Original subtitles

The Atlantic - immense, hostile and brutal.

The world's second largest ocean.

So vast it generates weather.

An irresistible power

that shapes lands with its unstoppable force.

To survive in the world's wildest ocean takes tenacity and strength.

This is the story of birth,

and death.

Struggle and survival.

Where the Atlantic meets Europe.

This is A Year In The Wild.

The Atlantic Ocean stretches from one end of the planet

to the other, from Antarctica in the south

to the Arctic in the north.

From the Americas to Africa and Europe,

where it slams into the land.

Here, it's merciless.

But also rich and diverse.

It's November in the Atlantic's far north.

The mercury has dropped close to zero.

The air is even colder than the ocean.

Animals that spend the winter here must prepare

or risk falling victim to its fierce onslaught.

Roughly halfway between Norway and mainland Scotland

lie the Shetland Islands.

Home to the highest density of river otters in Europe.

No-one knows when or how they got here...

..but Shetland has no rivers,

so they've been forced to adapt to a life on the coast.

Two cubs have just emerged from their underground home.

Their mother encourages them to explore their new watery world.

Their thick fur makes them extra buoyant,

trapping them at the surface.

While she dives down to hunt for food.

The sea temperature has dropped below ten degrees Celsius,

forcing her to keep fishing trips short.

SQUEAKING

CHEWING

Her dense fur is her only form of insulation,

so she must take care of it.

A good shake removes 70% of the water

right to the tip of her tail.

Rolling on the seaweed helps to squeeze out the remainder.

But there is no peace.

Until the cubs learn to hunt,

she is their only source of food.

Without her, they will die.

CHIRPING

Once her back is turned, they get up to mischief.

Play also builds strength and confidence in the water.

HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAKING

Food deliveries are frequent and varied.

An octopus,

a lumpsucker,

small ocean fish of all shapes and sizes.

Each meal vital for their survival.

As winter approaches, the sea temperature drops

and access to prey becomes harder.

Starvation, a real threat to the two cubs.

Scotland's Atlantic coast stretches 6,000 miles

and includes 800 islands.

Rugged cliffs, rocky shores

and sweeping bays

are all at the mercy of the ever-changing Atlantic.

The Orkney Islands lie where the Atlantic meets the North Sea.

Every year, its beaches witness a remarkable gathering.

The UK is home to a third of the world's grey seals.

Early winter is their pupping and breeding season.

GRUNTING

But Atlantic storms and high tides are merciless...

..putting the lives of these vulnerable youngsters in danger.

Early winter on a remote beach in the Orkney Islands.

Hundreds of grey seals are gathering to give birth.

Pups are covered in thick white fur.

A throwback to the last ice age

when ice and snow covered this coast.

Days are spent sleeping, playing...

PUP CALLS

..and, most importantly, feeding.

A regular supply of rich, creamy milk is vital

if they're to build the thick layer of fat needed to see them

through their first Atlantic winter.

The mother-pup bond is strong.

But also short.

PUP CALLING

Mothers don't eat while nursing,

and can lose a third of their body weight.

In just three weeks, she must return to the Atlantic to feed

and then breed again...

..leaving her pup to fend for itself.

Half-starved, the overly protective mothers

tussle for the prime spots on the beach.

Tensions rise, even spreading to the pups.

SQUAWKING

Birthing season triggers interest from the massive males.

HONKING

Testosterone-fuelled, they're here to fight for the right to mate.

GROWLING

A dominant bull makes a move on a female.

But she's not yet ready to breed...

..and stands her ground.

His relentless harassment draws her attention away

from her pup, who is being swamped by the rising tide.

Still not waterproof or able to swim,

it tries desperately to cling on.

But there's no help coming.

PUP CALLS

The pull of the Atlantic is too strong.

It loses its battle and is consumed by the waves.

Every year, bitter storms and high tides

account for many grey seal pups.

December. Air temperature continues to drop.

But along Europe's most northerly Atlantic coast, the warm Gulf Stream

from the Caribbean helps to keep Norway's fjords ice-free.

Throwing a lifeline to the world's top ocean predators.

HIGH-PITCHED CALLS

Every winter, orca gather here to hunt herring

that are getting ready to spawn.

Led by the matriarch, the orcas swim at up to 30mph.

GULLS CAW

Once they've tracked down the herring,

they move in for the kill.

Surrounding the fish, co-ordinating the attack with loud calls.

CALLING

They split them into smaller groups,

trapping them at the surface...

..before swiping them with their powerful tails.

The explosive smack stuns the herring...

..which the whales pick off one by one.

This feast will feed the whales right through the winter...

