All language subtitles for 5CA8FCAD8FBAF062DEC8F2C93C4F8F44_eng

Music

Summer in the polar
regions and the sun never

sets. Imagine a single
day that lasts for months.

Some polar animals
will face great challenges

as their ice world
vanishes around them.

Others must use this special time
wisely, for summer's riches will not last.

The summer is just beginning
and the increasing power

of the sun is creating a
spectacular new landscape.

This melting ice sheet in the Arctic is
150 miles long with a thousand waterfalls.

Vast expanses of ice that were
once stone still have come to life.

The polar bear's world is melting
away under the constant summer sun.

As the season advances,
the frozen surface of the ocean

disintegrates. Soon the ice
here will have totally vanished.

The polar bear family have to
adapt to their rapidly changing home.

For the two cubs, this is
a whole new watery world.

It's the first time they've
seen the sea ice break up.

They're only six
months old and will be

dependent on their mother
for another two years.

They have much to learn.

Their first swimming lesson and
they're not sure that they want it.

For their mother, swimming
is second nature, but

the cubs still prefer to have ice
beneath their feet whenever they can.

Soon it will be impossible
to avoid the water.

This lone male has
lived through a dozen

summers and is perfectly
at home in the sea.

He can swim up to 50
miles a day. He's hungry

and he's searching
this ice maze for seals.

But traveling across this
increasingly fragile ice scape

is hard work for an animal
weighing over half a ton.

It's also harder to hunt
when you have to swim.

In open water, the odds
are in the seals' favor.

Lean months lie ahead
for the polar bears. They will

have to adopt new hunting
strategies or risk starvation.

The northern part of the
earth is now tilting towards the

sun and all around the
Arctic, the sea ice continues its

retreat.

The last remnants of the ice world
drift with the wind and the tides.

The sun's heat may be
gentle at these latitudes, but it is

continuous for 24 hours a
day. And it carves the ice into

magical shapes.

Those that need ice have to
visit the glacier fronts to find it.

A comfortable bed is hard to come by.

A polar bear's fur is so dense
that water is easily shaken off.

And ice absorbs water like a towel.

That's better.

There's now little chance
of catching seals and

this bear may not eat again
until the end of summer.

It's better to save energy
and doze in the sun.

The warmth of the sun's rays is now
bringing the Arctic lands back to life.

Red fowl. They've flown all
the way from the tropics to feed

in these rich Arctic waters.
They stir up the tiny creatures

that are now flourishing here
with a special spinning dance.

All excellent fuel as they
hurry to rear the next generation.

The Arctic terns have made
an even longer journey to breed

here. They have flown
11,000 miles from the Antarctic.

Their newly hatched chicks
will need to go fast if they're

to accompany their parents
when they return south in only

six weeks' time.

An eider duck has chosen
to nest in the center of the

tern colony. Hardly a tranquil
place to raise your young.

But the noisy neighbors
have a feisty attitude

to life and that can
be very valuable.

A hungry bear looking for the
meal can destroy hundreds of

nests in a single raid.
Defensive squadrons of terns take

off immediately.

Sharp beaks stab down
from above. The bear has

nothing in his armory
that can cope with this.

The terns have drawn blood from his muzzle.

He leaves in search of an easier meal.

The eiders survive thanks
to their choice of neighbors.

And the ducklings begin
their sprint to maturity.

Fishing continues around
the clock as the terns race

to rear their young before
the return of the freeze.

So the rich waters of summer
fuel the breeding of all these

visitors and enable them to
build up the reserves they will

need for the long return journey south.

In land the winter snows have gone
revealing a vast treeless wilderness.

The male snowy owl is finding
plenty of lemmings to bring to his mate.

But they're not just for her.

She is brooding their rather
scruffy young. She tears the

meal into big sized chunks
that the owlets can swallow

whole. Each of them can
eat two lemmings a day.

The male has no time to rest.
Over the course of the summer

he will have to provide his
family with over a thousand

lemmings.

The hungry owlets keep the
adults working around the clock.

The Arctic summer may be
short but the days are long.

Everyone must take advantage
of the 24 hour daylight. None

more so than the owl's tiny
neighbors the Lapland buntings.

Both parents feed their
growing family continuously.

A mere ten days after hatching and
they will all have left in record time.

The last needs a little encouragement.

