Category
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AnimalsTranscript
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00:35Over one-third of our planet is frozen,
00:38and yet the icy worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic
00:42are as alien to most of us as the surface of another planet.
00:46♪♪
00:49They are places of superlatives,
00:52from ice caps that hold nearly 80% of our planet's fresh water
00:57to frozen forests that encircle the entire globe.
01:02♪♪
01:05These are places that feed our imaginations,
01:08places that seem to be borrowed from fairy tales.
01:13They're dominated and shaped by the ice,
01:18by its coming and by its going.
01:21♪♪
01:24This is our planet's last true wilderness,
01:28and one that is changing just as we're beginning to understand it.
01:32♪♪
01:35In this series, we'll be traveling to all parts of these lonely lands,
01:39both north and south,
01:41to witness its wonders, perhaps for the last time,
01:44and to discover some extraordinary examples
01:47of survival against all the odds,
01:50as can be found anywhere on the planet.
01:53♪♪
02:15The poles are permanently capped with ice.
02:20Nowhere is colder, windier, or more hostile to life.
02:29I'm standing at the North Pole, the very top of the Earth.
02:35Up here, it's easy to see why the polar regions are so cold.
02:41The sun never rises high enough in the sky to warm my back,
02:47and those rays that do strike the surface
02:50are mostly reflected back from this great whiteness.
02:55But the fundamental problem
02:58is that there's no sun here at all for half the year.
03:04The polar winter is unrivaled in its harshness,
03:08a night that lasts for months.
03:12Only the toughest stay,
03:14as temperatures plunge to minus 70 degrees centigrade.
03:18And yet, the greatest challenge to life here is not the cold,
03:23but the extreme swings between the seasons.
03:28When the sun finally returns,
03:31an extraordinary transformation begins.
03:35This frozen world begins to melt away.
03:43The polar spring brings a brief opportunity for life.
03:50By summer, the sun no longer sets and works its magic for 24 hours a day.
03:57Now it's a race to breed before the sun departs.
04:06By autumn, all but the hardiest abandon the poles,
04:10and the ice extends its grip.
04:19Land and sea close down for the long polar winter.
04:27Until, once again, the sun returns.
04:38It's spring in the high Arctic,
04:40and the sun illuminates a giant frozen ocean,
04:44the first stop on our journey.
04:50The most powerful land predator is on the prowl.
04:57A male polar bear is searching for a mate.
05:05Willing females are few and far between,
05:08and the sea ice on which he travels will soon melt and vanish.
05:15He's running out of time to find a mate in this vast frozen desert.
05:27Ten miles ahead, a single female without cubs.
05:32Exactly what the male is seeking.
05:38He seems to relish her scent, even though she's miles away.
05:44This is an exciting prospect.
05:47She's clearly giving off the right signals.
05:53He locks onto her tracks, eager not to lose her trail.
05:57It's easier to tread in the compacted snow of her footprints.
06:02This pursuit could last for days.
06:07The male polar bear is on the prowl.
06:10He's looking for a mate.
06:12The female eventually comes into view.
06:16The search is finally over.
06:43For the female only half his weight, this must be a nerve-wracking encounter.
06:49The male could kill her if he chooses.
06:55But he has other intentions.
06:59And she is ready and willing.
07:04She leads him to higher ground.
07:13It seems that courting polar bears prefer privacy.
07:17Often leaving the sea ice and heading for the hills
07:20to avoid the prying eyes of rival males who might disturb them.
07:28Few have witnessed this moment.
07:32For the male, his only tender encounter in an otherwise solitary life.
07:42But it doesn't last long.
07:44A rival suitor has also caught the female's scent.
07:50Courtship has to be put on hold.
07:52He must fight for his rights.
08:05He sees off this first challenger without injury to either party.
08:09But bloodier battles are to come.
08:40Another battle won.
08:42Though he has been slightly injured.
08:45He hurries back to his mate.
