All language subtitles for W.S.S01E02.Heartlands.EXTENDED.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM_track3_[und]

In the far north of Europe
is a land steeped in myth...

..the realm of Thor...

..and Odin.

From Norway's frozen wilderness...

..deep into magical
Swedish woodlands...

..across Finland's water world...

..to explosive Icelandic
volcanoes...

..Scandinavia's breathtaking
landscapes

have shaped its people...

..and its wildlife.

At its heart, enchanted forests
wrap around a maze of waterways.

It takes surprising
and intimate relationships to

survive in this ever-changing,
seasonal world.

BIRD CALL

In Norse myth, there are tales
of a mighty sacred tree...

..Yggdrasil.

Its trunk was at the
centre of the cosmos...

..while its branches reached up
to heaven...

..and its roots extended
into the underworld.

Great forests are still at the heart
of Scandinavia.

160 billion trees thrive in this
northernmost woodland...

..part of the vast Boreal forest
that fringes the Arctic.

Here, bowed spruce

stand like
Ice Giants of Norse legend...

..enduring a winter
of five long months.

They wear a coat of tykky...

..layers of ice crystals grown
from the freezing, moist air.

And they're highly adapted
to these extremes.

Flexible branches carry the heavy,
insulating snow...

..while within, natural antifreeze
protects their tissues.

These fairy-tale
trees are masters of resilience.

But all who live here must
find their own way

to survive the tough winter.

Clever tricks and partnerships
work for some.

Ravens were said to be

informants to the Norse God Odin.

They scoured the world for gossip
to bring back to their master.

RAVEN CALLS

But for these vocal birds, food
is the only topic of conversation.

And word has spread fast,

drawing in a crowd.

RAVEN CALLS

With the carcass frozen,
they can't break in...

..but their commotion attracts...
just who they need.

A Golden eagle...

..Scandinavia's most
powerful raptor.

It knows that where
there are ravens, there's food.

Six times their size,
an eagle can easily kill a raven.

But there are benefits to
inviting your adversary to dinner.

The eagle has the tools to open up
the carcass for them...

..if only they can sneak
back to the table.

But their dinner
plans are cut short.

More eagles arrive to
claim their share of this feast.

All the ravens can do is watch...

..as these titans battle it out.

Eventually, a new victor emerges.

It's able to eat its fill,
undisturbed...

..and finally allows the ravens
back to the opened carcass.

This fleeting alliance of brains
and brawn, benefits them all.

Some relationships here
are so deeply entwined,

it's hard to imagine one
without the other.

Margret Fjellstrom is an indigenous
Sami reindeer herder.

Her family have depended
on the reindeer for generations.

The reindeer provide me food,

it provides clothes,

but it also provides me

contact with nature,
with my ancestors and my future.

It's who I am.

Margret must keep her herds alive
through harsh winters, where

temperatures can plummet
close to minus 40.

It's essential the reindeer
get energy-rich food...

..particularly the pregnant females.

And to find it, they must seek out
the Heartlands' oldest forests.

Margret and her family use
snowmobiles,

steering the herds up to 30 miles
a day, to the best grazing spots.

SHE CALLS

The reindeer need help
from the Sami,

as their traditional
migration routes are often blocked

by roads, towns,

and wind farms.

The infrastructure of the land

has changed.

So, we need to guide
the reindeers around

and find safe places for them.

On their journey, the herds pass
through new growth plantations...

..but these areas have little
nutritious food to offer them.

It's the forests with trees
over 100-years-old

that have what they
desperately need...

..lichen.

During the winters,
they make up 80%

of the reindeers' diet.

They eat a dozen different
varieties.

With their excellent sense of smell,
reindeer can detect them

a metre beneath the snow.

Lichens may look like plants,

but they're actually an ancient
partnership between algae and fungi.

And as many grow just a
few millimetres a year,

it takes decades for lichen-rich
forests to develop.

But now,
they are becoming more scarce.

I see this forest.

It was all over and it was

a thick layer of lichens.

It was like to walk on soft,
soft cotton.

But the lichen is burned by the sun.

More than 70%
of Sweden's age-old woodlands

have been cleared in the last
60 years...

..threatening the balance that
sustains the Sami way of life.

