All language subtitles for Frozen.Planet.II.S01E01.1080p.BluRay.x265-RARBG[eztv.re]

Looking down on our planet,

it may come as a surprise

to find just how much of it
is blanketed in snow and ice.

These vast frozen wildernesses

cover more than
a fifth of the earth...

Yet some areas are so remote
and inhospitable

that, even today,

the closest we've come
to exploring them

is from space.

More than a decade ago,

the first series
of frozen planet

examined life in the arctic
and the antarctic.

In this series, we will explore

all of earth's
frozen habitats...

From its highest peaks,

to its snowbound deserts...

To deep beneath the ice.

Between them, they contain

an astonishing array
of animals...

Many that are found
nowhere else on earth.

We will watch
the extraordinary ways

by which they manage to survive.

Using new technology,

such as racer drones,

we'll gain a new insight
into their remarkable lives.

But just as we're beginning
to understand its wildlife,

we are recognising
an alarming truth.

Our frozen wildernesses
are disappearing

at faster rates
than ever before.

And never has it been
more important

to understand what is going on
in these icy territories.

In this first episode,

we will travel
from pole to pole...

To celebrate
the precious wildlife

foundin
our frozen wildernesses...

And witness their wonders...

While there is still time
to save them.

This is frozen planet ii.

We begin our journey
in the far south of the planet.

After six months of darkness,

the sun is starting to return

to the largest frozen expanse
on earth.

Antarctica.

A continent almost twice
the size of Australia.

Here, temperatures fall
to minus 80 degrees centigrade.

It's the coldest place on earth.

There is only one animal here

Hardy enough
to raise its family in winter.

The emperor penguin.

Winds here can reach speeds
of over 100mph,

and a chick is in real danger
of freezing to death.

But his parents are possibly
the most devoted in all nature.

They shield him

from the full force
of the icy blast...

And huddle together
to create a tight creche.

Within it, the chicks,
remarkably,

can maintain
their body temperature

of 37 degrees celsius...

Until one spring day,

when the chicks have grown
to almost a metre tall...

The parents simply walk away.

Their parental duties
are complete...

And they will never again
return to their chicks.

As the days pass,
the chicks grow hungry.

And their only chance of
finding a meal is out at sea.

But that could be 30 miles away
across the frozen ocean.

When one makes
the first bold move...

The rest follow.

They set off at a steady pace.

But sliding on your belly
is an easy option.

Out on this ever-changing
platform of the frozen sea...

Towering walls of ice
stand in their way.

This will require
mountaineering skills.

Beaks come in useful
as ice picks.

And tobogganing
is a quick way down.

As they near the sea,
the ice becomes more unstable.

Even the smallest crack
is met with suspicion.

And with good reason.

A crack can quickly turn
into a gaping chasm.

If they can't escape,

the panicked chicks
will be doomed.

Made it.

Finally, the end is in sight.

The southern ocean.

In some years,
the sea ice is so unstable

that none make it
as far as this.

These chicks are the lucky ones.

Not the most graceful entry.

But they are in their element.

The sea.

They may have endured
the toughest of upbringings,

but now they can reap
the benefits

of the long summer ahead,

and feed in the richest waters
on earth.

In winter,

the seas around Antarctica
are so cold that they form

a platform of ice
twice the size of Europe.

But in summer,

just off the shores
of the antarctic peninsula,

the ice cover breaks up into
millions of tiny ice roes.

It's an excellent place
for a weddell seal

to rest up after a night's feed.

The bay is sheltered...

And the water calm.

But there are great dangers
here.

Killer whales.

This pair of 15-year-olds
are learning what is perhaps

the most complex
hunting technique in nature.

After sizing up their prey...

They assemble 30 metres away...

And then launch an attack.

They swim in tandem,

synchronising
their tail beats...

To create a wave.

The seal is washed off...

But it won't give up
without a fight.

The seal has escaped...

This time.

But for the young killer whales,

help is at hand.

They live in multi-generational
family groups...

Led by an experienced female
who can be over 100 years old.

Helped by
her accumulated knowledge,

the whales have become
ruthlessly efficient.

They have a 90%
hunting success rate...

But a killer whale
needs to eat a seal a day...

