1
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,000
The High Arctic in winter.

2
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000
One of the toughest places on Earth in which to live.

3
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,000
Only three top predators are able to survive here.

4
00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,000
The wolf, searching for its prey over the frozen lands.

5
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,000
The Arctic fox, scraping a living on the empty coasts.

6
00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,000
And out on the sea ice, the polar bear.

7
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,000
To live here, year round,

8
00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,000
these hunters must exploit the good times

9
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,000
so that they can endure the bad.

10
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,000
All life in the Arctic must face one fundamental problem.

11
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,000
Not the cold,

12
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,000
but the endless cycle of change.

13
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,000
When the sun returns to the Arctic in spring,

14
00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:01,000
it launches the greatest event of seasonal change on Earth.

15
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,000
A change that rules the life of the world's only sea ice hunter.

16
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:19,000
The polar bear is totally dependent upon the sea ice in order to hunt.

17
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,000
It must eat two thirds of the food it needs for the whole year

18
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,000
in the next three months,

19
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000
before the sun melts the ice from beneath its feet.

20
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,000
Seals are the bear's most important prey.

21
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:45,000
At the start of spring,

22
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,000
they come out onto the ice to give birth to their pups.

23
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,000
Beneath it, they can't stray far from their breathing holes.

24
00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,000
That makes it easy for the bears.

25
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,000
But that window of opportunity is brief.

26
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,000
Soon, the sea ice is riddled with melt holes.

27
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,000
The seal pups have grown large enough to swim

28
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,000
and disappear into the water.

29
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000
It's increasingly hard-going for the polar bear.

30
00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,000
Now, resting seals are surrounded by holes in the ice,

31
00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,000
so they have their pick of escape routes.

32
00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,000
And, once in the water, they can easily out-swim a bear.

33
00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,000
Each seal is very sensitive to every movement on the surrounding ice.

34
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,000
A bear can only hope to get close enough to pounce

35
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,000
by taking advantage of the melt holes.

36
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,000
Ah... Not as straightforward as it looks.

37
00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,000
The trick is to find the hole nearest to the seal...

38
00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,000
..without popping up in view...

39
00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,000
..and ruining the surprise.

40
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:17,000
Almost there.

41
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,000
But once under the ice,

42
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,000
it's easy to lose your bearings.

43
00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,000
Blast!

44
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,000
Gently does it.

45
00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,000
ICE CRACKS

46
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,000
Oops.

47
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:26,000
Only one in five stalks is successful on this thin ice

48
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,000
at the end of spring.

49
00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,000
The bear's best season is ending.

50
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,000
An expanse of sea-ice the size of Australia will soon break up.

51
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,000
The Arctic's best hunting is no longer out on the frozen ocean,

52
00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,000
but on the land that surrounds it.

53
00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,000
And that is the territory of a different kind of hunter.

54
00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:11,000
After a lean winter and spring,

55
00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,000
the good times have finally arrived for the Arctic wolf.

56
00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,000
On the land, the snow is melting away as summer approaches...

57
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,000
..and that makes the job of finding prey...

58
00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,000
..considerably easier.

59
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,000
Arctic hares.

60
00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:03,000
Like the wolves, they stay white throughout the short summer.

61
00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,000
While they can run, they can't hide.

62
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,000
And to make matters worse, now is the time they have their young.

63
00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,000
A mother hare risks feeding her leverets

64
00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,000
for only a few minutes each day.

65
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,000
Her white colour makes her only too conspicuous.

66
00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,000
When wolves are spotted, Mum runs for it.

67
00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,000
That makes sense. Her leverets have a better chance without her.

68
00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,000
Unlike their mother, the leverets are camouflaged.

69
00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,000
They're nearly impossible to spot, even when right upon them.

70
00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:26,000
What they must do...

71
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,000
..is keep their nerve.

72
00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,000
When forced to break,

73
00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,000
they can still give the wolves a run for their money.

74
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,000
The leveret hunt may appear an unfair contest.

75
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,000
But for every one caught, hundreds more remain hidden.

