- 6/9/2025
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00:00The power of the Sun drives the seasons, transforming our planet.
00:11Vast movements of ocean and air currents bring dramatic change throughout the year.
00:22And in a few special places, these seasonal changes create some of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth.
00:30Here in the Arctic each summer, the Sun begins to melt the winter ice.
00:41Nearly three million square miles of ice will disappear.
00:49Opening up a narrow window of opportunity for millions of animals.
01:00For many, it's their best chance to feed and breed.
01:11But for polar bears, it's the hardest time of the year.
01:15They have to survive the greatest seasonal change on the planet.
01:21Winter in the Arctic.
01:31The northern lights flicker across the sky.
01:40Winter in the Arctic.
01:46The northern lights flicker across the sky.
01:49It's a land of continuous night, where temperatures plummet to minus 40.
02:00Polar bears are in their element, hunting for seals on the frozen sea.
02:16But the long night is coming to an end.
02:19In February, the Sun rises, for the first time in four months.
02:30In the coming weeks, the strength of the Sun will power an enormous change.
02:37But for now, its rays offer only a little warmth.
02:55Despite the Sun's return, six million square miles of the planet's far north
03:00is still cloaked in ice.
03:07Deep snow covers the mountains.
03:20Even the sea is frozen solid many meters deep.
03:30And the sea is still frozen.
03:36Groups of ringed seals haul out through holes in the ice
03:40to bask in the weak sunlight.
03:44But they're vulnerable and have to keep a lookout.
03:48With the sea still frozen, it's easier for predators to get close.
03:52And the seal's greatest enemy is the polar bear.
04:01A mother bear and her four-month-old cub are hunting.
04:07Seals make up most of the bear's diet.
04:11And to find them, she must lead her youngster out onto the ice for the first time.
04:21Scientists, looking at how a changing climate is affecting bears,
04:26have fitted the female with a radio collar.
04:31The ice here is thinner,
04:33and she must spread her weight to avoid breaking through.
04:41For her cub, it's all just a game.
05:00By sticking close to mum, he'll learn how she hunts for seals,
05:08a critical lesson for his future survival.
05:16At this time of year, the frozen Arctic is empty of life,
05:21and only a few hardy residents can survive.
05:23For a female Arctic fox, the winter has been a time of hunger.
05:30Food is scarce, and she's had to wander far and wide, scavenging from the remains of bear kills.
05:36But her fortunes are changing.
05:51A dead reindeer is a lucky find.
05:54If no other scavengers come along, this could sustain her for the rest of the winter.
06:02With the sea frozen, polar bears are busy hunting.
06:09This bear has caught a seal.
06:12He waited for it to surface through a hole in the ice, and his patience has been rewarded.
06:21He must catch a seal about once a week, and this is the best hunting season.
06:26As long as there's sea ice, the bears won't go hungry, as walking on the ice is the easiest way for a bear to get close to a seal.
06:46But the ice will soon start to break up, and hunting will get harder.
06:59The calories the bear takes in now will have to see him through hard times ahead.
07:07For polar bears, it's the survival of the fattest.
07:11At this time of year, there are still only five hours of daylight.
07:19But as the sun rises higher, each day lasts 40 minutes longer.
07:31It's March, and with increasing sunlight, the first in a huge wave of migrants are arriving.
07:41Millions of sea birds are travelling north to reach the frozen coast.
08:00Huge flocks of little orcs and guillemots fly across many miles of ice from the nearest open water.
08:11They're destination is the still-frozen sea cliffs.
08:17It's an inhospitable place, but in a few weeks, everything here will change.
08:22It pays to be early, even though the snow has yet to melt.
08:25The first arrivals get the best nesting ledges and a head start.
08:29They have just 50 days from laying their eggs to raise their chicks.
08:33The Arctic's silent wilderness is coming to us.
08:36It's the next day, and it's the end of the day.
08:39The first arrivals get the best nesting ledges and a head start.
08:44It pays to be early, even though the snow has yet to melt.