So this 14-strong family
has a lot of hunting to do.

Spreading out,

they spy-hop
to search the ice roes.

When a seal is spotted,

the scouts alert the family
with a rallying call.

But if they are to catch a seal

resting on
such a large piece of ice...

The hunters need to change
their tactics.

This time, they produce
a sub-surface wave.

It breaks the ice
into smaller pieces.

But the seal still has a raft...

And appears to be protected
from any oncoming wave.

The matriarch whale,
however, has a plan.

Working in a coordinated way,

the pod push
the seal's ice platform

into clearer water.

The matriarch now tries
another tactic

which will avoid injury.

Blowing bubbles.

They disorientate
the tiring seal...

And the whales move in
for the kill.

Only about 100 killer whales
in the world

hunt using this technique.

It's an ingenious solution
to the problem of finding prey,

here in the most extreme
frozen habitat on earth.

Antarctica is so cold

because of its position
at the far south of the planet.

But travel north...

And you'll find other icy worlds

that are created by altitude,
in the mountains.

The andes in South America,

with its 4,500 miles
of snow-covered peaks,

is the longest range on earth.

These high icy worlds even
exist close to the equator,

where the sun is at its hottest,

as on mount Kenya in Africa.

But the highest mountains
of all stretch 1,500 miles

across the north
of sub-tropical Asia -

the himalaya.

At the western end,
bordering Pakistan,

stand the karakoram.

They contain more peaks
over 8,000 metres high

than any other range on earth...

And include k2,

which stands
over 8,600 metres tall.

The slopes of the himalaya

carry the greatest accumulation
of snow and ice

outside the polar regions.

It's an area known
as the third pole.

But north of the himalaya,

there are even more surprising
frozen worlds

created by altitude.

A remote snow-bound desert -

the gobi.

And beyond it,
a grassy plain that stretches

for 5,000 miles
across Central Asia.

It's known as the great steppe.

Here, sheltering
from the elements

in his Boulder den,

is a somewhat grouchy resident.

A pallas's cat.

He has the densest fur
of any cat in the world.

Nonetheless, to keep warm,

he must catch
up to five rodents a day.

Top of the menu are voles...

And gerbils.

Relative to body size,

pallas's cats have one of
the shortest legs of any cat...

And that helps by giving them

a low profile when stalking.

But it's not so good
for wading through deep snow.

Never mind.
There are plenty more.

He just needs to stay focused.

Unfortunately, the longer
he's out in the snow,

the colder his paws become.

And he has only one way to get
the blood circulating again.

That could be one shake
too many.

Only one hunt in three by
a pallas's cat is successful.

No wonder he has
the reputation of being

the grumpiest cat in the world.

To the north of the steppe,
in higher latitudes,

lies yet another frozen world.

The boreal forest.

750 billion snow-covered trees.

It's the largest forest
on earth,

encircling the top of the world

from Europe to Russia,

and across to North America.

At the far eastern end
of this vast siberian forest

lies the hunting ground of one
of the world's rarest big cats.

The siberian tiger.

Ihegalhunfing
and destruction of its habitat

have driven this tiger to
the very brink of extinction.

Now fewer than 500 remain
in the wild.

Weighing nearly 200kg,

it's the largest
of all the big cats.

To keep warm,

this male must eat
10kg of meat a day...

But in winter,
any prey remaining here...

Is all too easily alarmed.

He must patrol his entire
700-square-mile territory

if he is to find enough to eat.

His acute sense of smell

tells him
that wild pig were here.

He's so hungry that he would
tackle even a 150kg bear.

But it left here months ago...

Leaving only a faint trace
of its scent.

In the Autumn, black bears here
escape the coming winter

by hibernating inside caves.

But that wouldn't stop a tiger
from trying to catch one.

Remote cameras reveal
the bear's whereabouts.

It retreated into the farthest
recess months ago.

The tiger is simply too big
to reach it.

But ready for every opportunity,

this big cat is able to endure
the long siberian winter.

And as long as this forest
is kept free from poachers,

these magnificent tigers have
a good chance of surviving.

In the northerly reaches
of the boreal forest...

A strange phenomenon
illuminates the night sky.