76
00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,000
Food is so hard to find this far north

77
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,000
that a wolf pack must search hundreds of square miles

78
00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,000
if it's to be successful...

79
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:58,000
..and success means raising the next generation.

80
00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,000
WOLF PUPS WHINE

81
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,000
To do that here, the wolves must work together.

82
00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000
So, the young are raised not only by their parents,

83
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,000
but by their aunts and uncles as well.

84
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:27,000
Together, they try to ensure that each pup reaches near-adult size

85
00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,000
before the snow returns.

86
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,000
A growing pup needs more than just a few leverets.

87
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,000
The wolves need bigger prey

88
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,000
and, to catch that...

89
00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,000
WOLF PUP HOWLS

90
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:45,000
..they must hunt as a pack.

91
00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,000
WOLF HOWLS

92
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:55,000
WOLVES TAKE UP HOWL

93
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,000
Adult hares may be easy to spot,

94
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,000
but they are far from easy to catch.

95
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,000
They run at 40mph.

96
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:26,000
To catch one, the wolves work as a team.

97
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:12,000
One of them gets close enough to bite the hare's tail...

98
00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,000
..but a hare can change direction in an instant.

99
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,000
If it can continue to sidestep and jink,

100
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,000
it may ultimately outlast them.

101
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,000
Finally, it gets away.

102
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,000
For the next hare, the whole pack gives chase.

103
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,000
Now, numbers count.

104
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,000
The lead wolves keep up the pace.

105
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:31,000
Others run on either side, so the hare can't change direction.

106
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,000
A tiny meal for the whole pack...

107
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,000
..but the only one there is.

108
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,000
By July, time is running out for the polar bear.

109
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:12,000
Three million square miles of ice are fractured and adrift.

110
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,000
The seals are now much harder to find.

111
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,000
Scattered within an ever-shifting maze...

112
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,000
..the advantage has swung away from the bear.

113
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:53,000
With the ice now broken up, the bear can't even get close.

114
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000
She's too visible and noisy in her approach.

115
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,000
She has no choice but to change her tactics.

116
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,000
She swims amongst the drift ice...

117
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,000
..and keeps a low profile.

118
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,000
Once the seal is in the water, it's as good as lost.

119
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,000
She has to grab it before it hits the water.

120
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,000
The margin for error is tiny...

121
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,000
..and the cost can be great.

122
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,000
Each failed attempt brings her closer to starvation.

123
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,000
At this time of year, polar bears, on average,

124
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,000
succeed only once in 20 hunts.

125
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:45,000
If the hunter is skinny, like this one, that may not be often enough.

126
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,000
All she can do is keep trying.

127
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,000
To prevent her scent betraying her,

128
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,000
she makes a wide sweep to get downwind of the seal.

129
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,000
Getting close.

130
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000
She's now right behind the seal.

131
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,000
Incredibly, she caught the seal underwater.

132
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,000
It's only small, but even so,

133
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,000
its blubber alone will contain 100,000 calories -

134
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,000
enough to sustain this bear for a week.

135
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,000
And, in that time, she might even catch another.

136
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:48,000
But this can't go on forever.

137
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,000
As summer continues, temperatures are rising.

138
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,000
Each hunt requires more energy,

139
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,000
draining the bears of their reserves.

140
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,000
When the melt is finally complete,

141
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,000
it reveals some of the ocean's richest waters.

142
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,000
There is an explosion of life.

143
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,000
Millions of birds arrive from the south.

144
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:43,000
In the 24-hour daylight, they can feed around the clock.

145
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,000
The Arctic coasts are suddenly thronged by breeding birds.

146
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,000
CHICKS CHIRP

147
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,000
The window of opportunity has now opened for a third hunter -

148
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,000
the Arctic fox.

149
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,000
After a winter spent scavenging, the foxes can now finally hunt.

150
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,000
It's the best time to have pups.

151
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,000
PUPS GROWL AND YIP

152
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:46,000
Up to 20 of them will be raised to independence in just 90 days.

153
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,000
But none of them will survive their first year,

154
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:55,000
unless their parents make the most of the short summer.