Now, we are using the forest faster
than the forest can provide

and grow up. That's the problem.

Because if the lichen forest
is disappearing,

the reindeer will starve to death.

Some winters are more
challenging than others.

But when Margret's reindeer
reach the food they need,

it makes it all worthwhile.

When I see the reindeer
is grazing outside

and it's good condition,
it's like a big love story.

You get all tickly in your body
and you're smiling.

It's the best feeling.

You know, when you're in love,
really in love, that's the feeling.

Margret has always had a special
relationship with the reindeer...

..which will continue with the next
generation of calves in the spring.

As the days become longer,
winter begins to

loosen its stranglehold.

But within the forest,
this boggy clearing is still frozen

and carpeted with snow.

Every April, it becomes the focal
point of one Scandinavia's

most flamboyant wildlife spectacles.

ANIMAL CALLS

As dawn breaks...

..a distinctive bubbling sound
carries through the air...

..war cries of male black grouse.

THEY SQUAWK AND SHRIEK

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

They're here to compete for mating
rights to the mottled brown females.

On this battleground,
known as a lek,

there's a distinct hierarchy.

And in the centre of it
all is the King.

He's the champion fighter,

flaunting the biggest
scarlet eye combs...

..and finest lyre tail feathers.

Popular with the hens,
he wins the most mates.

But every male wants his success.

Threats come from all sides.

Novice males,
are just learning the ropes....

..and are easily intimidated.

Others, he must fight to
assert his dominance.

SQUAWKING AND SHRIEKING

SHRILL SHRIEK

But there's one battle-scarred male
who's a serious challenger.

This old timer has sacrificed many

of his fine feathers in combat...

..and isn't satisfied with
a place on the edge of the action,

watching the hens pass him by.

He challenges the King to a duel.

Both are heavy-weights,
at almost 2 kilos,

and closely matched.

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

The old timer rips out

a clump of chest feathers.

The King retaliates.

The battle goes on for almost
an hour.

Both sustain stabbing injuries
to their chests...

..until the King deals
the final blow.

Injured, the old timer is defeated.

The King grouse retains his title...

..and is eager to make
good on his victory.

His reward?

To mate with over half
the females on this lek...

..as the snow begins to thaw...

..exposing the peaty bog once more.

Across Scandinavia's Heartlands,

spring heralds a time of magnificent
transformation...

..the Great Melt.

Water is liberated
from the mountains...

..into fast-flowing rivers
and streams.

Some of the world's most
spectacular waterfalls

are found in Scandinavia...

..cascading through the landscape...

..and filling hundreds
of thousands of lakes,

carved from rock
during the last Ice Age.

For Swedes, Varkanslor,

or spring fever,

begins with returning migrant birds.

GRUNTING

Moose are also on the move,

following long-standing migration
routes towards new pastures.

In the forest canopy,

warmer days trigger the
pine cones of Norway spruce

to ease open.

Just one tree can release tens
of thousands of seeds every year.

But only a few will survive
to join the Heartlands giants,

standing up to 40 metres tall
and living for 600 years.

Over half of Scandinavia
is covered with trees...

..and ideas of the forest

have always been entwined in Norse
folklore...

..fabled to harbour many
mythical creatures.

There are tales of trolls...

..murderous giants...

..and dangerous seductresses.

One forest animal was renowned
as the companion of Freyja...

..goddess of love -

..the lynx.

It's Europe's biggest
and most elusive wild cat.

LYNX CALLS

But its scream
isn't as sinister as it sounds.

It's the mating season

and this roving bachelor
is looking for love.

He searches for special trees
that could help with his quest.

He rubs his body all over the
scaly trunk of this Scots pine...

..releasing odour from glands
on his cheeks and paws.

A "love letter" to receptive females

and a warning to other males.

His signature is etched into the
bark and sealed with his scent.

The textured surface will
preserve his smell for weeks

and even snags a lock of his fur.

He continues his patrol...

..leaving fragrant
messages on distinctive landmarks.

Lynx travel up to 30 miles each day.

Over 3,000 of these rare cats

wander the Heartlands
of Scandinavia.

LYNX CALLS

Hopefully, a female will hear

or smell him...

