All language subtitles for Episode 03 Summer

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 1,000 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 have 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 travelling across
this increasingly fragile ice scape

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

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

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

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 phalaropes.

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 grow 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 centre of the tern colony.

Hardly a tranquil place
to raise your young.

But the noisy neighbours
have a feisty attitude to life,

and that can be very valuable.

A hungry bear looking for a 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 armoury
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 neighbours.

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.

Inland, 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 beak-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 1,000 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 owls' tiny
neighbours, 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 skua.

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-armoured 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 recognise its chick's 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 overexert oneself.

The heavily-insulated penguins
stretch out

so their naked feet
can cool in the breeze.

Their gigantic neighbours
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 a 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 ten 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 a territory
for one season in his entire life.

So when a challenger arrives, he
will risk everything to retain it.

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.

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.

Crabeater seals.

Over 15 million live here,
amongst the drifting ice floes.

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 tonnes
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.

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 a male with a huge dorsal fin

almost two metres high.

A lone 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.

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 defence
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.

Seabirds 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.

Adelie 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 catch is krill,

and Adelie penguins
consume a staggering

1.5 million tonnes of it a year.

'There are no land-based
predators in Antarctica.

The threat here
comes from the skies.

A South polar skua.

An unguarded chick
is an easy catch.

Nothing can save the 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
their 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 2,000-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 walking around
in front of a glacier over there.

We've just arrived, so this is
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.

"Stay on Channel Six. 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.

If we spin this around, we'll lose
it. The fellow's over here, yeah?

Oh, yeah, got him! I can't get
any tighter. You shoot it?

Whey!

That's nice. Nice sparkle,
nice liquid look.

Let's let him go. OK. Cut.

After their initial success, the
weather takes a turn for the worse.

For five days,
there are no more polar bears.

The captain decides to take a break

and parks up in the pack ice.

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. Oop!

The bear is so relaxed,

he even begins to hunt
right alongside them.

He's looking for a seal inside.

But he's just completely ignoring us.

Just hold it there.
Just hold it there for a minute.

He's going to climb up. OK. Ready?

Ha-ha! 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.

"There's these females and two cubs
to the starboard side.

"She's at two..."
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.

Having a good look at us.

Oh, look at them! Look at the cubs!
Yeah. Ha-ha!

Jason, just go when you need to.

Oop, here she comes. Bloody hell!

Mother bears are always desperate
for food for their cubs,

so the crew could be
the perfect supper.

She's getting in. Oh, my God, she's
going to come in the water there.

The 15-foot gap was just enough.

God, that was amazing!

We have to go. OK.

Do you want to get close up
to the cubs? Still rolling.

Yeah, that's cute.
She's going in the water. OK.

And then I'm going to stay
with the cubs.

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.

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

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

But, um, 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 Durban.

They had put satellite tags
on the whales,

and so could locate them
for the camera team.

Doug Allan 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 11:00,

about 200 metres heading towards
those two seals on the floe.

Good. 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.

There it goes.

Four whales there.
Um, two adult females,

a juvenile and a big adult male.

Swimming in formation,
the killers create a wave

to wash the seal off the floe.

It's all pretty intense.

Oh. There's another wave.

Yes. Wave! Wow!

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.

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.

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 floe.

Oooh!

For a moment, the crew
get an uncomfortably close

seal's eye view of this remarkable
hunting strategy.

Look! See that?
The juvies are making waves.

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

having the water
coming into the boat.

From our point of view, you know,

it's all about trying to get the
feeling of being with these whales.

With these whales, there's no bother
with that. They're so confident.

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

I can't imagine I'll have another
experience like this in my career.

You know, these come along rarely.

And you just feel happy and lucky
when... when they do come.

You just don't get better
days than that.