All language subtitles for Frozen.Planet.2011.S01E03.720p.BluRay.x264-RO4EVA

Summer in the polar regions

and the sun never sets.

Imagine a single day
that lasts for months.

Some polar animals
will face great challenges

as their ice world vanishes around them.

Others must use
this special time wisely,

for summer's riches will not last.

The summer is just beginning
and the increasing power of the sun

is creating a spectacular new landscape.

This melting ice sheet in the Arctic
is 150 miles long

with a thousand waterfalls.

Vast expanses of ice that were
once stone-still have come to life.

The polar bear's world is melting away
under the constant summer sun.

As the season advances,

the frozen surface of the ocean
disintegrates.

Soon, the ice here
will have totally vanished.

The polar bear family have to adapt
to their rapidly changing home.

For the two cubs,
this is a whole new watery world.

It's the first time they have seen
the sea-ice break up.

They're only six months old

and will be dependent on their mother
for another two years.

They have much to learn.

Their first swimming lesson,

and they're not sure that they want it.

For their mother,
swimming is second nature.

But the cubs still prefer to have ice
beneath their feet whenever they can.

Soon, it will be impossible
to avoid the water.

This lone male has lived through
a dozen summers

and is perfectly at home in the sea.

He can swim up to 50 miles a day.

He's hungry and he's searching
this ice maze for seals.

But travelling across this
increasingly fragile ice-scape

is hard work for an animal
weighing over half a ton.

It's also harder to hunt
when you have to swim.

In open water,
the odds are in the seals' favor.

Lean months lie ahead
for the polar bears.

They will have to adopt new
hunting strategies or risk starvation.

The northern part of the earth
is now tilting towards the sun

and all around the Arctic
the sea-ice continues its retreat.

The last remnants of the ice-world
drift with the wind and the tides.

The sun's heat may be gentle
at these latitudes,

but it is continuous for 24 hours a day

and it carves the ice
into magical shapes.

Those that need ice have to visit
the glacier fronts to find it.

A comfortable bed is hard to come by.

A polar bear's fur is so dense
that water is easily shaken off.

And ice absorbs water like a towel.

That's better!

There's now little chance
of catching seals

and this bear may not eat again
until the end of summer.

It's better to save energy
and doze in the sun.

The warmth of the sun's rays is now
bringing the Arctic lands back to life.

Red phalaropes.

They've flown all the way
from the tropics

to feed in these rich Arctic waters.

They stir up the tiny creatures
that are now flourishing here

with a special spinning dance.

All excellent fuel, as they hurry
to rear the next generation.

The Arctic terns have made an
even longer journey to breed here.

They have flown 11 ,000 miles
from the Antarctic.

Their newly hatched chicks
will need to grow fast

if they're to accompany their parents

when they return south
in only six weeks' time.

An eider duck has chosen to nest
in the center of the tern colony,

hardly a tranquil place
to raise your young.

But the noisy neighbors
have a feisty attitude to life

and that can be very valuable.

A hungry bear looking for a meal

can destroy hundreds of nests
in a single raid.

Defensive squadrons of terns
take off immediately.

Sharp beaks stab down from above.

The bear has nothing in his armory
that can cope with this.

The terns have drawn blood
from his muzzle.

He leaves, in search of an easier meal.

The eiders survive
thanks to their choice of neighbors.

And the ducklings begin
their sprint to maturity.

Fishing continues around the clock

as the terns race to rear their young
before the return of the freeze.

So the rich waters of summer
fuel the breeding of all these visitors

and enable them to build up
the reserves they will need

for the long return journey south.

Inland, the winter snows have gone,
revealing a vast, treeless wilderness.

The male snowy owl is finding
plenty of lemmings to bring to his mate.

But they're not just for her.

She is brooding their
rather scruffy young.

She tears the meal
into beak-sized chunks

that the owlets can swallow whole.

Each of them can eat two lemmings a day.

The male has no time to rest.

Over the course of the summer,
he will have to provide his family

with over a thousand lemmings.

The hungry owlets keep the adults
working around the clock.

The arctic summer may be short
but the days are long.

Everyone must take advantage
of the 24-hour daylight,

none more so than
the owls' tiny neighbors,

the Lapland buntings.

Both parents feed their growing family
continuously.

A mere 10 days after hatching

and they will all have left
in record time.

The last needs a little encouragement.

The owlets have also left their nest

and turned into
football-sized balls of fluff.