08:46The first arrivals get the best nesting ledges and a head start.
08:50They have just 50 days from laying their eggs to raise their chicks.
08:53The arctic's silent wilderness is coming to life.
09:14It's three months since the sun's return,
09:18and its power is growing daily.
09:20The air temperature rises slowly,
09:25and once above zero, at long last, the melt begins.
09:50Melting snow feeds fresh-water streams which pour off the land.
09:56In just a few short days,
09:59the melt unveils a whole new landscape.
10:03The coastal cliffs now teem with Nesuvio.
10:09The coastal cliffs now teem with Nesuvio.
10:13The coastal cliffs now teem with Nesuvio.
10:17The coastal cliffs now teem with Nesuvio seabirds,
10:34and it's not long before they attract unwelcome attention.
10:38The fox's white winter coat has disappeared with the snow.
10:44Her new camouflage will allow her to change from scavenger to hunter.
10:50The short summer will be her best chance to raise a family.
10:54The snow may be disappearing from the land,
11:11but the sea ice has yet to melt.
11:16The coastline is still locked in ice.
11:35The islands of the Arctic are surrounded by thousands of miles of white frozen ocean.
11:43Because the sea ice is so thick, it won't begin to break up
11:46until the temperature stays above zero for a number of days.
11:51Until then, few creatures can penetrate this icy barrier.
12:01The sun reflects from the white frozen sea,
12:05creating a desert of icy mirage.
12:13The bear can still walk on the ice to hunt for seals,
12:26but not for much longer.
12:28It's getting warmer by the day.
12:31The bear can still walk on the ice to hunt for seals,
12:33but not for much longer.
12:35It's getting warmer by the day.
12:37The bear's world is about to melt away.
12:53The bear's world is about to melt away.
12:57The bear's world is about to melt away.
13:01It's now June, and the sun beats down 24 hours a day.
13:17The temperature remains constant above zero degrees.
13:21The frozen sea begins to melt.
13:26Pools form across the surface, absorbing more of the sun's heat,
13:30speeding the thaw.
13:41Sunlight penetrates the frozen surface, illuminating a strange world beneath the ice.
13:49Sunlight penetrates the frozen barrier.
13:56The frozen barrier has split.
14:05Mysterious voices echo against the icy ceiling.
14:11Giant cracks, or leads, form at weak points, creating a pathway for new arrivals.
14:36Narwhal.
14:41Known as the Arctic unicorn because of their strange spiral tusks,
14:59Narwhal are some of the most secretive and elusive animals in the world's oceans.
15:05The leads provide passage for thousands of these mysterious whales.
15:12Each summer, they travel 600 miles north, navigating through the ice to reach rich fishing grounds.
15:22More whales travel along the edge of the ice where it meets the open sea to search for the openings of leels.
15:29It's a hazardous journey. As mammals, they need air to breathe, and if the ice closes above them, they could suffocate.
15:50They could suffocate.
15:51They could suffocate.
16:21They're looking for holes in the ice where they can surface.
16:25A single breath will last them for 15 minutes.
16:31The further they travel, the harder it becomes to find holes in the ice.
16:35They snatch a breath, and then travel on.
16:47But ahead, the ice forms an impenetrable barrier.
16:53The Narwhal will use their heads and their long tusks to break the ice and enlarge the breathing holes.
17:19For now, they've reached a dead end and must wait.
17:32The ice will need to melt further if they're to continue.
17:35All across the Arctic, the sea ice is beginning to retreat.
17:43The leads widen, forming tracts of open water.
17:46Wind and ocean currents shift the loosening ice, breaking it up.
17:54As the ice melts, thousands of miles of open ocean become accessible, providing a bonanza for millions of seabirds.
18:03In just four weeks, a colony of guillemots can devour one and a half million tons of Arctic fish.
18:21As the ice melts, their journey to their feeding grounds in the open sea shortens by the day.
18:40They gather at the edge of the retreating ice and dive to hunt for Arctic cod and capelin.
