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The polar winter.

This is the planet
at its most hostile.

Those that stay here at this time

must face the harshest conditions
on Earth.

The High Arctic in late autumn.

Empty and abandoned to ice and snow.

Most animals migrated
south weeks ago.

The few that stay
will face violent winds,

plunging temperatures
and months of darkness.

A female polar bear
searches for shelter.

Other bears are out on
the frozen ocean looking for food,

but she won't feed again
until next spring.

Using as little energy as possible,

she starts to dig a shallow nest.

The snow here is easy to work.

It's soft and light.

A sure sign that soon, plenty more
will accumulate on this slope

as winter advances.

And that is what she needs.

If she has chosen well,

the Arctic wind will do
much of her work for her.

Once the snow here is deep enough,

she will dig down to make a den.

She'll then lie, waiting for her
cubs to be born as winter sets in.

The sea ice already covers
twice the area it did in summer.

Those animals that, a few weeks ago,

came down here to feed in the sea,
are now locked out.

But there are windows
in this white desert.

Gateways to the rich ocean below.

Most birds have migrated south.

But in the frozen Bering Sea,

ducks of one particular species

are gathering together
in a single, immense flock.

Spectacled eiders.

Hundreds of thousands of them.

With the seas that fed them
throughout the summer

all but frozen,
this is the eider's last refuge.

Such patches of open water,

kept free of ice by strong currents,

are given a Russian name, polynyas.

If this polynya stays open
all winter,

especially for the spectacled eider,

for this polynya
holds the world's entire population.

Surrounded by ice,
these spectacled eiders' survival

depends on this single,
vulnerable oasis.

And conditions here
can change very fast.

A smaller pool.

Here, common eider ducks
are learning a bitter lesson.

An early winter storm
has caught them out

and the ice is closing in.

The pool is shrinking,
and the ducks are freezing to death.

These gamblers have lost.

As the sun's influence continues
to dwindle here in the north,

the cold pushes south
into Arctic lands.

Winter brings
a devastatingly-destructive force.

Frost.

Ice crystals form
as moisture in the air freezes.

Inside plants,
the same thing is happening

to the water in their cells
and their sap.

With these first frosts,
most plants die.

Their insides ripped apart
by ice crystals.

Coniferous trees, however,
like fir and pine,

can withstand very low temperatures.

It's these trees that create
the greatest forest on our planet.

This is the Taiga.

It encircles the globe and contains
one third of all the trees on earth.

As winter deepens,
frigid air from the Arctic

meets warm, moist air
from the south,

producing particularly heavy snows.

For the big animals of the forest,

there's no way of hiding
from the winter.

But size, for the Bison
of Northern Canada,

is, in fact, their salvation.

Big bodies lose less heat

and can carry more insulation.

That may be why these bison

are the largest land animals
in North America.

And only a large predator
can tackle them.

Wolves hunt better in packs,

but there are only two of them here
and the prey they pursue are giants.

A vast Arctic wilderness
stretches all around.

In it somewhere, there are bison.

These deep tracks in the snow
are easy to follow,

but which way were the bison going?

They have detected a scent.
The hunt is on.

Running in the bison's tracks
is easy.

The snow here is compressed
and firm.

At this rate,
the wolves will soon catch up.

They attempt a shortcut.

The giant bison can plough on
through virgin snow,

but for the wolves,
deep snow is a hindrance,

and now they're losing ground.

The hunters rejoin the bison's
tracks and the contest is on again.

The bison are the only prey here
in winter.

The wolves have no option,
they must tackle them.

But bison are ten times their size.

In winter, the line between
life and death is so narrow

that for a wolf, even a small injury
could be fatal.

It's crucial they select
the right target.

This one is very big.

Good decision.

This is smaller, a yearling.

Even though it's young,
it's none the less heavier

than both wolves combined
and it is extremely powerful.

The male wolf backs off.

Perhaps he's frightened of injury.

But the female is more determined,
or more desperate.

Having given so much already,
she must make the kill.

This is a battle of life and death
for them both.

The bison has no strength left.

The battle is over.

Winter deepens.
The snow continues to accumulate,

smothering the forest.

Some trees are loaded with
three tonnes of snow.

