All language subtitles for Our.Oceans.S01E04.NF.WEBRip-HI

[water rushing]

[ice floes creaking]

[birds cawing]

[gentle, serene music playing]

[Barack Obama] A polar bear.

The top predator
in the world's fastest-changing ocean.

[polar bear huffs]

Wanderer of the sea

and its frozen surface.

[sweet, whimsical music playing]

She's got company.

Two hungry little troublemakers.

Her cubs were born on land,

but will spend most of their lives
on this frozen ocean.

And it's her job
to teach them how to find food.

[mother huffs softly]

Lesson number one is
learning to navigate the sea ice.

[whimsical, enchanting music playing]

Not easy, when it's constantly moving.

Her smallest cub is finding sea ice school

a bit of a stretch.

The climate crisis means

the sea ice is thinner and less reliable
than when she was a cub.

[water burbling]

[confused huffing]

[somber, distressing music playing]

Her smallest is starting to lag behind.

[whimpers]

So, Mom decides school's over for the day.

It's time to get them back to safety,
before they get too wet and tired.

[agitated huffing]

[yawps]

For the little one, it's just too much.

[distressing music continuing]

[little one huffs plaintively]

In this fast-melting ocean,
he'll face many obstacles.

[little one yawps]

[distressing music continues]

Being so small,
he's vulnerable to hypothermia,

which is one of the reasons
why almost half of all polar bear cubs

don't make it to their first birthday.

[whimpers]

Mom must decide.

Does she prioritize her strong cub
and keep moving in search of food?

Or, does she let the weakest
hold them back?

[whimpering]

[bittersweet music playing]

The cries of her baby

prove impossible to ignore.

[bellows]

[little one yowls]

[gentle, hopeful music rising]

It's been a tough day,

but the little cub has learned
an important lesson.

To never give up.

The future of this melting ocean
is being written now.

Only those able to adapt will make it

in the fastest-changing of all our oceans.

[sweeping, majestic music playing]

For thousands of years,
the Arctic has been a frozen ocean.

Today, our actions are
melting this barrier

that once held outsiders back.

As the climate crisis heats
the global ocean current,

warmer waters are
encroaching from the Atlantic,

creating challenges for some
and opportunities for others.

[water burbling]

The great current sweeps past Iceland
on its journey north,

where one extraordinary sea creature
is thriving

at the very edge of the Arctic Ocean.

[tinkling, eccentric music playing]

The wolffish.

Eating his way north,
one urchin at a time.

But in summer, his focus shifts
from finding a meal to finding a mate.

He's on the prowl for a she-wolf.

[jazzy lounge music playing]

Could she be the one?

To a wolffish male,

she's gorgeous.

But, sadly, it appears she's settled down.

On to the next.

Inside every wolf den he tries,

the females already have partners.

[music trails off]

[eccentric music playing]

Wolffish teeth aren't just for eating.

A snarl signals aggression.

The lone wolf is no match

for this protective male,

whose battle scars are a sign
he's seen off many other rivals.

Instead, he must bide his time...

[eccentric, suspenseful music playing]

...waiting for another daring bachelor
to come along.

Bigger, bolder, this new guy is
a true match for the scar-faced male.

[music intensifies]

[music trails off]

On the sidelines, the lone wolf waits

for just the right moment,

when both his rivals are exhausted.

Only now does he make his move...

[eccentric music playing]

...sneaking in
next to the unattended she-wolf.

Where he seems to seal the deal
with a gift.

[jazzy lounge music playing]

But in fact, she's outsmarted them all.

After mating, she ghosts her lover,
laying her eggs and promptly dumping him.

Leaving him to raise their offspring
for the next seven months,

when, if he's successful,

some of their babies will be swept north
on the great current...

[stirring, rousing music playing]

...joining millions of tons of warm water
barreling further into the Arctic.

The combination of this warm current
and changing climate

is turning once-solid ice into slush.

[music halts abruptly]

[croaky bellowing]

[huffy harrumphing]

Walrus mothers and calves
use the biggest chunks they can find

as a floating nursery.

They have one of the closest bonds
of any Arctic animal.

[elegant, quirky music playing]

Snuggling up for warmth.

But at three years old,

some youngsters are
almost the size of their mom.

[quirky music trails off]

And this calf is no longer
the apple of her eye.

He's recently been replaced...

[cheeky, lively music playing]

...by an annoying little brother

who's hogging all her milk and affection.

[blubbering]

[walrus gurgles]

Whenever he tries to get her attention...

[loud baying]

...he's given the cold shoulder.

He has no choice but to leave home.

Females often stay in the nursery
their whole lives,

but there comes a time
when every male walrus

must leave Mom's side
in search of companionship...

and will travel
hundreds of miles to find it.