..until the herring move back out into the open ocean,

forcing the orca to hunt elsewhere.

The northeast and Atlantic coast

is home to another accomplished predator.

Curled octopus hunt using a combination of stealth,

speed and intelligence.

It's said they have nine brains.

A central one,

plus millions of additional brain cells

spread along each of their eight arms.

Receptors in each sucker taste as they walk.

Octopus feed on many different types of prey...

..but crabs are a firm favourite.

Keen eyesight spots the slightest movement,

leaving no place for prey to hide.

Crabs may not be as intelligent as octopus,

but they do have a protective outer shell.

They, too, must feed.

One breaks cover...

..unaware it's being watched.

A fatal error.

It quickly immobilises the crab

by injecting it with a powerful toxin...

..then devours it.

The crab's armour plating,

no match for the octopus' incredible weaponry.

Fierce westerly winds batter the Scottish islands.

But at a time of extreme hardship.

the Atlantic also brings an unexpected bounty.

On the Isle of Rum in the Inner Hebrides...

..red deer have discovered food

to supplement their poor winter diet.

Every day as the tide turns,

they make their way down to the coast

to eat seaweed washed up by the storms.

Each mouthful contains valuable nutrients

that will help them through the long winter.

And by taking their calves along,

they pass this knowledge on to the next generation.

This abundance lasts just a few hours each day.

A heavily pregnant mum eats for two.

She must weigh up the risk of being cut off by the incoming tide...

..against getting enough calories to survive the winter

and being able to give birth in the spring.

As winter drags on,

days shorten, the sea cools.

Coastal fish move to deeper water.

This Shetland otter mum must work harder to find food...

..leaving her cubs alone for longer.

Another otter family is trespassing on their patch.

The cubs call nervously for their mother.

Without her, they are defenceless.

It's now a risky situation for the youngsters.

Winter on the Shetland Islands.

An otter mother is hunting...

..catching fish for her two cubs...

..who shelter amongst the rocks.

There's a problem,

as another otter family is moving into their territory

and closing on the two cubs.

They hunker down and call quietly.

OTTERS SQUEAK

Their mum returns with another octopus.

Instead of finding her pups,

she runs straight into the intruders

and quickly loses her catch.

OTTERS SQUEAK

But they don't fight.

Rather than a territorial takeover...

..it's more likely this is a family reunion.

Danger averted,

she calls to her cubs.

OTTERS CHIRP

Once re-assured, they join the gathering...

..and quickly take back their octopus...

OTTERS SQUEAK

..leaving the visitors to chew on a leathery lumpsucker.

The adults leave them to it.

Perhaps they're sisters and have some catching up to do.

The youngsters continue squabbling.

They may be family,

but not everything is for sharing.

OTTERS CHIRP

As food becomes increasingly scarce,

conflict is inevitable.

Rock pools along the Atlantic shore are home to beadlet anemones.

Stuck fast,

they feed on microscopic shrimps and detritus floating in the water.

Stinging cells at the tip of each tentacle paralyses prey,

which is then moved to their mouths at the centre of their bodies.

All looks tranquil.

But speeding up the action 50 times...

..reveals conflict.

One anemone searches for a good spot to feed,

but stumbles into another.

Both load blue sacks around their necks with powerful toxins...

..and strike...

..then recoil in pain.

The intruder retreats.

The need for food is great...

..but it's not worth dying for.

Back on the Orkneys,

the seal pups are growing fast.

Time for some swimming lessons.

Slowly at first...

..with gentle encouragement from mum.

The pups must learn fast.

Breeding season is here.

They're only three weeks old,

but suddenly family time is over.

Abandoned youngsters search for their mothers...

SEALS CALL OUT

..and are aggressively moved on.

They must wait another three weeks

until they've grown a waterproof coat

and have built up enough courage to enter the water.

This gives them the chance to make friends.

If both of these pups are female,

their friendship will last a lifetime.

SEAL CALLS OUT

Each year, they'll be reunited

as they return to this beach to give birth to their own pups.

In the shallows, a bull approaches a female...

..who accepts his advances.

Courtship is tender and affectionate.

The beach will soon fall silent...

..until next year,

when the seals return to do it all over again.

Winter drags on.

A young red deer has succumbed

to the sub-zero temperatures and lack of food.

Parasites would have further weakened her.

Blood-sucking, wingless deer flies leave her body.

But from her death comes life.

Scavengers move in.

Hooded crows are first.

But the carcass is frozen solid,

so they're left to pick at the bugs.

To get to the meat, they need help.

A buzzard arrives.

Larger, but still not able to get through the toughened hide.