08:47But now she seems to have lost her enthusiasm.
08:52Female polar bears are high maintenance.
09:10Wherever she goes, he will follow.
09:13Mating with her when she allows and guarding her at all times.
09:30Over the next two weeks, the male sees off many rivals.
09:34But the battles take their toll on him.
09:40He is almost spent.
09:42But he has ensured that no other bears have mated with his female.
09:52It's time for the couple to go their separate ways.
09:56She will give birth to his cubs alone in nine months' time.
10:01And he may never see her again.
10:04He returns to the frozen ocean, no doubt relieved to resume his solitary ways.
10:10And just in time.
10:12The ice beneath his feet will soon be gone.
10:19Each spring, the Arctic Ocean undergoes an extraordinary transformation.
10:25An area of sea ice the size of Europe melts, exposing the rich ocean.
10:32Short-tail shearwaters have travelled 10,000 miles from Australia to be here.
10:4618 million visitors darken the skies, the largest gathering of seabirds on the planet.
10:53Humpback whales have come all the way from the equator to feed in these rich polar waters.
11:10The Arctic Ocean is a place of abundance and abundance.
11:15They've come all the way from the equator to feed in these rich polar waters.
11:27Their giant tails are five metres across.
11:33Simply raising them above the surface gives the whales enough downward momentum to reach the great swarms of prill and herring below.
11:46The shearwaters follow the giant's lead.
11:50For those who feel that there is no place like home,
11:53the Arctic Ocean is one of the most beautiful places to visit.
12:11For those who feel that there is no place like home,
12:15the Arctic Ocean is one of the most beautiful places to visit.
12:19For those who can get here in summer, these waters provide a feast of epic proportions.
12:26But the good times will be very short, a problem that faces all life in the polar regions.
12:36Journeying south across the Arctic Ocean, the first land you reach is Greenland, the
12:41largest island in the world.
12:45Despite its name, Greenland is mostly white, covered by a jar dye sheet six times the size
12:51of the United Kingdom.
12:57In the middle of the island, the ice is nearly two miles thick.
13:01It's a bleak, quiet world.
13:10Sapphire blue melt lakes are the first sign that a dynamic process is underway.
13:20Each lake forms in a matter of days, expanding until it's miles across and starts to overflow.
13:29That spillwater then carves its way through the ice.
13:45The water courses through an icy delta like blood along the arteries of a cold-blooded
13:50monster, a monster that is stirring.
14:07And without warning, the water suddenly plunges down an open shaft, falling a vertical mile
14:13into the heart of the ice sheet.
14:40This meltwater has a surprising effect.
14:44It lubricates the junction between the ice and the rock floor beneath, so the entire
14:50ice sheet is now on the move, sliding downhill into the ocean.
14:58This Jakobshavn Isbrae is the fastest flowing glacier on our planet, moving as much as 40
15:05meters a day.
15:10As it advances, it destroys everything in its path, even cutting its way through Greenland's
15:16great mountain ranges on its drive downwards towards the sea.
15:24When speeded up, these solid rivers of ice seem to flow just like liquid rivers.
15:36Ice is the titanic force that cuts down mountains and levels the surface of continents.
16:01The ice is now entering the last stage of its descent.
16:07As it gains speed, huge crevasses open that extend down to its very core.
16:19It's reached the ocean and millions of tons of ice have lost the support of their rocky
16:24bed.
16:29Something must give.
16:51These icefalls are an ominous sign of what is about to happen.
16:57A rupture deep within the glacier.
17:27A colossal iceberg is born.
17:54This single block of ice, many hundreds of meters across, would dwarf the biggest of
17:59mankind's buildings.
18:09Every year, tens of thousands of icebergs are spawned by Greenland's glaciers and their
18:15number is steadily increasing as the climate continues to warm.
18:30The breakup of the bergs fills the bays of the Arctic with exquisite ice sculptures.