The owlets have also left
their nest and turned into

football sized balls of
fluff. But they still depend on

their parents for food and protection.

A skewer. Their mother's
talons are her best weapons.

The owlets are dangerously
exposed out on the tundra. So

they must hurry to change
from balls of fluff to fully

feathered adults. And to do
that they need more lemmings.

A lemming doesn't last
long these days. Times are

harder for the wolves
here in the high Arctic.

The cubs are now six weeks
old and increasingly hungry.

The adults have to struggle
to feed their growing family.

Somewhere on this vast expanse
of tundra there must be larger prey.

Musk oxen are on the move.

They're heading into
the valleys where the

brief summer rains will
produce fresh grazing.

This is an opportunity
that must be seized

even if it means
travelling 80 miles in a day.

Their task is a formidable one.

Musk oxen are immensely
powerful and their sharp horns can kill.

A heavily armored bull would
be an unwise choice. Even

two wolves would find it
a struggle to bring it down.

A calf, much easier.

The two wolves work together to
split the herd and isolate their victim.

It seems that the wolf
cubs will at last eat well.

But the herd regroups.

The cavalry ride to the rescue.

The whole herd encircles the
calf with a protective wall of horns.

For the musk oxen it's
all for one and one for all.

For the wolves another attack
would be not only futile but dangerous.

They have spent a lot of energy and
have nothing whatever to show for it.

Their failure will be felt
most keenly back at the den.

They have nothing to
take back to the family.

The pack are forced to move
on in search of better hunting.

They must find something
soon in this vast wilderness to

feed their growing family. The
brief Arctic summer is almost

over.

At the southern end of the
planet the long summer days

transform life just as they
do in the north. But the cast

here is very different.

King penguins,

a parent returning with
food, must recognize its

chicks call amongst a
chorus of 400,000 birds.

Huge colonies like this one are found
all along the north coast of South Georgia.

King penguins are active
throughout the long summer days so

they have to deal with an
uncharacteristic polar problem.

By midday the temperature can
reach a sizzling 17 degrees centigrade.

Any effort can lead to overheating.
It's best not to over exert oneself.

The heavily insulated penguins stretch out
so their naked feet can cool in the breeze.

Their gigantic neighbors use
a different approach. Wet sand

cools the backs of these
elephant seals and also acts as a

sunscreen.

The chicks in their downy
coats that have kept them warm

all winter are in even
greater danger of overheating.

It will be two months before
they can swim properly

but a dip in the shallow
river brings a little relief.

There is, however, another
way to cool the blood.

This murky pool has become a penguin spa.

It's a great way to cool the
feet but there is no reason

to stop there. You can
indulge yourself with the full

treatment.

Mud, glorious mud.

For the fully feathered adults there's
a cleaner, more invigorating option.

The bracing waters of the Southern Ocean.

The 100 mile long island of South Georgia
lies on the northern fringe of Antarctica.

Ice free all year, its rich
coastal waters make it

a popular breeding
destination for all beach lovers.

In summer, 95% of the world's
population of Antarctic fur

seals come here. Packed
tightly together, they form one of

the densest gatherings of
marine mammals on Earth.

The island's beaches
are filling fast and will soon

be crammed with five million
of these summer visitors.

Space is at a premium as
every female needs a dry

patch of sand the size of
a beach towel for herself.

And for good reason.

Virtually all of them give
birth within just 10 days.

It's crucial to establish a strong bond
with your baby in such a crowded colony.

The pups grow quickly
on rich high fat milk.

After giving birth, the females
are ready to mate, so each

male guards up to 15 of them
in his small patch of beach. A

bull may only hold the
territory for one season in his

entire life. So when a
challenger arrives, he will risk

everything to retain it. A bull

may only hold the territory
for one season in his entire

life. Their sharp teeth
inflict terrible injuries.

Many bulls die from
exhaustion after these fights.

In the heat of the battle, the
pups are also in real danger.

The defeated bull makes
his escape, but the colony

still suffers from the
side effects of the battle.

Many of the pups get lost in
the violence and confusion. A bull

may only hold the territory
for one season in his entire life.

This time, there is a happy ending.

As summer progresses, even more of
the southern ocean is gradually opening up.

The summer melt, as it
moves south, arrives first at the

Antarctic Peninsula, the most
northern tip of the continent.

As the ice retreats, a
dramatic 500-mile-long coastline

is revealed for the first
time in seven months.

