{1}{1}25.000
{1070}{1178}It's September - early spring|in the southern hemisphere.
{1180}{1269}The Antarctic continent|is encircled by sea ice
{1271}{1367}that extends for hundreds|of miles northwards around its coasts
{1369}{1439}and encloses all but a few islands.
{1493}{1633}But these ice-free islands,|like South Georgia, are very precious,
{1635}{1685}for here the sea never freezes
{1689}{1775}and any sea animal that needs to|can always get ashore.
{2623}{2751}First to return each spring|are the bull elephant seals.
{2998}{3077}They are about to land on a breeding beach,
{3079}{3185}and each one knows that when he does|he will have to face rivals.
{3265}{3353}A full-grown male weighs over three tonnes.
{3405}{3501}Half the world's population|will come to this one island,
{3503}{3561}8,000 to this beach alone.
{3564}{3612}(L0UD BELL0WING)
{3614}{3696}This immense gathering of elephant seals
{3698}{3765}extends for some two miles up this beach.
{3767}{3856}It might seem to be totally disorganised,
{3858}{3923}but there is a pattern to it.
{3925}{3976}All these are females.
{3978}{4088}They came ashore about a month ago to pup
{4090}{4162}and now are ready to breed again.
{4164}{4280}And they all belong to this one male.
{4282}{4345}(THR0ATY BARKING)
{4412}{4482}This is a beachmaster
{4484}{4594}and there are a dozen or so like him|spaced out along this beach.
{4596}{4673}Each one of them has his own harem.
{4675}{4781}I estimate this one|has about a hundred females.
{4783}{4860}His sole object in life at the moment
{4862}{4946}is to make quite sure that he and he alone
{4948}{5010}mates with every one of them.
{5012}{5072}And for that he must fight...
{5074}{5128}(AGGRESSIVE R0ARING)
{5573}{5614}He's won,
{5616}{5740}but he'll have to battle many times|every day if he is to keep control.
{5818}{5895}The females gave birth|soon after they arrived.
{5897}{5991}They now have three weeks|in which to feed their pups
{5993}{6077}before they themselves|have to go back to sea to feed.
{6152}{6196}In that short time,
{6200}{6277}they have to transform a near empty bag of skin
{6279}{6350}into a full bag of blubber.
{6423}{6496}As they come to the end of suckling,
{6498}{6548}the females become sexually receptive again.
{6550}{6663}That is the moment the beachmaster|has been waiting for.
{6796}{6842}But while he is busy,
{6844}{6910}a rival is also busy
{6912}{6964}on the edge of the harem.
{6976}{7037}That can't be tolerated.
{7157}{7209}(ANGRY R0ARING)
{7260}{7320}(DEEP R0AR)
{7557}{7605}A roar is enough -
{7607}{7667}the interloper retreats.
{7763}{7836}But many conflicts|will only be settled by violence.
{7838}{7872}Males get ripped -
{7874}{7962}and those in the way|of the fighters may get crushed.
{8029}{8077}(YELPING)
{8171}{8296}Every now and then, the beachmaster|proclaims his dominance with a roar.
{8298}{8380}The bigger the bull,|the louder and deeper his voice.
{8382}{8430}A rival can judge from it
{8432}{8539}whether or not he has a chance|in a straight battle.
{8591}{8639}(THR0ATY R0AR)
{8738}{8850}If he is going to persevere|with his challenge, he must now fight.
{8937}{8995}The pair rear up to over eight feet.
{8997}{9057}Their only weapons are their teeth,
{9059}{9144}but they can do a lot of damage with them.
{9823}{9896}The hide on the neck is particularly thick
{9898}{9938}and prevents serious injury.
{9940}{10041}A bout can go on for a quarter of an hour.
{10043}{10107}Eventually the battle is brought to an end
{10109}{10186}by exhaustion as much as anything else.
{10409}{10473}0n the grassy slopes above the battleground,
{10475}{10545}the scene is more peaceful.
