Polar (Full Episode) | Hostile Planet | National Geographic

[Music] these emperor penguins are about to undertake one of the greatest Feats of Endurance on the planet [Music] a single egg it's taken almost all this Mother's energy to create time to entrust it to her mate while she leaves to feed at sea [Music] now it's up to that he must carry the egg through the world's worst winter risk his own life to keep the chick growing inside alive just one of the many remarkable stories of how life triumphs at the ends of the Earth [Music] when winter hits the polar regions the temperature can drop

as low as- 120° F almost nothing grows winds build into some of the strongest on Earth we got Land and Sea locked in ice and weeks of Perpetual Darkness only a few remarkable animals have what it takes to survive here and every day is a struggle against the elements and each other now the poles are changing faster than anywhere else on the planet and getting through the coldest days that's just the beginning of the battle late fall polar bears are grounded once the sea has frozen over they can head out and begin hunting but since

the 1970s that's taking longer hunger claws for an extra 3 weeks and this young male must face other challenges an older rival the largest of all land Predators male polar bears lead a life of violence but today punches are being pulled sparring partners test strength and [Music] skill preparing for tougher times when the battle for food and mates will be real but first patience wait for winter [Music] the magic number 28.8 F seawater begins to freeze [Music] an ice kingdom is born almost Limitless hunting grounds the harshest season is when polar bears Thrive the Arctic

plunges into 24 hours of night around the poles the planet's magnetic field puts on an unearthly display in the north the Aurora [Music] Borealis and in the South the Aurora [Music] Australis winter here looks Heavenly but for these emperor penguins it's hell on Earth all of them are male and if the eggs they're carrying are to survive all of them must stand strong each one takes their turn in the full force of the wind all the time balancing their eggs on their toes just beyond the Ice's deadly reach [Music] 75 days of sacrifice finally over

[Applause] it was worth it just 6 oz he's got a lot of growing to do soon the ice on which they stand will all be [Music] gone this is Canada's last land before the Arctic pack ice somehow an eight strong pack of Arctic wolves survives here during the brutal winter finding food is a daily struggle but after almost three months of darkness array of Hope [Music] Arctic hairs are one of the few other creatures that survive here gathering in huge groups offers protection and now the sun has returned the element of surprise is gone a

lot of effort for no return there are bigger opportunities here but they come with greater risks Musk Oxen one of the arctic's true survivors in their search for food the Arctic Wolf Pack can cover 50 miles in a day these Musk Oxen have spent all winter in this Frozen Wasteland they're built to survive but just one adult would feed the entire pack to witness wolves hunt musen in winter is so rare it's never been captured on camera until now [Music] this herd has a youngster but it's protected behind a united front armed with slashing horns

adults weigh up to 700b [Music] [Music] the Wolves search for weakness in their defense try to get them on the Run the mother won't leave her Cal but her instincts work against her I in such a brutal landscape one animal's survival often depends on another's fate in the South the sun's power is [Applause] increasing it's been 12 weeks since he hatched in fewer than 4 months all this will have melted by then chicks must be ready to swim his life depends on how quickly he [Music] grows in just 150 days his body weight must increase

70 [Music] times strengthen in Sun promises easier times but down here promises are easily broken Antarctica's freezing winds have become more ferocious a hole in the planet's ozone lir is disrupting the atmosphere altering the weather even though dad hasn't returned from fishing the chick now needs so much food mom must go too his instincts are to follow but it's a mistake he's walking away from safety I [Music] [Music] unless he makes it back to the Colony he will die in Antarctica a storm has hit the emperor penguin colony [Music] it's taken a heavy [Music] toll

but most have survived keeping each other [Music] alive separated chicks must now find their [Music] parents somewhere amongst 177,000 penguins [Music] is his [Music] [Music] father his call is [Music] unique reunited and safe these chicks have learned an important life lesson The Colony only survives by standing together spring races across the [Music] Arctic the chain change brings new challenges a young female she depends on seals for food the only prey with enough calories to sustain her as the ice melts Escape routs are now everywhere her chances plummet [Music] Bears have an acute sense of smell

they can detect seals from nearly 2 miles this one's closer [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] news of her kill carries on the wind a huge male he needs food too and he doesn't care how he gets it [Music] just bones she's taken her fill now she must leave a hungry male polar bear can turn [Applause] cannibal summer in the poles has always been a time of transformation but now the Arctic is changing faster than at any rate in recorded history the climate is warming [Music] polar bears face immediate survival choices head deeper into the ice or

Swim full land either way four lean months lie [Music] ahead climate change at the poles will bring challenges for many but for some it's opportunity over 50 years the average temperature here has risen by around 5° F gen two penguins like it warmer than the ice loving Emperor [Music] cousins it exposes the bare rock they need for nesting the waters here are so rich successfully raising two chicks is far more [Music] likely who feed first is decided by a Chase [Music] [Music] chicks are at all stages the oldest are ready for the sea but their

first taste of the ocean may also be their last a changing climate around Antarctica is helping Gen 2 penguin populations but even in summer conditions can deteriorate rapidly storms blow Brash ice into Shore the route back to the Colony is blocked fledglings must negotiate a maze of floating ice it's all too easy to get left behind and that's not the only [Music] danger pushing through Brash ice is hard work but this is not a safe place to rest [Music] [Music] Panic drives them on a leopard seal a 12T long penguin Predator attention turns to the

straggler [Music] the more he struggles the easier he is to find leopard seals like to toy with their victims [Music] with so much prey about there's no rush [Applause] [Applause] a last Act of defiance The One That Got Away still there's plenty of other Penguins to play with [Music] summer [Music] intensifies ice continues to retreat polar bears are stranded they're toughest [Music] time surviving on fat built up last winter reserves are running low there's almost nothing to eat almost at this time of year beluga whales arrive in Canada's shallows a sanctuary for newborns these Waters

can be 18° warmer than the Open Sea this could be his Lifeline their Tanta Iz inly close one of the few whales with flexible necks the belugas easily see him coming with each dive he wastes precious energy and his chances of surviving summer get [Music] Slimmer on the shores of Hudson Bay a hungry polar bear is desperately trying to hunt beluga whales catching them in open water has proved almost impossible but he can't let this opportunity slip away a change in tactic from The Rock prey is easier to spot if only they would come in

range built for the cold suffering in the Sun finally a cough not fat like an adult but perhaps just enough to keep starvation at [Music] Bay hunting beluga whales might make the difference between life and death for these bears but if the ice free season gets longer even this may not be enough [Music] polar animals have evolved to survive the coldest harshest conditions on Earth but now the polar regions are warming more rapidly than anywhere else this means new opportunities for some but for the most cold adapted there are seriously challenging days ahead the question

is can they find new ways to adapt to a fast changing [Music] [Music] world the emperor penguin parents are on the home stretch [Music] together they've traveled thousands of miles keeping their chicks fed he hatched out at under a pound now he's over 20 almost as big as his parents [Music] soon they'll stop returning with food chicks will be catching their own [Music] [Music] [Music] this family have done everything they can in the hope that their chick will one day return and the incredible story of Life at the poles will continue [Music] [Music]