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00:30Summer in the polar regions, and the sun never sets.
00:44Imagine a single day that lasts for months.
00:52Some polar animals will face great challenges as their ice world vanishes around them.
01:00Others must use this special time wisely, for summer's riches will not last.
01:22The summer is just beginning, and the increasing power of the sun is creating a spectacular
01:41new landscape.
01:46This melting ice sheet in the Arctic is 150 miles long, with a thousand waterfalls.
02:04Vast expanses of ice, that were once stone still, have come to life.
02:35The polar bear's world is melting away under the constant summer sun.
02:49As the season advances, the frozen surface of the ocean disintegrates.
02:55Soon, the ice here will have totally vanished.
03:08The polar bear family have to adapt to their rapidly changing home.
03:14For the two cubs, this is a whole new watery world.
03:24It's the first time they've seen the sea ice break up.
03:34They're only six months old, and will be dependent on their mother for another two years.
03:45They have much to learn.
03:55Their first swimming lesson, and they're not sure that they want it.
04:12For their mother, swimming is second nature.
04:19But the cubs still prefer to have ice beneath their feet whenever they can.
04:32Soon, it will be impossible to avoid the water.
04:45This lone male has lived through a dozen summers, and is perfectly at home in the sea.
04:57He can swim up to 50 miles a day.
05:02He's hungry, and he's searching this ice maze for seals.
05:17But traveling across this increasingly fragile ice scape is hard work for an animal weighing
05:24over half a ton.
05:39It's also harder to hunt when you have to swim.
05:43In open water, the odds are in the seals' favor.
06:07Lean months lie ahead for the polar bears.
06:10They will have to adopt new hunting strategies, or risk starvation.
06:21The northern part of the earth is now tilting towards the sun.
06:25And all around the Arctic, the sea ice continues its retreat.
06:39The last remnants of the ice world drift with the wind and the tides.
07:05The sun's heat may be gentle at these latitudes, but it is continuous for 24 hours a day.
07:12And it carves the ice into magical shapes.
07:32Those that need ice have to visit the glacier fronts to find it.
07:42A comfortable bed is hard to come by.
07:55A polar bear's fur is so dense that water is easily shaken off.
08:06And ice absorbs water like a towel.
08:31That's better.
08:36There's now little chance of catching seals, and this bear may not eat again until the
08:41end of summer.
08:47It's better to save energy and doze in the sun.
09:01The warmth of the sun's rays is now bringing the Arctic lands back to life.
10:01Red phalaropes, they've flown all the way from the tropics to feed in these rich Arctic
10:12waters.
10:13They stir up the tiny creatures that are now flourishing here with a special spinning dance.
10:26All excellent fuel as they hurry to rear the next generation.
10:34The Arctic terns have made an even longer journey to breed here.
10:39They have flown 11,000 miles from the Antarctic.
10:45Their newly hatched chicks will need to grow fast if they're to accompany their parents
10:50when they return south in only six weeks' time.
10:58An eider duck has chosen to nest in the centre of the tern colony, hardly a tranquil place
11:04to raise your young.
11:09But the noisy neighbours have a feisty attitude to life, and that can be very valuable.
11:18A hungry bear, looking for a meal, can destroy hundreds of nests in a single raid.
11:35Defensive squadrons of terns take off immediately.
11:47Beaks stab down from above.
11:49The bear has nothing in his armoury that can cope with this.
12:09The terns have drawn blood from his muzzle.
12:22He leaves in search of an easier meal.
12:29The eiders survive thanks to their choice of neighbours.
12:41And the ducklings begin their sprint to maturity.
12:48Fishing continues around the clock as the terns race to rear their young before the
12:53return of the frees.
13:05So the rich waters of summer fuel the breeding of all these visitors and enable them to build
13:11up the reserves they will need for the long return journey south.
13:29In land, the winter snows have gone, revealing a vast treeless wilderness.
13:42The male snowy owl is finding plenty of lemmings to bring to his mate.
13:52But they're not just for her.
14:02She is brooding their rather scruffy young.
14:08She tears the meal into beak-sized chunks that the owlets can swallow whole.
14:13Each of them can eat two lemmings a day.
14:26The male has no time to rest.
14:29Over the course of the summer, he will have to provide his family with over a thousand
14:33lemmings.
14:38The hungry owlets keep the adults working around the clock.
14:45The arctic summer may be short, but the days are long.
14:51Everyone must take advantage of the 24-hour daylight, none more so than the owl's tiny
14:57neighbours, the Lapland buntings.
15:15Both parents feed their growing family continuously.
15:29A mere ten days after hatching and they will all have left in record time.
15:39The last needs a little encouragement.
15:51The owlets have also left their nest and turned into football-sized balls of fluff,
15:57but they still depend on their parents for food and protection.
16:07Their mother's talons are her best weapons.