18:38It also releases great volumes of cold, fresh water into the sea.
18:45Greenland's meltwater influences the course of the ocean currents, which in turn has an
18:50effect on the weather around the world.
19:02The Arctic is closer to home than many of us realize.
19:06It includes the northernmost parts of the three continents on which most of us live.
19:12Europe, Asia and North America.
19:17The first bare land we reach on our journey south is a bleak treeless wilderness known
19:23as tundra.
19:27Each spring, animals travel up from the south to be ready for the rich grazing that will
19:33be unveiled by the spring melt.
19:37For the caribou, the timing is critical.
19:39Leave early and a winter storm could kill you.
19:42Delay too long and you may fail to lay down the fat needed to survive a polar winter.
19:57Further south still and stooped shrouded figures end the flat monotony of the tundra.
20:07This is the tree line, the first place on our journey with sufficient warmth and liquid
20:12water to enable a tree to grow.
20:18Surviving here is so crushingly difficult that it can take hundreds of years for a seedling
20:23to grow into a stunted shrub.
20:34But even small trees can provide cover for a predator.
20:40Wolves.
20:42These in northern Canada are the largest and most powerful in the world and they're setting
20:47out to hunt.
20:52The pack is 25 strong, a sign that the prey they're seeking is formidable.
21:05These bison are even bigger than their southern cousins and the largest land animals in North
21:12America.
21:14For generations, wolves and bison here have been shaped by their battles with each other,
21:20making each the most impressive of its kind.
21:25The bison will not stay long among the trees, they're not safe here.
21:36The wolves are closing in, but their chance of ambushing the bison in the woods has passed.
21:42Their prey are now in the open and grouped together for safety.
21:49The wolves will need to work as a team if they're to make a kill.
21:57They circle the herd, trying to unsettle it and split it up.
22:01But the bison are armed and dangerous, they will be safe as long as they stick together.
22:12The wolves up their game, harrying the herd, a ploy to trigger a stampede and split away
22:18one of the smaller ones.
22:22The bison form a defensive circle around their young, horns pointing outwards.
22:33The wolves need a bison to break rank.
22:42But the tables are turning, and now the wolves have to retreat.
22:50The pack focus their attention on the rear of the herd, and the bison begin to panic.
23:12A young bison falls behind.
23:38This yearling dwarfs the wolves.
23:49Running head down, the herd's only thought is escape.
23:57A stroke of luck for the wolves.
24:13The kill will feed the pack for several days, but then they will have to resume the chase.
24:20At the frozen ends of our planet, the struggle for survival never eases.
24:36South of the treeline, the winters are shorter, so trees grow faster and taller, and forests
24:43begin to appear.
24:46As the warm, humid air from the south meets the cold arctic air, the moisture it carries
24:52crystallizes and snowflakes fall from the sky.
25:00Each crystal forms around a particle of dust.
25:09All have a six-fold symmetry, but no two have ever been found with exactly the same shape.
25:24Their variety and complexity is breathtaking.
25:33Each snowflake is water waiting to be released in spring.
25:38For this reason, snow is the lifeblood of these silent forests, and all that live here
25:44depend on it in one way or another.
25:53Some, like the great grey owl, appear in spring for the boom times, then vanish like phantoms.
26:05Others, like their lemming prey, are here year-round beneath the snow, insulated from
26:11the cold air above.
26:33The northern forests are a crossroads for seasonal visitors and arctic specialists.
26:41But they are so much more than this.
26:43Together they make up the taiga, an unbroken belt of forest that stretches 7,000 miles
26:49around our planet and contains one-third of all the trees on earth.
27:05The taiga forest marks the end of our journey through the arctic, from the frozen ocean
27:10down across the lands that surround it.
27:22The other end of our planet, the Antarctic, is starkly different.
27:28A frozen continent completely surrounded by ocean.
27:33Icebergs here are so large that they're measured in miles, not meters.