[eccentric woodwinds playing]

Every adolescent needs
some buddies their own age.

[zesty, festive music playing]

At last, a gang of mostly young,
ousted males...

who've formed a boys-only beach club.

If only they'll let him in.

[splutters]

It's smelly...

[flatulence squeaking]

...boisterous...

[harrumphs]

...and to get in,
you have to pass an initiation.

To get the warmest spot in the middle,

he'll need to find a way through
this scrum of tusks and blubber.

Room for a little one?

[walruses braying]

Time to create a distraction.

[lows]

[all bellowing]

It doesn't take much to get them going.

He might not be big enough
to fight his way in.

But he's still small enough to crowd-surf.

Ah.

Finally, he earns a prime spot...

and discovers these big brutes

are, in fact, big softies...

giving him
all the companionship he craves.

It seems male walruses can do well
in these beach haul-outs...

but moms and babies may find it harder
to adapt to the changing Arctic

as the sea ice they need for their nursery
becomes more unstable.

[distressing music playing]

Thanks to the climate crisis,

half of the Arctic summer sea ice
has been lost in the last 40 years.

Much of what remains
drifts across the ocean

at the mercy of the current,
wind, and tides.

[floes creaking ominously]

[sobering, distraught music playing]

Beneath the frozen surface,
the great current flows on,

carrying with it
seemingly delicate forms of life.

A swimming sea slug.

Also known as a sea angel.

Its translucent body reveals
tiny glowing organs.

[shimmering, ethereal music playing]

Drifting nearby...

a comb jelly refracts light
into psychedelic colors.

Surprisingly resilient
to changing sea temperatures,

new science has revealed
that comb jellies are, in fact,

the most ancient lineage
of sea creatures alive today.

For over 500 million years,

they have been
our ocean's greatest survivors.

But faced with rapid change,

most of the Arctic's residents
aren't so resilient.

[wind rushing]

This frozen lake,
500 miles north of the Arctic Circle,

hides a secret.

[mysterious music playing]

Arctic char, imprisoned by the ice.

They've evolved to survive
in both fresh and salt water.

Getting the timing right
as they move between the two

is a matter of life or death.

It's warmer here than in the Arctic Ocean,

so hundreds of char
have overwintered in the lake.

But there's little food to be had.

And after ten months of fasting,
they are starving.

The weak and hungry char
line up at the wall of ice...

[ice creaking, thumping]

...waiting for temperatures to rise

and the floodgates
to their summer feeding grounds to open.

They prepare themselves
for a return to salt water.

[bold, steady bass line pulsing]

Until at last...

the river begins to flow...

[dynamic, energetic music playing]

...reconnecting their lake to the ocean.

[music intensifying]

[grumbles]

The char reach the sea.

But in their weakened state,
the cold slows them down.

So, for a few days, they're vulnerable.

[gulls cawing]

Gulls sound the dinner bell.

The sushi belt is on the move.

[whimsical, sprightly music playing]

Char are not exactly fast food...

but they're still
surprisingly hard to catch.

[grouses]

In an ocean where you must make the most
of any opportunity,

it's a chance to feast.

[music trails off]

The char who survive the onslaught
venture beyond the river mouth

and into the path
of a much larger predator.

[sweeping, magical music playing]

Narwhal, the unicorns of the sea.

Males have a canine tooth
up to ten feet long,

with millions of nerve endings inside.

Its many uses are still being discovered.

[lively, enchanting music playing]

With pinpoint precision,
this tusker separates a single char.

But he's not trying to spear it.

He's trying to stun it.

And his persistence pays off.

This is the first time a narwhal has been
filmed hunting Arctic char using its tusk.

And he's not alone.

Other males are using the same technique.

We don't know yet
if all narwhal hunt like this,

or if these are the only ones
who have learned

to take advantage of
this brief seasonal bounty.

But this windfall may not be around
for much longer.

[distressing, eerie music playing]

The climate crisis is now heating
some coastal rivers

to over 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

A threshold beyond which
Arctic char cannot survive.

This delicate web of life is at risk.

And we may lose this Arctic spectacle

before we've even had a chance
to fully understand it.

[sweeping, majestic music playing]

Nowhere is the warming ocean current
having a bigger impact

than around a group of islands
in the high Arctic.

Svalbard.

Svalbard's climate is warming
six times faster than the global average.

This changing landscape creates
a challenge for a hungry polar bear...

who, instead of stalking the ice,
must swim to find his next meal.

[quizzical music playing]

A bearded seal.

The biggest and fattest seal
in the Arctic.

The perfect target.

Bears and seals have played
a cat-and-mouse game on the sea ice

for generations.

But as the ice melts,

the rules are changing.

