All language subtitles for Asia (2024) - S01E03 - The Frozen North (1080p BluRay x265 Silence)

Every winter,

over half of Asia
is transformed.

Snow and ice
stretch across the continent.

Here, in the north,

forests, mountains
and even deserts freeze over.

And in the heart of Siberia

lies a sub-zero world
unlike any other.

Lake Baikal.

It's the oldest
and deepest lake on Earth...

...with depths of over a mile.

For three months of the year,

it's locked
under a layer of ice

up to two metres thick.

Powerful winds
blast its surface...

...carving the ice
into strange shapes.

But this beauty is created

by a brutal reality.

This is one of
the hardest places on Earth...

...In which to sustain life.

Here, beneath the snow and ice,
lives an animal

that is found nowhere else.

Baikal seals
give birth to their pups

in hidden dens.

This pup is alone.

Its mother is away,
hunting for food.

The world above
is no place for a newborn pup.

But as the days get longer...

...and the sun rises higher
in the sky...

...30 billion tonnes of ice

start to melt.

The pup is stranded alone.

Its calls
travel across the lake.

Mothers recognise
the cries of their young.

She must help it to swim away
from its birthplace...

...to the edge
of the ice sheet.

And that could be
over a mile away.

Adult seals
can stay under the ice

for half an hour.

But pups
can only hold their breath

for a matter of minutes.

There is no air hole in sight.

Now the mother
does something remarkable.

She stops swimming...

...and appears
to start blowing bubbles...

...which merge
to create an air pocket...

...just big enough

to allow the pup
to take a breath.

This extraordinary behaviour

isn't yet fully documented.

But it may be
that it enables the pups,

with their tiny lungs,
to swim between air holes...

...and so reach
part of the lake

that is ice free.

As far as is known,

this astonishing behaviour...

...only occurs here, in Baikal.

In winter,

most of North Asia's
lakes and rivers

are almost entirely
frozen over.

But 2,000 miles away,

on the Japanese island
of Hokkaido,

there is a river
where ice never forms.

As winter arrives,

the air begins to glitter.

Rising steam meets extreme cold

and creates
floating particles of ice.

These thermal springs

are an important meeting place

for one of Asia's
most handsome birds.

Red-crowned cranes.

Here in Japan,

they're regarded as symbols
of love and longevity.

This nine-month-old chick

is on the verge
of independence...

...but still has much to learn.

One of
the most important things

is how to dance.

Couples, it's believed,
pair for life.

Dancing brings them together

and keeps their relationship
alive.

The steps are complex
and varied.

Leaps.

High kicks.

And bows.

Maybe we don't fully appreciate
the finer points.

But for the cranes,

dancing is an essential prelude
to establishing a family.

Juveniles practise the moves
by themselves.

They watch the adults
closely...

...then repeat them
to potential partners.

Oh, dear.

But they still have a few years
in which to get things right.

Becoming one of Asia's
most graceful dancers

does take time...

...and a lot of practice.

Warm springs like these

remain open
throughout the winter.

But to the west,
in the heart of Asia,

there are no such havens.

Part of the Tibetan Plateau

is covered
by a vast frozen desert.

It's one of the most hostile
environments imaginable.

Very few animals can live here,
4,000 metres up.

The air is thin and dry.

And the temperature

frequently drops to well below
-30 degrees Celsius.

Some animals
stay permanently on the move

in a never-ending search
for food.

A lone wolf.

He must find and take down prey
entirely by himself.

And that is not easy.

These are Tibetan antelope...

...known as chiru.

It's the rutting season.

Fighting is intense...

...and energy-sapping.

A tired chiru
will be easier to catch.

But these antelope have large, powerful
hearts and lungs.

And when sprinting,
they can reach speeds of 50mph.

That is almost 10mph faster
than a wolf.

But the wolves' greatest talent
IS endurance.

And, given time, this one
may be able to exhaust a chiru.

After being chased
unrelentingly for several hours,

the chiru herd splits.

Now it's one-on-one.

Himalayan wolves have probably
lived at this altitude

for half a million years

and, as a consequence,

they have evolved
quite extraordinary stamina.

No other predator
can match the wolf's endurance

in the extreme conditions
of the Tibetan Plateau.

To the north lies
an immense expanse of forest.

It encircles the globe,

but the majority of it
grows in Asia.

And the richest part

is where Russia, China
and North Korea meet.

There are wild boar here

that can grow to the size
of European brown bears...

...and weigh
a quarter of a tonne.

As prey becomes bigger,

so do the predators
that hunt it.

The Amur tiger.

This corner of the forest
is their last stronghold.

You could live a lifetime
amongst these trees

and never see one...

...let alone two.

They are
the undisputed rulers here.

But when night falls,
other giants awaken.

These are the largest owls
in the world.

The mother
is keeping her chick warm...

...So the father
must provide food.

He knows
exactly where to find it.

But to catch it...

...he needs
a set of special skills.

This is a Blakiston's fish owl.

He has exceptional night-vision.

Even in the gloom,

he can spot the flash of a fin
in the turbulent water.