The Aurora borealis.

Electrically charged particles
from the sun

collide
with the earth's atmosphere,

creating
this othennorldly display.

Viewed from space,

the Aurora brings light
to the frozen Poles,

which otherwise
would remain in darkness

for almost three months.

This is the arctic tundra...

Where temperatures can fall
to minus 50 degrees celsius.

With little or no shelter,

few animals can survive
the winter here.

But some do.

Muskox.

Relics from the last ice age.

Two layers of fur protect them

from temperatures
of minus 30 degrees.

This allows them
to give birth in early spring.

At six hours old, a calf
is already able to stand...

Ready to follow the herd in
the search for fresh grazing.

But until they gain in strength,

they are very vulnerable.

They're being stalked.

Grizzly bears.

Weighing up to 300kg,

they have emerged after
six months of hibernation...

And are extremely hungry.

One gets to within
just ten metres...

And then attacks.

Separated from their mothers,

the newly born are unable
to distinguish friend...

From foe.

The bear instinctively kills
every calf it can.

Only a few escape.

But the herd is now far away...

And he is too weak to follow.

90% of calves do not survive
their first year.

Even one without injury

stands little chance
without its mother.

Reunited.

If just a few calves survive
to adulthood,

the future of the herd
will be secure.

North of the tundra
lies the arctic ocean,

surrounded by three continents -

Europe, North America and Asia.

In winter, it remains
almost entirely frozen.

But as the spring sunshine
finally reaches

the northernmost part
of the planet,

the sea ice begins to break up.

This marks the start
of the breeding season

for male hooded seals.

When they're six years old,

the males develop
an inflatable nose.

They're ready to breed,
and the bigger their nose,

the more attractive
they will be to a female.

And now this one
is eager to prove it.

A female has just given birth.

A mother spends a mere four days

feeding milk to her pup...

And then, and only then,

will she be ready to mate again.

That is too long
for an impatient youngster

to wait around.

These females seem
to have been claimed

by a larger male...

But if this youngster
is to breed this year,

it's worth a try.

An inflatable nose
can also be used

to intimidate a rival.

His bravado pays off.

He must now woo
the receptive female.

She seems unimpressed...

But he has another trick.

He has an expandable sac
within his left nostril.

What is her verdict?

A sharp nip on the tail.

And that means no.

With only one day in the year
in which to mate,

the female
is understandably choosy...

And until the youngster
has grown

a more impressive balloon,

he's unlikely to be chosen.

No wonder he's deflated.

The spring not only transforms
the ocean,

it also triggers
an important event

on the biggest
of the arctic's islands.

Greenland.

Over 1,600 miles long.

It's covered
by a single gigantic ice sheet,

the largest
in the northern hemisphere.

As spring advances,
the surface of the ice melts,

forming crystal-clear lakes...

Up to five miles wide.

Climate change is bringing
higher temperatures,

so there is
more and more meltwater.

It drains down into
the mile-thick ice sheet...

And a whole chain of events
is then triggered.

Time-lapse photography
from space

reveals what happens next.

The increased meltwater

accelerates the ice sheet's
slide downhill.

Eventually,
it reaches the ocean.

Here, it breaks up
into icebergs,

some taller
than the empire state building.

Greenland is losing its ice

six times faster today
than it was 30 years ago.

It alone is responsible

for a quarter of the rise
in global sea levels.

Changes in the arctic
are already affecting

the lives of its highly
specialised wildlife.

Polar bears.

These one-year-old twins
still rely on their mother

for her milk, protection
and crucial survival lessons.

But they have yet to perfect
their swimming technique...

And they can't wait to practise.

The cubs need to be
as at home in the water

as they are on the sea ice.

Their mother calls them out.

Until they've accumulated

a significant layer
of body fat...

They feel the cold.

A roll in the snow
is a good way to dry off.

Then it's back to play...

While their mother
heads off to hunt.

Over the coming months,

a mother must provide her cubs
with not just milk but meat,

and lots of it.

By midsummer, the sea ice
has become so thin...

That her best chance
of catching her preferred prey

is by ambushing it
from the water.

It's a technique known
as aquatic stalking.

She approaches downwind...

