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WWW.MY-SUBS.CO

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The polar winter.

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This is the planet
at its most hostile.

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Those that stay here at this time

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must face the harshest conditions
on Earth.

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The High Arctic in late autumn.

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Empty and abandoned to ice and snow.

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Most animals migrated
south weeks ago.

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The few that stay
will face violent winds,

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plunging temperatures
and months of darkness.

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A female polar bear
searches for shelter.

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Other bears are out on
the frozen ocean looking for food,

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but she won't feed again
until next spring.

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Using as little energy as possible,

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she starts to dig a shallow nest.

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The snow here is easy to work.

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It's soft and light.

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A sure sign that soon, plenty more
will accumulate on this slope

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as winter advances.

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And that is what she needs.

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If she has chosen well,

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the Arctic wind will do
much of her work for her.

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Once the snow here is deep enough,

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she will dig down to make a den.

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She'll then lie, waiting for her
cubs to be born as winter sets in.

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The sea ice already covers
twice the area it did in summer.

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Those animals that, a few weeks ago,

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came down here to feed in the sea,
are now locked out.

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But there are windows
in this white desert.

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Gateways to the rich ocean below.

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Most birds have migrated south.

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But in the frozen Bering Sea,

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ducks of one particular species

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are gathering together
in a single, immense flock.

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Spectacled eiders.

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Hundreds of thousands of them.

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With the seas that fed them
throughout the summer

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all but frozen,
this is the eider's last refuge.

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Such patches of open water,

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kept free of ice by strong currents,

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are given a Russian name, polynyas.

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If this polynya stays open
all winter,

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especially for the spectacled eider,

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for this polynya
holds the world's entire population.

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Surrounded by ice,
these spectacled eiders' survival

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depends on this single,
vulnerable oasis.

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And conditions here
can change very fast.

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A smaller pool.

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Here, common eider ducks
are learning a bitter lesson.

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An early winter storm
has caught them out

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and the ice is closing in.

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The pool is shrinking,
and the ducks are freezing to death.

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These gamblers have lost.

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As the sun's influence continues
to dwindle here in the north,

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the cold pushes south
into Arctic lands.

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Winter brings
a devastatingly-destructive force.

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Frost.

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Ice crystals form
as moisture in the air freezes.

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Inside plants,
the same thing is happening

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to the water in their cells
and their sap.

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With these first frosts,
most plants die.

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Their insides ripped apart
by ice crystals.

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Coniferous trees, however,
like fir and pine,

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can withstand very low temperatures.

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It's these trees that create
the greatest forest on our planet.

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This is the Taiga.

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It encircles the globe and contains
one third of all the trees on earth.

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As winter deepens,
frigid air from the Arctic

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meets warm, moist air
from the south,

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producing particularly heavy snows.

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For the big animals of the forest,

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there's no way of hiding
from the winter.

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But size, for the Bison
of Northern Canada,

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is, in fact, their salvation.

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Big bodies lose less heat

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and can carry more insulation.

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That may be why these bison

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are the largest land animals
in North America.

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And only a large predator
can tackle them.

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Wolves hunt better in packs,

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but there are only two of them here
and the prey they pursue are giants.

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A vast Arctic wilderness
stretches all around.

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In it somewhere, there are bison.

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These deep tracks in the snow
are easy to follow,

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but which way were the bison going?

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They have detected a scent.
The hunt is on.

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Running in the bison's tracks
is easy.

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The snow here is compressed
and firm.

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At this rate,
the wolves will soon catch up.

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They attempt a shortcut.

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The giant bison can plough on
through virgin snow,

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but for the wolves,
deep snow is a hindrance,

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and now they're losing ground.

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The hunters rejoin the bison's
tracks and the contest is on again.

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The bison are the only prey here
in winter.

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The wolves have no option,
they must tackle them.

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But bison are ten times their size.

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In winter, the line between
life and death is so narrow

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that for a wolf, even a small injury
could be fatal.

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It's crucial they select
the right target.

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This one is very big.

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Good decision.

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This is smaller, a yearling.

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Even though it's young,
it's none the less heavier

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than both wolves combined
and it is extremely powerful.

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The male wolf backs off.

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Perhaps he's frightened of injury.

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But the female is more determined,
or more desperate.

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Having given so much already,
she must make the kill.

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This is a battle of life and death
for them both.

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The bison has no strength left.

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The battle is over.

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Winter deepens.
The snow continues to accumulate,

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smothering the forest.

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Some trees are loaded with
three tonnes of snow.

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It shuts out what little light
there is at these latitudes,

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and that shortens the growing season
still further

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and limits how far north
trees are able to grow.

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So, snow influences
both the shapes of the trees

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and the extent of this forest.

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And it affects the animals, too.

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SQUAWK!

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It helps to have friends

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if you want to find food
at this time of the year.

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Wolverines and ravens,
a match made in the Taiga.

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It's the hardest time of the year
to find food.

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But the wolverine knows
that a raven's call

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is as good as a dinner bell.

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And the raven has just recruited
the best can opener in the forest.

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The moose carcass is frozen solid,

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but the wolverine
has immensely powerful jaws,

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well able to deal with frozen food.

