Exploring the Challenging Ecosystems at Earth's Extremes

Wildlife of Earth's Coldest Climates: Polar Worlds with Bertie Gregory | SPECIAL | Nat Geo Animals

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Summary

Join National Geographic wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory as he ventures into the polar worlds of South Georgia Island and Northern Canada. In this compelling narrative, Gregory captures the resilient nature of wildlife in these harsh climates, highlighting the cunning, persistence, and adaptability required for survival. From the bustling breeding grounds on South Georgia Island, where penguins, seals, and albatross gather, to the ice-bound territories of polar bears and arctic foxes in the north, the documentary showcases the staggering beauty and intense challenges of these ecosystems. Amidst the ever-changing climate, the resilience and struggles of these remarkable animals are a reminder of nature's incredible fighting spirit and the urgent need for conservation efforts.

Highlights

Bertie's journey starts in South Georgia Island, a stunning and rugged wildlife haven. 🌊
The island's history as a whaling station contrasts with its vibrant wildlife revival. 🐋
Macaroni penguins and fur seals face incredible challenges during the breeding season. 🐧
Polar bears and arctic foxes illustrate the harsh realities of life in the Arctic Circle. 🐻
Climate change threatens the delicate balance of these ecosystems, showing a need for immediate action. ⚖️

Key Takeaways

Bertie Gregory takes us on an awe-inspiring journey through Earth's polar worlds, exploring what it takes for wildlife to survive there. 🌍
South Georgia Island transforms from a whaling hotspot to a vibrant wildlife haven, showcasing nature's resilience. 🐧
Climate change poses significant challenges to polar wildlife, requiring urgent conservation actions. 🔄
Penguins, seals, and polar bears highlight the importance of adaptability in a rapidly changing environment. 🐾
The documentary emphasizes the global importance of polar ice for climate stability and the need for sustainable practices. 🧊

Overview

Bertie Gregory invites viewers into the mesmerizing yet forbidding realms of Earth's polar regions. His journey begins on South Georgia Island, once a hub of whaling activity, now a sanctuary teeming with wildlife like penguins, seals, and albatross. Here, nature's resilience is on full display, as species return to this remote sanctuary to breed and raise their young amidst dramatic landscapes of glaciers and grasslands.

Venturing to northern Canada, Gregory encounters the formidable polar bears waiting for the ice to freeze so they can hunt. The Arctic also reveals its dichotomy as arctic foxes roam the expansive ice in search of food while navigating threats posed by the increasing presence of red foxes. These glimpses of wildlife illustrate the profound impact of climate changes which alter the behavior and survival strategies of these animals.

The documentary serves a dual purpose: to celebrate the awe-inspiring adaptability of wildlife and to sound an alarm about the climate crisis threatening these polar ecosystems. From South Georgia's bustling beaches to the icy expanses in the north, the narrative calls for global awareness and action. It's a powerful reminder of the critical role polar ice plays in regulating the planet's climate, urging viewers towards conservation and sustainability efforts.