{10557}{10651}Black-browed albatross|are returning from the sea.
{11271}{11325}Grey-headed albatross are here too,
{11327}{11371}hanging on the updraughts
{11373}{11427}caused when the ever-continuing wind
{11429}{11503}is deflected upwards by the cliff face.
{11826}{11864}Throughout the past winter,
{11866}{11932}these birds have been flying alone|over the vast ocean,
{11934}{11972}searching for food.
{11974}{12028}Now they are returning to breed
{12030}{12074}and are assembling in colonies
{12076}{12134}several thousand strong.
{12195}{12258}(CAWING)
{12260}{12388}Breeding pairs from previous seasons|are reunited -
{12390}{12476}and each uses exactly|the same nest mound they used before.
{12478}{12549}But it does need a little renovation.
{12702}{12820}Mutual grooming renews|the bond between them.
{12975}{13048}Both grey-headed|and black-browed albatross
{13050}{13122}are faithful for life, twenty years or so,
{13124}{13177}and long-established pairs
{13179}{13279}only need a brief repetition of their|courtship ritual before they mate.
{13661}{13747}Two weeks later, the female lays a single egg,
{13749}{13797}and for the next seventy days,
{13799}{13877}the two take turns to incubate it.
{14134}{14198}While one keeps the egg warm,
{14200}{14256}the other flies off to feed
{14258}{14369}and may have to travel thousands of miles|before it gets what it needs.
{14452}{14531}Most kinds of albatross nest in colonies.
{14533}{14634}0ne special one, however,|prefers a more solitary life.
{14752}{14865}Light-mantled sooty albatross|are the last to return to the island.
{14867}{14930}The males come first.
{15062}{15139}0ne that is still unpaired settles on a ledge
{15141}{15218}and calls to passing females.
{15691}{15797}Having listened to many,|she eventually selects one.
{15938}{15995}The next stage in courtship
{15997}{16082}involves a certain amount|of nodding and dancing.
{16226}{16389}And then there follows a most beautiful|perfectly synchronised display flight.
{17700}{17802}During the day,|the skies belong to the albatross,
{17804}{17839}but as darkness comes,
{17841}{17977}other more nervous and more numerous birds|come to the island.
{18145}{18220}Thousands of small petrels and prions
{18222}{18316}fly agitatedly around the cliffs|in the darkness.
{18371}{18470}22 million nest amongst the tussac grass
{18472}{18522}on South Georgia alone.
{18584}{18698}Being so small, the prions are|vulnerable to attack by skuas,
{18700}{18810}and for the safety of their defenceless|chicks during the day,
{18812}{18874}they make their nests in burrows.
{18901}{18980}0utside, the white-chinned|petrels assemble.
{18982}{19039}(C0NSTANT CHIRPING)
{19132}{19228}Duetting pairs defend the territories|around their burrows,
{19230}{19325}that can extend two metres|beneath the tussac grass.
{19483}{19575}The chick stays safely|inside the burrow for two months.
{19577}{19662}Every other day,|one of the adults comes to feed it
{19664}{19717}with a mixture of squid and krill.
{19796}{19860}Before dawn, and danger,
{19862}{19953}all the adults will have|disappeared from the island
{19955}{20007}and returned to the open ocean.
{20157}{20264}This hillside is jam-packed|with Macaroni penguins
{20266}{20315}and virtually nothing else.
{20317}{20380}There are some 80,000 of them here,
{20382}{20447}but even this vast assemblage
{20449}{20562}is only a tiny proportion|of the total population of South Georgia,
{20564}{20665}which is estimated|to be more than 10,000,000.
{20667}{20737}It's an astonishing|demonstration of the fact
{20739}{20853}that although the Antarctic|is virtually lifeless over vast areas,
{20855}{20942}there are one or two small oases|that teem with life.
{21165}{21217}After spending the winter
{21219}{21296}wandering around the northern fringes|of the southern ocean,
{21298}{21379}the Macaronis return|with remarkable punctuality.
