All language subtitles for 9F0283DC0C7C5DA81C66586B2628C6AB_eng

The Polar Winter

This is the planet at its most hostile.

Those that stay here at this time must
face the harshest conditions on Earth.

The High Arctic in late autumn,
empty and abandoned to ice and snow.

Most animals migrated south
weeks ago. The few that stay

will face violent winds, plunging
temperatures and months of

darkness.

A female polar bear searches for shelter.

Other bears are out on
the frozen ocean looking for

food, but she won't feed
again until next spring.

Using as little energy as possible,
she starts to dig a shallow nest.

The snow here is easy to
work. It's soft and light, a sure

sign that soon plenty more
will accumulate on this slope as

winter advances.

And that is what she needs.

If she has chosen well, the Arctic
wind will do much of her work for her.

Once the snow here is deep
enough, she will dig down to make

a den. She'll then lie waiting
for her cubs to be born as

winter sets in.

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

Those animals that a few weeks
ago came down here to feed in

the sea are now locked out.

But there are windows in this white
desert, gateways to the rich ocean below.

Most birds have migrated
south, but in the frozen Bering

Sea, ducks of one particular
species are gathering together

in a single immense flock.

Spectacled ideas, hundreds
of thousands of them.

With the seas that fed
them throughout the summer,

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

Such patches of open
water, kept free of ice by

strong currents, are given
a Russian name, Polinyas.

If this Polinia stays open
all winter, the ducks will

have avoided an exhausting
migration. It's a gamble and a

tremendous risk, especially
for the spectacled Ida,

for this Polinia holds the
world's entire population.

Surrounded by ice, the
spectacled Ida's survival depends on

this single vulnerable oasis,
and conditions here can change

very fast.

A smaller pool. Here, common
Ida ducks are learning a bitter

lesson. An early winter storm
has caught them out and the

ice is closing in. But
the pool is shrinking

and the ducks are
freezing to death.

These gamblers have lost.

As the sun's influence
continues to dwindle here in

the north, the cold pushes
south into arctic lands.

Winter brings a devastatingly
destructive force, frost.

Ice crystals form as moisture
in the air freezes. Inside

plants, the same thing is
happening to the water in their

cells and their sap.

With these first frosts, most plants die,
their insides ripped apart by ice crystals.

Coniferous trees, however, like fir and
pine, can withstand very low temperatures.

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

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

As winter deepens, frigid
air from the arctic meets warm

moist air from the south,
producing particularly heavy

snows.

For the big animals of the forest,
there's no way of hiding from the winter.

But size for the bison of
northern Canada is in fact their

salvation. Big bodies lose
less heat and can carry more

insulation. That may be why these bison are
the largest land animals in North America.

And only a large predator can tackle them.

Wolves hunt better in
packs, but there are only two

of them here and the
prey they pursue are giants.

A vast arctic wilderness stretches all
around. In it, somewhere, there are bison.

These deep tracks in the snow are easy to
follow, but which way were the bison going?

They have detected a scent. The hunt is on.

Running in the bison's tracks
is easy. The snow here is

compressed and firm. At
this rate, the wolves will soon

catch up.

They attempt a shortcut. The
giant bison can plow on through

virgin snow. But for the
wolves, deep snow is a hindrance

and now they're losing ground.

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

The bison are the only prey
here in winter. The wolves have

no option. They must tackle
them. But bison are ten times

their size.

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

for a wolf, even a small
injury could be fatal. It's crucial

they select the right target. This
one is very big. Good decision.

This is smaller, a yearling.
Even though it's young, it's

nonetheless heavier than
both wolves combined and it is

extremely powerful.

The male wolf backs off.
Perhaps he's frightened of injury,

but the female is more
determined or more desperate.

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

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

The bison has no strength
left. The battle is over.

Winter deepens. The snow continues
to accumulate, smothering the forest.

Some trees are loaded with
three tons of snow. It shuts

out what little light there is
at these latitudes and that

shortens the growing
season still further and

limits how far north
trees are able to grow.

So snow influences both the shapes
of the trees and the extent of this forest.

And it affects the animals too.

It helps to have friends if
you want to find food for this

time of the year. Wolverines
and ravens, a match made in the

tiger.

It's the hardest time of
the year to find food, but the

Wolverine knows that a
raven's call is as good as a dinner

bell.

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

The moose carcass is frozen
solid, but the Wolverine has

immensely powerful jaws, well
able to deal with frozen food.

The raven's bill is
more suited to leftovers.

The raven has to be patient.