But there's one bird that can.

A female white-tailed eagle.

Standing at three-feet tall and with an eight-foot wingspan,

they are Europe's largest eagle.

Her massive bill and powerful talons

make light work of the frozen carcass.

A smaller male waits patiently.

He knows his place in the pecking order.

White-tailed eagles were hunted to extinction in the UK

in the early 20th century.

Despite a lengthy reintroduction programme,

their numbers are still low in Scotland.

Feeding on carcasses helps them through the winter

and prepares them for breeding and nest building in the spring.

Eagles are not the only predators

that rely on the misfortune of others to survive the frozen months.

In the Atlantic's far north,

on the edge of the Arctic Circle,

lies Iceland.

Winter days are short.

The night sky, illuminated by the aurora borealis.

An Arctic fox patrols its territory.

They're Iceland's only native land mammal

that got here by walking across the frozen ocean

from Greenland during the last Ice Age.

Once the ice retreated, they were stranded.

But they're adapted to live here.

Thick fur keeps out the cold.

Short legs and a compact body minimises heat loss.

Furry feet help them walk on top of the snow.

And their fluffy brush tail works both as a balance and a blanket.

It's not until he's on the beach

that his latest adaptation becomes obvious.

90% of the world's Arctic foxes are white.

In Iceland, 70% are black.

Rather than matching the colour of the snow,

he matches the colour of the rock...

..letting him hunt without being seen.

Winter is his enemy.

It will be another two months

before he can hunt nesting sea birds again.

So the tidal zone is his only hope.

A dead crab washed up in the seaweed.

Meagre pickings, but every morsel helps keep him alive.

He doesn't have it all to himself.

SCREECHING

A younger Arctic fox,

slighter in build and lighter in colour,

invades his territory...

FOX SCREECHES

..forcing him to take action.

FOXES SCREECH

The fight is short.

The intruder leaves,

having wasted valuable energy.

With food so scarce,

starvation is a real risk.

The northernmost part of the Atlantic may be in winter's grip,

but further south,

warmer ocean currents sweeping in from the US

are drawing in marine life...

..triggering a race to feed

for some of the fastest, most formidable predators on the planet.

Winter is drawing to a close.

After months of hardship,

life is starting to return to the Atlantic.

100 miles off West Africa,

a group of volcanoes that make up the Canary Islands.

They rise steeply, 10,000 feet from the ocean floor,

creating habitats for a vast array of plants and animals.

One mile offshore, a pilot whale mother rests with her calf.

She spent the night hundreds of feet deep hunting squid.

With the return of morning, the family gathers.

Their bond - strong.

Large males measuring up to 18 feet long

patrol the outer edge of the group...

..to protect the youngsters from oceanic sharks.

Teaming up with dolphins offers them additional safety in numbers.

20 species of whale and dolphin

feed in the deep ocean around the Canary Islands...

..one of the highest numbers anywhere in the world.

DOLPHINS CLICK AND WHISTLE

Late winter, thousands of Atlantic spotted dolphins

gather to hunt bait fish and mackerel

which are flourishing in the nutrient-rich water.

Racing in at 25mph...

..they corral the fish into tight groups...

..then strike.

Their prey may be plentiful,

but it's also fast-moving and elusive.

Whistles, buzzes, squawks and barks

help keep the fish together.

The commotion draws in shearwaters.

These sea birds can dive to 50 feet.

In no time at all, the shoal is demolished...

..and the calm returns.

The Atlantic's incredible fertility produces huge fish stocks...

..attracting both marine predators

and fishermen.

Their fishing line is strong and durable...

..qualities that make it extremely hazardous when dumped.

A raft of fishing tackle provides shelter for small fish...

..but has snared and killed a shearwater.

Plastic fishing line takes over 500 years to decompose...

..so continues to kill aquatic life long after it is dumped.

DOLPHINS WHISTLE

Between hunts,

the spotted dolphins hang out with a Bryde's whale calf.

At 30-feet long, it's still only a youngster.

Once fully grown, it will reach 45-feet long...

..and weigh 25 tonnes...

..making it one of the largest animals on the planet.

For now, it waits for its mother to return from fishing,

content to spend time with the dolphins.

Atlantic winters bring fierce storms...

..suffering and conflict.

But it also brings hope and opportunity.

Food is abundant under the surface.

It's also plentiful along the coast

if you know where to find it.

Those that made it through the winter

can now look forward to longer days and climbing temperatures

as spring arrives.

Next time, storms are replaced by sun...

..hardship by new life...

..but spring is short.

The race is on to find a mate,

build a home,

and start the next generation.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media