27:40They're the only obstacles in the path of giant waves which circle around the continent
27:44unchecked by other lands.
28:01The seas may be cold and storm-wracked, but they're bursting with life.
28:31No bird is more at home in water, and they are masterful surfers.
28:47Penguins are found only in the southern hemisphere.
28:52They can't fly, but they don't need to.
28:56There are no polar bears here.
29:07These are Gentoo penguins.
29:10Each spring they come ashore to lay their eggs and rear their young.
29:14Their hungry chicks demand so much seafood that both parents have to go fishing.
29:25And fishing can be dangerous.
29:43A southern sea lion.
29:50It uses the speed of a breaking wave to catch up with the Gentoos.
30:10Sea lions normally eat fish, so he's used to catching streamlined swimmers.
30:16But the Gentoo seem more than his match out at sea.
30:19He must change tactics.
30:26Perhaps it will be easier in the shallows.
30:49But no, it seems penguins are uncatchable in water.
31:00How about on land?
31:04The penguins' wings, so powerful for swimming, are of no help when it comes to running.
31:09Now surely the sea lion has a chance.
31:17But on the beach, both are like fish out of water.
31:44Rarely do hunter and hunted play their roles with so little skill.
31:48The outcome is anyone's guess.
32:14Every summer, over 40 million penguins take to the southern ocean to feed.
32:36They're joined by thousands of whales.
32:41And of course, minkes are the most numerous.
32:46They all come here to harvest the richest ocean on earth.
32:53And on south, we get our first glimpse of the frozen continent.
33:12Southern humpbacks, after travelling 4,000 miles from the equator,
33:17are finally arriving in Antarctica.
33:25Humans have long felt the lure of this mysterious world.
33:29Yet it was only 100 years ago that the first explorers walked inland
33:34and were confronted by the highest, driest, and coldest territory on earth.
33:44Every year, the continent is transformed as the sea ice that surrounds it begins to disappear.
34:00This melt halves the size of Antarctica.
34:05It's the most spectacular seasonal change occurring anywhere on our planet.
34:15The remnants of the sea ice are occupied by sunbathing seals that have been here all winter.
34:24But new arrivals are following the retreating ice edge, and they have come here to hunt.
34:38Killer whales, the ocean's top predator.
34:43Killers are like wolves, for they will hunt animals far larger than themselves.
34:48But even smaller prey are a problem if you can't reach them.
34:57The solution is teamwork.
35:02Swimming in perfect formation, they flick their tails in unison and create a wave that cracks the ice.
35:17They regroup and assess the damage.
35:20A more powerful wave is needed.
35:28The ice flow is breaking up.
35:32Now they are close enough to get a good look at their target.
35:36The seal is a crab eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
35:40Not their favorite.
35:45The wolves of the sea move on in search of easier quarry.
35:54A weddle seal, that's better.
35:58These are more docile and easier to tackle.
36:03The pod stays close together and travels silently.
36:10This time they unleash a far more powerful wave, and with astonishing accuracy.
36:23These big waves are not intended to break the ice, but to knock the prey into the water.
36:28And they rarely fail.
36:58The seal is now where the killers want it.
37:18But the hunt is far from over.
37:24They need to grab their prey by the tail while avoiding its snapping jaws.
37:30Only then will they be able to pull it down and drown it.
37:37Side swipes create violent underwater turbulence, a new tactic.
37:49Blowing bubbles gives cover for others to lunge at the seal's tail.
38:02Somehow the seal manages to reach a tiny ice flow.
38:11The killers could easily grab it, but now this seems to have become a game.
38:18The seal's life hangs on a roll of the ice.
38:34Yet again, the pod joins forces to dislodge the seal.
38:56The seal sees a chance to escape.
39:03Exhausted, it no longer has the energy to pull itself to safety.
39:08And the killers are moving in.
39:19Game over.
39:32Although such team hunts are rarely seen,
39:36scientists believe they may be the most complex ever documented in the natural world.