155
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,000
With the snow gone, the foxes shed their white fur

156
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,000
and become a camouflaging brown.

157
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,000
It makes hunting easier.

158
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,000
But some birds have a dramatic answer to the fox problem.

159
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:24,000
There are no trees, so they make their nests high on sea cliffs,

160
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000
well out of the reach of a fox.

161
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,000
The vast majority, however, are forced to nest on the ground.

162
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000
Many of them rely on camouflage.

163
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,000
Eider ducks slow their heart beats, which helps them avoid detection.

164
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,000
Others have no need to stay out of sight.

165
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,000
The powerful Arctic skuas defend their eggs with aggression...

166
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,000
..and dirty tricks!

167
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,000
BIRDS CAW

168
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,000
There are other options for the fox.

169
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,000
Each year, upwards of 30 million little auks come to the Arctic.

170
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:07,000
They nest in the scree slopes at the base of the cliffs.

171
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:19,000
Their answer to the fox problem is to hide deep among the boulders.

172
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,000
And it seems to work.

173
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,000
A hungry fox can get very frustrated.

174
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,000
Running at the auks is not the answer.

175
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,000
He needs to be more patient.

176
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,000
It's time to use that famous foxy cunning.

177
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:38,000
If the boulders can hide the auks, they can also hide a fox.

178
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,000
A tiny head, in among the boulders.

179
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000
The auks are just too quick off the mark.

180
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000
What is needed is a distraction of some kind.

181
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,000
A glaucous gull, also hunting auks.

182
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,000
Little auks may cope with one threat, but what about two?

183
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,000
The auks are out-foxed...

184
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,000
..and the pups will get their supper.

185
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,000
It's now the final weeks of summer.

186
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,000
The sea ice has completely gone.

187
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,000
The bears that wandered freely over the frozen ocean all winter

188
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,000
are now marooned on beaches.

189
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,000
The seals are fishing out at sea.

190
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,000
Only walrus join the bears on the shore.

191
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,000
But adult walrus are gigantic.

192
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:25,000
They weigh two tonnes and, armed with long tusks,

193
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,000
they're too dangerous for bears to take on.

194
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:39,000
During these ice-free months, the bears' bodies almost shut down.

195
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,000
They are zombie bears...

196
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,000
..overheated, hungry...

197
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,000
..pining for the ice to return.

198
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:06,000
But some bears refuse to take the summer lying down.

199
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,000
This bear is doing something really extraordinary.

200
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:53,000
It's hard to imagine a place less suited to a polar bear

201
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:56,000
than 300 metres up on a crumbling sea cliff.

202
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,000
Guillemots nest here in their thousands,

203
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,000
precisely because it's so dangerous for land-living predators.

204
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,000
But the sounds and scents of a bird cliff can be irresistible

205
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,000
to a starving bear at the end of summer.

206
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:30,000
Desperation has led him to risk his life.

207
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:41,000
The only prize to be had - a few eggs and chicks.

208
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,000
It is an extreme gamble.

209
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,000
He works methodically,

210
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,000
scooping up the contents of every nest he can reach.

211
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,000
The bear moves slowly and carefully.

212
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:44,000
He lives and sleeps amongst his prey.

213
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,000
The guillemots can't prevent the carnage.

214
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,000
Nonetheless, some bravely try to do so.

215
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:46,000
The polar bear will remain on the cliff until the end of summer,

216
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,000
when the guillemots will leave.

217
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,000
And, at that moment,

218
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,000
a fox will take his chance.

219
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,000
Far inland, the wolves have a problem.

220
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,000
The adult hares have dispersed...

221
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,000
..and the leverets have got organised.

222
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:27,000
Their adult coat of fur has turned white for the winter,

223
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,000
so they can no longer hide.

224
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,000
Instead, they gather together.

225
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,000
The wolves' hunting technique, it seems,

226
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,000
can't deal with groups like this.

227
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,000
They now leave the hares

228
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:03,000
and instead go in search of a much more dangerous prey.

229
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,000
The largest animal in their territory.

230
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000
Musk oxen.