Chapters

00:00 - 00:30: At the Gateways to the Poles The chapter "At the Gateways to the Poles" explores two of the most extreme environments for wildlife: South Georgia Island, located above Antarctica, and Canada's northern regions, situated below the Arctic Circle. These ecosystems are vastly different, yet share a common challenge where survival necessitates intelligence, resilience, and adaptability to the constantly changing climate. Bertie Gregory, a National Geographic wildlife filmmaker, introduces these locations in the documentary.
00:30 - 01:00: Bertie Gregory's Polar Journey The chapter details a photographer, Bertie Gregory's, adventurous journey to capture the untamed beauty of polar environments. It begins with the narrator explaining Bertie's mission, and we experience the ambiance of the wild with sounds of howling winds, squawking birds, and growling animals. Bertie embarks on a lengthy expedition, setting sail for five or six days to cover a distance of 870 miles, all in pursuit of his photographic quest.
01:00 - 01:30: Begin the Journey in the Falkland Islands The chapter titled 'Begin the Journey in the Falkland Islands' introduces Bertie Gregory, a wildlife photographer, who starts his adventure in the Falkland Islands. Although this is the starting point, his journey aims towards the southeast, targeting the island of South Georgia, a largely uninhabited but wildlife-rich area located between the Falkland Islands and Antarctica.
01:30 - 02:00: Boat Tour and Rough Waters In this chapter titled "Boat Tour and Rough Waters," Bertie takes us on a quick tour of the boat while expressing his need to hurry due to seasickness. He shows the forepeak, which is located at the front of the boat, explaining that all the equipment is packed with pillows to keep it secure as the boat moves with the swell. Bertie mentions that this area is also where he sleeps.
02:00 - 02:30: Antarctic Circumpolar Current The chapter opens with a humorous introduction to a character named Barry, who is personified as a 'sick bucket' that the narrator has become familiar with recently. The narrator humorously mentions their lack of shower use and subsequent disgusting smell, setting a casual and relatable tone.
02:30 - 03:00: Food-rich Waters Near South Georgia The chapter 'Food-rich Waters Near South Georgia' begins with the narrator describing an eerie sea fog encountered on the fourth day at sea. Despite modern navigation tools like GPS and sonar aiding their journey, the narrator ponders the challenges faced by early explorers to South Georgia, who had to rely on simple lookout methods for spotting dangers like icebergs.
03:00 - 04:00: Arrival at South Georgia Island The chapter titled 'Arrival at South Georgia Island' focuses on the environmental and ecological conditions of South Georgia Island. Despite extreme winds and cold conditions deterring human life, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) creates an ideal habitat for wildlife. The current is rich in nutrients, and the unique underwater topography of the area brings these nutrients to the surface, fostering a rich and diverse food chain.
04:00 - 05:00: Wildlife at South Georgia Island The chapter titled 'Wildlife at South Georgia Island' begins with Bertie expressing excitement over the sudden abundance of wildlife appearing after a long journey with little to see. As they approach South Georgia, the narrator notes the increase in wildlife activity, highlighting the transition to a more vibrant and lively environment. This anticipation and observation set the stage for the adventure and discovery that await at their destination.
05:00 - 07:00: South Georgia's Hunting History The chapter titled 'South Georgia's Hunting History' introduces the contrasting landscapes of South Georgia, characterized by its cold and desolate southern glaciers and the northern region covered in grass as tall as a human.
07:00 - 08:00: Environmental Protection Efforts In this chapter titled 'Environmental Protection Efforts,' Bertie and his team make their way to South Georgia Island. The narrative explains the challenges of docking on the rugged shores of the island. Meanwhile, numerous animals are also returning home to this location, emphasizing the island's role as a sanctuary for wildlife.
08:00 - 10:00: Life Rebounds on South Georgia Island After months at sea, macaroni penguins complete a 300-mile journey back to South Georgia Island, where they, along with other species like elephant seals, albatross, and fur seals, gather to breed and raise their young. The transcript highlights the challenging welcome home the penguins face as they aim to fulfill this crucial part of their life cycle.
10:00 - 13:00: King Penguins at St. Andrews Bay This chapter details the return of king penguins to St. Andrews Bay from their ocean expeditions to begin a new generation on land. Bertie humorously compares the setting to Jurassic Park, noting the presence of fur seals, which are more aggressive during the breeding season.
13:00 - 16:00: Challenges Facing Macaroni Penguins The chapter titled 'Challenges Facing Macaroni Penguins' describes the unique environmental factors affecting macaroni penguins. Observations occur in tussock grass habitat where seals are prominently featured. These seals are notable for their lack of fear, having no natural predators on land, a fact that piques human interest and interaction. The narrative is light-hearted, adding a sense of camaraderie between humans and seals.
16:00 - 18:30: Polar Conditions in Northern Canada The chapter "Polar Conditions in Northern Canada" begins with a playful scene where Bertie is too close to be focused on and is asked to step back, while silly antics like slobbering on the lens occur. The narrative then shifts to a more serious tone as it recounts the historical slaughter of Antarctic fur seals, mentioning the dramatic reduction in their population to just 400 survivors. This ties back to the historical context of Captain James Cook's arrival in 1775, when he mistakenly thought he had discovered Antarctica.
18:30 - 20:00: Polar Bears Await Ice Formation After rounding the southern tip, an individual realized it was just an island and, in anger, named it 'Cape Disappointment.' Captain Cook's discovery led to a message being sent to England that the area was full of seals. This resulted in the arrival of the first boats a few years later, despite the terrible living conditions.
20:00 - 23:00: The Arrival of Sea Ice In the chapter titled 'The Arrival of Sea Ice', the economic success of the pelting industry is highlighted, with 112,000 pelts collected in one season. As the 20th century progressed, the whaling industry also expanded, marked by larger boats and even larger catches. A notable event was the processing of the largest recorded whale, a 110-foot-long female blue whale, at the newly established Grytviken station in 1912.
23:00 - 28:00: Challenges for Arctic Foxes This chapter discusses the environmental challenges faced by Arctic Foxes, highlighting historical activities on South Georgia, a major whaling hub in the Southern Hemisphere. Over 175,000 whales were killed, severely affecting the ecosystem. Further harm was caused by the introduction of rats by whaling boats, which preyed on bird eggs, leading to ecological imbalance.
28:00 - 34:00: Harp Seal Pups on the Ice The chapter titled 'Harp Seal Pups on the Ice' opens with Bertie describing the vastness of the location, specifically South Georgia's whaling stations. Bertie notes how it's eerie, and reflects on the past exploitation of whale and seal populations driven by short-term economic gain, despite understanding the limits that should not have been crossed.
34:00 - 40:00: Climate Change in the Arctic The chapter titled 'Climate Change in the Arctic' discusses the impact of human activities on the Arctic environment, particularly focusing on the historical context of whaling. The practice of whaling, once rampant, became financially unsustainable, leading to the closure of whaling stations. This period of destruction initiated environmental awareness and conservation efforts. A key highlight is the transformation of South Georgia into a protected area, featuring the world's largest rat eradication program, culminating in the island being declared rat-free in 2018.

