vast numbers of chinstrap penguins come ashore to breed.

No bird will lay their eggs directly onto ice

so bare rock is a vital commodity. The best patches are worth the climb.

The clifftops are soon stained pink with the droppings of tens of thousands of nesting penguins.

Only in a land almost entirely covered in ice could bare rock be reckoned an oasis.

Some will travel into the heart of the continent to find it.

These are noon attacks the exposed peaks of vast mountain ranges buried in ice over a mile deep.

The eerie silence here is only broken in spring.

The snow petrels have arrived and are courting.

Antarctic petrels now join the most southerly colony on Earth.

The birds have flown inland for over three hundred miles

to reach this breeding site.

Once their eggs have hatched they'll be forced repeatedly to make the 600 mile round trip

to gather food in the ocean.

First though valuable nesting places must be defended from property thieves.

After laying their eggs the petrels take time out to clean their plumage.

The south polar skua is a formidable opportunist

but the skuas have not chanced upon the petrels

they've been waiting for them.

These birds do not need to go to the ocean for their food.

The skuas can survive further south than any other predator

by exploiting the petrels' desperate need for bare rock.

Even at the height of summer less than 3% of Antarctica is free of ice

and nearly all of that exposed rock is found in one place

the Antarctic Peninsula.

It's long arm extends further north than the rest of the continent, so spring arrives here first.

The thaw unlocks sheltered bays

that provide refuge from the relentless battering of the southern ocean.

In the depths something stirs...

Humpback whales.

They have travelled over 5000 miles to reach these waters.

The whales are harvesting krill

shrimp like creatures that begin to swarm here as soon as the ice retreats.

Diving into the heart of the swarm

teams of whales spiral around each other in close coordination.

Now they turn and blasting air from their blowholes and ascend towards their prey.

The krill becomes concentrated as the spiralling net of bubbles draws inwards.

The team of whales work around the clock for the bloom is short lived.

Summer is already fading and the whales will soon be forced north as winter returns.

The sun's influence diminishes and the ocean starts to freeze.

The greatest seasonal change on our planet is underway.

The ice grows at an extraordinary rate advancing two and a half miles a day.

In a matter of weeks the continent effectively doubles in size.

Life flees from Antarctica...

but one creature is just arriving.

Every winter Emperor penguins leave the comfort of their ocean home and begin a remarkable journey.

They head towards their breeding grounds almost a hundred miles inland.

Eventually the emperor penguins reach the place where they were hatched

an area sheltered by icebergs trapped in the frozen ocean.

Here they will raise the next generation

but first each must find a mate.

Males begin to serenade

and if a female replies they pair up, posing like statues.

New couples quickly form a strong bond

they seem oblivious to the noisy crowd around them.

To cement their relationship the male steps out with his female.

The brief courtship complete there isn't a moment to loose.

With so much pressure to perform any male would struggle to stay on top.

Several weeks later and it seems that most couplings were successful

but producing the egg has taken it's toll.

The females no longer have the energy to incubate.

The male takes over.

It's still minus 20 degrees centigrade, so the transfer must be done quickly or else the egg will freeze.

With no bare rock to nest on the male tucks the egg into a special pouch

where he can keep it warm.

It requires an extraordinary piece of teamwork.

Driven by hunger, the exhausted females now return to the ocean on their own

repeating the epic journey they made with the males only a month before.

Now the sun barely appears above the horizon.

As the day shortens, it's warmth is withdrawn from the continent.

With the females gone the colony undergoes a strange transformation.

The males shuffle into groups, their eggs still tucked away above their feet.

They lock together in tightly packed huddles as they struggle to keep warm.

Speeding up the action reveals how these huddles constantly shift and change

as each penguin works it's way towards the warmer interior.

Crammed into this scrum, the birds are remarkably good natured, but they have to be.

If the huddle breaks even for a moment, precious heat escapes.

It's imperative they reform as quickly as possible

for only by as acting as one can the males withstand the elements, and protect their eggs.

But their greatest test lies ahead.

As winter advances, frequent blizzards drive the temperature down.

It's now 60 degrees below zero.

The birds at the edge of the huddle

bear the brunt of the hundred mile an hour winds

and so provide shelter to those taking their turn in the middle.

Abandoned by the sun the males are left alone with their eggs

to face the coldest darkest winter on Earth.

At the northern extreme of our planet

the sun rises for the first time in months, illuminating a very different ice world.

Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic is a vast frozen sea surrounded by land.

Here winter is coming to an end

but this bleak wilderness remains locked in ice.

Eider ducks break the silence.

They have stayed here braving the northern winter, instead of flying south to warmer climes.

Flocks forty thousand strong sweep across the frozen wastes.

They all have the same goal

a polinear, a permanent hole in the sea ice kept open throughout the winter by strong ocean currents.

This unusual duck pond provides an overnight sanctuary

and when day breaks a rare chance to feed.

Just ten meters beneath the ice, the sea floor is carpeted with dense mussel beds.

These can only be reached during a brief lull in the currents.

The ducks must quickly prise the mussels free before the tide starts to turn.

The window of opportunity is short.

As the current begins to build it's up up and away.

These permanent holes in the ice provide seafood throughout winter.

The diners attract others.

In the Arctic, any breach in the icy barrier can be a lifeline.

Musk oxen create their own.

These giants have the strength to smash through the frozen crust

to graze on the vegetation below.

These icebreakers create an opening for other over winterers.

Flocks of ptarmigan make unusual grazing companions for the musk oxen

whose entourage grows throughout the day.

This odd assembly of vegetarians doesn't go unnoticed.

An arctic fox.

The musk oxen have recently given birth.

For the fox, it's a chance to scavenge

but half a ton of mad hairy cow is not to be trifled with.

The calves are born well before the spring melt

giving them a head start when summer finally arrives.

It must get to grips with it's new ice world

benign one minute life threatening the next.

Even in spring winds chill to the bone.

The calf must stay close to it's mother to avoid getting lost in the sudden blizzard.

Arctic wolves.

In the whiteout, the threat is almost impossible to detect

but the musk oxen instinctively retreat to higher ground.

Forming a defensive ring around their calves

the adults present a barricade that few hunters could breach

but the wolves need not risk injury today.

A calf has been left behind in the panic.

With each passing day the sun climbs higher in the sky

and it's rays strike the Arctic more directly.

It's spring and new life stirs.

The polar bear cubs emerge from the den in which they were born.

Their mother stretches her legs after five months under the snow.

They're just two months old

and instinctively follow her lead.

A steep slope makes the best site for a den

but it's a tricky place to take your first steps.

It may look like fun, but this is serious training for the task ahead.

There's no food on the slopes

and the family will need to head out across the frozen sea, before the mother's milk runs dry.

Two weeks later they're ready.

Out on the sea ice the female can hunt for seals

but it will take all her mothering skills to keep her cubs safe

in this dangerous world of ice.

The annual melt has begun.

This is a challenging time for the bear family.

One out of every two cubs do not survive their first year out on the ice.

As the sun's influence increases, the sea ice seems to take on a life of it's own.

Glacial melt waters pour from the land

mingling with the sea and speeding up the thaw.

The seascape is in constant flux, as broken ice is moved on by winds and currents.

The ice is becoming too weak to support a male polar bear.

He attempts to spread his weight

but the ice that has supported him all winter is rapidly disintegrating.

Each year as the climate warms the Arctic holds less ice.

This is a disaster for polar bears.

Without it's solid platform, they can't hunt the seals they need in order to survive.

This may be a glimpse of the unstable future

faced by this magnificent creature.

As the ice disappears seabirds return to the high Arctic.

Little auks arrive in their millions.

In some ways these birds are the penguins of the north.

The seek bare rock on which to lay their eggs and they look rather like penguins too.

Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic can be reached by land based predators

which is why little auks have kept the ability to fly.

They use scree slopes to protect their eggs, burrowing up to a meter beneath the rocks.

At the height of summer the sun never sets

but just skims the horizon before rising again.

Migrants return to the Arctic from far and wide.

They've come to make the most of the brief flush of food

and to produce their young.

Sandhill cranes have travelled all the way from New Mexico.

Their chicks join the growing band of youngsters exploring the tundra.

For a few months each year the Arctic becomes the land of the midnight sun

and twenty four hours of daylight allow animals to feed around the clock.

The arctic fox finally has enough food to raise her large family.

If you choose to nest in the open you must be prepared for a fight.

Arctic skuas will see off any trespassers even large vegetarians.

The male polar bear's ice world has finally vanished beneath him.

While the female is still kept on land by her dependent cubs

the male can take to the sea in search of food.

Ducking and diving, he hopes to ambush seals resting on the remaining fragments of ice.

In these new surroundings he is a surprisingly adept swimmer.