16:36The owlets are dangerously exposed out on the tundra, so they must hurry to change from
16:41balls of fluff to fully feathered adults, and to do that they need more lemmings.
16:58A lemming doesn't last long these days.
17:10Days are harder for the wolves here in the high arctic.
17:30The cubs are now six weeks old and increasingly hungry.
17:46The adults have to struggle to feed their growing family.
17:56Somewhere on this vast expanse of tundra there must be larger prey.
18:14Musk oxen are on the move.
18:24They're heading into the valleys where the brief summer rains will produce fresh grazing.
18:41This is an opportunity that must be seized, even if it means traveling 80 miles in a day.
18:56Their task is a formidable one.
19:01Musk oxen are immensely powerful, and their sharp horns can kill.
19:16A heavily armored bull would be an unwise choice.
19:21Even two wolves would find it a struggle to bring it down.
19:32A calf.
19:48Much easier.
19:58The two wolves work together to split the herd and isolate their victim.
20:23It seems that the wolf cubs will at last eat well.
20:32But the herd regroups.
20:42The cavalry ride to the rescue.
20:50The whole herd encircles the calf with a protective wall of horns.
21:00For the musk oxen, it's all for one and one for all.
21:18For the wolves, another attack would be not only futile, but dangerous.
21:27They have spent a lot of energy and have nothing whatever to show for it.
21:46The failure will be felt most keenly back at the den.
22:03They have nothing to take back to the family.
22:27The pack are forced to move on in search of better hunting.
22:37They must find something soon in this vast wilderness to feed their growing family.
22:46The brief arctic summer is almost over.
23:08At the southern end of the planet, the long summer days transform life, just as they do
23:14in the north.
23:15But the cast here is very different.
23:27King penguins.
23:29A parent, returning with food, must recognize its chick's call amongst a chorus of 400,000 birds.
23:59Huge colonies like this one are found all along the north coast of South Georgia.
24:11King penguins are active throughout the long summer days, so they have to deal with an
24:17uncharacteristic polar problem.
24:29By midday, the temperature can reach a sizzling 17 degrees centigrade.
24:39Any effort can lead to overheating.
24:42It's best not to overexert oneself.
24:48The heavily insulated penguins stretch out so their naked feet can cool in the breeze.
25:07Their gigantic neighbors use a different approach.
25:11Wet sand cools the backs of these elephant seals and also acts as a sunscreen.
25:27The chicks in their downy coats that have kept them warm all winter are in even greater
25:32danger of overheating.
25:51It will be two months before they can swim properly, but a dip in the shallow river brings
25:56a little relief.
26:16There is, however, another way to cool the blood.
26:24This murky pool has become a penguin spa.
26:36It's a great way to cool the feet, but there is no reason to stop there.
26:41You can indulge yourself with the full treatment.
27:00Glorious mud.
27:16For the fully feathered adults, there's a cleaner, more invigorating option.
27:26The bracing waters of the Southern Ocean.
28:26The hundred-mile-long island of South Georgia lies on the northern fringe of Antarctica.
28:48Ice-free all year, its rich coastal waters make it a popular breeding destination for
28:54all beach lovers.
29:05In summer, 95% of the world's population of Antarctic fur seals come here.
29:13Packed tightly together, they form one of the densest gatherings of marine mammals on
29:18Earth.
29:23The island's beaches are filling fast and will soon be crammed with five million of
29:28these summer visitors.
29:33Space is at a premium, as every female needs a dry patch of sand the size of a beach towel
29:39for herself.
29:48For good reason.
29:56Virtually all of them give birth within just ten days.
30:14It's crucial to establish a strong bond with your baby in such a crowded colony.
30:28The pups grow quickly on rich, high-fat milk.
30:42After giving birth, the females are ready to mate, so each male guards up to 15 of them
30:48in his small patch of beach.
30:51A bull may only hold a territory for one season in his entire life, so when a challenger arrives,
31:00he will risk everything to retain it.
31:30Their sharp teeth inflict terrible injuries.
31:55Many bulls die from exhaustion after these fights.
32:04In the heat of the battle, the pups are also in real danger.
32:25The defeated bull makes his escape, but the colony still suffers from the side effects
32:30of the battle.
32:40Many of the pups get lost in the violence and confusion.
33:01This time, there is a happy ending.
33:28As summer progresses, even more of the southern ocean is gradually opening up.
33:47The summer melt, as it moves south, arrives first at the Antarctic Peninsula, the most
33:53northern tip of the continent.
33:59As the ice retreats, a dramatic 500-mile-long coastline is revealed, for the first time
34:06in seven months.
34:14This new seascape is home to one of the most numerous mammals on the planet.
34:23Abita seals, over 15 million live here amongst the drifting ice flows.
34:40They owe their existence here to living organisms so small you might hardly notice them.
34:48The underside of the sea ice is stained by algae.