Wildlife of Earth's Coldest Climates: Polar Worlds with Bertie Gregory | SPECIAL | Nat Geo Animals Transcription

00:00 - 00:30 NARRATOR: At the gateways to the poles lie two of the harshest environments for wildlife on the planet. South Georgia Island above Antarctica. And Canada's frigid north below the Arctic Circle. (whimpering) Two vastly different ecosystems, where survival requires cunning, persistence and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing climate. BERTIE: My name is Bertie Gregory, and I'm a National Geographic wildlife filmmaker.
00:30 - 01:00 NARRATOR: This is the story of one photographer's quest to capture these wild environments firsthand. (howling) ♪ ♪ (birds squawking) (growling) BERTIE: Five or six days of sailing ahead of us, 870 miles.
01:00 - 01:30 WOMAN: Alright, let's... WOMAN: We're on our way. NARRATOR: Wildlife photographer Bertie Gregory begins his polar journey in the Falkland Islands. But this isn't his final destination. He's heading southeast to one of the last pieces of land between here and Antarctica. The island of South Georgia has no permanent human population, but it's full of wildlife. ♪ ♪
01:30 - 02:00 Until the boat gets closer, he'll only see a few travelers along the way. BERTIE: Hey, dude! (laughs) NARRATOR: Much of his time will be spent below deck. BERTIE: I thought I'd give you a bit of a boat tour, and I'm gonna do this quick, 'cause otherwise I'm gonna be sick. We're currently in the forepeak, right at the front of our boat. All the kit is packed in with pillows so that as the boat rocks and rolls in the swell, it's all kept nice and snug. This is where I sleep. ♪ ♪
02:00 - 02:30 This is Barry bucket, Barry, my sick bucket. Me and Barry have got to know each other quite well over the last few days. Oh, jeez! This is the shower. Can't say I've used it much. That's why I smell absolutely disgusting. Let's go outside. Welcome to the South Atlantic Ocean! NARRATOR: Here, the Antarctic circumpolar current makes an already angry sea even more daunting. It's the largest wind-driven current on Earth,
02:30 - 03:00 and it brings sudden shifts in temperature and visibility. BERTIE: Agh, day four, and we've bumped into this really weird, eerie sea fog, and, um, you know, it's fine for us, we've got GPS, we've got sonar, all that, you know, modern technology that lets you navigate in this, but imagine what it must have been like for the first people coming to South Georgia. Somebody up the bow, maybe someone up the mast just spotting for icebergs.
03:00 - 03:30 ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: The extreme winds and cold here are huge deterrents for human life, but the ACC actually creates the perfect conditions for wildlife. The current is very nutrient rich, and the underwater topography surrounding South Georgia channels these nutrients up to the surface, kicking off a food chain bonanza. ♪ ♪
03:30 - 04:00 BERTIE: Hee hee, this is nuts! ♪ ♪ It's like someone's turned the wildlife tap on. Um, having not seen much for 150 miles or something, all of the sudden stuff starts coming out of the woodwork. ♪ ♪ Now that's a pretty exciting sign that we're getting closer to South Georgia. Everything's starting to get wilder and wilder.
04:00 - 04:30 ♪ ♪ And there it is! (laughs) It doesn't look real. ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Cold and desolate in the south, glaciers miles long. (rumbling) And the north, covered in grass as tall as a human.
04:30 - 05:00 (squawking) ♪ ♪ Bertie and his team have arrived to South Georgia Island. But docking on this rugged shore requires a careful approach. (Bertie laughs) NARRATOR: But the animals returning home to this island
05:00 - 05:30 are built for arrival. After months out at sea, macaroni penguins are reaching the end of a 300-mile journey and face a tough welcome home. Like all the other species gravitating towards this island, they have come here for one very important reason: to breed and raise their chicks. This is the season that penguins, elephant seals, albatross and fur seals
05:30 - 06:00 all make their return from their open ocean wanderings to start a new generation on land. BERTIE: This place is so much like Jurassic Park, I kind of feel like we're gonna get picked off by a velociraptor at any moment. The only difference is the velociraptors are a lot fatter, a bit more grumpy, and they're called fur seals. (growling) Okay, we're going. Sorry! Didn't seem very pleased to see us. (growling) They're all jacked up on hormones 'cause it's the height of the breeding season for them.
06:00 - 06:30 We've definitely got to keep an eye out for them up in this tussock grass. 'Cause the seal you can see is fine, it's the seal that you don't see. ♪ ♪ There's one we can see! He's fine. Hey, dude! ♪ ♪ (grumbling) NARRATOR: With no natural predators on land, these seals have no fear. They're not even bothered by the occasional human. MAN: You've got a friend, Bertie.