Parent birds share duties.

One patrols the river...

...while the other

waits patiently
for a delivery of food.

It's a relationship
built on trust...

...where one partner

expects the other
to play its part.

Somebody has waited
long enough.

If you want something done,

it's best to do it yourself.

For this chick,
dinner is now served.

And it seems that someone
is out in the cold...

...for the rest of the night.

The larger you are,

the better you are
at withstanding the cold.

The smaller,
the more dangerous it can be.

Sometimes, almost three-quarters
of all small birds

perish during the winter.

Long-tailed tits are amongst
the most vulnerable.

So they are always looking
for something edible.

Deer, when really hungry,
often nibble bark.

And that helps the birds.

Even the smallest of wounds...

...can release
a dribble of sap.

Here, when temperatures drop,

the emerging liquid
can freeze...

...and form...

...icicles.

And if the tree
is a maple tree...

...then the icicles
will be full of sugar.

A real delicacy.

A sapsicle.

It's rich in energy...

...and delicious.

These sweet treats
could, in fact,

make the difference
between life and death.

But they don't last long.

In only a few short hours...

...the banquet is over.

In the far north-east
of Russia,

the Kamchatka Peninsula.

It lies on the edge

of what is often called
the Pacific Ring of Fire.

A circle of volcanoes.

Kamchatka has one
of the greatest concentrations

of them
to be found anywhere.

7,000 years ago,

a series
of massive eruptions...

...created
a very special place.

This colossal crater lake

is one of the largest
salmon spawning grounds

in the world.

But this mother bear

is struggling to find enough
to feed herself and her cubs.

They must hibernate soon.

But if they are to survive
their winter sleep,

these two cubs need
to put on a lot of weight.

She must find food for them
urgently.

But she must also
keep her cubs safe.

There are males
patrolling this area.

And they don't like to share.

An adult male
could easily kill her cubs.

This male wants these waters
for himself.

And it's easy to see why.

A single salmon
can contain 4,000 calories.

He needs all that,
as fat and protein,

to sustain himself
through the winter.

And her cubs do, too.

But it is too dangerous
to stay here.

In winter,

there is barely anything to eat
in these woods.

They will have to find
a new place to fish.

And with each passing day,

the weather is getting worse.

Her daughter
seems to be coping.

But her son is becoming
increasingly exhausted.

He is struggling...

...and losing strength.

Despite her very best efforts,

she simply can't find
enough food

for all three of them.

For her son,
it may already be too late.

She refuses to give up.

She has done all she can.

Even finding the strength
to feed

seems to be an effort for him.

With winters like this,

only half of the cubs
will survive their first year.

But this mother's
determination...

...has given both her cubs
a chance.

To the west, further inland
in central Siberia...

...temperatures can drop
well below -60 degrees Celsius.

It's colder
than much of Antarctica.

The freezing Siberian winds
travel all the way to Japan...

...where they combine
with moisture from the ocean...

...and there they create drifts
deep enough to bury a house.

This tiny mammal

was buried alive
five months ago.

It's now entombed in snow.

But, remarkably...

...it's alive.

It is an Ussurian
tube-nosed bat,

which hibernates in the snow,
safe from predators.

They manage to survive

by slowing down their hearts
to one beat a minute.

In the spring, the bats awake
from their long sleep.

But their body temperature
has dropped to near-freezing,

and they can't produce
sufficient energy to fly

until they've warmed up.

Intense shivering

heats their muscles
to 30 degrees Celsius.

And their pulse rises
from one beat a minute...

...to over 300.

Animals that live in places

that are snowbound
for half the year

need very special
survival strategies.

And no part of northern Japan

is safe from the deep freeze
of winter.

Even the seas turn to ice.

Red foxes have learned that,
despite appearances...

...there is food
to be had here.

You just need to wait
for the right moment.

Opportunities like this
don't stay secret for long.

Birds.

They arrive in great numbers.

Black kites,

white-tailed eagles...

...and most powerful of all...

...Steller's sea eagles.

With a wingspan
of over two metres,

they are one of the largest

and most formidable
of the world's raptors.

A real threat to any fox.

If it is to eat,

this fox will have to ignore
their attacks.

Collecting a fish is one thing.

Keeping it...is quite another.

This is impossible.

The birds
are just too aggressive.

But, occasionally,
their continuous fighting

works to a fox's advantage.

For many
in the far north of Asia,

sea ice
is essential to survival.

Off the coast of Arctic Russia,

an enormous area of the sea
freezes each winter.

It can cover an expanse
twice the size of Australia.

But, lately,
this has become

one of the most unpredictable
of habitats.

This polar bear is swimming
in search of sea ice

from which to hunt.

Polar bears can swim
for days at a time

and travel over 100 miles
without leaving the water.

Yet, recently, the ice
has been hard to find...

...and the bears
have been forced instead...

...to take to dry land.

Coming ashore here...
could be risky.

But there's nowhere else to go.

And there is, in fact,

plenty to explore
on this strange island.

It is an abandoned
Soviet weather station...