[music intensifies]

[eccentric musical flourish]

[birds squawking]

He's trying to master

the art of sneaking up on your prey
from the water.

To succeed,
he'll need a stealthier approach.

[quizzical music continuing]

Nothing to see here.

But he can't resist a peek.

And now, the stalked becomes the stalker.

[plucky, eccentric music playing]

He's behind you.

The seal is showing his attacker
that he's blown it.

Time to move on.

[music trailing off]

[somber, taut music playing]

His skills are being tested.

This time, there is over 600 feet
of open water between them,

and nowhere to hide.

[suspenseful music intensifying]

To disguise himself here,

he must become invisible.

[music intensifies]

[jolting stinger]

[relieved sigh]

[plucky, eccentric music playing]

It's just not his day.

If polar bears are going to succeed
in this new, warmer world,

they'll have to perfect
this hunting strategy.

[somber, thoughtful music playing]

Dwindling sea ice
might be tough on ice specialists,

but the seasonal summer melt
is just what visiting seabirds need

to access the Arctic's riches.

Brünnich's guillemots.

The penguins of the north.

As proficient in the water
as they are in the skies.

[sparkling, lively music playing]

Their small but powerful wings
allow them to dive 650 feet,

deeper than any other flying bird.

On the 500-foot cliffs
above their feeding grounds,

this little seabird

has yet to wet her wings.

[chirrups]

She lives in one of the biggest
guillemot colonies here.

[overwhelming din]

A squawking city
of over 100,000 residents.

But not all of them
get the same start in life.

She was born at the top
of this tower block.

[warm, gentle music playing]

It might seem like
a dangerous place to raise a family,

but hers is a life of luxury.

Tucked under Dad's down duvet,
she's hidden from predators.

Mom delivers food daily,
straight to her penthouse...

[mother squawks]

...which has en suite facilities.

Below them, the neighbors
are forced to live in squalor.

So far, this privileged chick

has never had to venture
beyond the comfort of her ledge.

But at three weeks old,

the time has come
for her to spread her wings.

She must join the adults out at sea,

since food near the colony is running low.

[tense music playing]

Getting down will be
the biggest challenge of her little life.

She can't fly yet...

and the only way
to reach the water is to jump.

[cawing]

[foreboding music intensifies]

If she misses the ocean,

even by a few feet,

she'll hit the rocks below.

Beneath her,
other chicks are preparing to jump.

[squawks]

[tense music escalating]

The further the BASE jump,
the harder it seems.

Adults jump with chicks for support.

[music swells]

[thud]

[bleak music playing]

[fox growling]

Arctic foxes wait for casualties.

At the top of the colony,

the little chick faces
the scariest jump of all.

[bleak music continuing]

[squawks]

Dad jumps with her.

[music intensifies]

[muffled thud]

Her feathers cushion
the impact just enough.

But making it to the ocean
does not guarantee safety.

[grim, foreboding music playing]

A Glaucous gull...

on the lookout for stragglers.

[taut, intense music playing]

[gull cawing]

The gulls squabble...

[squawks]

...giving time for reinforcements to arrive.

[triumphant, uplifting music playing]

It's not just family
who come to the rescue.

Neighbors from high and low pile in too.

Because no matter
which ledge they're born on...

they're all in it together.

[music trails off]

The great current continues its journey
around the Arctic Ocean,

where some of the outbound current

peels off through
the Canadian archipelago.

The Northwest Passage.

[daunting, intense music playing]

A fabled sea route...

notoriously clogged by ice.

Wind and current
fracture and pile up the ice,

creating frozen pinnacles

up to 60 feet thick.

[ice creaking ponderously]

Making it impenetrable to most ships.

But one Arctic resident has their own way
of navigating this ice-clogged waterway.

[delicate, inquisitive music playing]

A beluga whale and her baby...

[echolocation trilling]

...on a long voyage to a secret spot.

These white whales are known
as the canaries of the sea.

They use a complex language,

helping calves to stay in close contact
with their mothers

as they learn to navigate the ice maze.

[echolocation trilling, clicking]

These ice-savvy whales
can swim through cracks in the sea ice.

Most would struggle to travel here.

But belugas have no dorsal fin,

an adaptation which allows them
to slide just under the ice.

The calves can hold their breath
for over eight minutes,

sipping breaths through ice holes
as they go.

[gentle, inquisitive music continuing]

At last, the whole family
makes it through,

arriving at an almost ice-free coast.

This inlet is what they've traveled
hundreds of miles to find.

The adults have been coming here
since they were calves.

And today, the newest members of the pod
are learning why it's so special.

[quirky music playing]

They follow their parents
into just six feet of water.

In summer, melting rivers feed the inlet,

making it a balmy 20 degrees Fahrenheit
warmer than the ocean.