06:30 - 07:00 BERTIE: You're too close to focus on. You've got to back up. ♪ ♪ Oh, don't slobber on the lens. (cooing) ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Not long ago here, the water ran red with the blood of Antarctic fur seals. From millions, only 400 survived. When Captain James Cook first arrived here in 1775, he thought he had finally found Antarctica.
07:00 - 07:30 But after rounding the southern tip, he realized it was just an island. He was so angry, he even named it "Cape Disappointment." A consequence of Captain Cook's discovery was that he sent word back to England that the place was packed full of seals. The first boats arrived just a few years later. Living conditions were terrible. ♪ ♪
07:30 - 08:00 But business was great. 112,000 pelts in just one season alone. By the 20th century, the whalers had followed suit. Boats got bigger, and so did their captures. The largest whale ever recorded on our planet was a 110-foot-long female blue whale. She was processed in the brand-new station of Grytviken in 1912. ♪ ♪
08:00 - 08:30 South Georgia became the principal location for all land-based whaling in the Southern Hemisphere. Over 175,000 whales were killed. The seal population was devastated. And the boats brought an invasion of egg-eating rats that ran riot through the bird colonies. (creaking)
08:30 - 09:00 BERTIE: The scale of this place is just epic, it's just massive. NARRATOR: Today only skeletons of South Georgia's whaling stations remain. BERTIE: It's so eerie. (creaking) And to think that we had the understanding that there's only so hard you can push populations of whales and seals, but we just kept, we just kept going and going and going 'cause it was all about short-term economic gain,
09:00 - 09:30 not long-term sustainability. (camera shutter clicks) ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Hunted to extinction, whaling became financially unviable. One by one, the stations were shut down. All this destruction led to a reckoning. Today South Georgia is a protected area. The biggest island rat eradication program in history was launched, and the island was declared rat free in 2018.
09:30 - 10:00 Many of the birds have bounced back in big numbers. Fur seals have sprung back from just a few hundred to over 3 million. BERTIE: This contrast sums up South Georgia. This place was once all about death. And now it's jampacked full of life. They've rebounded in just unbelievable proportion. ♪ ♪ (whoosh) (groaning)
10:00 - 10:30 Ah, listen to that. ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Whales are just now beginning to return. ♪ ♪ (whoosh) BERTIE: Southern right whales are one of the longest-living animals, and so there's a good chance that one of these whales was alive whilst whaling was going on on South Georgia. So to know that they're now coming back and they're having a go at some mating
10:30 - 11:00 is great news for the whales, great news for South Georgia, and obviously great news for the whole concept of a second chance. ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: It was less than a hundred years ago that penguins were being used as kindling for whaling station fires. And now? How the tables have turned. BERTIE: We've finally made it to St. Andrews Bay, you know, the busiest beach on the planet! ♪ ♪
11:00 - 11:30 (penguins honking) BERTIE: You know, it's funny. When you read about king penguins on paper, you know, you read they dive to 300 meters, 1,000 feet, in some of the roughest ocean in the world, and then they come back to here, this kind of blizzard, snow-covered mountainous island to breed. And you meet them, and they're just totally unfazed. Hello. (honking) (braying) NARRATOR: Some of these adults might not have set foot on land
11:30 - 12:00 or seen their chicks for five months. (honking) ♪ ♪ The worst part is over. They've returned with a belly full of fish. Now they've got to find their kids. (grumbling) Too bad there's a roadblock of elephant seals blocking the way. (growling)
12:00 - 12:30 (growling) (belching) BERTIE: This is a filming problem I've never experienced before. Look I'm trying to film penguins, okay? Stop bumping me, it's really hard, it's a really long lens. Yes, I know you want to play! (grumbling) (bellowing)
12:30 - 13:00 NARRATOR: The penguins can't be derailed. ♪ ♪ They've got their minds set on one thing-- getting to one of the most spectacular spots on all of South Georgia. BERTIE: You ready? MAN: Ready. BERTIE: Here we go. Oh, ha ha ha! Wow! (cacophony of penguins honking)
13:00 - 13:30 ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: 400,000 king penguins. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ BERTIE: In a way, it's almost like a city. It looks, it looks to start with like just a mass sprawl of penguins, but it's almost organized. I mean, you've got that big swimming pool in the middle. Prime swimming for a little wash when you're all stinky. Then on the left there's a bunch missing a load of feathers,
