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...

..where the land meets the sea.

This is A Year In The Wild.

The Atlantic Ocean stretches from the Antarctic

to the Arctic.

From the Americas to Africa and Europe.

Where its ferocity is matched by its richness...

..and diversity.

As winter draws to a close...

..the northern Atlantic coast springs back to life.

BIRDS SING

But the creatures that live along its shoreline remain at its mercy.

Returning migrants and those that faced winter head on

must replenish energy...

SQUAWKING

..before finding a mate...

..and starting a family.

They only have a few short weeks, so the drive is strong.

On the Shetland Islands, 200 miles north of the Scottish mainland...

..an otter mum must first get rid of the kids

before she can start a new family.

Last winter, her two otter cubs emerged from their holt

for the very first time.

They were totally dependent on her for food and protection.

Six months later and she's still caring for them.

But not for much longer.

Her food deliveries are starting to dry up.

A sign that family time is almost over

and it's time for the cubs to move on.

As the Atlantic warms, fish return from the deep,

giving the two youngsters the chance to hone their hunting skills.

The young male is already spending more and more time alone,

attempting to catch prey for himself.

This is a dangerous time.

A lack of food can result in him losing strength and dying.

The risk is heightened by the arrival of a big male dog otter.

Dog otters are not normally tolerated by females with cubs.

But this is otter breeding season

and adults are on the lookout for a mate.

He has spotted the young male cub has caught a big fish.

Stealing a meal is easier than catching one...

..so he muscles in.

OTTERS SNARL

The young cub tries to stand its ground...

..but is no match for the bigger, stronger adult...

..and he's forced to surrender his catch.

A valuable life lesson.

Survival is not just about catching food,

it's also about being wily enough to keep it.

SQUAWKING

Spring sees the return of millions of migratory birds

to the North Atlantic...

..here to feed, find a mate

and raise a family.

The island of Noss, just east of mainland Shetland,

attracts 150,000 sea birds.

These 600-foot sandstone cliffs

are weathered by wind and sea...

..making it the ideal nesting spot for 20,000 gannets.

CHIRPING

Following their exhausting 2,000-mile flight

Following their exhausting 2,000-mile flight

from northern Africa...

..it's time to feed.

Diving at up to 60mph,

they hit the water at breakneck speed.

But they are specifically designed to hunt like this.

They fold back their wings to streamline their bodies.

Powerful neck muscles and a layer of sponge behind the bill

cushions the blow.

Their eyes immediately adjust

so they can see underwater.

Get it right and they are rewarded with a fish.

Get it wrong and it can be fatal.

The risk of injury doesn't end here.

Collisions underwater are not uncommon.

Dangers continue back on the cliffs.

As more and more gannets arrive,

good nest space becomes a premium

and fights break out.

SQUAWKING

If neither stand down,

they can be deadly.

Spring in the Atlantic...

..and on the island of Noss,

20,000 gannets have returned to breed.

They gather nesting material from the clifftops

to line the exact same nest site as last year.

Competition is high and fights break out.

It's a battle of strength and will.

Serrations inside the bill

make escape virtually impossible.

Its partner joins in...

..gouging the intruder's eye.

Gannets cannot hunt without stereoscopic vision

so it's vital it frees itself.

Impostor taken care of,

they reinforce their bond...

..then get back to the business of raising a family.

As spring progresses,

battles intensify,

both above and below the surface.

In the shallow coastal water off south-west England,

a male cuttlefish guards his partner from rivals.

She is approaching two years old.

This is her first breeding season.

It'll also be her last,

as once she's laid her eggs, she'll die.

A second male attempts a takeover.

Tension rises...

..and their normally dull brown colouration

turns black and white.

Their faces darken...

..and they fight.

Powerful jaws at the centre of their limbs could deliver a deadly bite.

With neither wanting to risk injury, they split.

But he's lost his partner,

so, pumped up, he heads back in.

Zebra stripes pulsing,

eyes yellow with rage.

He quickly recaptures his mate

and normality returns.

Cuttlefish breed head-to-head.

But fertilisation doesn't happen until egg laying,

which is still hours away...

..so he shadows her to prevent an adversary moving in again.

She carefully secures her eggs to the vegetation...

..camouflaging them with ink.

Her final act,

as, exhausted, spent,

she'll now die,

confident that her next generation are safely hidden away.

After a particularly tough winter...

..warm air now sweeps across Scotland's Atlantic coast.