This new seascape is home
to one of the most numerous

mammals on the planet.
Crab eater seals, over 15 million

live here amongst the drifting ice flows.

They owe their
existence here to living

organisms so small you
might hardly notice them.

The underside of the sea
ice is stained by algae. These

microscopic plants support
the most important Antarctic

creatures of all, krill. They
have been grazing on the algal

layer throughout the winter.
As the ice melts, more of the

algae are released into the water.

Both algae and krill
flourish in the summer sun.

The krill collect the algae
in the sieve-like basket

formed by the interlocking
hairs between their front legs.

There are 300 million tons
of krill in the southern ocean,

with a greater combined weight
than that of any other animal

on the planet.

Almost all the animals
of the Antarctic depend

on krill, including its
giants. Humpback whales.

They drive the krill to the
surface, and then strain it

from the water with the
baleen sieves in their mouths.

Humpbacks often feed in
teams, so the overspill from

one huge mouth can be
collected by another just behind.

Humpback whales.

Humpback whales. The
abundance of krill attracts other

visitors to the peninsula in
the summer. Antarctic minke

whales. Their pointed heads and short
dorsal fins give them speed and endurance.

And they need both.

There are other whales here, too.

Killers.

This is an extended family of
mothers and their young. And

they're male, with a huge
dorsal fin almost two meters high.

Alone minke whale.

It's just what this group of
killer whales are looking for.

Working as a team, as they
have done for decades, they

fan out across the strait
in search of their quarry.

And they've found it. The minke races
away, pursued by outriders on each flank.

Humpback whales.

Terrified, the minke
heads for the shore. It's

so desperate to escape,
it almost beaches itself.

It makes a desperate break for freedom.

Two hours and 20 miles
later, the minke is still alive and

swimming strongly. Its only
real defense is its endurance.

But the killers work as a team, with fresh
ones replacing the outriders in relays.

And as the minke tires, the
battering and the biting begins.

Sea birds are attracted by the smell
of fresh blood rising from the water.

The killers try to flip the
minke over, if they can

manage to keep its blowhole
underwater, it will drown.

One forces the minke's whole
body down below the surface.

And then the final strike.

The team drag the minke under for the last
time, and the hunters finally can feed.

As the summer advances,
the most southerly stretches

of the Antarctic Ocean
are released from the ice.

A daily penguins have been
feeding in the open ocean.

The most southerly of all
penguins, they're returning

to the Antarctic continent
with stomachs full of krill.

The sea ice has finally
retreated all the way back to the

beach. So the walk back to
the colony is as short as it will

ever be. Crucial for the half
million penguins here who are

hurrying to raise their chicks
before the freeze returns.

Most of the pairs have two
chicks to care for. Each chick

requires nearly 30 kilograms
of food before it's fully

grown.

Most of their catches krill
and a daily penguins consume

a staggering one and a
half million tons of it a year.

There are no land-based
predators in Antarctica.

The threat here comes from the skies.

A south polar skewer.

An unguarded chick is an easy catch.

Nothing can save the two
penguins. One chick now.

But now the parents can focus
all their attention on the second.

Only half of these chicks
will survive to adulthood. But

there are thousands more
parents with young in this huge

colony. Parents that cannot
rest for the young must be fit

and strong if they're to
survive the dangers that autumn

will bring.

In summer the frozen oceans
melt and the polar animals

disperse to feed amongst
the broken ice. So even finding

them in this vast expanse of sea
and drifting ice floes wouldn't be easy.

In the Arctic the aim
was to get close to a polar

bear family and film them
in this fast melting world.

Firstly the team had to use
a ship capable of breaking

through the pack ice around
the 2000 mile long coastline of

Svalbard.

Producer Miles Barton and
cameraman Ted Giffords are

checking out fjords known to
be frequented by bears. We've

just seen a bear that was
walking around in front of a

glacier over there. We've
just arrived so this is a kind of

a test more than anything
but we're going to go and see if

we can film it. We're seeing
how smoothly we can make this

operation work.

All day on channel 6 can
you give me directions to the

bear please? The plan is
that the team's stabilised aerial

camera, now fitted to the
speedboat, will give perfectly

stable shots of the bear
swimming. Spin this around or we'll

lose our boat. There's a
fellow over here yeah? Oh

yeah he's got him, he's
got him. Can you shoot it?

Whee!