34:54These microscopic plants support the most important Antarctic creatures of all.
35:02Krill.
35:05They have been grazing on the algal layer throughout the winter.
35:10As the ice melts, more of the algae are released into the water.
35:18Both algae and krill flourish in the summer sun.
35:28The krill collect the algae in the sieve-like basket formed by the interlocking hairs between
35:34their front legs.
35:45There are 300 million tons of krill in the Southern Ocean, with a greater combined weight
35:52than that of any other animal on the planet.
36:01Almost all the animals of the Antarctic depend on krill, including its giants, humpback whales.
36:21They drive the krill to the surface and then strain it from the water with the baleen sieves
36:28in their mouths.
36:47Humpbacks often feed in teams, so the overspill from one huge mouth can be collected by another
36:53just behind them.
37:06The
37:30abundance of krill attracts other visitors to the peninsula in the summer.
37:38Antarctic minke whales.
37:41Their pointed heads and short dorsal fins give them speed and endurance.
37:54And they need both.
38:03There are other whales here, too, killers.
38:16This is an extended family of mothers and their young, and a male with a huge dorsal
38:25fin almost two meters high.
38:39A lone minke whale.
38:47It's just what this group of killer whales are looking for.
38:54Working as a team, as they have done for decades, they fan out across the strait in search of
39:00their quarry.
39:04And they've found it.
39:14The minke races away, pursued by outriders on each flank.
39:31Terrified, the minke heads for the shore.
39:52But so desperate to escape, it almost beaches itself.
40:06It makes a desperate break for freedom.
40:18Two hours and 20 miles later, the minke is still alive and swimming strongly.
40:26Its only real defense is its endurance.
40:29But the killers work as a team, with fresh ones replacing the outriders in relays.
40:48And as the minke tires, the battering and the biting begins.
41:07Outriders are attracted by the smell of fresh blood rising from the water.
41:30The killers try to flip the minke over.
41:33If they can manage to keep its blowhole underwater, it will drown.
41:42One forces the minke's whole body down below the surface.
42:02And then, the final strike.
42:09The team drag the minke under for the last time, and the hunters finally can feed.
42:33As the summer advances, the most southerly stretches of the Antarctic Ocean are released
42:39from the ice.
42:49A daily penguins have been feeding in the open ocean.
43:05The most southerly of all penguins, they're returning to the Antarctic continent with
43:10stomachs full of krill.
43:40The sea ice has finally retreated all the way back to the beach.
44:10So the walk back to the colony is as short as it will ever be.
44:15Crucial for the half-million penguins here, who are hurrying to raise their chicks before
44:20the freeze returns.
44:25Most of the pairs have two chicks to care for.
44:32Each chick requires nearly 30 kilograms of food before it's fully grown.
44:41Most of their catch is krill, and a daily penguins consume a staggering one and a half
44:47million tons of it a year.
44:57There are no land-based predators in Antarctica.
45:04The threat here comes from the skies.
45:18A South Polar skewer.
45:39An unguarded chick is an easy catch.
46:10Nothing can save the chick now.
46:32Now the parents can focus all their attention on the second.
46:57Only half of these chicks will survive to adulthood, but there are thousands more parents
47:03with young in this huge colony.
47:09Parents that cannot rest, for their young must be fit and strong if they're to survive
47:14the dangers that autumn will bring.
47:44In summer, the frozen oceans melt and the polar animals disperse to feed amongst the
47:59broken ice.
48:02So even finding them in this vast expanse of sea and drifting ice flows wouldn't be
48:07easy.
48:14In the Arctic, the aim was to get close to a polar bear family and film them in this
48:19fast-melting world.
48:24Firstly, the team had to use a ship capable of breaking through the pack ice around the
48:332,000-mile-long coastline of Svalbard.
48:40Producer Miles Barton and cameraman Ted Giffords are checking out fjords known to be frequented
48:46by bears.
48:47We've just seen a bear that was walking around in front of a glacier over there.
48:53We've just arrived, so this is a kind of a test more than anything, but we're going to
48:56go and see if we can film it.
48:59We're seeing how smoothly we can make this operation work.
49:06The plan is that the team's stabilised aerial camera, now fitted to the speedboat, will
49:21give perfectly stable shots of the bear swimming.
49:26Spin this around, we'll lose it.
49:28The fellow's over here, yeah?
49:29Yeah.
49:30Oh, he's got him, he's got him, yeah.
49:31I can't get any tighter.
49:32Can you shoot it?
49:37Whee!
49:41That's nice.
49:42Look at the light.
49:43That's nice.
49:44Nice sparkle, nice liquid look.
49:45We'll let him go.
49:46Okay, cut.
49:48After their initial success, the weather takes a turn for the worse.
49:59For five days, there are no more polar bears to be found.
50:05The captain decides to take a break and parks up in the pack ice.