18:46The shoals are found 80 meters down in the murky depths, and the guillemots must hold their breath for nearly two minutes.
19:08With their crops stuffed with fish, they return to the colony to feed their hungry youngsters.
19:24With 24 hours of daylight, they go on fishing around the clock.
19:38Warmed by the sun and driven by winds and currents, the sea ice is now fragmenting.
19:57That is a big problem if you need the ice to hunt for.
20:10A polar bear can smell a seal from over a mile away.
20:14But the prey he depends on is hard to find in this constantly moving landscape.
20:32He must take to the water to navigate through the drifting maze of ice.
20:36Bears are excellent swimmers, but he's no match for a seal.
20:44As the ice melts, finding seals gets harder.
20:48And with more open water, it's easier for a seal to escape.
21:07The melt has caused a shift in power.
21:11Now it's advantage seal.
21:23The bear's chance has slipped away, and his hunger grows.
21:36The ice barrier broken, strange marine visitors begin to arrive.
21:43They've swum 600 miles to get here, and with the ice gone, they can make their way into the shallows of freshwater estuaries.
22:13Beluga whales.
22:34As more and more belugas arrive, a strange annual ritual begins.
22:39For belugas, this is a very special event.
22:55The violent thrashing against the riverbed loosens their year-old skin
23:00and rids them of unwelcome parasites they may have picked up on their journey.
23:03In fresh water, warmed by the strengthening sun, and with the smooth pebbles in the shallows to rub against,
23:24the whales whistle with pleasure.
23:26But the ice-free summer will be short.
23:40The whales can only enjoy their Arctic spa for two weeks.
23:59Soon, the belugas must leave the shallows and make the most of what's left of the summer to hunt the shoals of Arctic fish.
24:06It's early July, and at the bird cliff, the fox has caught a nesting former.
24:20She has a family now, eight tiny mouths to feed, and one bird is not enough to go round.
24:31The cubs bicker over their dinner.
24:32They're only three weeks old, and in just another two weeks, they'll have to be ready to fend for themselves.
24:49The winter ahead will be so harsh that only two of these eight cubs are likely to gain enough weight to survive.
25:06Their lives depend on every mouthful.
25:09When food is scarce, the most dominant cub will feed, and the smallest will go hungry.
25:21The sea birds have been working round the clock to keep their chicks fed, and to prepare them for the first big challenge of their lives.
25:39If they're to escape the winter, they'll have to leave the cliffs right away and get far out to sea.
25:45But it's only been 20 days since they hatched, and their wings are still too weak for them to fly.
25:54So far, their feet have never left the ground, and there's only one way down to the safety of the sea.
26:01300 meters below.
26:15Reluctantly, the chicks take a few nervous steps towards the edge.
26:32Encouraged by a gentle nudge, he leaps into the unknown.
26:39And there's only one way down to the sea.
26:40And there's only one way down to the sea.
26:50Dad follows right behind him, reassuringly calling to his chick.
27:07Made it.
27:09The landings may not be stylish, but at least they're on target.
27:39It's easy to misjudge the distance, and some fall short of the water.
27:56But even now, Dad sticks close by.
27:59He encourages his chick to take the last few steps towards the safety of the waves.
28:09But some chicks land a long way from the water.
28:13They're sturdy enough to survive the fall, but this is no place to be left alone.
28:27For the mother fox, it's easy pickings.
28:42With so many free meals falling from the sky, she runs from one kill to the next.
28:58The chicks will be jumping for only three days, so she must make the most of this bonanza.
29:16The survival of her own family depends on it.
29:26How many days will stay for the next few years of the sea?
29:30The woman is still alive.
29:31The female?
29:32The female?
29:33The female?
29:34The female?
29:35The female?
29:36The male?
29:37The female?
29:38The female?
29:39The female?
29:40With more chicks than she can possibly carry, the mother fox has to be clever.
30:01What her family can't eat now, she buries. For the days ahead, she'll have a well-stocked larder, enough for all eight of her cubs.