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The raven's bill
is more suited to leftovers.

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The raven has to be patient.

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A wolverine's appetite is legendary.

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According to folklore,
it can eat more at one sitting

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than any other creature
in the forest,

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hence its other name, the glutton.

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What the wolverine can't eat now,

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it stores in the deep freeze.

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It will bury these food parcels
across the forest,

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planning ahead for leaner times.

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For a few, the snow is an ally.

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Voles stay active throughout
the winter beneath the snow,

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despite the freezing temperatures
above.

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Travelling along tiny corridors,

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they move from pocket to pocket
of perfectly refrigerated food.

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Snow is a great insulator,

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so down here,
the temperature never falls

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more than a degree or so below zero.

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And that's warm enough
for a vole to thrive,

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even if it lacks
the stature of a bison.

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In some years, vole numbers boom,

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and then they are forced to break
cover to search for more food.

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The great grey owl is a silent
and very skilful hunter,

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but deep snow
can be beyond its reach.

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But such snow is no barrier
to one predator.

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The least weasel.

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A tiny hunter,
and the vole's nemesis.

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Its body is exactly the same width
as a vole's,

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so there's nowhere a vole can go
that the weasel can't follow.

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INSTRUMENTAL

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The weasel's long, slender shape

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is perfect for hunting in tunnels,

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but the worst possible shape
for staying warm.

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So they need a special way
of doing that.

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She plucks the fur from its body
tuft by tuft.

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And now she puts it all together
to make a cosy blanket

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under which to sleep
in her den below the snow.

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Midwinter in the northern forests.

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The sun is so low
that it's twilight at midday.

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Further north in the high Arctic,

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the sun has been below the horizon
for months

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and it'll be several more
before it appears again.

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The male polar bear spends winter
out on the frozen ocean.

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Few creatures can endure
these conditions.

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If he's lucky,
he will find a carcass

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that could provide a little food,

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possibly that of a fox
or another polar bear.

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But otherwise,
he must live on his reserves.

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This is the time to scrape by,
to wait.

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But on lee-side slopes,
beneath the snow,

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new lives are beginning.

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The cubs are born blind and tiny.

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An early birth is easier
on the mother, who is barely awake.

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Despite her sleepiness,

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her instinct to nurse
is overwhelming.

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The cub's clucking calls

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stimulate her to produce milk.

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And what milk!

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It's nine times richer than our own

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and enables her to double
their weight every few weeks.

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It's over two months

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since the autumn snows
first arrived.

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In two more months,
polar bear families

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will emerge onto the snowy slopes

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all around the Arctic.

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But for now, they lie protected

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within their icy cocoons.

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A hundred miles above the earth,

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the Aurora lights up the sky.

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After travelling millions of miles
across space,

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solar winds, attracted by
the magnetic pull of the poles,

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collide with the earth's atmosphere.

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Trillions of charged particles

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dance across the sky.

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Above the Arctic,
the Aurora Borealis...

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the Northern Lights.

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In the south,
it's the Aurora Australis...

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the Southern lights,

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that bring light
to Antarctica's long winter.

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These spectacular lightshows
are only a tease.

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Solar energy maybe,

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but no warmth
that will help the emperor penguins.

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The Arctic winter is brutally cold,

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but in Antarctica,

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the darkest months
are even more savage.

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The male penguins
have not eaten for months,

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and have only each other
for protection from the gales.

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Each has been entrusted
with a single precious egg

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balanced on the top of its feet.

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If the egg were to drop onto
the ice, even for a moment,

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the chick inside would die

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and all this
would count for nothing.

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The Weddell seal.

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The only mammal to remain here
throughout the winter.

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They must have breathing holes,

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and so have to constantly
scrape away the ice

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that threatens to close them,

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rasping away fresh build-ups

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with special wide-gaped jaws.

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Beneath the ice, they are beyond the
reach of the bitter winter winds.

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The sea is -2 degrees centigrade.

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A warm bath, compared to
the conditions overhead.

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The roof of ice insulates this world
from the wild fluctuations above.

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The temperature down here
has barely changed

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for 25 million years.

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Of course,
animals must still be hardy.

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These borchgrevinki fish
have antifreeze in their blood,

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so they are untroubled
swimming among the ice crystals.

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Many animals here
are remarkably long-lived,

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perhaps because the conditions
are so stable.

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Some sponges could be
a thousand years old

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and large enough
for a human to hide in.

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There could hardly be
a greater contrast

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to the bleak, windswept world
just above.

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But there is a constant danger here.

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Swirling patterns in the water
reveal its presence.

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They are made by brine.

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Super-concentrated salt water.

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It's a warning.

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00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,959
New sea ice forming above

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00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,279
leaves behind brine
that is so extremely salty,

255
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:20,120
it sinks rapidly.

256
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:29,879
As it descends, the sea water
around it freezes instantly

257
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,039
and forms a sheath of ice,
a brinicle,

258
00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:36,000
that grows downwards
towards the seafloor.

259
00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:50,480
Winter is reaching down
from the cold world above.

