Planet Earth Ice Worlds online movie

Eider ducks break the silence. They have stayed here braving the northern winter, instead of flying south to warmer climes. Flocks forty thousand strong sweeps across the frozen wastes. They all have the same goal a polinear, a permanent hole in the sea ice kept open throughout the winter by strong ocean currents. This unusual duck pond provides an overnight sanctuary and when day breaks a rare chance to feed. Just ten meters beneath the ice, the sea floor is carpeted with dense mussel beds. These can only be reached during a brief lull in the currents. The ducks must quickly prise the mussels free before the tide starts to turn. The window of opportunity is short. As the current begins to build its up and away. These permanent holes in the ice provide seafood throughout winter. The diners attract others. In the Arctic, any breach in the icy barrier can be a lifeline. Musk oxen create their own. These giants have the strength to smash through the frozen crust to graze on the vegetation below. These icebreakers create an opening for other over winterers. Flocks of ptarmigan make unusual grazing companions for the musk oxen whose entourage grows throughout the day. This odd assembly of vegetarians doesn't go unnoticed. An arctic fox. The musk oxen have recently given birth. For the fox, it's a chance to scavenge but half a ton of mad hairy cow is not to be trifled with. The calves are born well before the spring melts giving them a head start when summer finally arrives. It must get to grips with its new ice world benign one minute life threatening the next. Even in spring winds chill to the bone. The calf must stay close to its mother to avoid getting lost in the sudden blizzard. Arctic wolves. In the whiteout, the threat is almost impossible to detect but the musk oxen instinctively retreat to higher ground. Forming a defensive ring around their calves the adults present a barricade that few hunters could breach but the wolves need not risk injury today. A calf has been left behind in the panic. With each passing day the sun climbs higher in the sky and its rays strike the Arctic more directly. Its spring and new life stirs. The polar bear cubs emerge from the den in which they were born. Their mother stretches her legs after five months under the snow. They're just two months old and instinctively follow her lead. A steep slope makes the best site for a den but it's a tricky place to take your first steps. It may look like fun, but this is serious training for the task ahead. There's no food on the slopes and the family will need to head out across the frozen sea, before the mother's milk runs dry. Two weeks later they're ready. Out on the sea ice the female can hunt for seals but it will take all her mothering skills to keep her cubs safe in this dangerous world of ice. The annual melt has begun. This is a challenging time for the bear family. One out of every two cubs does not survive their first year out on the ice. As the sun's influence increases, the sea ice seems to take on a life of its own. Glacial melt waters pour from the land mingling with the sea and speeding up the thaw. The seascape is in constant flux, as broken ice is moved on by winds and currents. The ice is becoming too weak to support a male polar bear. He attempts to spread his weight but the ice that has supported him all winter is rapidly disintegrating. Each year as the climate warms the Arctic holds less ice. This is a disaster for polar bears. Without its solid platform, they can't hunt the seals they need in order to survive. This may be a glimpse of the unstable future faced by this magnificent creature. As the ice disappears seabirds return to the high Arctic. Little auks arrive in their millions. In some ways these birds are the penguins of the north. The seek bare rock on which to lay their eggs and they look rather like penguins too. Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic can be reached by land based predators which is why little auks have kept the ability to fly. They use screen slopes to protect their eggs, burrowing up to a meter beneath the rocks. At the height of summer the sun never sets but just skims the horizon before rising again. Migrants return to the Arctic from far and wide. They've come to make the most of the brief flush of food and to produce their young. Sand hill cranes have travelled all the way from New Mexico. Their chicks join the growing band of youngsters exploring the tundra. For a few months each year the Arctic becomes the land of the midnight sun and twenty four hours of daylight allow animals to feed around the clock. The arctic fox finally has enough food to raise her large family. If you choose to nest in the open you must be prepared for a fight. Arctic skuas will see off any trespassers even large vegetarians. The male polar bear's ice world has finally vanished beneath him. While the female is still kept on land by her dependent cubs the male can take to the sea in search of food. Ducking and diving, he hopes to ambush seals resting on the remaining fragments of ice. In these new surroundings he is a surprisingly adept swimmer. Once an extremely rare sight polar bears have recently been seen over sixty miles from the shore. There is now no turning back for this bear. He's forced to head out into deeper water. His giant front paws help him to fight the ocean currents. He seems at home in the sea but he cannot swim indefinitely. He will drown if he doesn't find land somewhere in this vast ocean. Walruses are now gathering on low lying islands. They gave birth on sea ice but with this platform now gone, they need a new place to haul out and nurse their young. After several days at sea the male bear finally makes landfall drawn by pungent smells emanating from the island.

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