Another great episode of the latest series from the BBC natural history unit. I have to say that this series has quickly become my most favourite nature series ever. Tonight’s episode focussed on life that survives during the very harsh winters in both the Arctic and Antarctic. There were few highlights again.
The first of any note was a small segment about spectacled eider, a type of duck that unlike most other birds doesn’t fly south for the winter. It focussed on how there are huge flocks of hundreds and thousands of them and they find themselves a gap of water amongst the advancing ice. The entire world population of spectacled eider rely on this gap not freezing over, as seen tonight a group of common eider aren’t so lucky.
A pack of two wolves were also featured tonight and they were shown hunting bison. Firstly by following the tracks until they were able to pick up the scent. They run within the tracks because it is easier and faster for them to run in the compacted snow as apposed the deeper looser snow which hinders them, as was shown. They have no alternative but to hunt the bison in the winter because there is no other prey for them to hunt. The only trouble is that the bison are ten times the size of the wolves so the wolves must select the right one to pick off, an injury can be fatal. The wolves targeted a yearling which although small is still bigger than both of the wolves combined. A bloody battle ensued where the male wolf backed off but undeterred the female wasn’t going to see a meal leave their grasps. She held on in a battle of life and death with the yearling and despite being stomped and tossed, the bison’s ever diminishing stamina made her perseverance deliver in the end.
Taiga Forest
There was a segment on the flora of the frozen planet and how most plants will die during the first frost, all except coniferous trees which can withstand the harshest temperatures. The only problem they face in their development is a lack of light from the sun penetrating the vast snow covered trees, some covered in up to three tonnes of snow. The coniferous trees make up the World’s biggest forest called Taiga. The taiga is a home for many species such as wolverines and ravens. These sometimes join forces with a raven spotting a carcass and alerting the wolverine to it, like a dinner bell and the wolverine with its powerful jaws is able to open up the frozen carcass for them both to enjoy its spoils, the equivalent of a can opener. Wolverines can eat more in one sitting than any other animals. What it can’t eat it will bury and store some place for leaner times when food is scarce.
Voles were featured tonight and surprisingly I didn’t realise that a small animal such as voles would be active during winter. The travel along tunnels dug out in the snow from food pocket to food pocket. The snow above provides great insulation to the voles and they thrive. Sometimes the numbers swell and some are forced to leave the protection of the tunnels and scavenge on land in search of food, these become prey for owls but fortunately owls can’t penetrate the snow should the vole head for cover. Unfortunately for voles weasels can go wherever they can go. Weasels body shape makes them perfect for vole hunting in the winding tunnels but they are not able to keep insulated. If the weasel manages to kill a vole it plucks the fur from its body and makes itself a cosy blanket for the weasels den.
Emperor Penguins
Once again penguins were featured tonight and it focussed on emperor penguins and how they face the harshest conditions and not only that but must preserve the eggs of their chicks on their feet. Should they drop them on the ice, even for a moment the chick would freeze and die. Female emperor penguins return after four months at sea, they fatten up on fish during the months at sea. Luckily they return at a time when the males who are left rearing the chicks are on the verge of dying from starvation, the arrival of the females is most welcome. Since the females left the distance from the colony to the ices edge is almost twice as long due to the advancement of the ice. When they get back to the colony after a brief reunion with their mate it is time for the handover of the chick from father to mother, some fathers find difficulty in exchanging the chick due to the bond they have developed with the chick. The handover must be very quick due to the cold temperature and how quickly the chick can freeze to death. For some the journey can end in disappointment in returning to find that their chicks haven’t survived the winter. Stray chicks are of risk of kidnapped, huge melees ensue of penguins trying to get the chick and the outcomes can often be tragic with chicks being froze to death in the ensuing battles for them. The gamble of sticking out the harsh winter pays off when spring begins to arrive and the penguins can reap the rewards of the new life that begins to emerge. As the emperors leave the Antarctic the adelie penguins return. As one season ends another begins. Soon both the arctic and Antarctic will be bustling with life once more.
The next episode focuses on the people of our frozen planet. Showing the harsh life faced by traditional peoples who live in the tundra and the scientists who use technological advancements to heighten our understanding of an often unknown part of the World.