260
00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:05,319
As it touches the seafloor,

261
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,159
it kills whatever living thing
it contacts

262
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:11,520
by encasing it in a tomb of ice.

263
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,799
Even in the relative warmth
of the water,

264
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,639
the lethal cold of winter

265
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:44,880
threatens life on the seafloor.

266
00:33:54,880 --> 00:34:00,159
Another more constant attack
rises from below.

267
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,799
Pressure in the depths
keeps water liquid,

268
00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,960
even though its temperature
is far from freezing.

269
00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:12,999
Currents bring up this colder water,
but it turns to ice,

270
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,160
covering everything
that can't move away from it.

271
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,759
And then, the ice,
being lighter than water,

272
00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:46,040
begins to float,
lifting away anything attached.

273
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,520
Even some of the faster-moving
animals are caught.

274
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:28,879
So the ice cleanses the seafloor

275
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:31,159
and strews the ceiling above

276
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,800
with remnants of life from below.

277
00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:48,160
A sign that winter is nearly over.

278
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,479
The songs of male Weddell seals

279
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,920
challenging their rivals to battle.

280
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:06,280
The male seal's calls
can be heard over 15 miles away.

281
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:21,159
He aims to control
the best breathing holes

282
00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:24,440
for they will determine
his mating rights in spring.

283
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,400
His calls create powerful
shockwaves in the water.

284
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:38,120
They are threats.

285
00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,519
This hole has already been claimed,

286
00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,160
and the owner will not surrender it
willingly.

287
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:06,639
No change this time.

288
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:10,720
The challenger will need to find
a hole with a weaker owner.

289
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:22,359
The battles continue
until the females arrive,

290
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,080
and that time is now close.

291
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,880
The sun returns to Antarctica.

292
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,959
The longest night on earth has ended

293
00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,760
and winter begins
to give way to spring.

294
00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:40,799
Female emperor penguins.

295
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:42,719
After four months feeding at sea,

296
00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:45,640
they are returning sleek and fat.

297
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,760
Penguins, it seems,
can fly after all.

298
00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,000
But a winter at sea has left them
a little out of practice.

299
00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:20,679
There is no time to waste.

300
00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:23,720
Far away, the males are waiting.

301
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:37,479
While the females were gone,
the sea ice grew,

302
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:41,280
and it's now twice the distance
from its edge back to their colony.

303
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:53,360
70 miles away, the males
are in desperate need of help.

304
00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,199
Despite doing all they can
to conserve their energy,

305
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,600
many are close to dying
from starvation.

306
00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:17,600
SQUAWK!

307
00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:26,960
SQUAWK!

308
00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:33,920
SQUAWKING

309
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,960
Reunited after three months apart.

310
00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:10,279
The reward for her return?

311
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:12,760
A first glimpse of her chick.

312
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:22,320
The reunion made,
it's time for the handover.

313
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:30,320
The father finds it hard to let go.

314
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,480
Some gentle persuasion is needed.

315
00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:41,959
He has endured the most appalling
conditions on earth

316
00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:44,519
to ensure the survival of his chick,

317
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:47,080
and the bond is strong.

318
00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:50,839
The exchange must be quick,

319
00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:55,240
as the tiny chick, unprotected,
could freeze to death in seconds.

320
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:09,719
A task that began in autumn
has been completed.

321
00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:12,679
Despite the huge odds against it,

322
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:15,279
the precious chick
has survived the winter

323
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:19,120
and is now with its mother.
And she has food.

324
00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:31,760
The chick's first fresh meal.

325
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:36,080
Her mission is complete.

326
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:41,319
But for other mothers,

327
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:44,520
the journey ends in disappointment.

328
00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:50,720
Their chicks have not survived.

329
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,399
The females' need to nurture
remains strong.

330
00:43:57,400 --> 00:43:59,719
Any chick that strays from
its parent

331
00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:02,240
is at grave risk of being kidnapped.

332
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:43,879
The chaos may be a consequence
of frustrated parental urge,

333
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:45,960
but the outcome can be tragic.

334
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:06,039
For those emperor penguins
that survive,

335
00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:08,560
the worst is over for this year.

336
00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:17,200
There will soon be
abundant food for everyone.

337
00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:31,199
The emperors have taken on
the polar winter and won.

338
00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:33,240
The gamble has paid off.

339
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:36,799
All other animals escaped,

340
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,759
only they remained
to raise their young.

341
00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:42,919
And now, it is they
who will now benefit most

342
00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,600
from the rich southern spring.

343
00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:59,279
Another arrival is the certain
confirmation that spring is here.

344
00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:02,999
The Adelies, having spent winter
at sea, have come back,

345
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:07,600
but they have not even mated yet,
let alone laid their eggs.

346
00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:18,999
Now, at last,
the male emperors can return

347
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:21,400
to where they are most at home.

348
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,280
One season ends and another begins.

349
00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:44,479
The penguins will soon
be joined by migrants

350
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:49,600
and the far south will bustle
with life for a few frantic months.

351
00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:03,879
But there are only a special few,
north and south,

352
00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:05,919
who can survive winter

353
00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:09,280
at the farthest ends of our planet.

354
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:12,039
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