But they still depend on their parents
for food and protection.

A skua.

Their mother's talons
are her best weapons.

The owlets are dangerously exposed
out on the tundra,

so they must hurry to change
from balls of fluff

to fully-feathered adults.

And to do that they need more lemmings.

A lemming doesn't last long these days.

Times are harder for the wolves here
in the high Arctic.

The cubs are now six weeks old
and increasingly hungry.

The adults have to struggle
to feed their growing family.

Somewhere on this vast
expanse of tundra

there must be larger prey.

Musk oxen are on the move.

They're heading into the valleys,
where the brief summer rains

will produce fresh grazing.

This is an opportunity
that must be seized,

even if it means travelling
80 miles in a day.

Their task is a formidable one.

Musk oxen are immensely powerful

and their sharp horns can kill.

A heavily armored bull
would be an unwise choice.

Even two wolves would find it
a struggle to bring it down.

A calf.

Much easier.

The two wolves work together to split
the herd and isolate their victim.

It seems that the wolf cubs
will at last eat well.

But the herd regroups.

The cavalry ride to the rescue.

The whole herd encircles the calf
with a protective wall of horns.

For the musk oxen,
it's all for one and one for all.

For the wolves, another attack
would be not only futile but dangerous.

They have spent a lot of energy

and have nothing whatever
to show for it.

Their failure will be felt
most keenly back at the den.

They have nothing to take back
to the family.

The pack are forced to move on
in search of better hunting.

They must find something soon

in this vast wilderness
to feed their growing family.

The brief Arctic summer is almost over.

At the southern end of the planet,
the long summer days transform life,

just as they do in the north,
but the cast here is very different.

King penguins.

A parent, returning with food,
must recognize its chick's call

amongst a chorus of 400,000 birds.

Huge colonies like this one

are found all along the north coast
of South Georgia.

King penguins are active
throughout the long summer days,

so they have to deal with
an uncharacteristic polar problem.

By midday, the temperature can reach
a sizzling 17 degrees centigrade.

Any effort can lead to overheating.

It's best not to overexert oneself.

The heavily insulated penguins
stretch out

so their naked feet
can cool in the breeze.

Their gigantic neighbors
use a different approach.

Wet sand cools the backs
of these elephant seals

and also acts as a sunscreen.

The chicks, in their downy coats
that have kept them warm all winter,

are in even greater danger
of overheating.

It will be two months
before they can swim properly,

but a dip in the shallow river
brings a little relief.

There is, however, another way
to cool the blood.

This murky pool has become
a penguin spa.

It's a great way to cool the feet,
but there is no reason to stop there.

You can indulge yourself
with the full treatment.

Mud, glorious mud!

For the fully feathered adults,

there's a cleaner,
more invigorating option.

The bracing waters
of the Southern Ocean.

The 100-mile long island
of South Georgia

lies on the northern fringe
of Antarctica.

Ice-free all year,
its rich coastal waters

make it a popular breeding destination
for all beach lovers.

In summer, 95% of the world's population
of Antarctic fur seals come here.

Packed tightly together,

they form one of the densest
gatherings of marine mammals on Earth.

The island's beaches are filling fast
and will soon be crammed

with five million
of these summer visitors.

Space is at a premium, as every female
needs a dry patch of sand

the size of a beach towel for herself.

And for good reason.

Virtually all of them give birth
within just 10 days.

It's crucial to establish
a strong bond with your baby

in such a crowded colony.

The pups grow quickly on rich,
high-fat milk.

After giving birth,
the females are ready to mate,

so each male guards up to 15 of them
in his small patch of beach.

A bull may only hold a territory
for one season in his entire life.

So, when a challenger arrives,
he will risk everything to retain it.

Their sharp teeth
inflict terrible injuries.

Many bulls die from exhaustion
after these fights.

In the heat of the battle,
the pups are also in real danger.

The defeated bull makes his escape,

but the colony still suffers
from the side-effects of the battle.

Many of the pups get lost
in the violence and confusion.

This time, there is a happy ending.

As summer progresses,

even more of the Southern Ocean
is gradually opening up.

The summer melt, as it moves south,

arrives first
at the Antarctic Peninsula,

the most northern tip of the continent.

As the ice retreats,
a dramatic 500-mile-long coastline

is revealed for the first time
in seven months.

This new seascape is home to one of
the most numerous mammals on the planet.

Crabeater seals,

over 15 million live here
amongst the drifting ice floes.