Once an extremely rare sight

polar bears have recently been seen over sixty miles from the shore.

There is now no turning back for this bear.

He's forced to head out into deeper water.

His giant front paws help him to fight the ocean currents.

He seems at home in the sea but he cannot swim indefinitely.

He will drown if he doesn't find land somewhere in this vast ocean.

Walruses are now gathering on low lying islands.

They gave birth on sea ice

but with this platform now gone, they need a new place to haul out and nurse their young.

After several days at sea the male bear finally makes landfall

drawn by pungent smells emanating from the island.

By the end of summer the bear has lost half his weight.

With the ice long gone he is forced onto land in search of food.

There will be no easy meals on this island.

Walruses are the largest seals in the world. They weight over a ton

and are armed with tusks a meter long.

Exhausted from his swim the bear must regain his strength.

The next day a sea fog shrouds the island.

The walruses sense that they're in danger.

Using the fog as cover the bear approaches the herd.

The adults close ranks around their young, presenting a wall of blubber and hide.

He tests the barrier but it stands firm.

It appears that the world's largest land carnivore has met his match.

There must be a chink in the armor somewhere.

Not here.

This female walrus is shielding her pup, if can just prise her off.

The bears claws and teeth can't penetrate her thick hide.

With the herd retreating to water the bear must move quickly.

Having failed with one he heads straight for another.

The chance of his first meal in months is slipping away.

He seems increasingly desperate.

It's now or never.

He must avoid the stabbing tusks if he's to win.

The flailing walrus is immensely powerful and drags the bear away from the shallows

towards the safety of the herd.

It slips from his grasp.

Only at the height of summer when bears are on the verge of starvation

will they risk attacking such dangerous prey.

It was a gamble that this bear took, and lost.

The stab wounds he received from the walrus are so severe that he can barely walk.

The walruses are calm again

seemingly aware that the injured bear no longer poses a threat to them or their young.

Unable to feed this bear will not survive.

If the global climate continues to warm

and the Arctic ice melts sooner each year

it's certain that more bears will share this fate.

At the southern end of our planet

fiery ribbons are illuminating the winter skies.

The aurora australis.

This light brings no warmth to the male penguins who are still huddling

defying the coldest conditions on the planet.

Their ordeal is drawing to a close.

Thirty days after it last set the sun rises once more on Antarctica.

Their appalling trials have all been for this.

Each father has just one meal left inside him.

He's been saving it all winter.

This single feeding will sustain the chicks for a few more days

but the males have not eaten for nearly four months.

If they do not eat soon they and their chicks will die.

But there is hope on the horizon.

The females are returning, and their bellies are full with fish.

As they approach, waves of excitement ripple through the huddle.

Each female calls to her mate, and he, recognizing her song, trumpets back.

Reunited, at last.

The mother feeds her chick for the first time.

She's keen to start parenting

but the father needs persuading to surrender the chick he's been caring for all winter.

He must now put his chick at risk. In these temperatures it could freeze in seconds.

The male will have to let go.

Eventually, the transfer to the mother is safely made.

The chicks grow quickly on a diet of fish and squid.

Soon they're keen to explore, but always with mother in tow.

This chick is less fortunate.

It's mother has not returned to claim it.

Another orphan is searching for a new family, but this female already has a chick of her own.

Some orphans receive too much mothering from penguins whose own chicks have not survived.

The urge to parent is so strong, that they will compete with one another to adopt any chick they find.

Many of these squabbles will end in tragedy

as the poor chick is trampled to death.

Those chicks that do have parents quickly learn survival skills.

Even in spring, they must huddle together for warmth

just as their fathers did in the depths of winter.

A group of chicks has got lost in the blizzard.

Cold and disorientated they search for the colony.

It will not be long before the storm claims it's first victims.

By early summer, the chicks are surprisingly well developed

and now look ready to take on the world.

Those that survived their first year have the best possible start in life

thanks to the extraordinary hardships endured by their parents.

Parents who battled with the Antarctic winter, and won.

In the Arctic the two polar bear cubs are now independent of their mother

and they briefly reunite where their home ranges overlap.

Their time together will be fleeting.

Most of their lives are now spent alone

wandering the vast tracts of frozen ocean.

Following their mother, has prepared them for life at the pole

an ever changing land ruled by ice.

Whether they are ready for the bigger changes that have begun to shape the ice worlds of our planet

remains to be seen.

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