A Wolverine's appetite is
legendary. According to folklore,

it can eat more at one sitting
than any other creature in

the forest, hence its
other name, the glutton.

What the Wolverine can't
eat now, it stores in the deep

freeze. It will bury these
food parcels across the forest,

planning ahead for leaner times.

For a few, the snow is an ally.

Voles stay active
throughout the winter beneath

the snow, despite the
freezing temperatures above.

Traveling along tiny corridors,
they move from pocket

to pocket of perfectly
refrigerated food. Snow is

a great insulator, so down
here the temperature never falls

more than a degree or so below
zero, and that's warm enough

for a vole to thrive, even if it
lacks the stature of a bison.

In some years, vole numbers
boom, and then they're

forced to break cover
to search for more food.

Music It's a silent
and very skillful hunter,

but deep snow can
be beyond its reach.

But such snow is no
barrier to one predator.

The least weasel, a tiny
hunter, and the vole's nemesis.

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

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

Music

The weasel's long, slender
shape is perfect for hunting in

tunnels, but the worst possible
shape for staying warm, so

they need a special way of doing that.

Music

She plucks the fur
from its body, tuft by tuft.

And now she puts it all
together to make a cozy

blanket under which to sleep
in her den below the snow.

Midwinter in the
northern forests. The sun

is so low that it's
twilight at midday. Music

Farther north in the high
Arctic, the sun has been below

the horizon for months, and
it'll be several more before it

appears again.

Music

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

Few creatures can endure these conditions.

If he's lucky, he will find a
carcass that could provide a

little food, possibly that of
a fox or another polar bear.

But otherwise, he must
live on his reserves.

This is a time to scrape by, to wait.

But on these side slopes, beneath
the snow, new lives are beginning.

The cubs are born
blind and tiny, and early

birth is easy on the
mother, who is barely awake.

Despite her sleepiness, her
instinct to nurse is overwhelming.

Music

The cubs' clucking calls
stimulate her to produce milk. And

what milk? It's nine times
richer than her own, and enables

her to double their weight every few weeks.

Music But for now, they lie
protected within their icy cocoons.

Music

A hundred miles above the
earth, the aurora lights up the sky.

After traveling millions of
miles across space, solar winds,

attracted by the magnetic
pull of the poles, collide with

the earth's atmosphere. Trillions of
charged particles dance across the sky.

Above the Arctic, the aurora
borearis, the northern lights.

In the south, it's the aurora
australis, the southern

lights, that bring light to
Antarctica's long winter.

These spectacular light shows
are only a tease. Solar energy

may be, but no warmth that
will help the emperor penguins.

The Arctic winter is
brutally cold, but in

Antarctica, the darkest
months are even more savage.

The male penguins have
not eaten for months, and

have only each other for
protection from the gales.

Each has been entrusted with
a single precious egg, balanced

on the top of its feet. If the
egg were to drop onto the

ice, even for a moment,
the chicken side would

die, and all this would
count for nothing.

The emperors are not entirely alone.

The Weddell Sea, the only mammal
to remain here throughout the winter.

They must have breathing
holes, and so have to constantly

scrape away the ice that
threatens to close them, rasping

away fresh build-ups with
special wide-gaped jaws.

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

The sea is minus two
degrees centigrade, a

warm bath compared to
the conditions overhead.

The roof of ice insulates
this world from the wild

fluctuations above. The
temperature down here has barely

changed for 25 million years.

Of course, animals must still
be hardy. These Borgravinke

fish have antifreeze in their
blood, so they're untroubled

swimming among the ice crystals.

Many animals here are remarkably
long-lived, perhaps because

the conditions are so stable.
Some sponges could be a

thousand years old and large
enough for a human to hide

in. There could hardly be a
greater contrast to the bleak,

windswept world just above. The Borgravinke

fish live in the Borgravinke
Basin, in the Borgravinke

Basin. But there is a
constant danger here.

Swirling patterns in the water
reveal its presence. They're

made by brine, super
concentrated saltwater. It's a warning.

New sea ice forming
above leaves behind brine

that is so extremely
salty it sinks rapidly.

As it descends, the seawater
around it freezes instantly

and forms a sheath of ice, a
brineicle that grows downwards

towards the seafloor.

Winter is reaching down
from the cold world above.

As it touches the seafloor,
it kills whatever living

thing it contacts by
encasing it in a tomb of ice.

Even in the relative warmth
of the water, the lethal

cold of winter threatens
life on the seafloor.

Another, more constant attack
rises from below. Pressure in

the depths keeps water liquid
even though its temperature is

far from freezing.