13:30 - 14:00 they're, um, they're in the process of molting, so in our city comparison, I guess we could say that was the hospital. Um, and then start to see a bit of movement, I guess that's their highways through the colony. And then the biggest supermarket in the world, packed full of lanternfish, which is their primary prey here. NARRATOR: And then, there's the crèche. When the chicks are five weeks old, their parents leave them in a kindergarten. Food becomes scarce during the winter, so both of the parents have to go out into the open ocean to hunt.
14:00 - 14:30 Depending on their luck, they might not return for months. The parents' absence and the brutal weather conditions make the chicks vulnerable. And that's why the giant petrels are here. Giant petrels hunt king penguin chicks by spotting a weak one that's strayed away from the crèche. (chirping and honking)
14:30 - 15:00 (chirping) (honking) ♪ ♪ (honking) ♪ ♪ Luckily, this time they have strength in numbers, and the giant petrel can't single one out. (chirping) As soon as the adults arrive home, they greet their chick. (honking)
15:00 - 15:30 (chirping) BERTIE: And then the chick is like, alright, enough with the showing off, now give me some food. And scientists actually found that towards the end of the foraging trips, the bellies of the penguins dropped significantly below 37 degrees, which is their normal body temperature. And so they think it's almost like a cool box in their belly to keep the fish fresh for now, to regurgitate it to the chick. (honking)
15:30 - 16:00 (chirping) Aw, you totally saw the food come out! That's wicked! (honking) Slash, a bit gross. (laughs) NARRATOR: Now that the chicks have had their fill, the adults need to go back to the ocean and start again. ♪ ♪ (honking)
16:00 - 16:30 ♪ ♪ BERTIE: And there they go, back out to sea, off to get another bellyful of fish for their chick. And to think that, you know, such a clumsy bird on land can then dive to 300 meters, 1,000 feet, is pretty spectacular. NARRATOR: It's clear. These birds are built for the sea. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
16:30 - 17:00 But in or out of the water, few are tougher than the king penguin's cousins--the macaronis. NARRATOR: Right now these macaroni penguins are returning home to feed their young ones. But their chicks aren't waiting in a beachside village; they're at the top of a sheer cliff. Giant waves, razor-sharp rocks and hungry seals make getting to them no piece of cake.
17:00 - 17:30 BERTIE: Alright, here we go. Got to think like a penguin, swim like a penguin, be a penguin. Oop, hang on. Lens cap. That would have been awkward. (chuckles) ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: The macs seem skittish. ♪ ♪ With a predator on the hunt, they must aim and shoot to get on land. ♪ ♪
17:30 - 18:00 BERTIE: These penguins are totally bonkers. They seem to choose the biggest waves to give them a good... run up onto the, onto the rocks, but whenever they come through, all underwater visibility disappears. So I guess they just must shoot and hope they land on the right rock. ♪ ♪
18:00 - 18:30 ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (squawking) NARRATOR: And that's just their first hurdle. They might be tiny, but they're tough to keep up with.
18:30 - 19:00 BERTIE: Don't show this to the insurance company! NARRATOR: There's no time to chill. The chicks are waiting for food, and there's still a long way to go. (honking and chattering) ♪ ♪ The macs have to be much more than pro surfers; they need to be mountain climbers, too! ♪ ♪
19:00 - 19:30 (grunting) ♪ ♪ BERTIE: After completing their first mission down on the giant wavy rock, they've now got to make their way up to the colony, up to where the nests are, but they've got a bit of a secret route down here. It's like being in some kind of, some kind of fairy tale. ♪ ♪
19:30 - 20:00 ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (chirping) NARRATOR: Mom's made it back. Incredibly, this pair returns to exactly the same nest year after year. ♪ ♪ BERTIE: Oh, that's lovely. (honking) ♪ ♪
20:00 - 20:30 NARRATOR: Unfortunately these penguins don't have much family time. And now it's dad's turn to go out to sea. The trek out to sea is packed full of its own dangers, so the macs need to tread carefully. (honking) ♪ ♪ (snort) Fur seals feed mainly on fish, squid, and krill, but on very rare occasions, they'll even hunt on land.
20:30 - 21:00 ♪ ♪ (growling) (honking) (growling) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (growling) ♪ ♪ (honking) ♪ ♪
21:00 - 21:30 BERTIE: You know, it's not often you see something that raw, and unfortunately, whilst that little macaroni that was being thrashed around did manage to get away from the fur seal, it hasn't survived. It's being eaten by a giant petrel. And that's the circle of life. The giant petrel's got its own chicks to feed. And I think the takeaway from that encounter was not the one that hasn't survived, it's the one macaroni that then stood up to that same predator, and in the face of danger said, "Come at me," wings out.