231
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,000
WOLF HOWLS

232
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:45,000
A single bull weighs more than the entire wolf pack put together.

233
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:50,000
It has a reinforced skull, armed with horns.

234
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000
There are also calves in the herd,

235
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,000
but they are well-protected.

236
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,000
The alpha female leads the hunt.

237
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,000
First, they run directly at the herd.

238
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,000
The aim is to panic them.

239
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,000
A stampeding herd might leave a calf behind.

240
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,000
The tactic begins to work.

241
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,000
But then, the herd regains control.

242
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:57,000
They stand defiantly in a protective ring around the calves.

243
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:07,000
There is no way in.

244
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:18,000
The alpha female calls off the hunt.

245
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,000
But the search for food must go on.

246
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,000
To stand a chance of surviving the winter,

247
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,000
the pack needs to feed well now, even if it puts their lives at risk.

248
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:51,000
A lone bull - the most dangerous prey of all.

249
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:01,000
One blow from his horns could kill a wolf.

250
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:10,000
But the wolves are now ready to risk everything for a meal.

251
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,000
The bull is easily their match, physically...

252
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:02,000
..but the wolves take it in turns to wear him down,

253
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,000
risking their lives to do so.

254
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,000
Trapped in the gully, the bull has nowhere to go.

255
00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:36,000
Despite the danger, the wolves keep up their attack.

256
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:41,000
The bull may take hours to defeat...

257
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:47,000
..but this kill will feed the whole wolf pack for a week.

258
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,000
With the good times soon to end,

259
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,000
the lives of their pups may depend on it.

260
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:12,000
Summer on the coast comes to an end with one last spectacle.

261
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,000
Hundreds of thousands of guillemot chicks

262
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,000
are in the final stages of their preparations.

263
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,000
Ahead is the biggest day of their lives.

264
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:39,000
The day they will leave their nest by jumping from the cliffs...

265
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,000
..and try out their wings for the very first time.

266
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,000
It's quite a test flight.

267
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,000
Half a mile to the safety of the sea.

268
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,000
When the time comes, encouraged by their fathers,

269
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,000
the first take the leap.

270
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,000
The chicks have tiny, stiff wings,

271
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:34,000
so they can do little more than glide.

272
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:41,000
Their fathers try to nudge them, to keep them on a good flight path...

273
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,000
..one that will take them all the way to water.

274
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:19,000
With the first few safely away, the sky begins to fill with jumpers.

275
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:27,000
Wave after wave of chicks and their parents career down towards the sea.

276
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:33,000
No chick takes this first flight alone.

277
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,000
In just a few days,

278
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:46,000
an entire generation - thousands of chicks - will take this leap.

279
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:56,000
With luck and a fair wind, the majority make it to the water.

280
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,000
But nonetheless, many fall short.

281
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:17,000
Glaucous gulls are quick to grab a meal.

282
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:30,000
A guillemot chick has no defence against gulls...

283
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:41,000
..unless father can get back in time.

284
00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:51,000
The chicks continue to rain down.

285
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:59,000
Those that get separated from their parents stand little chance.

286
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:05,000
And even a father's protection may not be enough.

287
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:15,000
This is the fox's moment...

288
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,000
..the easiest hunt of the year...

289
00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:24,000
..but it's also the briefest.

290
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:29,000
The chicks all come at once.

291
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:33,000
The synchronisation of the jump overwhelms the fox.

292
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:43,000
The bad luck of some allows the escape of others.

293
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:05,000
The last chance to fill his family's bellies is gone,

294
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:07,000
almost before it started.

295
00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:19,000
The chicks that have made it to the water have no time to rest.

296
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:25,000
Unable to take to the air, they must swim 100 miles south

297
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,000
before the ocean surface turns to ice.

298
00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:35,000
Winter is approaching fast.

299
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:48,000
The sea ice is starting to form.

300
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,000
A floating continent is about to materialise.

301
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:07,000
The land becomes white once more...

302
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:12,000
..as does the fox.

303
00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:19,000
For it, months of scavenging lie ahead.