39:41They were first witnessed by Captain Scott and his men
39:45when they came to explore Antarctica 100 years ago.
39:52Journeying further south, the fragmenting ice is replaced by a permanent sheet
39:58that doesn't melt even at the height of summer.
40:02It's a barrier that many creatures find impossible.
40:08It repels even powerful minky whales.
40:11They have to turn back if they can no longer reach the air they need to breathe.
40:23Under the ice, life has to be extremely specialized to survive.
40:31Few of us will ever experience this strangely still world.
40:36And as yet, no one knows much about it.
40:44The crystalline surface of the ice stalactites
40:47provides a home for ice fish whose bodies are full of antifreeze.
40:57The sealing of ice shields those living below it
41:00from the violent polar weather that rages above.
41:04Little here has changed for millions of years.
41:10The cold allows animals to grow very slowly and become giants.
41:31A relative of the woodlouse is the size of a dinner plate.
41:38And this so-called sea spider has legs that span half a meter.
41:46Now, explorers are revealing other worlds that lie hidden beneath the ice on land.
41:55These smoking towers are the gateway to a network of caves.
42:03Each contains an extraordinary assembly of ice crystals, unlike any other on Earth.
42:17Like snowflakes, every crystal is unique.
42:23Some are taller than a man.
42:28Others are thought to harbor life,
42:30seeded by strange bacteria that thrive in these extreme conditions.
42:37The breeze that gently sways these crystals is responsible for making them.
42:42It's steam from the molten heart of Mount Erebus,
42:46the most southerly volcano on our planet.
42:58It's now thought that the ice caves fringing this crater
43:02may even be a home for hitherto unknown life forms.
43:11From this oasis of warmth at the edge of the continent,
43:14our journey continues inland towards the South Pole.
43:19The first great hurdle is the formidable transantarctic mountain range.
43:26We're following the route taken by Scott and Amundsen
43:30as they struggle to become the first humans to reach the South Pole.
43:40They were traveling on foot,
43:42and their first sight of these mountains must have been daunting indeed.
43:46In front of them stretched one of the world's longest ranges,
43:50spanning 2,000 miles from one side of the continent to the other.
43:55The winds up here are the fastest on Earth.
43:59They reach speeds of 200 miles an hour.
44:05An ice-capped mountain bears the scars of the gales,
44:09bizarre sculptures carved from solid ice.
44:14It's not only the ice that yields.
44:18This sculptured spire is the remnant of a mountain
44:22eroded from all sides by the ferocious elements.
44:29Beyond the ice-capped mountain range,
44:32there's a mountain range of ice-capped caves.
44:37It's eroded from all sides by the ferocious elements.
44:44Beyond, a wholly unexpected landscape, the dry valleys.
44:56Only 1% of Antarctica is free of ice,
44:59and most of that bare rock is here.
45:07The dry valleys are more like the surface of Mars
45:11than is any other place on Earth.
45:22The floor is covered with extraordinary natural sculptures
45:26created by the same winds that help to keep these valleys free of snow.
45:32Over time, entire boulders are weathered from the inside out
45:37until just a shell remains.
45:45At the head of these valleys, ice is making a breakthrough.
45:52Millions of tonnes are tumbling in slow motion into the valley.
46:02These ice blocks are the size of skyscrapers.
46:16And this is the Beardmore Glacier,
46:19which Scott and his men somehow traversed on foot.
46:24It's over 100 miles long
46:26and one of the largest glaciers on Earth.
46:35But nothing could have prepared those early explorers
46:38for what they were about to encounter.
46:42The Antarctic Ice Cap,
46:44the largest expanse of ice on the planet.
46:49It's three miles thick in places
46:51and imprisons 70% of the world's fresh water.
46:59From here, it's a long way to the Antarctic.
47:03It's three miles thick in places
47:05and imprisons 70% of the world's fresh water.