It shuts out what little light
there is at these latitudes,

and that shortens the growing season
still further

and limits how far north
trees are able to grow.

So, snow influences
both the shapes of the trees

and the extent of this forest.

And it affects the animals, too.

SQUAWK!

It helps to have friends

if you want to find food
at this time of the year.

Wolverines and ravens,
a match made in the Taiga.

It's the hardest time of the year
to find food.

But the wolverine knows
that a raven's call

is as good as a dinner bell.

And the raven has just recruited
the best can opener in the forest.

The moose carcass is frozen solid,

but the wolverine
has immensely powerful jaws,

well able to deal with frozen food.

The raven's bill
is more suited to leftovers.

The raven has to be patient.

A wolverine's appetite is legendary.

According to folklore,
it can eat more at one sitting

than any other creature
in the forest,

hence its other name, the glutton.

What the wolverine can't eat now,

it stores in the deep freeze.

It will bury these food parcels
across the forest,

planning ahead for leaner times.

For a few, the snow is an ally.

Voles stay active throughout
the winter beneath the snow,

despite the freezing temperatures
above.

Travelling along tiny corridors,

they move from pocket to pocket
of perfectly refrigerated food.

Snow is a great insulator,

so down here,
the temperature never falls

more than a degree or so below zero.

And that's warm enough
for a vole to thrive,

even if it lacks
the stature of a bison.

In some years, vole numbers boom,

and then they are forced to break
cover to search for more food.

The great grey owl is a silent
and very skilful hunter,

but deep snow
can be beyond its reach.

But such snow is no barrier
to one predator.

The least weasel.

A tiny hunter,
and the vole's nemesis.

Its body is exactly the same width
as a vole's,

so there's nowhere a vole can go
that the weasel can't follow.

INSTRUMENTAL

The weasel's long, slender shape

is perfect for hunting in tunnels,

but the worst possible shape
for staying warm.

So they need a special way
of doing that.

She plucks the fur from its body
tuft by tuft.

And now she puts it all together
to make a cosy blanket

under which to sleep
in her den below the snow.

Midwinter in the northern forests.

The sun is so low
that it's twilight at midday.

Further north in the high Arctic,

the sun has been below the horizon
for months

and it'll be several more
before it appears again.

The male polar bear spends winter
out on the frozen ocean.

Few creatures can endure
these conditions.

If he's lucky,
he will find a carcass

that could provide a little food,

possibly that of a fox
or another polar bear.

But otherwise,
he must live on his reserves.

This is the time to scrape by,
to wait.

But on lee-side slopes,
beneath the snow,

new lives are beginning.

The cubs are born blind and tiny.

An early birth is easier
on the mother, who is barely awake.

Despite her sleepiness,

her instinct to nurse
is overwhelming.

The cub's clucking calls

stimulate her to produce milk.

And what milk!

It's nine times richer than our own

and enables her to double
their weight every few weeks.

It's over two months

since the autumn snows
first arrived.

In two more months,
polar bear families

will emerge onto the snowy slopes

all around the Arctic.

But for now, they lie protected

within their icy cocoons.

A hundred miles above the earth,

the Aurora lights up the sky.

After travelling millions of miles
across space,

solar winds, attracted by
the magnetic pull of the poles,

collide with the earth's atmosphere.

Trillions of charged particles

dance across the sky.

Above the Arctic,
the Aurora Borealis...

the Northern Lights.

In the south,
it's the Aurora Australis...

the Southern lights,

that bring light
to Antarctica's long winter.

These spectacular lightshows
are only a tease.

Solar energy maybe,

but no warmth
that will help the emperor penguins.

The Arctic winter is brutally cold,

but in Antarctica,

the darkest months
are even more savage.

The male penguins
have not eaten for months,

and have only each other
for protection from the gales.

Each has been entrusted
with a single precious egg

balanced on the top of its feet.

If the egg were to drop onto
the ice, even for a moment,

the chick inside would die

and all this
would count for nothing.

The Weddell seal.

The only mammal to remain here
throughout the winter.

They must have breathing holes,

and so have to constantly
scrape away the ice

that threatens to close them,

rasping away fresh build-ups

with special wide-gaped jaws.

Beneath the ice, they are beyond the
reach of the bitter winter winds.