304
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:29,000
But for the bears, the good times have finally returned.

305
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:35,000
Their window of opportunity is back.

306
00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:08,000
Every summer, polar bears must adapt to the changing Arctic

307
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:11,000
by switching their hunt from the ice to the sea.

308
00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:16,000
In order to film this behaviour for the first time,

309
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:20,000
the crew of The Hunt must be prepared to do the same.

310
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:27,000
While the bears remain on the ice, the crew will rely on

311
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:31,000
the traditional approach of long lens and tripod.

312
00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:35,000
I prefer to be as close to the animal as possible with the tripod,

313
00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:36,000
that's my style.

314
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,000
But when the ice starts to break up,

315
00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:44,000
they plan to take to the water alongside the bears.

316
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:46,000
Why do you need so much kit?

317
00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:48,000
It's not so much kit, it's just kit that allows us

318
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,000
to film a completely stabilised image from a moving boat,

319
00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:52,000
so that's the best way of doing it.

320
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,000
Two different approaches...

321
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:57,000
So, Rolf, do you think Jamie has a better chance of getting

322
00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,000
polar bear behaviour with all this technology?

323
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:00,000
No!

324
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:02,000
..two different cameramen,

325
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:04,000
one inevitable competition.

326
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:09,000
With time against them,

327
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:12,000
the crew seek out the final patches of sea ice,

328
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,000
locked in sheltered bays.

329
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:20,000
Jamie has no chance to go into that ice with the boat,

330
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:23,000
so it's my turn to move with the snow scooters

331
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:27,000
towards the polar bears and try to film them, the first time.

332
00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:31,000
As it turned out, Rolf didn't have to move far.

333
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:34,000
Polar bears are one of the few animals on Earth

334
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:36,000
that will come and find you.

335
00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:39,000
Crazy!

336
00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:41,000
It's coming straight at us.

337
00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:43,000
This one was ready for his close up.

338
00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:52,000
I just grabbed some shots of him walking towards us,

339
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:54,000
but he didn't stop, and came closer and closer.

340
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:07,000
At the last second, we escaped, and he was even running behind us,

341
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,000
so it was pretty intense.

342
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:15,000
Even a crazy bear is better than no bear,

343
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:18,000
so Rolf continues to film him through the Arctic night.

344
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,000
They get used to us quite fast.

345
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:24,000
They realise we are not a danger

346
00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:28,000
and, as long as we stay a certain distance, we can observe them

347
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:31,000
and, hopefully, get all the behaviour that we are looking for.

348
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:40,000
Suddenly, we recognised he was heading towards a bearded seal.

349
00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:47,000
He approaches the seal

350
00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:51,000
and does that meltwater stalk that has never been filmed before.

351
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:57,000
He seemed to have some problems to find the right way,

352
00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:59,000
by diving through these pools.

353
00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:06,000
We all got really excited. We thought, "This is going to happen."

354
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:08,000
And, finally, the seal just jumped in the water.

355
00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:14,000
And we got a little bit nervous because we saw the bear

356
00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:17,000
coming up again at some point, looking at us,

357
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:21,000
and it was not that far any more, perhaps 50 metres,

358
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:23,000
and then he disappeared again.

359
00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:27,000
I look up at Rolf and I look back down at the melt ponds around us

360
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:29,000
and realise that, in any of those ponds,

361
00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:32,000
the bear could explode out and take us.

362
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:37,000
To be stalked by a bear is...quite dangerous.

363
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:40,000
You think I should do it that way?

364
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:43,000
I mean, if I'm honest, I think it's just exciting!

365
00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:45,000
ROLF LAUGHS

366
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:50,000
A brand-new bear behaviour in the can,

367
00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:53,000
the crew pack up the camera and head back to the ship...

368
00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,000
..a little too late.

369
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:00,000
Within minutes, a fog descends

370
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:04,000
and they find themselves travelling blind through bad ice.

371
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:12,000
As I do the swing to try to head back to the better sea ice,

372
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:15,000
I realise that I'm missing Oskar.

373
00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:19,000
At the end of the sled, I banged into the ice.