..as he roams his vast territory

of 300 square miles...

..weaving through forests,

increasingly fragmented...

..by human expansion.

During spring,
the weather is still changeable.

A passing storm...

..brings fresh snowfall.

And there's a glimmer of hope.

A beautiful female lynx

has taken a keen
interest in the male's aroma

preserved in the tree's craggy bark.

She's smaller than him,
with lighter fur,

and sprays her own calling card

as a reply.

It can take a lynx two weeks
to patrol his territory...

..but this male returns
to some good news.

The female's lingering perfume
reveals she was here recently

and she's in season...

HE PURRS

..much to his delight.

PURRING

With the help of this distinctive
gnarled tree,

this lynx has finally had his love
letter answered...

..and hopefully his chance to meet
her face-to-face

is just round the corner.

Every creature here
relies on the forest...

..and by late spring it is lush...

..and green.

After the long winter,
this female brown bear...

..finally emerges from hibernation.

With her two young cubs,

she's amongst 5,000 bears

left in Scandinavia.

Their broad diet gives
them an important role

as forest gardeners,
spreading seeds.

And this mum will teach her cubs

over 70 different edible plants.

But they're easily distracted.

And always keen to play.

Mum knows there's one lesson
that can't wait.

These towering pine trees
could save their lives...

..but only if they can climb.

They will be their escape
route out of danger.

Going up looks easy...

CUB SQUEAKS, MUM GROWLS

..but it's harder coming down.

Mum encourages them from below.

SHE ROARS

Training over,

the cubs snuggle
in for a nourishing feed.

She has a couple more years
to pass on her specialist

knowledge of the forest before
they become independent.

The summer months bring longer days.

A brief season of plenty...

..and relaxation.

But some creatures never rest.

This woodland
looks like a scene of destruction.

But it's only during twilight
hours that the culprit emerges.

A Eurasian beaver...

..Scandinavia's largest rodent...

..over a metre long.

The beaver's an industrious
engineer.

Building dams which flood
the forest...

..he dramatically transforms
the landscape...

..creating a water world so he can
access his food in safety.

He dines on a vegetarian
smorgasbord of bark,

branches, leaves, and shoots.

In serving his own needs,

he is the architect of this
maze of secluded rivers and lakes.

The slower movement of water
provides nurseries for fish

and underpins a rich
diversity of life...

..including the osprey,

a specialist fishing hawk.

This male has flown over
4,000 miles from Africa...

..returning to this
lake in southern Scandinavia.

He's now raising
his two chicks solo...

..as osprey mums leave for Africa
as soon as their chicks can fly.

He's a devoted parent.

Every extra day he stays
and provides,

his fledglings will get stronger...

..but he must also keep the reserves

to make his own marathon
migration south.

For now, his chicks still use
the family nest as their base

and are completely reliant
on him for meals.

With many years of experience,
this dad's a pro at fishing...

..and the fledglings need
to learn from him fast.

With exceptional eyesight,
he pinpoints a fish...

..and dives at speeds over 75mph.

He works relentlessly...

..catching as many
as ten fish a day...

..for his gluttonous chicks.

By early September,

it's time for dad
to leave for Africa.

One last feed,

and his job is done.

His chicks will now have
to manage by themselves.

In just a few days,

they'll begin their own epic
migration to Africa...

..leaving these rich lakes quiet,

until ospreys return
again next year.

At the end of summer,
temperatures begin to fall

and days get shorter...

..triggering an explosion of
brilliant autumn colours,

known as Ruska in Finland.

Deciduous trees like birch, aspen

and rowan show off their magnificent
shades of yellow and orange.

While on the damp ground,

the forest's most fundamental
relationship is revealed...

..fungi.

They erupt from the forest
floor as mushrooms,

to spread their spores
before winter returns.

CHATTERING

With almost 10,000
varieties across Scandinavia...

..many families have secret spots

where they collect edible
mushrooms every year...

..expressing their Allemansratten,
or every man's right,

to roam and forage in nature.

Mushrooms are all we can see at the
surface of a massive underground

fungal network that links into
the roots of almost every tree...

..and is vital for keeping
the forest alive.

In this shallow acidic soil,

fungi have the key enzymes

to provide essential
nitrogen to the trees.