21:30 - 22:00 You know, the bravery, the sass that these penguins have got is just remarkable, and it will produce chicks that have equal amounts of sass, and that is what natural selection is all about. It's survival of the fittest; only the best will go on to produce offspring. NARRATOR: But will these sassy penguins be able to evolve fast enough to survive the changing climate? NARRATOR: Climate change is affecting ocean currents
22:00 - 22:30 around South Georgia Island... ♪ ♪ and forcing macaroni penguins to swim further and further for food. ♪ ♪ Tied to their nesting islands, this ultimately means less food for the chicks. So despite their toughness, macaronis are declining in number. (honking) For each new life to begin in the South Atlantic, incredible odds must be overcome.
22:30 - 23:00 The effects of global warming aren't just a concern in the South Polar region. Up at the planet's north, every winter, a liquid ocean must turn into solid ice. (wind whistling) The fate of life here, and all across the planet, depends on it. ♪ ♪
23:00 - 23:30 It's October in northern Canada, and the days are getting shorter. (beeping) By now, the summer visitors have fled the frigid north. But Bertie and his crew are heading straight into the heart of it. He's come to film how the animals are faring under the changing conditions in this remote wilderness. ♪ ♪ Starting with the planet's largest land carnivores.
23:30 - 24:00 And one of the only predators that have been known to actually hunt humans. Polar bears. And right about now, they're hungry. The polar bears' crucial food source is floating 200 miles away, comfortably out of reach. Until the ice forms between them, the hungry bears have no choice but to wait. Our warming climate is delaying the formation of their frozen hunting ground
24:00 - 24:30 by more than a day each year. That means they have lost at least a month of hunting that previous generations have relied on. BERTIE: This guy is a big bruiser, and he's coming in like all the other polar bears. They're coming to the water's edge ready for the big freeze, but right now the ice isn't quite ready, and you can see him kind of falling through and stumbling under his weight. Four, five months on land starving, not eating anything,
24:30 - 25:00 and you know that as soon as that sea freezes, that's your fast food buffet is ready. So like this bear, I'd spend a lot of time stood out on the water's edge looking at it. ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: It's been four months since his last meal. The ice can't come soon enough. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
25:00 - 25:30 Polar bears are the apex predator of the Arctic. At up to 1,500 pounds, they're pretty untouchable. But for the bears on this stretch of coastline in the Hudson Bay, things are different. Until the ice freezes, they're trapped with an unlikely and bold rival. MAN: Wolf! BERTIE: Where, where, where? MAN: Coming over the snowdrift just on the right.
25:30 - 26:00 It's going for the bear. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: It seems unthinkable that a wolf would take on a predator four times its size.
26:00 - 26:30 There have been rumors that it's happening, but it's never been filmed. (bear growls) If they can catch this bear, it would feed the pack for a week. MAN: There's another one. There's three. There's a third one coming. ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: A big pack of wolves could take down a polar bear.
26:30 - 27:00 But with only three against one, who is predator and who is prey? ♪ ♪ The hungry bear runs the numbers and decides to attack. (huffing) (wolf yipping) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
27:00 - 27:30 BERTIE: Look at it go. Jeez! That bear's got to be overheating. That coat! That coat that's its secret weapon has got to be a curse now. Oh, it must be cooking. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (Bertie exhales) That is not a chase you see every day. I mean, the boldness of these wolves is just ridiculous.
27:30 - 28:00 Can you imagine chasing after a polar bear, a massive, really dangerous predator? And then you've got to feel for the bear as well, you know. It's got a tough enough time as it is, waiting for the sea ice to freeze. Polar bears. Like, when is that ever a good thing that you should try and eat? ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Just when things are getting desperate for the bears, relief arrives. The most powerful force in the Arctic
28:00 - 28:30 starts small, really small. So fragile that it could break in your fingertips. It grows inch by inch, almost when no one's looking. But once it starts, there's no stopping it. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
28:30 - 29:00 ♪ ♪ BERTIE: Well, this is what the bears have been waiting for. The temperature has just crashed, the sun's out, it's freezing cold, I can't really feel my lips or my nose, but the important thing is that the sea is starting to freeze. If you look down here, the surface of the water has this kind of slushy layer on it. This is called grease ice. And the wind and the waves are forming this into circles.