47:13From here to the South Pole, 700 miles away,
47:17there is nothing but ice.
47:20I'm at the South Pole at the end of my journey.
47:25Although it's midsummer,
47:28the temperature here is a bone-chilling 35 degrees below freezing.
47:34It's exactly 100 years, almost to the day,
47:38that the first human being stood right here.
47:42It's exactly 100 years, almost to the day,
47:46that the first human being stood right here.
47:50Amundsen followed by Scott.
47:53In those days, reaching the poles
47:56was regarded as the ultimate in human endeavour and endurance
48:01and a source of great national pride.
48:05Today, the polar regions have a rather different significance
48:10because now we've come to understand
48:13that what happens here and in the North
48:16affects every one of us,
48:18no matter where we live on this planet.
48:40BELL RINGS
48:50The greatest challenge for the team making Frozen Planet
48:54was the extreme remoteness of their locations.
48:57Many of the shoots lasted months at a time
49:00and needed a number of crews to join forces.
49:04One location that would require such siege tactics
49:08was Mount Erebus, Antarctica's most active volcano.
49:12This magical mountain does not give up her secrets easily.
49:22To capture the full story of Mount Erebus from top to bottom
49:27required four different film crews.
49:31The cave team has dropped off at 12,000 feet,
49:35close to the crater.
49:40In howling winds and thin oxygen,
49:43their challenge is to find a way into the volcano itself.
49:47They are venturing into the unknown.
49:50Somewhere below are spectacular ice caves
49:54melted out by volcanic steam.
49:57Getting the team safely underground
50:00is a relief for director Chadman Hunter.
50:03Excellent. It's a lot warmer down here.
50:05It's freezing up there. Minus 29.
50:08With him is cameraman Gavin Thurston.
50:11You sort of forget being in here.
50:13You are actually inside a volcano.
50:16Above us, and below us, there's bubbling lava
50:19and you've got all these gases seeping up through here,
50:22which is how these caves are made.
50:24There's also increased carbon dioxide in here.
50:27As the cave team head deeper,
50:29dangerous volcanic gases make breathing difficult.
50:32The clock is ticking.
50:34They will not have long to find the caves of crystals.
50:40Above ground, the aerial team is pushing for the summit of Erebus.
50:45Series producer Vanessa Berlowitz directs from the front seat,
50:49while aerial cameraman Michael Kellam
50:52controls the camera attached to the nose.
50:5514,000 feet.
50:56We're going to be on the performance limits of this aircraft.
50:59Any bad weather comes in up there,
51:01you're pretty much screwed, really.
51:03You've got to get up the mountain fast.
51:05Above 10,000 feet, the pilot must breathe oxygen
51:08through a plastic tube in his nostrils.
51:11Approaching the crater, conditions do not look good.
51:15Today, Erebus is belching out steam and gases,
51:18making flying extremely risky.
51:21Up here, the air is so thin, the helicopter can't hover.
51:25It must keep moving.
51:29This is aerial filming at its most extreme.
51:33They struggle to get a clear view.
51:38We're just coming up to 14,000 feet.
51:41You can actually look right into the lava lake.
51:46That's looking really good, Mike. Just hold that there.
51:49The cameraman captures a rare shot of the molten lava,
51:52but it's soon obscured again.
51:55The volcano is temperamental.
51:57The team have seized a rare opportunity
52:00to see into its molten heart.
52:02But now they must descend to safety.
52:07As the weather closes in above,
52:09the cave team are making progress below.
52:19It's Christmas Day, and the crew are dressed for the occasion.
52:23Just watch my back on these icicles.
52:25I don't want to snap that top one off.
52:29Right. How strong are these pillars of ice, Matt?
52:34How thick around?
52:36It's about that round, about five...
52:38So if I squeeze past, it's not going to snap it.
52:42Gavin is reassured by advice from the scientist.
52:45Oh! Oh!
52:47Gavin!
52:49Oh, no. I'm sorry.