But to do this, the fungi need fuel,

which they get from the trees as
sugars, in this age-old association.

Without this foundation of fungi,

the landscape could turn
to treeless tundra...

..but in partnership,

the boreal forests have been
able to survive in the north.

Autumn is an important
season for the Heartlands residents.

A short window of opportunity
to stock up

before the cold arrives once again.

This male brown bear
must pack on the pounds

before he goes into hibernation.

Over the next few weeks, he must
eat 20,0000 calories a day.

And surprisingly, such tiny berries
can meet most of his needs.

But he's not averse to a very
different meal.

With a remarkable sense of smell...

..he can sniff out
food from several miles away.

A wolverine is first to the feast.

This opportunist has no problem
breaking into a carcass

with his powerful
bone-crunching jaws.

But he's not the only diner.

RAVENS CALL

The ravens' noisy calls
draw the bear closer.

THEY CAW NOISILY

He can eat as much as
40 kilos in one sitting.

But he needs to watch his back.

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

Wolves were Odin's mythical
warriors,

and this hungry pack
are on the offensive.

The bear is bigger and stronger
than any wolf, but he's alone.

The ten-strong pack
press closer.

Led by the alpha pair,

they work as a team to
intimidate the bear.

SNARLING

He can't afford to abandon his meal.

One wolf tries to distract him
away from the carcass.

GROWLING AND SNARLING

But the bear's determined.

He grabs whatever he can.

The wolf pack have the remains...

..but each must
wait their turn to feed.

While this family is doing well,

wolves are Scandinavia's
rarest carnivore.

Hunted under a strict quota,

there are fewer than 700 left.

These stealthy predators soon
melt back into the shadows

and safety of the forest.

HOWLING

The formation of ice...

..and first dusting of snow,

heralds the return of winter...

..completing the seasonal
cycle for life in the Heartlands.

But there are some who have been
eagerly awaiting

the return of the ice.

Oskar Karlin is one of thousands
of Scandinavians for whom wild,

or Nordic, ice skating is
a consuming passion.

Winter is something
I really look forward to.

You want to be on the ice
as soon as possible

because the first ice
is the best ice.

But as ice skating can be dangerous,

he needs to be absolutely sure
the ice is thick enough.

You say 3.2 centimetres is
the thinnest you can skate on.

And when it's almost 10cms,

you can almost drive
a small car on it.

Oskar takes the lead, navigating
a safe route across the lake.

I would never ever skate alone.
That's so dangerous.

It's important to be quite focused,
cos you never know

if the ice is getting thinner,
or what's going to happen.

Parts of your brain has to be

scanning the ice
and looking for dangers.

There are lots of different
kinds of ice...

..but the holy grail

is newly-formed black ice.

It's smooth,
clear and precariously thin.

If the conditions are perfect,

when it freezes,
it becomes like purely black,

and that's the most magical
ice to skate on.

ENIGMATIC PULSING BEATS

The sound from the ice
when it's quite thin sounds

very strange, almost like laser
beams - tshoom, tshoom.

It's the sound from another world.

It's almost like watching the
Northern Lights, but with your ears.

EERIE PULSING CONTINUES

Sometimes, when there's a little
bit of water on the ice,

it feels like you're
skating in the sky, or something,

because the reflections
are incredible.

Living in the city, I love it,
but it's quite hectic,

so when I come out,
I'm not so stressed.

You constantly see this
beautiful nature

and when you skate,
you get happy from it.

So, the more you move,

the happier you get!

Scandinavia's raw wilderness
is exhilarating for those who

immerse themselves in it.

But this perfect balance
in nature...

..is a fleeting and fragile one.

The seasons,
every year is different.

If the temperature just changes
a few degrees,

then we will have almost no ice,
so it's such a small variation

in temperature that changes
the whole thing.

The more time I spend in nature, I
realise how fragile everything is.

This extraordinary world

with its countless
intricate relationships

exists in a delicate
balance across the seasons.

Today, it's becoming more fragile,

impacted by human pressures

and climate change.

Yet, just as the legendary tree,
Yggdrasil,

was the centre of the
Norse universe...

..forests still play a vital role...

..interconnecting life.