29:00 - 29:30 See, these here, these are pancake ice. And those pancakes over the next few days are gonna form into a totally solid layer that the bears can then get out there, out to sea to hunt on. ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: When the water hits 28.8 Fahrenheit, it doesn't take long for the rest to happen. BERTIE: And finally, what was thousands of miles of liquid
29:30 - 30:00 has turned into this rock-solid ice pathway across the ocean. ♪ ♪ And off it goes, out to the edge of the ice. It's amazing to think that most bears in the Northern Hemisphere, you know, brown bears, black bears, they're all going to sleep now or they're already asleep. Meanwhile these polar bears are just starting in one of their most active times. ♪ ♪
30:00 - 30:30 (wind whistling) ♪ ♪ BERTIE: You'd think that the animals that were hardest to film would be the polar bears, you know, the great wanderers. But really, it's, it's these small animals that are proving most difficult.
30:30 - 31:00 Definitely playing the waiting game. ♪ ♪ Oh... ♪ ♪ You've got to be so careful not to breathe out on your binoculars like I've just done, because all of the steam goes up to the lenses, and then it freezes, and then now, I can't see anything through them. ♪ ♪
31:00 - 31:30 Come on! Where are you, little guys? Oh, wow! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ You see these arctic foxes, bouncing about little bundles of fluff with their little smiley faces. It's so easy to forget that they are, in fact, little killing machines. ♪ ♪
31:30 - 32:00 Right now they're looking for lemmings, a small little brown rodent, which are hidden in their underground lairs under the snow. And the fox is using its incredible sense of hearing to basically listen for the little footsteps of the lemming as it moves about under the snow. And then when they've found the lemming under the snow, well, they then have a pretty extraordinary hunting strategy. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
32:00 - 32:30 ♪ ♪ We have totally found an arctic fox highway. They're just zipping back and forth, back and forth. And all around us, in front of us, there's practically more tracks than there is snow. And these fox are smart. While the weather's good like this, sun's out, not much wind, it's good hunting conditions, they'll just keep hunting even when they're full. I mean, they're only small,
32:30 - 33:00 so they can't eat much in one sitting, but they'll keep hunting, hunting, hunting, and then they're storing it underground, in little underground kind of meat lockers, so that when the weather's bad and they can't hunt, they can still live off that. ♪ ♪ MAN: Over there, red fox, red fox! BERTIE: What? MAN: See that? The grass islands. It's behind the grass. BERTIE: Where? You sure that's a red? MAN: Yeah. Behind the grass, on the left-hand side. BERTIE: Got it, got it, got it. NARRATOR: In recent years, the red fox has started invading the Arctic. MAN: Man, they're so much bigger.
33:00 - 33:30 NARRATOR: They don't just want to claim new territory... CONNOR: Arctic fox, arctic fox! BERTIE: Where, where, where? NARRATOR: They want to hunt down their competition. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ BERTIE: That arctic fox is not hanging around. It is gone.
33:30 - 34:00 I mean, that presence of a red fox is, well, a big problem for those arctics. The red's much bigger and it just totally out-competes the arctics. And that's really a symbol of the warming climate here. It's allowing the range of the red fox to push further north into the arctic's. NARRATOR: The arctic fox is forced to search for new hunting ground beyond his shrinking territory.
34:00 - 34:30 Pushed further north where the sun disappears for months. ♪ ♪ He'll be hunting underneath nothing but the aurora borealis, the northern lights. The season of ice has begun. ♪ ♪ The Arctic sea ice is at its maximum for the year. Here it's now 20 feet thick.
34:30 - 35:00 BERTIE: Well, it's hard to believe right now that we're walking over the ocean, 'cause everywhere you look, as far as you can see, is ice. Just solid ice. And that's the reason I've got this incredibly sexy and very fashionable outfit on. And a stick, is 'cause we want to make sure we don't fall through a crack in the ice into underneath us, which is hundreds of feet of freezing cold water. But right now, we're looking
35:00 - 35:30 for what is arguably the cutest animal on the planet. (cooing) And I can hear it. (crying) (laughs) (tapping) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
35:30 - 36:00 (snorting) This beautiful little animal-- hello--is a harp seal pup. And it was born here on the ice about four or five days ago judging by its size, and whilst it's pretty chill, pretty relaxed with us, it doesn't really know what we are. I'm sure its mom is gonna be a lot more nervous, so. She's probably around here somewhere underwater. So we're gonna back off and see if she wants to come and hang out.