...and a dozen or so other bears
have strayed here.

The usually solitary animals
are now sharing this village...

...here, at the end of the world.

And it seems
that newcomers are tolerated.

Slowly starving,

they must wait and hope
that conditions will improve.

Strong winds usually blow the sea ice
away from these islands.

But, occasionally,
the opposite happens.

Arctic winds blow ice
eastward from Greenland

along the northern coast
of Asia.

It gathers
around the islands...

...and creates
a polar bear playground.

Favourable winds like these
are an unreliable lifeline.

But for now,
the bears are in their element.

Despite the lethal extremes,

some animals have found
truly extraordinary ways

of surviving
and even triumphing...

...here, in Asia's frozen north.

When the Frozen crew

travelled
to the Tibetan Plateau...

...they were met

by some ominous
weather conditions.

I don't know how
the driver can keep driving.

I can't see anything.

Wow.

We're coming in and out of,
like, these dust storms,

and it's really, really bad.

Not looking forward
to go out there,

I'm not going to lie!

Jacky's mission
over the coming weeks

is to film
the elusive chiru antelope.

But he's got his work cut out.

Just getting to
the filming location every day

means negotiating
this huge, frozen area.

The crew's first strategy

is to set up a hide
on top of a lake.

Chiru have been known
to come here

to eat minerals in the soil.

It's a pretty good spot.

Right on the ice.

Pretty good place.

I think today's about -25.

Um, and the hide
is actually frozen.

Just beneath my feet
and the tripod

is just really thick ice,
and I don't think that helps.

I'm just going to try
to keep warm as much as I can,

and hopefully
chirus will come along

sometime soon.

As each day goes by...

...Still no luck.

Argh. Whoa! Argh!

Whoo. Argh, thank God.

Just absolutely freezing,

like, sitting in the hide
all day.

The conditions
are taking their toll.

And back at the hotel,

there's [little relief
from the altitude.

I heard a big explosion
in the middle of the night.

We bought some supplies
to eat in the tent,

and because of the altitude,
it exploded.

Everything
is super pressurised.

Jacky's sleep-tracker
shows a disrupted pattern.

Just... Just...
You just can't really sleep.

You're lacking oxygen

and struggling for breath
every morning.

Oh, I've got a headache.

Maybe being
in the great outdoors

will help clear Jacky's head.

We have been sitting
in the hide

for the last few days and...

...we haven't seen any chiru
willing to come close.

We might have to change
the strategy, unfortunately.

If the chiru
won't come to the team,

the team must go to the chiru.

But this is easier said
than done.

Yeah, it's really difficult.

Every time we get as close

as maybe 500 metres to a herd,
they run away,

so we can't really film any action.

We really need to think
of a strategy to get close.

Otherwise, we're probably not
going to bring home anything.

Frustratingly,
the only approachable chiru

is a dead one.

Killed by a wolf.

Such a shame.
We're, like, a day late.

Such a shame.

So fresh as well.

Two weeks go by
with little more than glimpses.

Until one morning...

...an opportunity
comes out of the blue.

Look at that guy!

Just right there,
on the window, over there.

It's still walking towards us.

What?!

Most wolves run from humans.

It's very rare to get
close to one in the wild.

Perfect.

I don't think
we're going to get any lunch

by this rate,

because if this individual's
not afraid of people,

then we'll probably follow him
the whole day.

Let's go. That's awesome.
Very exciting indeed.

After four weeks of failure
with the chiru,

the wolf
is an appealing alternative.

It's just really odd
how we get out of the car,

try to film him,
he'll walk away.

But then, about 100 metres,

he'll stop, wait for us.

Literally just looking at us
as we approach.

And he just stays there,

and then
maybe another 100 metres,

he'll wait.

I don't know,

it feels like he's trying
to tell us something

or lead us somewhere, you know?

I'm hoping that
that's the case.

Jacky launches the drone
to get closer.

To the team's surprise,
the wolf shows no reaction.

Ha-ha!

That is not
what we set out to do,

but we did manage to get
some awesome shots.

But then, suddenly...

...the wolf picks up the pace

and starts to hunt.

Right there,

we can see the wolf.
It's just been crazy.

And he doesn't stop.

He's been chasing forever.

With the sun about to set...

We changed twice
on the battery.

...and the crew
on their last drone battery,

they hope it'll keep working
long enough

to record the entire hunt.

- Low battery warning.
- Oh, my days!

I mean, honestly,
this is absolutely unbelievable.

I was thinking,
"There's no way

"he's going to be able
to catch that, no way."

It was just chasing the chiru
all over the place,

and then suddenly
just caught one.

Crazy! I can't believe it.

We almost gave up.
The drone have no battery.

It literally...forced landing.

It's something
that we dreamt of,

but just think,
"That's impossible,

"there's no way
we can film anything like that.

"Not a hunt, not here."

But, in fact, just... Ha!

Yeah, words can't even describe
how excited I was.

The team's patience
and persistence...

...has allowed them to capture
something far greater...

...than they ever hoped.