Currents bring up this
colder water and it turns to

ice, covering everything
that can't move away from it.

And then the ice,
being lighter than water,

begins to float, lifting
away anything attached.

Even some of the faster
moving animals are caught.

So the ice cleanses the
seafloor and screws the

ceiling above with
remnants of life from below.

A sign that winter is nearly over.

The songs of male weddle seals
challenging their rivals to battle.

The male seal's calls can
be heard over 15 miles away.

He aims to control the
best breathing holes, for

they will determine his
mating rights in spring.

His calls create powerful shockwaves
in the water. They're threats.

This hole has already been claimed and
the owner will not surrender it willingly.

No change this time. The challenger will
need to find a hole with a weaker owner.

The battles continue until the females
arrive and that time is now close.

The sun returns to Antarctica.

The longest night on Earth has ended
and winter begins to give way to spring.

Female emperor
penguins, after four months

feeding at sea, they're
returning sleek and fat.

Penguins, it seems, can
fly after all. But a winter

at sea has left them
a little out of practice.

There is no time to waste.
Far away, the males are waiting.

While the females were
gone, the sea ice grew and it's

now twice the distance from
its edge back to their colony.

Seventy miles away, the males
are in desperate need of help.

Despite doing all they
can to conserve their

energy, many are close
to dying from starvation.

Reunited after three months apart.

The reward for her return,
a first glimpse of her chick.

The reunion made, it's
time for the handover.

The father finds it hard to let go.

Some gentle persuasion is
needed. He has endured the most

appalling conditions on Earth
to ensure the survival of his

chick and the bond is strong.
The exchange must be quick

as the tiny chick, unprotected,
could freeze to death in

seconds.

A task that began in autumn
has been completed. Despite the

huge odds against it, the
precious chick has survived the

winter and is now with its
mother and she has food.

The chick's first fresh meal.
Her mission is complete.

But for other mothers, the
journey ends in disappointment.

Their chicks have not survived.

The females need to nurture
remain strong. Any chick that

strays from its parent is at
grave risk of being kidnapped.

The chick's mother, the chick's mother,
the chick's mother, the chick's mother,

the chick's mother, the chick's
mother, the chick's mother,

the chick's mother, the chick's
mother, the chick's mother,

the chick's mother, the
chick's mother, the chick's

mother, the chick's
mother, the chick's mother,

The chaos may be a
consequence of frustrated

parental urge, but the
outcome can be tragic.

For those emperor penguins that
survive, the worst is over for this year.

There will soon be
abundant food for everyone.

The emperors have taken on
the polar winter and won. The

gamble has paid off. All other
animals escaped. Only they

remain to raise their
young. And now it is they who

will benefit most from
the rich southern spring.

Another arrival is the certain
confirmation that spring

is here. The Adalys, having
spent winter at sea, have come

back, but they have not even
mated yet, let alone laid their eggs.

Now, at last, the male emperors can
return to where they are most at home.

One season ends and another
begins. The penguins will soon

be joined by migrants and
the far south will bustle with

life for a few frantic months.

But there are only a special
few, north and south, who

can survive winter at the
farthest ends of our planet.

More than any other season
in the poles, winter was to pose

the greatest challenge to the
frozen planet crew. The team

endured winds of over 100
miles an hour and temperatures as

low as minus 50 degrees
centigrade. Their boats were trapped

in sea ice for days, while
bears trapped others indoors.

Some of the coldest conditions
experienced were near the

Arctic Circle in northern
Canada. In winter, temperatures

dropped to minus 40 degrees
and stayed there. On the edge

of the vast tiger forest, the
team hoped to film one of the

most remarkable predator-prey
relationships on the planet.

What they experienced was a
struggle against the elements.

What they witnessed was a more
profound struggle for life and death.

Wood Buffalo National Park
covers 28,000 square miles, the

size of Denmark. One of the
few cameramen to have filmed

wolves and bison here is
Jeff Turner. I first tried to film

bison and wolves in this
national park 15 years ago. And

getting around on the ground
is incredibly difficult at any

time of the year, but in the
winter, it's tough. We quickly

realized that the only way
we were going to get anything

here was we had to get up in
the air. The Frozen Planet team

had never attempted aerial
filming in such low temperatures.

The first challenge for
director Chattin Hunter was

protecting the sensitive
aerial camera at minus 40

electrical cables
short-circuit like fireworks.

Aerial cameraman Michael
Kellam comes from sunny

California and has never
experienced temperatures so low.