30:23Their bellies now full at last, the cubs can relax in the sun.
30:31For the Guillemot chicks that survive, the ordeal has only just begun.
30:46They must retreat south 600 miles beyond the reach of winter.
30:51But the youngsters can't fly yet. Their wings aren't strong enough.
30:55So, led by their parents, they'll have to swim.
31:01At the height of summer, even the permanent ice caps are touched by the power of the sun.
31:19Meltwater, channeled down from high on these ice caps, pours over a precipice where the ice meets the ocean.
31:32Along this 200-mile wall of ice, a thousand fresh water cascades plummet into the sea.
31:39As July draws on, the great melt reaches its peak.
31:46The greatest seasonal change on the planet has taken place.
31:49The greatest seasonal change on the planet has taken place.
31:53is the greatest seasonal change on the planet.
32:00Is the greatest seasonal change on the planet as old the snow?
32:05It is the greatest seasonal change on the planet.
32:11The seasonal change on the planet has taken place.
32:28The sea ice that once extended all the way to the horizon is now open ocean.
32:37In just three months, the sun has won its battle with the ice.
32:45Over two and a half million square miles of ice has melted away, uncovering thousands
32:51of islands surrounded by open ocean.
32:54But in recent years, the scale of this melt has been growing.
33:01And for one animal this is a critical issue.
33:08A mother bear and her adolescent cub rest on a fragment of sea ice.
33:28With the melt, they're forced to swim ever greater distances to hunt for seals.
33:38Their arctic home is increasingly vulnerable to a changing climate.
33:42And this year, there has been even less ice than normal.
33:50If future melts are as extreme as this one, bears like these may starve or drown, lost
33:59at sea.
34:07This is one of the last pieces of ice now adrift in the open ocean.
34:13The polar bear's icy world has melted away.
34:28For many others, the open water provides the greatest feast of the year.
34:34The narwhal have made it through the ice.
34:37They gather in bays where they can hunt for arctic cod and squid.
34:55Here, they are joined by other ocean migrants.
35:02Bowhead whales.
35:05These 100-ton giants feed on millions of tiny plankton
35:10that flourish in the sunlit waters.
35:12Belugas have come for the rich fishing and rest on the surface between dives.
35:29Even on the sea bed, there is plenty on the menu.
35:41Two tons of pulsating blubber forages for clams in the sediment.
35:58Walrus are year-round residents of the Arctic, following the ebb and flow of the ice.
36:05In the open summer waters, they can reach huge areas of the ocean floor, rich feeding grounds for these giant seals.
36:15They hoover up clams with their rubbery lips.
36:18A single walrus can eat up to 4,000 clams in one 10-minute dive.
36:24Bellies full, they come up for air.
36:37With the sea ice gone, the walrus haul out on dry land to rest.
36:55They're used to huddling together to keep warm.
37:01And even now that it's 12 degrees above freezing, they prefer to stick close together.
37:07In the warmth of the sun, the walrus begin to shed their old skin, and they spend hours scratching.
37:13Some places are harder to reach than others.
37:20These irritations make them bad-tempered, and arguments often break out.
37:30Spitting, stabbing and bellowing iron out any disagreements.
37:48All disputes settled, a piece of sorts returns once more.
38:02Digesting a belly full of clams generates a lot of wind, making walrus colonies very fragrant places.
38:17Humphrey.
38:20Humphrey.
38:21Humphrey.
38:22Humphrey.
38:23Humphrey.
38:24Humphrey.
38:26Humphrey.
38:32Fed by the abundant supply of Gillimott chicks, all eight fox cubs seem to have boundaries.
38:41Soon they will be ready to face the world without their mother.
38:46In just five weeks, she's raised her cubs,
38:59making the most of the short summer.
39:07The mother fox has won her race against time.
39:16Between June and July, the Arctic is the land of the midnight sun.
39:22An empty wilderness has been transformed.
39:46The once frozen ocean is now bursting with life
39:55as all the animals enjoy the summer feast.