And tries to get within
a metre of a bearded seal.

But today there is less sea ice
to provide cover,

so she is having
to target riskier prey.

The hooded seal.

They are about the same size
as the bearded,

but more aggressive
and dangerous.

She moves round
to the other side.

The arctic is now warming
more than twice as fast

as the rest of the world.

The sea could be ice free
in summer

by as early as 2035.

That will make it harder
for mother polar bears

to feed themselves...

Let alone their cubs.

Well adapted
to live in the cold...

The animals that inhabit
our frozen lands and seas

need one thing
more than any other.

And that is for the planet
to stop warming.

It's now up to us
to make that happen.

Filming across the length
and breadth

of our frozen planet,

one of the team's greatest
challenges was to capture

the enormity of Greenland's
rapidly melting ice sheet.

To do so, the crew launched

five separate
filming expeditions,

installing specially designed
cold-proof time-lapse cameras

that were to run
for three years...

Even commissioning
satellites to record

the big-picture changes.

But the story
would be incomplete

without documenting
the finale of this event -

the calving of
Greenland's store glacier...

A wall of ice
over three miles long...

And towering 120 metres high.

The crew arrive at the height
of the summer thaw,

when, at any moment,

fracturing ice blocks
the size of a small town

may be cast into the sea.

Camping out
for the next three weeks,

the team takes advantage
of the constant daylight

offered by the far north
at this time of the year.

We've got a lot of ice
on the glacier, 24 hours a day.

So, yeah, we're poised.

I started about 8pm

and it's currently, yeah,
just after two.

I've got until 4am
this morning, I think.

They're hoping to be
one of the first film crews

to uso a camera drone

for unprecedented proximity
and a brand-new perspective.

Yeah, it's going.

It's not long before
their new technology

is put to the test.

But it quickly reveals
its limitations.

The issue with the drone,
you've got to turn it on,

get it in the air and fly it
1.5km to the glacier fronts.

So, if you see
a calving happening,

then you're too late.

With a flight time
of just 20 minutes,

gauging the moment of takeoff
is critical.

Helen: Yeah, I feel like today,

just every decision I've made
has been the wrong one.

It's really easy to trick
yourself into thinking,

"oh, it's gonna go,
it's gonna go,"

so you get out there,

use up a whole drone battery
hovenng,

come back, and as you're
heading back - pfff!

Soon, the team face
another problem

that comes with
today's warming arctic.

Unseasonably wet weather

makes it impossible
to fly the drone,

and acts as a catalyst
for further melting.

Absolute racket happening
down in the glacier.

Oh, my goodness.

Even if it is
a major calving event...

Can't see a thing.

That sound just went on and on.

Helen: That one was huge.

After five days of frustration,

the fog finally lifts
to reveal the bay

choked with giant icebergs.

It appears the crew have missed
their opportunity.

The morale of the crew

has taken a little bit
of a downturn.

Do you know what?
I just don't know what to say.

I'm so tired.

To make matters worse,

a plague of mosquitoes descends,

further disheartening
the exhausted team.

Helen: All your senses
are all-go all the time,

even when
you're trying to sleep,

so it's just...

A bit emotionally draining
sometimes.

Then, with just a few
shooting days left,

under a warming sun,

the glacier groans
and rumbles back into action.

Ooh.

Man: Guys, a big one going!

This could be the opportunity
they've been waiting for.

Oh, my gosh, look at that! Ah!

A calving event
lasting long enough

to film from the drone.

But no-one is prepared
for the sheer scale of it.

Just layer after layer of ice
broke away

and fell into the sea,

and then out came

this enormous,
skyscraper-sized iceberg,

displacing vast quantities
of water

and throwing enormous blocks
of ice around

like they were nothing.

Sitting here, day after day,
crossing your fingers

and hoping that you get
a big calving

and you see a big event,
and you manage to film it,

and when it does happen
and when it does go off,

it's so exciting,
and you get the adrenaline.

And then aftennards,
as you're sort of coming down

from that, there is
a bitter sweetness to it

as she realised
that's another piece of ice

that's slowly raising
the sea level.

Such imagery provides
an invaluable record

of the rapid changes

that are now taking place

across our frozen planet.