The sea is -2 degrees centigrade.

A warm bath, compared to
the conditions overhead.

The roof of ice insulates this world
from the wild fluctuations above.

The temperature down here
has barely changed

for 25 million years.

Of course,
animals must still be hardy.

These borchgrevinki fish
have antifreeze in their blood,

so they are untroubled
swimming among the ice crystals.

Many animals here
are remarkably long-lived,

perhaps because the conditions
are so stable.

Some sponges could be
a thousand years old

and large enough
for a human to hide in.

There could hardly be
a greater contrast

to the bleak, windswept world
just above.

But there is a constant danger here.

Swirling patterns in the water
reveal its presence.

They are made by brine.

Super-concentrated salt water.

It's a warning.

New sea ice forming above

leaves behind brine
that is so extremely salty,

it sinks rapidly.

As it descends, the sea water
around it freezes instantly

and forms a sheath of ice,
a brinicle,

that grows downwards
towards the seafloor.

Winter is reaching down
from the cold world above.

As it touches the seafloor,

it kills whatever living thing
it contacts

by encasing it in a tomb of ice.

Even in the relative warmth
of the water,

the lethal cold of winter

threatens life on the seafloor.

Another more constant attack
rises from below.

Pressure in the depths
keeps water liquid,

even though its temperature
is far from freezing.

Currents bring up this colder water,
but it turns to ice,

covering everything
that can't move away from it.

And then, the ice,
being lighter than water,

begins to float,
lifting away anything attached.

Even some of the faster-moving
animals are caught.

So the ice cleanses the seafloor

and strews the ceiling above

with remnants of life from below.

A sign that winter is nearly over.

The songs of male Weddell seals

challenging their rivals to battle.

The male seal's calls
can be heard over 15 miles away.

He aims to control
the best breathing holes

for they will determine
his mating rights in spring.

His calls create powerful
shockwaves in the water.

They are threats.

This hole has already been claimed,

and the owner will not surrender it
willingly.

No change this time.

The challenger will need to find
a hole with a weaker owner.

The battles continue
until the females arrive,

and that time is now close.

The sun returns to Antarctica.

The longest night on earth has ended

and winter begins
to give way to spring.

Female emperor penguins.

After four months feeding at sea,

they are returning sleek and fat.

Penguins, it seems,
can fly after all.

But a winter at sea has left them
a little out of practice.

There is no time to waste.

Far away, the males are waiting.

While the females were gone,
the sea ice grew,

and it's now twice the distance
from its edge back to their colony.

70 miles away, the males
are in desperate need of help.

Despite doing all they can
to conserve their energy,

many are close to dying
from starvation.

SQUAWK!

SQUAWK!

SQUAWKING

Reunited after three months apart.

The reward for her return?

A first glimpse of her chick.

The reunion made,
it's time for the handover.

The father finds it hard to let go.

Some gentle persuasion is needed.

He has endured the most appalling
conditions on earth

to ensure the survival of his chick,

and the bond is strong.

The exchange must be quick,

as the tiny chick, unprotected,
could freeze to death in seconds.

A task that began in autumn
has been completed.

Despite the huge odds against it,

the precious chick
has survived the winter

and is now with its mother.
And she has food.

The chick's first fresh meal.

Her mission is complete.

But for other mothers,

the journey ends in disappointment.

Their chicks have not survived.

The females' need to nurture
remains strong.

Any chick that strays from
its parent

is at grave risk of being kidnapped.

The chaos may be a consequence
of frustrated parental urge,

but the outcome can be tragic.

For those emperor penguins
that survive,

the worst is over for this year.

There will soon be
abundant food for everyone.

The emperors have taken on
the polar winter and won.

The gamble has paid off.

All other animals escaped,

only they remained
to raise their young.

And now, it is they
who will now benefit most

from the rich southern spring.

Another arrival is the certain
confirmation that spring is here.

The Adelies, having spent winter
at sea, have come back,

but they have not even mated yet,
let alone laid their eggs.

Now, at last,
the male emperors can return

to where they are most at home.

One season ends and another begins.

The penguins will soon
be joined by migrants

and the far south will bustle
with life for a few frantic months.

But there are only a special few,
north and south,

who can survive winter

at the farthest ends of our planet.

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