All language subtitles for E05.Winter.2011.720p.BluRay.x264.anoXmous_eng

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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 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,

the ducks will have avoided
an exhausting migration.

It's a gamble and a tremendous risk,
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 10 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 nonetheless
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 the more determined,
or more desperate.

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

This 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 tons 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.

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 break cover
to search for more food.

The great grey owl is
silent and very skillful 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.

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 cozy 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 cubs' 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 light shows
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 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 emperors are not entirely alone.

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 anti-freeze 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 sea floor.

Winter is reaching down
from the cold world above.

As it touches the sea floor, 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 sea floor.

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
and 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 sea floor

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 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.

Seventy 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.

Reunited after three months apart.

The reward for her return,
a first glimpse of her chick.

The reunion made,
it's time for the hand-over.

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 female's 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 benefit most
from the rich southern spring.

Another arrival is the certain
confirmation that spring is here.

The Adélies,

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.

More than any other season in the poles,

winter was to pose the greatest
challenge to the Frozen Planet crew.

The team endured winds of
over 100 miles an hour

and temperatures as
low as -50 degrees centigrade.

Their boats were trapped in
sea-ice for days,

while bears trapped others indoors.

Some of the coldest
conditions experienced

were near the Arctic circle
in Northern Canada.

In winter, temperatures dropped to
-40 degrees and stayed there.

On the edge of the vast Taiga forest,

the team hoped to film one
the most remarkable

predator-prey relationships
on the planet.

What they experienced was the
struggle against the elements,

what they witnessed was a more profound
struggle for life and death.

Wood Buffalo National Park
covers 28,000 square miles,

the size of Denmark.

One of the few cameramen to have filmed
wolves and bison here is Jeff Turner.

I first tried to film
bison and wolves

in this national park 15 years ago
and getting around on the ground

is incredibly difficult at any time of
the year, but in the winter it's tough.

We quickly realized that the only way
we were going to get anything here

was we had to get up in the air.

The Frozen Planet team

had never attempted aerial filming
in such low temperatures.

The first challenge
for director Chadden Hunter

was protecting the sensitive
aerial camera,

at -40, electrical cables
short-circuit like fireworks.

- Oh!
- Ooh.

- How cold can you fly this chopper?
- Minus-40.

Aerial cameraman Michael
Kelem comes from sunny California

and has never experienced
temperatures so low.

What kind of temperatures
can you operate down to?

Me, usually about 70 degrees
Fahrenheit. LA kind of weather,

- Yeah.
- I'm only rated for Santa Monica.

Operating delicate
controls while wearing gloves

is not easy.
A computer and joystick are needed

to control the aerial camera attached
to the outside of the helicopter.

It's actually warmed up to -30.

Michael would have to
choose between dexterity or warmth.

With their camera mounted on the nose,

the aerial team could now fly hundreds
of miles in search of the animals.

Jeff, meanwhile, is still on foot,

scouting the other side
of the national park.

I wonder what Jeff’s getting
on the ground?

Oh, man, it's cold.

With the wind today it's about -37

so you got to keep
these heaters in here,

to keep the camera running
at these temperatures.

From 3,000 feet up,

Chadden catches a glimpse
of the elusive wolf pack.

I can see wolves,
I can see wolves near buffalo.

- 10, 15, there's a big pack.
- Wow.

We've got a big pack of wolves here.

The wolf pack turns out to
number an extraordinary 25 individuals,

one of the largest ever filmed.

There's two more walking in
from the left.

And it looks like
they're already on the hunt.

The helicopter allows the team to shadow
the wolf pack without disturbing them.

So, let's go back into
nice, slow circle around them.

They look pretty determined.

The pack are moving in
on their prey

and the aerial team
are perfectly placed.

They're making their...
definitely making their move.

Wow,
there's buffalo on the move.

- The chase is on.
- Extreme concentration is now needed

both from pilot and the cameraman
to keep the shots smooth.

Yeah, there's more coming in now.

There's a nice, tight little pack
challenging them.

We've got a nice shot of the pack,

the wolves coming up at the back.
You got them still?

Yeah, I got them here, I'm just
going to pick it up a little bit.

Okay, okay, tighten up, just a hair.

Just want to get a shot
of the wolves at the back of the pack.

The wolf pack
have picked out a young bison.

Holy.

As Michael struggles
to hold the shot steady,

no one is prepared for what came next.

Oh, hey, look,
they just knocked him down, pretty much.

A one-ton bull charges through,

taking out both the wolves
and the young bison.

I've never seen anything like that
in the wild, that is unbelievable.

The team have filmed
extraordinary new behavior from the air

but Jeff was nowhere nearby.

To complete the sequence,
they will need to work together,

only by using the helicopter
to position Jeff

will they able to get both air
and ground coverage.

This pack will now feast for days,
so the crew must move on.

Jeff takes the team deeper
into the wilderness

in search of a new wolf pack.

With everyone on board,
there are more eyes for spotting.

Bison on the run can only mean
one thing, wolves.

But this time, only a pair.

Jeff must anticipate the animals'
every move

and direct the helicopter to
where he needs to be dropped off.

They're going this way.

I had to figure out exactly

where the buffalo were going to run,
try to get there ahead of them.

If I got dropped off
in the wrong position, we would blow it.

There wasn't going to be
a second chance.

That moment when you get
out of the helicopter

and it leaves you behind, you feel
an incredible sense of isolation.

On the lake, I'll guide you in,

down to the right, down, zoom in.

- Are you on the back guy?
- We're on the back guy. On the back.

- Which one is he going for?
- I don't know.

- But there's one broken off.
- Oh!

- Oh, my God.
- They're coming in now.

When I saw the herd
coming around the corner,

I knew we'd picked the right spot,
I was right in front of them.

And the buffalo
running right towards you,

it definitely does get your
heart pounding.

The bison have poor eyesight

and can't see Jeff.
It's now test of nerves.

Weighing one ton
and running at 40 miles an hour,

one wrong step
and the bison could kill Jeff.

At the last second,

they spot him and three peel
away to the other side.

At the back of the herd,
the wolves have closed in.

They're still at him. They're trying to
separate that little one.

- Oh, they got him!
- Both wolves are on him.

- Both clamping down on him.
- Yeah, he got stomped.

He got stomped on there.

What followed was one of
the most emotional and powerful scenes

the Frozen Planet team
were ever to film.

Jeff has picked his position perfectly,

he is now only 50 meters
from the animals

and able film a truly epic battle.

I had never been so close
to a wolf and bison battle,

I could hear them breathing.

And the power of the buffalo,

the way he just threw this wolf around
like it was a rag doll.

I couldn't believe the beating
this wolf was taking.

The struggles that we'd had with
the winter and the cold and the snow

just felt so insignificant
compared to these two animals

that were struggling
for their very lives.

For over an hour,
I watched this wolf and bison

battle each other to a standstill.

They were both unbelievably exhausted.

Watching these two animals engaged
in this massive life and death struggle

was one of the most powerful things
I'd ever witnessed in the wild.

As a filmmaker, you're definitely torn
watching something like this.

You know you need to keep filming
and you know this a natural event,

but it's also incredibly sad
to know that

one of these two magnificent
animals isn't going to make it.

The bison is fatally
wounded, the battle is over.

The team have managed
to capture a remarkable hunt

from both ground and air.

All of them have been humbled

by witnessing an extraordinary
winter struggle for survival.