52:52It's terrible.
52:54Oh, look. No, it fits perfectly. Look. Look at that.
53:00Fortunately, these crystals are made of frozen water
53:03and can grow back in weeks.
53:07It's a bit of a challenge, isn't it?
53:09It's a bit of a challenge.
53:11These crystals are made of frozen water
53:13and can grow back in weeks.
53:15Got these beautiful clear glass-like pillars.
53:18And right next to it, this really delicate...
53:20Look how thin that filament is there.
53:26As the cave team explore deeper,
53:28each chamber reveals ice crystals
53:30more strange and spectacular than the last.
53:33No-one on the team imagined
53:35a single Antarctic mountain
53:37could house so many wonders.
53:43Down at the foot of Mount Erebus,
53:45a third crew, the dive team,
53:47plan to explore the volcano's lower slopes,
53:50which extend beneath the frozen sea.
53:53On board is underwater cameraman Hugh Miller.
53:56The problem is, we don't actually know
53:58what's under the ice here.
54:00Old-fashioned tools still work best.
54:02First, a hand chisel to create an opening,
54:05then a saw to widen the hole.
54:10Ice diving in the coldest waters on the planet
54:13should be taken extremely seriously.
54:15This dive's going to be a lot of things.
54:18And warm is not on that list.
54:21Insulated suits will also be required.
54:24The ice will be very cold,
54:26and the water will be very cold.
54:28Insulated suits will keep them alive
54:30under the ice for only 60 minutes.
54:33Once the helicopter departs,
54:35there's no margin for error.
54:41The dive team begin to explore
54:43the lower slopes of Erebus,
54:45discovering a hidden world
54:47rarely seen by humans.
54:51Patrolling the icy shores of the volcano
54:54are killer whales,
54:55the most southerly in the world.
54:58Tracking them from above
55:00is the orca team.
55:04They need a helicopter
55:06to get ahead of the whales
55:07and to land them on the fragile sea ice.
55:12Cameraman Jamie McPherson
55:14must pick his spot carefully.
55:16His aim is to get the cameras
55:18as close to the killer whales as possible
55:20without disturbing them.
55:25He uses a film camera
55:26to capture the action in slow motion.
55:36And the orcas come right by him.
55:41Even in the extreme cold,
55:42a film camera proves to be rugged and reliable,
55:46provided there's enough film in the camera.
55:52No!
55:56I got him coming out,
55:57I just didn't get him going back in.
56:07Below the sea ice,
56:08the dive team is setting up
56:10an underwater studio.
56:12Using a range of waterproof lights
56:14and time-lapse cameras,
56:15they hope to capture the growth
56:17of bizarre underwater ice formations.
56:26Over the coming weeks,
56:27the dive team would go below the ice
56:29over 100 times
56:31to film the extraordinary secret world
56:33on the lower flanks of Mount Erebus.
56:38On top of the ice,
56:39the orca team has repositioned.
56:41Their new goal
56:42is to get underwater shots of the whales.
56:45They don't dare to get in the water with orcas.
56:48Attaching a camera to a pole
56:50is a safer option,
56:51provided the whales aren't put off by it.
56:53No-one is prepared
56:55for what happens next.
56:57Tell Scotty what you just saw.
57:03The entire pod arrives.
57:06Eyeball to eyeball,
57:07this is about as close
57:08to kill a whale
57:09as death through a lens.
57:12And all the whales
57:13are on edge.
57:17This is the deadliest place
57:19of all the whales.
57:24They have to swim
57:25completely through the ice
57:27to get to the body.
57:33The ocean's surface
57:34This is about as close to killer whales as it's possible to get.
57:38By using multiple crews and cameras,
57:40the Frozen Planet team have been able to capture the full error of the story,
57:45from the fire at its crater down to the whales that patrol its frozen shores.
57:52It's quite a privilege to feel whale breath on your face.
58:34Subs by www.zeoranger.co.uk