374
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:21,000
I was thrown over the scooter,

375
00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:24,000
and the scooter just slowly started to sink,

376
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:26,000
pulling the sled with all the gear into the water.

377
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:33,000
Oskar had to cut loose the snowmobile to save Rolf's kit

378
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:36,000
and walk all the way back to the ship.

379
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:40,000
We either had a chance of losing the snowmobile or a Swede.

380
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,000
Unfortunately, we lost the snowmobile.

381
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:44,000
LAUGHTER The Swede's fine!

382
00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:49,000
This is the way we go swimming in the Arctic, you know?

383
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:52,000
But while everyone is safely back on board,

384
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:55,000
Rolf's kit is still out there, somewhere on the ice.

385
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:06,000
Without his kit, Rolf's shoot is over.

386
00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:11,000
See? I'm nice.

387
00:53:17,000 --> 00:53:21,000
Finally, at three in the morning, relief.

388
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:40,000
The thing about a meltwater hunt is

389
00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:44,000
that you can only observe them in meltwater, which means in thin ice.

390
00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:47,000
And, I mean, there's a reason that nobody filmed it before.

391
00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:49,000
It paid off, to take the risk.

392
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:57,000
When the sea ice breaks up, it creates drift ice -

393
00:53:57,000 --> 00:53:59,000
a constantly shifting, floating maze.

394
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:04,000
The place for Jamie to try his luck.

395
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:09,000
Now we're in the drift ice,

396
00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:12,000
I can actually get this boat in the water and do some work.

397
00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:16,000
There's no drama, there's no falling through the ice,

398
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:19,000
nobody's running around screaming, getting chased by bears.

399
00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:22,000
We're just following bears around calmly

400
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:24,000
and, hopefully, we'll film them hunting.

401
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:28,000
BLEEPING

402
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,000
We're a little bit stuck in the ice.

403
00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:33,000
BLEEPING

404
00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:35,000
There's no drama,

405
00:54:35,000 --> 00:54:38,000
there's only a couple of kilometres of ice to get through.

406
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:39,000
Plenty of time before lunch(!)

407
00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:46,000
Trying to navigate through a shifting maze

408
00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:48,000
takes a bit of practice...

409
00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:53,000
..but it's full of rewards.

410
00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:05,000
It's absolutely amazing. So beautiful.

411
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:09,000
So many different shapes. It's just...

412
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:12,000
Everywhere you look, there's just amazing sculptures of ice.

413
00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:24,000
Being more mobile means the crew start to find more and more bears...

414
00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:28,000
..each one, a character.

415
00:55:33,000 --> 00:55:36,000
With such access to the Arctic's top predator,

416
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:39,000
the crew eventually find their star.

417
00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:49,000
The elusive summer stalk of the polar bear

418
00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:51,000
is finally captured on film.

419
00:55:55,000 --> 00:55:57,000
It came up right behind the seal, the seal dived in the water,

420
00:55:57,000 --> 00:56:00,000
but the bear jumped off the ice into the water

421
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:03,000
and then came up a few seconds later with the seal in its teeth.

422
00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:09,000
Everything came together, really.

423
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:12,000
It was incredibly lucky that we were in the right position.

424
00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:15,000
We could so easily have missed everything that happened.

425
00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:24,000
Yeah, I'm chuffed to bits that we actually got a successful hunt.

426
00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:27,000
It played out in front of us and we were able to catch it.

427
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:31,000
The only way to succeed in the Arctic,

428
00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:35,000
whether you're a polar bear or a film crew,

429
00:56:35,000 --> 00:56:38,000
is to have more than one trick up your sleeve.

430
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:47,000
Next time, The Hunt is on in the forest...

431
00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:52,000
A tangled world

432
00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:55,000
that hosts the ultimate game of hide and seek.

433
00:56:58,000 --> 00:57:04,000
To succeed here, a predator must perfect the art of the ambush.

434
00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:12,000
For a free interactive Open University poster, call...

435
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:17,000
..or go to...

436
00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:22,000
..and follow the links to the Open University.