Look at the lights.
Nice sparkle, nice liquid

look. I'm going to
let him go. Okay cut.

After that initial success the
weather takes a turn for the

worse. It's kind of really
easy over here. For five days

there are no more polar bears to be found.

The captain decides to take a
break and parks up in the pack

ice. But after all that fruitless
searching by the crew, a

bear visits them.

A large and inquisitive adult male.

So the team decides to follow him.

The open water between boat
and bear means the crew can

safely film from surprisingly
close range without disturbing

him. That's nice, look.

The bear is so relaxed
he even begins to hunt right

alongside them. He's looking
for a seal inside. He's just

completely ignoring this.
Just hold it there, just hold

it there for a minute. He's
going to climb up. Ready.

That's a big bear.

That's pretty good, pretty
good. The closest we've been to a

polar bear so far. Despite this
remarkably close encounter,

the team still wants to film
a family of bears. Is these

females the two cubs to starboard
side? There's good news on

the radio. Oh, there's a
cub, yeah, I've seen the cubs.

They're looking straight
at us, look at that. That's

amazing. As the mother
looks distinctly hungry, they will

need to keep at least 15 feet
of open water between her and

the boat. I want a good look at this.
Oh, look at them, look at the cubs.

Jason, just go when you need to.

Oh, she's gone. Bloody
hell. Other bears are always

desperate for food for their
cubs so the crew could be the

perfect supper. Oh my God,
she's going to go in the water

with us. The 15-foot gap
was just enough. Oh, that was

amazing.

Down to go. OK. Do you want
to get close up to the cubs?

Yeah, that's cute. Just go in
the water, OK. And then stay

with the cubs. OK, with
the cubs for a nice splash.

Go on, cubs, yeah. Hey. Well
done, well done. Great stuff.

She looked like she wanted
to get in the boat once or twice.

Sometimes it's quite shocking
to actually look up from the

monitor and realise they're
about 15 feet away from you. But

a lovely family group.

The boat-based camera has
helped to get remarkably close

shots of the bear family. But
how would it cope in the more

extreme conditions of the Southern Ocean?

Another frozen planet team
headed south. The plan is to use

the same camera system to
film the hunting strategy of the

most spectacular marine
predators in Antarctica.

Killer whales. The team
enlisted the help of scientists Bob

Pitman and John Durbin. They
could put satellite tags on the

whales and so could locate
them for the camera team.

Doug Allen operates the
camera rig from the wheelhouse,

while Doug Anderson films
from the deck. Yeah, there, see

it? It just surfaced right
with them. OK, there's a killer

whale at 11 o'clock, about 200
metres heading towards those

two seals on the floor. This
could be really good. At last,

having tracked the group for
several days, the whales look

as if they are about to hunt.
Yeah, they're going to go in for it.

Four whales here. Two adult
females, a juvenile and a big

adult male. Swimming in
formation, the killers create a wave

to wash the seal off the
flow. It's all pretty intense. Oh,

another wave. Yeah, he's in
the water. Having successfully

filmed several hunts with
the boat-based cameras from

above, the team are keen to
see what's happening underwater.

Only one way to find out.

Time to launch the dinghy. There it

is. Doug Anderson
approaches the seal and the

killers with an underwater
camera mounted on a pole.

For the first time, the
team can see how the

whales create the
killer wave. There it is.

The underwater camera also
reveals surprisingly cautious

behaviour by the whales. They
seem wary of being bitten by

the much smaller seal. And
they even blow bubbles to confuse

it. They're so cautious with
the seals. At the end of the

day, the seal's got
a big mouth full of

teeth and these whales
just don't take risks.

That'll do.

Having dealt with the seal,
the whales turn their attention

to the dinghy. First, they
get right up close for a better

look at Doug.

Then, they line up to create the kind of
wave that washed the seal off the flow.

For a moment, the crew
get an uncomfortably close

seal's eye view of this
remarkable hunting strategy.

It's a great feeling being
there. Being so close to the

behaviour. Actually having
the water coming into the boat.

From our point of view, you
know, it's all about trying to

get a feeling of being with
these whales. And with these

whales, there's no bother
with that because they're so

confident. They just want to
be all around you and checking

you out. I mean, I can't
imagine that I'm going to have

another experience like this
in my career. You know, these

come along rarely and you
just feel happy and lucky when

they do come. You just
don't get better days than that.

you