On the island of Rum, the red deer that fed on seaweed in the winter

have given birth.

At only a day old,

this one is still wobbly on its legs.

Its mother must find good grazing

if she is to produce the milk needed to satisfy her newborn...

..so she hides it in the long grass and heads off to graze.

The youngster must stay still...

SQUAWKING

..as white-tailed and golden eagles patrol the skies.

Both will kill young calves.

SQUAWKING

Instinct kicks in

and it seeks shelter amongst the rocks.

Warm temperatures and light winds

lead to an explosion of biting midges....

..which drive the deer to distraction.

BUZZING

Again, they find salvation along the coast,

where cool sea breezes keep the biting midges at bay.

But they must feed their calves

so return to the midge-infested peat bogs.

Spring is when stags rebuild muscle lost over the long winter.

But this is also the season to start growing new antlers.

They're covered in a blood-rich layer of skin called velvet...

..which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the bone...

..helping them grow an inch a day.

Faster than any other mammal bone.

But all this blood also attracts biting midges...

..forcing the stags to flee up into the mountains...

..where it's too cold and windy for the midges.

But up here, the grazing is poor,

just when the stags are desperate for nutrition.

Not everyone is struggling to find food.

A pair of white-tailed fish eagles

found themselves the perfect place to hunt.

They're both 13 years old...

..and have set up home close to a prime fishing ground.

Kylerhea Narrows is the shallow stretch of water

that separates the Isle of Skye from the Scottish mainland.

Twice a day, as the tide ebbs and floods,

water is forced through the narrow sea strait...

..creating one of the UK's fastest tidal flows...

..forcing fish to the surface...

..making easy fishing for seals,

gulls...

..and fish eagles.

Their eight-foot wingspan is one of the largest of any eagle

but they are still incredibly agile, proficient hunters.

SQUAWKING

Once they have a fish, they return to their nest

to feed their two chicks.

SCREECHING

They've been together for nine years,

and in that time raised 11 chicks.

But only once have they managed to raise more than one chick at a time.

For both to survive, they need a constant supply of food.

Dad fishes tirelessly...

..leaving mum to guard the nest.

SQUAWKING

Now five weeks old, their appetites are growing...

..prompting mum to help with the hunting...

SCREECHING

..leaving the youngsters home,

alone and vulnerable.

With both parents away,

a young sea eagle invades their nest

and starts stealing vital food.

SCREECHING

The larger chick sounds the alarm.

SCREECHING

If a fight were to start,

one of the chicks could easily fall from the nest to its death.

Perhaps sensing a parent returning,

it flees,

leaving the chicks in peace again.

Food deliveries keep coming.

The older chick dominates mealtime...

..starving the younger chick of valuable protein.

Its chances of survival are not good.

Spring is a difficult time for many newborn.

In Iceland's far north,

an Arctic fox mum has set up her den

next to a sea bird nesting colony.

Essential food for her and her five pups.

At 1,500 feet high,

the cliffs are perilous.

One wrong step would not just mean her death,

but that of her pups, too.

Iceland, in the Atlantic's far north.

Wild, awe-inspiring and hostile.

The Hornstrandir Peninsula sits just below the Arctic Circle.

Barren tundra and steep-sided glacial valleys

plummet 1,500 feet into the Atlantic.

But even here there is food,

if you have the nerve and the ability to find it.

Arctic foxes are Iceland's only native land mammal

and they are tough.

Last winter, they eked out an existence along the shoreline,

feeding on scraps washed up by the tide.

Spring sees the return of nesting sea birds.

Fresh food for this Arctic fox mum.

Especially now that she has five hungry mouths to feed.

PUPS SQUEAL

At six weeks old, they have insatiable appetites...

..driving their mum to carry out regular nest raids.

She's chosen her den site well,

giving her easy access to a regular supply of food.

But these are some of the North Atlantic's highest sea bird cliffs.

One wrong step and she'll fall to her death.

At this age, her pups are totally dependent upon her.

If she doesn't return, they will perish.

Unaware of the danger, they spend their time play fighting...

..stalking flowers...

..and asserting dominance.

Skills to help them when they leave the den in a month's time.

Their mother returns with another kill.

PUPS SQUEAL

The dominant pup quickly takes control.

At eight years, she is an old but experienced mother,

returning with kill after kill.

But she'll have to work hard

if she's to keep all five pups alive.

Just 100 miles south of the foxes,

on Iceland's west coast...