50:13But after all that fruitless searching by the crew, a bear visits them.
50:22A large and inquisitive adult male.
50:32So, the team decides to follow him.
50:36The open water between boat and bear means the crew can safely film from surprisingly
50:43close range without disturbing him.
50:46That's nice.
50:47Look.
50:51The bear is so relaxed, he even begins to hunt right alongside them.
50:57He's looking for a seal inside.
51:00He's just completely ignoring us.
51:03Just hold it there.
51:04Just hold it there for a minute.
51:06He's going to climb up.
51:13That's a big bear.
51:19That's pretty good.
51:20Pretty good.
51:22The closest we've been to a polar bear so far.
51:26Despite this remarkably close encounter, the team still wants to film a family of bears.
51:40There's good news on the radio.
51:42Oh, there's a cub. Yeah, I've seen the cubs.
51:46They're looking straight at us. Look at that.
51:49That's amazing.
51:51As the mother looks distinctly hungry, they will need to keep at least 15 feet of open
51:56water between her and the boat.
52:00Have a good look at this.
52:03Oh, look at them. Look at the cubs.
52:05Yeah.
52:12Jason, you just go when you need to.
52:18Bloody hell.
52:21Mother bears are always desperate for food for their cubs, so the crew could be the perfect supper.
52:29She's going in.
52:30She's going to come in the water with us.
52:33The 15 foot gap was just enough.
52:36That was amazing.
52:39That's fantastic.
52:48Do you want to get a close up of the cubs?
52:50Still rolling.
52:51Yeah, that's cute.
52:52She's going in the water.
52:55Stay with the cubs.
52:58Give the cubs a nice splash.
53:03Go on, cubs. Yeah.
53:06Well done. Well done.
53:09Great stuff.
53:12She looked like she wanted to get in the boat once or twice.
53:17Sometimes it's quite shocking to actually look up from the monitor and realise they're
53:20about 15 feet away from you.
53:23But a lovely family group.
53:29The boat-based camera has helped to get remarkably close shots of the bear family, but how would
53:34it cope in the more extreme conditions of the southern ocean?
53:48Another frozen planet team headed south.
53:51The plan is to use the same camera system to film the hunting strategy of the most spectacular
53:56marine predators in Antarctica.
54:01Killer whales.
54:05The team enlisted the help of scientists Bob Pittman and John Durbin.
54:10They had put satellite tags on the whales and so could locate them for the camera team.
54:18Doug Allen operates the camera rig from the wheelhouse, while Doug Anderson films from
54:24the deck.
54:26Yeah, there. See it?
54:28It just surfaced right with them.
54:30OK, there's a killer whale at 11 o'clock, about 200 metres, heading towards those two
54:34seals on the float.
54:36OK, good.
54:37This could be really good.
54:39At last, having tracked the group for several days, the whales look as if they are about
54:44to hunt.
54:46Yeah, they're going to go in for it.
54:51They're going.
54:54Four whales here.
54:57Two adult females, a juvenile and a big adult male.
55:02Swimming in formation, the killers create a wave to wash the seal off the flow.
55:08Still pretty intense.
55:10Oh, another wave.
55:12Nice wave.
55:14Wow.
55:17Yeah, he's in the water.
55:19Having successfully filmed several hunts with the boat-based cameras from above, the team
55:24are keen to see what's happening underwater.
55:29Only one way to find out.
55:35Time to launch the dinghy.
55:38OK.
55:45Doug Anderson approaches the seal and the killers with an underwater camera mounted
55:50on a pole.
56:00For the first time, the team can see how the whales create the killer wave.
56:06There it is.
56:11The underwater camera also reveals surprisingly cautious behaviour by the whales.
56:17They seem wary of being bitten by the much smaller seal.
56:22And they even blow bubbles to confuse it.
56:26They're so cautious with the seals.
56:28You know, at the end of the day, the seal's got a big mouth full of teeth and these whales
56:32just don't take risks.
56:37Ah.
56:43Having dealt with the seal, the whales turn their attention to the dinghy.
56:49First, they get right up close for a better look at Doug.
57:00Then they line up to create the kind of wave that washed the seal off the flow.
57:05Ooh.
57:09For a moment, the crew get an uncomfortably close seal's eye view of this remarkable
57:14hunting strategy.
57:21Ah, look.
57:23See that, Bob?
57:24The tube is making waves.
57:27It's a great feeling being there, being so close to the behaviour, actually having the
57:32water coming into the boat.
57:34From our point of view, you know, it's all about trying to get the feeling of being with
57:38these whales and with these whales, there's no bother with that because they're so confident.
57:43They just want to be all around you and checking you out.
57:46I mean, I can't imagine that I'm going to have another experience like this in my career.
57:50You know, these come along rarely and you just feel happy and lucky when they do come.
57:57You just don't get better days than that.