36:00 - 36:30 (chuckles) (pup whimpering) ♪ ♪ (purring) (grunting) (squawking) NARRATOR: Even while she's raising a pup, a mother seal spends most of her time in the water. Once every few hours she emerges to feed her pup. (exhales)
36:30 - 37:00 But how to find it? (pup squeals) ♪ ♪ In a colony of thousands, she has to be certain which pup is hers. ♪ ♪ (whimpering) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ BERTIE: Ah, there it is.
37:00 - 37:30 And there's the kiss. This is what harp seals are famous for. That kiss is how the mum and pup recognize each other. Because there aren't just a few mums and pups in this area, they are everywhere, so it's really important that the mum knows how to find the pup and she can recognize it to make sure she's feeding the right pup. (whimpering) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (cooing)
37:30 - 38:00 ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Harp seal mothers have one of the shortest weaning periods of any mammal. In just 10 days, mom will leave her pup behind and never look back. The pup won't know how to hunt, and it won't have anything to eat until it learns. It has to drink as much milk as possible, gaining over four pounds per day to store as fat reserves. This will last it just six weeks.
38:00 - 38:30 By then, it'll have to be strong enough to hunt for itself. (cries) If the pups can't learn to swim before their home turns from ice to water, they'll drown. ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Spring in the Arctic is defined by the ice melt. Our changing climate is making early ice breakups increasingly common.
38:30 - 39:00 A few days could mean the difference between life and death for harp seals. In 2017, the ice broke up so early that the entire colony of pups drowned overnight. The ice is holding so far this year, but the pups still have an incredibly small window to learn to swim before their nursery melts from underneath them. BERTIE: Well, we found this real chunky monkey, he's so fat,
39:00 - 39:30 and it's unbelievable the amount of change just in a few days from that tiny little newborn now to a big fat sausage. So it's feeding now, and we reckon it might be big enough to go in the water. So we're gonna hang out and see if mom encourages it for its first swimming lesson. (howling) So the pups have got their swim coach, I've got my own swim coach. He's keeping me safe, isn't that right, Norman?
39:30 - 40:00 NORMAN: Yes, it's right. BERTIE: And we've got a system. NORMAN: Yeah. BERTIE: If Norman tugs once, that means everything's okay. Two tugs, there's something to look at. Three tugs, come back to me. Four tugs... NORMAN: Or more. BERTIE: Four tugs or more, come back really fast 'cause there's a giant piece of ice about to crush me. (seal growling) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
40:00 - 40:30 (crying) Norman, am I good to go? NORMAN: Yeah, yeah. Go, go! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (crying) ♪ ♪
40:30 - 41:00 (mother exhales) (pup crying) ♪ ♪ BERTIE: Look how she's using her giant belly as a big swim float to help the pup breathe. ♪ ♪ You can see she's so protective of it in the water. Anytime any of the other adults come anywhere near it,
41:00 - 41:30 she chases them off so aggressively. ♪ ♪ Ah, it's learning so fast, but it's just too buoyant to get down! But it looks so comfortable in the water. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
41:30 - 42:00 ♪ ♪ It's really doing it! It's swimming! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
42:00 - 42:30 ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (exhales) ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Now that the mother knows her pup has the skills to survive the ice breakup, it's time for the hardest lesson of all: saying goodbye. ♪ ♪
42:30 - 43:00 (crying) ♪ ♪ (crying) ♪ ♪ Male harp seals gather nearby, waiting to mate with the females. BERTIE: Okay, getting in. NARRATOR: It's time for the adults to join and migrate back to the north. (groaning)
43:00 - 43:30 (barking) If the ice holds long enough, this new generation will one day follow. ♪ ♪ (crying) ♪ ♪ The Arctic is warming faster than any other place on Earth. If the sea ice goes, not just the bears, but all the creatures that depend on it will follow. Both the top and the bottom of our world
43:30 - 44:00 may seem far away... (honking) but the ice here stabilizes the climate across our whole planet. Without it, humans are in trouble, too. But there is hope, if we harness clean energy, use land more efficiently, and replant the forests. BERTIE: It really is in our hands whether we want this place to exist in the future. Because now is, is really a turning point. Do we let it go or do we band together
44:00 - 44:30 to make sure that it survives into the next century? ♪ ♪ Captioned by Side Door Media Services