..four eider ducklings have just hatched.

They're about to start a short but perilous journey to the coast.

Their mother hasn't eaten since she started incubating three weeks ago,

so she's hungry.

CHIRPING

Her chicks hatched fully feathered and with their eyes open.

Just hours old, they must get to the safety of the water.

This is the moment predatory gulls have been waiting for.

SQUAWKING

They slope off through the long grass.

Mum calls quietly to keep them close.

DUCK CALLS

They're joined by other families.

And together, they break cover

and race to the water.

But one has been left behind.

Lost, it starts walking the wrong way.

CHIRPING

It calls for its mother.

But she's moving offshore.

CHIRPING

Those that made it take the plunge.

Eiders are oceanic ducks that spend their lives

diving for mussels on the sea bottom...

..and quickly adapt to their new underwater environment.

CHIRPING

The lost one keeps calling.

Its whistles may also attract predatory gulls.

SQUAWKING

Along the shore, another chick has been snatched.

CHIRPING

It's now or never

as the creche is moving away.

It makes a run for it.

Onto the shoreline, out into the open.

SQUAWKING

CHIRPING

It hits the water and takes the plunge.

And is reunited with its mother.

Together, they head off to the safety of the bay.

Long sunny days

warm the Atlantic's shallow coastal waters...

..turning them green with microscopic life.

Food for filter feeders like fan worms

that emerge from tubes they've built from sand and shells.

But it's flame shells that are the ocean's real engineers.

Using their foot, they bind debris together with thread.

Bit by bit, building themselves a home.

But their toil also creates places for predators to hunt.

A king scallop makes a quick getaway.

Not so this flame shell, which is stuck fast.

A hermit crab makes light work of its soft, fleshy insides.

Predators patrol these reefs,

on the lookout for a meal.

A cuttlefish hunts using stealth and speed.

During the day, he hides under the sand.

As it draws to a close, he emerges.

He hatched over winter.

Still only five inches long, he focuses his attention on a shrimp.

He may be young, but he's still a formidable predator.

He has ten limbs,

each one armed with powerful suckers.

Known as a chameleon of the sea,

he can alter his colour and texture

by contracting muscles.

His eyes can look both forwards and backwards.

He waves two arms to help with disguise.

Then moves in for the kill.

Once within striking distance,

he fires two feeding tentacles.

Then draws the shrimp back into his powerful jaws.

Late spring,

and the Atlantic continues providing an abundance of food.

Back on Skye, the sea eagles are still catching plenty of prey...

SCREECHING

..and both chicks are doing well.

The older one still takes the lion's share,

only letting its sibling feed once it's had its fill.

Both have grown their flight feathers...

..and in just a month, will take their very first flight.

But they'll still rely on their parents for food

whilst they get to grips with the art of fishing.

Not all of this year's newborn have such attentive parents.

Some start preparing for life alone as soon as they are born.

Every year, as spring draws to a close...

..day-old common seal pups take to the water for the very first time...

..unaware that the world's largest oceanic predators

are waiting to strike.

Along the Atlantic...

..and North Sea coast...

..from Holland to Norway...

..and right around the British Isles...

..it's common seal pupping season.

The Shetlands' 1,700 miles of coastline

has more than 50 pupping grounds.

Each one hidden away on remote islands

and rocky outcrops.

Late spring is when newborn pups enter the Atlantic

for the very first time.

Common seals can swim when only a few hours old.

Slowly at first...

..under mum's watchful eye.

But they quickly grow in confidence,

edging deeper and further from the shore...

..developing skills that will help them once they are on their own.

Which isn't that far away.

As in just four weeks, their mother will abandon them...

..so she can breed again.

The youngsters must remain vigilant.

Every June, pods of killer whales arrive from Iceland

to hunt the young pups.

Shetland's steep-sided shoreline lets them get very close in.

A family group hunts together...

..hugging the coastline...

..shielding themselves behind islets and spits of land.

They spot a pup

deep enough to merit an attack.

Communicating with clicks and whistles,

they charge in at 30mph.

WHALE CALLS

The orca family share the spoils...

..before moving off to hunt again.

Next time,

summer sees the return of giants

to the UK's rich coastal waters.

Having travelled from the other side of the Atlantic,

they are here to gorge.

Summer is also the season when many of this year's youngsters

prepare to start life alone.

But they must be ready to avoid predators

on the lookout for an easy meal.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media