They owe their existence here
to living organisms so small

you might hardly notice them.

The underside of the sea-ice
is stained by algae.

These microscopic plants

support the most important
Antarctic creatures of all.

Krill.

They have been grazing on
the algal layer throughout the winter.

As the ice melts, more of the algae
are released into the water.

Both algae and krill flourish
in the summer sun.

The krill collect the algae
in the sieve-like basket

formed by the interlocking hairs
between their front legs.

There are 300 million tons of krill
in the Southern Ocean,

with a greater combined weight than that
of any other animal on the planet.

Almost all the animals of the Antarctic
depend on krill,

including its giants.

Humpback whales.

They drive the krill to the surface

and then strain it from the water
with the baleen sieves in their mouths.

Humpbacks often feed in teams,
so the overspill from one huge mouth

can be collected by another just behind.

The abundance of krill
attracts other visitors

to the peninsula in the summer.

Antarctic minke whales.

Their pointed heads and short dorsal
fins give them speed and endurance.

And they need both.

There are other whales here, too.

Killers!

This is an extended family
of mothers and their young.

And a male with a huge dorsal fin
almost two meters high.

A lone minke whale.

It's just what this group
of killer whales are looking for.

Working as a team,
as they have done for decades,

they fan out across the strait
in search of their quarry.

And they've found it.

The minke races away,
pursued by outriders on each flank.

Terrified, the minke
heads for the shore.

It's so desperate to escape
it almost beaches itself.

It makes a desperate break for freedom.

Two hours and 20 miles later,

the minke is still alive
and swimming strongly.

It's only real defense is its endurance.

But the killers work as a team,

with fresh ones replacing
the outriders in relays.

And as the minke tires,
the battering and the biting begins.

Sea birds are attracted by the smell
of fresh blood rising from the water.

The killers try to flip the minke over.

If they can manage to keep
its blowhole underwater,

it will drown.

One forces the minke's whole body
down below the surface.

And then, the final strike.

The team drag the minke under
for the last time

and the hunters, finally, can feed.

As the summer advances,
the most southerly stretches

of the Antarctic Ocean
are released from the ice.

Adélie penguins have been
feeding in the open ocean.

The most southerly of all penguins,

they're returning
to the Antarctic continent

with stomachs full of krill.

The sea-ice has finally retreated
all the way back to the beach,

so the walk back to the colony
is as short as it will ever be,

crucial for the half million
penguins here

who are hurrying to raise their chicks
before the freeze returns.

Most of the pairs have two chicks
to care for.

Each chick requires nearly 30 kilograms
of food before it's fully grown.

Most of their catch is krill

and Adélie penguins consume a staggering

one and a half million tons of it
a year.

There are no land-based predators
in Antarctica.

The threat here comes from the skies.

A South Polar skua.

An unguarded chick is an easy catch.

Nothing can save the chick now.

But now the parents can focus
all their attention on the second.

Only half of these chicks
will survive to adulthood.

But there are thousands more parents
with young in this huge colony.

Parents that cannot rest,

for their young must be fit and strong

if they're to survive the dangers
that autumn will bring.

In summer, the frozen oceans melt

and the polar animals disperse
to feed amongst the broken ice.

So, even finding them
in this vast expanse of sea

and drifting ice floes wouldn't be easy.

In the Arctic, the aim was to
get close to a polar bear family

and film them in this
fast-melting world.

Firstly, the team had to use a ship
capable of breaking through the pack ice

around the 2,000-mile-long coastline
of Svalbard.

Producer Miles Barton
and cameraman Ted Giffords

are checking out fjords
known to be frequented by bears.

We've just seen a bear
that was walking around

in front of a glacier over there.

We've just arrived, so this is
kind of a test more than anything,

but we're going to go and see
if we can film it.

We're seeing how smoothly
we can make this operation work.

Stay on Channel Six. Can you
give me directions to the bear, please?

The plan is that
the team's stabilized aerial camera,

now fitted to the speedboat,

will give perfectly stable shots
of the bear swimming.

Spin this around
or we'll lose it.

The fellow's over here, yeah?

- Got him, yeah.
- I can't get any tighter.

You shoot it?

Wahey!

- That's nice.
- Nice sparkle, nice liquid look.

- Going to let him go.
- Okay, cut.

After their initial success,

the weather takes a turn for the worse.

We're used to the Baja.

For five days, there are
no more polar bears to be found.