Operating delicate controls
while wearing gloves is not

easy. A computer and joystick
are needed to control the

aerial camera attached to
the outside of the helicopter.

Michael would have to choose
between dexterity or warmth.

With their camera mounted on
the nose, the aerial team could

now fly hundreds of miles
in search of the animals. Jeff,

meanwhile, is still on foot
scouting the other side of the

national park. I wonder what
Jeff's getting on the ground.

Oh, man, it's cold. With the
wind today, it's about minus

37, so we've got to keep
these heaters in here, keep the

camera running at these
temperatures. From 3,000 feet up,

Chattin catches a glimpse
of the elusive wolf pack. I can

see wolves, I can see wolves
near Buffalo. 10, 15, that's a

big pack. We've got a big pack
of wolves here. The wolf pack

turns out to number an
extraordinary 25 individuals, one of

the largest ever filmed.
There's two more walking in from

the left. And it looks like
they're already on the hunt. The

helicopter allows the team to
shadow the wolf pack without

disturbing them. Let's go
back into that nice, slow circle.

I'll be around them. They look
pretty determined. The pack

are moving in on their prey, and
the aerial team are perfectly placed.

They're making their move.
That's Buffalo on the move. The

chase is on. Extreme concentration
is now needed, both from

the pilot and the cameraman,
to keep the shot smooth.

There's more coming in now.
Nice and tight, a little pack

challenging them. We've
got a nice shot of the pack, the

wolves coming up in the pack.
OK, have they still? Yeah, I

got them here. I'm just
going to bring it up a little bit.

OK, OK, OK, I'm going to
tighten up just a hair. OK. I just

want to get a true shot of
the wolves in the back of the

pack. The wolf pack have
picked out a young bison. Oh, holy

****. As Michael struggles to
hold the shot steady, no one

is prepared for what came
next. Oh, the other guy just

knocked him down pretty
much. A one-ton bull charges

through, taking out both the
wolves and the young bison.

I've never seen anything
like that in a while. It's

unbelievable. The team
have filmed extraordinary new

behaviour from the air, but
Geoff was nowhere nearby. To

complete the sequence, they
will need to work together. Only

by using the helicopter to
position Geoff will they be able

to get both air and ground coverage.

This pack will now feast for
days, so the crew must move on.

Geoff takes the team deeper
into the wilderness in search of

a new wolf pack. With everyone
on board, there are more

eyes for spotting. Bison on
the run can only mean one thing,

wolves, but this time only a
pair. Geoff must anticipate the

animal's every move and
direct the helicopter to where he

needs to be dropped off.

Had to figure out exactly
where the buffalo were going to

run and try to get there ahead
of them. If I got dropped off

in the wrong position, we would blow it.
There wasn't going to be a second chance.

That moment when you get
out of the helicopter and it leaves

you behind, you feel an
incredible sense of isolation.

They're coming in now. When I
saw the herd coming around the

corner, I knew we'd picked
the right spot. I was right in

front of them. When the
buffalo are running right

towards you, it definitely
does get your heart pounded.

The bison have poor eyesight
and can't see Geoff. It's now a

test of nerves. Weighing one
ton and running at 40 miles an

hour, one wrong step and
the bison could kill Geoff. At the

last second, they spot him
and three peel away to the other

side.

At the back of the herd, the
wolves have closed in. Look

at Adam. They're trying
to separate that little one.

Got it, got it? Both wolves are on him.

What followed was one of the
most emotional and powerful

scenes the Frozen Planet
team were ever to film. Geoff has

picked his position perfectly.
He is now only 50 meters

from the animals and able
to film a truly epic battle. I had

never been so close to a wolf
and bison battle. I could hear

them breathing. The power
of the buffalo, the way he just

threw this wolf around
like it was a rag doll. I

couldn't believe the
beating this wolf was taking.

The struggles that we'd had
with the winter and the cold and

the snow just felt so insignificant
compared to these two

animals that were
struggling for their very lives.

For over an hour, I watched
this wolf and bison battle

each other to a standstill.
They were both unbelievably

exhausted.

Watching these two animals
engaged in this massive life and

death struggle was one of
the most powerful things I'd ever

witnessed in the wild.

As a filmmaker, you're
definitely torn watching something

like this. You know you need
to keep filming and you know

this is a natural event,
but it's also incredibly sad to

know that one of these two
magnificent animals isn't going

to make it.

The bison is fatally
wounded. The battle is over.

The team have managed to
capture a remarkable hunt from both

ground and air. All of them
have been humbled by witnessing

an extraordinary winter
struggle for survival.

Music