39:58Ooh!
40:00Ooh!
40:01Ooh!
40:01But polar bears aren't there.
40:31It's not so fortunate.
40:35With no sea ice to hunt on, they're now trapped on dry land.
40:42A hungry bear will eat any food it can get its paws on, but for a meat-eater, a few scraps
40:49of dry lichen won't go far.
40:57It may have been four months since his last kill, and he won't find any seals here.
41:06If the yearly increase in the scale of the melt continues, more bears will starve.
41:13Two-thirds of the world's polar bears could vanish by 2050.
41:21The Great Melt has always been difficult for bears, but soon surviving the summer may become
41:27impossible.
41:31The scale of the summer melt has changed over the last 30 years.
41:362007's melt broke all records.
41:41400,000 extra square miles of ice disappeared, the greatest melt ever recorded.
41:49The latest predictions suggest that the Arctic may be entirely ice-free in summertime within
41:5620 to 40 years.
42:03By September, the sun's power begins to ebb.
42:06The summer comes to an end, and the Arctic empties of life.
42:12The last seabirds begin their long journey south, leaving only a few hardy residents behind.
42:22The fox cubs now face the changing season alone.
42:34Already, the first snow is beginning to fall.
42:37The full Arctic winter is just six weeks away.
42:53For hungry bears, six weeks may be too long to wait.
43:00The sea ice will not freeze properly till it reaches minus two degrees.
43:04For now, it's still too warm.
43:09This ice is no use to the bears.
43:12They can't walk on it to hunt.
43:24The normally unsocial bears gather in groups, trapped on the shoreline.
43:29This is the time of year, the male bears spar.
43:41Only the biggest bears have the energy reserves to fight.
43:45After a summer without food, the bear's systems are in low gear.
43:50These aerobics help warm them up in readiness for the winter hunting ahead.
43:55We'll see you next time.
44:05The bears ass with the ì‹ .
44:08The sea of the sea of the sea of the sea.
44:11Come for your attention.
44:15It's late.
44:45It's late October, but still the sea hasn't frozen.
44:50For every degree rise in the average temperature,
44:53the summer melt is extended by a whole week.
44:56That's more bad news for polar bears.
45:08Smaller, younger bears don't have the energy of the big males.
45:13Each day they are without food, they lose nearly a kilo.
45:18Some have lost half of their body weight.
45:23These hungry bears must now rest in the snow and conserve energy.
45:28All they can do is wait.
45:31At last, the wind changes,
45:46blowing from the cold north across the sea.
45:50The air temperature plummets to 20 degrees below.
45:53It's now cold enough for ice crystals to form in the ocean.
45:58They knit together, forming a greasy layer of surface ice.
46:04This thickens into plates,
46:07which bump and collide in the swell, forming pancake ice.
46:11These pancakes lock together to form a continuous surface.
46:28At long last, the sea has frozen.
46:31Only now can the bears head out onto the sea ice to hunt for seals.
46:42But the new ice has a surprise in store.
46:46This season, for the first time ever recorded,
47:06even the winter ice is thinner.
47:08The ice here is too thin to climb out on that he struggles to free himself.
47:19Hmm.
47:36At last, safely on the firmer ice, he rolls in the snow.
48:06to dry his fur.
48:22In November, the sun sets over the frozen north.
48:27It will not appear again for four months.
48:35The summer melt provides opportunities for millions of animals, but has now become a
48:41threat to the polar bear's very survival.
48:47This season, the bear has survived the greatest melt yet recorded and made it through to the
48:54Arctic winter.
48:55And there's another chance to chill out here on BBC HD tomorrow at one when we're back
49:02on Thin Ice with Ben Fogle and James Cracknell.
49:15Next this evening, all aboard Stuart Lee's Comedy Vehicle.
49:22Next this evening, all aboard Stuart Lee's Comedy Vehicle.
49:29I'm so proud to be back.
49:36I'm so proud to be back.
49:38And I'm so proud to be back.
49:39I'm so proud to be back.
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