The captain decides to take a break
and parks up in the pack ice.

But after all that fruitless searching
by the crew, a bear visits them.

A large and inquisitive adult male.

So, the team decides to follow him.

The open water between boat and bear

means the crew can safely film
from surprisingly close range

without disturbing him.

That's nice. Oops.

The bear is so relaxed

he even begins to hunt
right alongside them.

He's looking for a seal inside.

But he's just completely ignoring us.

Just hold it there.
Just hold it there for a minute.

He's going to climb up. Ready?

That's a big bear.

That's pretty good, pretty good.

The closest we've been
to a polar bear so far.

Despite this
remarkably close encounter,

the team still wants to film
a family of bears.

These female and two cubs
to starboard side.

She's at two...

There's good news on the radio.

- Oh, there's a cub.
- Yeah, I've seen the cubs.

They're looking straight at
us. Look at that. That's amazing.

As the mother looks
distinctly hungry,

they will need to keep at least 15 feet
of open water between her and the boat.

Having a good look at us.

Oh, look at them,
look at the cubs.

- Yeah.

Jason, just go when you need to.

Oh, here she comes. Bloody hell.

Mother bears are always
desperate for food for their cubs,

so the crew could be the perfect supper.

She's getting in.

Oh, my God,
she's going to go in the water there.

The 15-footgap
was just enough.

That was amazing.

Hands are freezing.

- We have to go.
- Okay.

Do you want to get
close up to the cubs?

Still rolling. Yeah, that's cute.

She's going in the water, okay.

And water and then...
Stay with the cubs.

Okay, the cubs for a nice splash.

Go on, cubs. Yeah! Hooray!
Well done, well done.

Great stuff.

She looked like she wanted
to get in the boat once or twice.

Sometimes it's quite shocking
to actually look up from the monitor

and realize they're about
15 feet away from you.

But a lovely family group.

The boat-based camera
has helped to get remarkably close shots

of the bear family.

But how would it cope
in the more extreme conditions

of the Southern Ocean?

Another Frozen Planet team headed south.

The plan is to use the same camera
system to film the hunting strategy

of the most spectacular
marine predators in Antarctica.

Killer whales.

The team enlisted the help of
scientists Bob Pitman and John Durban.

They had put satellite tags
on the whales

and so could locate them
for the camera team.

Doug Allan operates the camera rig
from the wheelhouse,

while Doug Anderson films from the deck.

- Yeah, there. See it?
- It just surfaced right with them.

Okay, there's a killer whale
at 11 o'clock,

about 200 meters, heading towards
those two seals on the floe.

- Good.
- This could be really good.

At last, having tracked
the group for several days,

the whales look as if
they are about to hunt.

Yeah, they're going to go in for it.

There it goes!

Four whales here.

Um, two adult females,
a juvenile and a big adult male.

Swimming in formation,

the killers create a wave
to wash the seal off the floe.

It's all pretty intense.

Oh, another wave.

- Yes, we have...
- Wave.

- Wow!
- Yeah, he's in the water.

Having successfully
filmed several hunts

with the boat-based cameras from above,

the team are keen to see
what's happening underwater.

Only one way to find out!

Time to launch the dinghy.

Doug Anderson approaches
the seal and the killers

with an underwater camera
mounted on a pole.

For the first time, the team can see how
the whales create the killer wave.

There it is.

The underwater camera
also reveals

surprisingly cautious behavior
by the whales.

They seem wary of being bitten
by the much smaller seal.

And they even blow bubbles
to confuse it.

They're so cautious
with the seals.

You know, at the end of the day,
the seal's got a big mouth full of teeth

and these whales just don't take risks.

Having dealt with the seal,

the whales turn their attention
to the dinghy.

First, they get right up close
for a better look at Doug.

Then, they line up to create
the kind of wave

that washed the seal off the floe.

Oh!

For a moment, the crew get
an uncomfortably close seal's eye view

of this remarkable hunting strategy.

Look at that, look.

See that, Bob?
The juvies are making waves.

It's a great feeling being
there, being so close to the behavior,

actually having the water
coming into the boat.

From our point of view, you know,

it's all about trying to get the feeling
of being with these whales,

and with these whales, there's no bother
with that because they're so confident.

They just want to be all around you
and checking you out.

I mean, I can't imagine
that I'm going to have

another experience like this
in my career, you know.

These come along rarely,

and you just feel happy and lucky
when they do come.

You just don't get
better days than that.