[folksy, whimsical music playing]

It's a beluga health spa.

And the youngsters are checking out
the facilities for the first time.

Dad goes for a body scrub,

while the aunties try some aqua aerobics.

And, if you know where to look,

there are special tricks for scrubbing
those hard-to-reach places.

Mom shows her baby beluga

how to use the larger rocks
like a body loofah.

Just what she needs after months at sea.

But the family doesn't have exclusive use
of this wellness retreat.

[jaunty cabana music playing]

Other beluga pods arrive.

They're all here to exfoliate
their dead, yellowing skin

and shed parasites.

They scrub until it's gleaming white.

Even the babies learn
the importance of self-care.

At peak times, up to 2,000 gather here
to enjoy the inlet's health benefits,

creating one of the liveliest
beluga pool parties on Earth.

[joyful whale song]

Their pleasure is audible,

and can be heard below the water
for miles around.

But beluga voices are being drowned out
by a new threat.

[low, pervasive rumbling]

[loud cracking]

Noise pollution.

[ship's horn blares]

The Arctic Ocean is changing
from a quiet, icy haven

to a busy shipping highway.

Five times as many vessels are now
cutting through the Northwest Passage

than they were two decades ago.

Increased traffic is bad news for belugas...

[burst of echolocation]

...who rely heavily on their world of sound.

And they're slow to adapt to change.

Their ancient migration paths
are now in direct conflict

with the new shipping routes...

[foreboding music playing]

...increasing chances of ship strikes.

Across the Arctic, nations are racing

to stake their claim
to this final frontier,

with new industrial exploration happening
every year to meet the world's demands.

[foreboding music continuing]

Some of the world's
most valuable untapped resources

are thought to lie in the Arctic deep.

[mysterious music playing]

Technology,
like this remotely operated vehicle...

is allowing us to explore
previously uncharted depths.

Close to the North Pole,
two-and-a-half miles beneath the sea ice,

there's a primal source of heat.

A deep-sea volcano.

The furthest north ever found.

Its vents are gilded in precious metals.

It's estimated
that millions of tons of minerals,

and 90 billion barrels of oil,

lie in the Arctic deep.

[volcanic vent rumbling]

As this melting ocean
becomes easier to access,

mineral extraction,

and even deep-sea fishing,

are becoming possible.

[mysterious, fraught music playing]

The Arctic's deep-sea treasures
are still being discovered.

But they're already in great peril.

Now, we have a choice.

To exploit or protect
these incredible new discoveries.

[polar bear whuffs]

[sweeping, mysterious music playing]

In just over three years,

the global ocean current

completes its journey
through the Arctic Ocean,

coming full circle.

In early summer,

the shores of northeastern Svalbard
would normally be covered in sea ice.

But the climate crisis
has turned ice into open water.

This mom is taking
her one-year-old cubs beachcombing.

Foraging has always been
part of the bears' skill set.

But without sea ice to hunt on,
they must now increasingly rely on it.

[delicate, uneasy music playing]

When she was their age,

she would only have had to endure
up to two summer months without ice.

Now, it can be twice that or more.

Meaning long periods of famine.

So, she must teach her cubs
how to be resourceful,

searching for scraps.

[somber, distressed music playing]

Working out what's safe to eat

and what isn't.

It's confusing, even for an adult.

The current carries
plastics and pollutants to the Arctic

from neighboring oceans.

Getting tangled in the shoreline litter
can be a death sentence.

[whimpering]

But not this time.

[melancholy, somber music playing]

Other threats are inescapable.

Like chemicals from industrial pollution.

In polar bears, these chemicals accumulate

and can affect their ability to reproduce.

In the face of adversity,

this mom
and the rest of the Arctic's residents

are doing their best to survive.

[forceful, dramatic music playing]

The Arctic Ocean is no longer
the icy stronghold it once was.

Hordes of new arrivals
are following the retreating ice north.

Orca.

And humpback whales.

Creating opportunities for themselves

and competition for residents.

And, among them...

a blue whale.

[deep, resonant lowing]

The biggest animal

to have ever lived on Earth.

Nearly 100 feet long

and weighing over 150 tons.

[dramatic music continuing]

She has made this long-distance voyage

following krill that are flourishing
in the warming current.

And she's not alone.

It's the first time
Atlantic blue whales have been filmed

bringing their calves this far north,

signaling huge changes
that are already happening.

In the global climate crisis,

every Arctic resident
is on the front line.

Their survival in this precious
but fast-melting ocean

is in our hands.

Next, we voyage all the way
to the Southern Ocean.

[majestic, stirring music playing]

Isolated,

mysterious,

and bountiful.

The great current brings new challenges,

and only those tough enough...

will survive.

[growls, snarls]

[whimsical, delicate outro music playing]