They are the living,
beating heart of Scandinavia.

The Wild Scandinavia team
filmed in the Nordic Heartlands over

the course of a year,

braving the mosquitoes...

..cold water...

..and thin ice.

Using state-of-the-art cameras
and innovative techniques,

the crew captured the dramatic
behaviour...

..of some of Scandinavia's
most iconic animals.

But perhaps the most challenging
of the shoots was filming with

a family of Sami reindeer
herders in Sweden.

The film crew had to cope with
extreme winter conditions

to get their shots.

I'm just about keeping feeling in my
fingers with some hand warmers.

My water has succumbed to the cold!

Traversing with deep snow is tricky.

I don't know how the reindeer do it.

Deep snow! God!

Oh, my God!

Pull you up by this?

Woo-hoo!

OK, pull!

LAUGHTER

Margret and her family take great
risks, crossing frozen lakes

and difficult terrain to guide
their herds

to the precious lichen forests.

As the reindeer move fast
over long distances,

the only way to keep up
is by snowmobile

and Margret learnt to drive one
when she was just five-years-old.

This machine is going really,
really fast.

And you can hurt yourself really,
really bad on that.

The crew need to learn how
to handle one safely.

Start.

Gas.

Brake.

Yes. Ready?

More, more, more.

Not so fast!

When the snow is deep,

you always get stuck.

When I teach people,

I force them
to get stuck in the snow.

And if you don't know how
to get loose,

when you get stuck,
it can be dangerous.

Everybody need to come here
and help.

One can take there.

It's essential that the
crew work as a team.

And with Margret's training,

they're ready to deal with
the challenges ahead.

Yeah, we're in. Victory!

They did really,
really good, this crew.

They are not afraid of speed.
That's a good thing!

The crew can now get to work,

following and filming the Sami,
as they herd their reindeer.

They see for themselves
just how tricky it is.

It's very difficult. They're just
sort of completely scattered

through the forest.

They're like water,
they just flow everywhere!

Margret makes it look easy.

Really cool, see how she moves
the reindeer and herds them and...

It's like cowboys in the snow!
Amazing!

I want to be a Sami now!

But the job of a reindeer herder has
got even harder in recent years,

particularly with a changing
climate.

The average temperatures
in parts of Sweden have gone

up by a couple of degrees Celsius
over the last 30 years.

You can have three seasons

in one month. That's never happened
when I was growing up.

The skills that I learned
from my fathers about weather

is not working any more.

It's really, really

hard to predict where should we go,

for the best grazing.

We never know. We have to move them

all the time in the winter.

With such unpredictable weather,
Margret

and her husband, Daniel,
have had to adapt...

..and have found a novel way to
herd the reindeer even if there's

not enough snow to use snowmobiles.

We use the drone.
It's an easy way to

get a hold of where they are.

And it saves time.

Daniel broadcasts some intriguing
recordings from the drone's

loudspeaker to get the deer moving.

SIREN-STYLE ALARM

BARKING

That's some dog from the internet.

BARKING CONTINUES

This is the Tasmanian devil,
apparently.

STRANGE ROAR AND HOWL

You have to use that carefully

because they can get really,
really scared.

And you can record your own voice

and play it up in the drone.

HE CALLS

RECORDING PLAYS

It's about the same as
when you drive a snowmobile.

You just point them
in the direction you want

and just go round them like this,
holding them together.

Out of the 70,000 Sami
that live within Arctic Europe,

only 10% of them
still herd reindeer.

But despite this dwindling
lifestyle, Margret's

18-year-old daughter Alva is keen to
continue the tradition.

I will want to go out in the forest
and work with the reindeers,

full-time.

Here, I get to be outside,
I get to see the

animals that I really love.

You can just see a reindeer
one day by the road

and you make it go to the forest and
then you feel like a superhero.

Although the Sami herders
of Scandinavia

face many challenges today...

..Margret and her family have
found ways to modernise

and adapt their traditional
way of life...

..retaining their close alliance
with the reindeer, which will

hopefully continue
far into the future.

Next time, we travel to
Scandinavia's extremes...

..where the long, dark,
polar night...

..melts into a sleepless rush of
life under the midnight sun...

..in the kingdoms of ice...

..and fire.