{21381}{21536}In just ten days, the terraces of this|empty stadium become packed tight.
{21538}{21651}The males come first,|the females a week later.
{21732}{21816}The Macaroni is very much THE penguin
{21818}{21892}of the northern rim of the Antarctic.
{21894}{21955}Very few of them venture farther south
{21957}{22009}than the sub-Antarctic islands.
{22011}{22091}But here they constitute over fifty per cent
{22093}{22145}of all sea birds.
{22147}{22237}At the moment, at the beginning|of the breeding season,
{22239}{22275}they are squabbling noisily,
{22277}{22399}as each pair fights to hold|its own tiny nest site.
{22450}{22523}Each new arrival has to make its way
{22525}{22609}through a barrage of pecks|from outraged nest owners.
{22682}{22726}Macaronis must be the noisiest
{22728}{22791}and most bad-tempered of all penguins,
{22793}{22898}and sometimes the fights|can be really vicious.
{22900}{22952}(AGGRESSIVE SCREECHING)
{23748}{23827}Eventually, a female finds her male
{23829}{23912}and is rewarded with a greeting display...
{23979}{24037}...and a comforting preen.
{24241}{24340}Ten days later, she's produced two eggs.
{24342}{24401}But, remarkably, one of them -
{24403}{24451}the darker, smaller one -
{24453}{24503}is nearly always abandoned.
{24505}{24556}Why is not certain.
{24558}{24657}It may be insurance|against the loss of the bigger one.
{24659}{24743}But the colony is not littered|with abandoned eggs.
{24746}{24850}It has its own squad|of refuse collectors - sheathbills.
{25028}{25139}During the summer,|they normally eat penguin droppings.
{25141}{25214}An abandoned if addled egg|must make a nice change.
{25277}{25359}Sheathbills are one of the few birds here
{25361}{25438}that do not rely on the ocean|for food, at least directly.
{25440}{25494}They are totally land-based.
{25527}{25607}All the wildlife here in South Georgia -
{25609}{25714}the Macaroni penguins,|the albatrosses, the elephant seals,
{25716}{25757}even the tussac grass -
{25759}{25852}is virtually restricted|to the outer rim of Antarctica.
{25854}{25926}Farther south, it's a harsher world.
{25928}{25977}There, ice dominates.
{25979}{26081}But with the arrival of spring,|that world is warming just slightly.
{26083}{26170}The sea ice is retreating|and animals are returning -
{26172}{26268}animals that are specially adapted|to life in the frozen south.
{26404}{26488}Most of Antarctica|is still locked in by sea ice,
{26490}{26587}but as the days lengthen,|so that slowly retreats.
{26589}{26683}First to be freed|is the Antarctic peninsula,
{26685}{26783}a long arm of the continent|that reaches up northwards.
{26914}{27031}For a few months, it's possible|to reach its coast by sea.
{27033}{27096}Antarctica is nowhere lovelier.
{27145}{27200}But even at the height of the summer,
{27202}{27277}only 2% of the continent is free from ice,
{27279}{27331}and most of that is here.
{27705}{27813}But no sea animal will reach|those distant rock slopes
{27815}{27876}until the sea ice breaks up.
{28241}{28340}Gentoo penguins|are among the first to make it.
{28497}{28569}They need bare rock for their nests,
{28571}{28687}but even now that's so scarce|they may have a hard climb to reach it.
{28807}{28884}These are on their way to relieve their mates
{28886}{28982}who, for the past three days,|have been looking after the eggs.
{29105}{29157}Their eggs were laid in November,
{29159}{29256}almost a month after the Gentoos|up in South Georgia.
{29258}{29321}There's no soil here|with which to make a nest
{29323}{29423}and precious little vegetation,|just a few small stones.
{29574}{29645}And even the stones are in short supply
{29647}{29732}and may have to be|"borrowed" from a neighbour.
{29779}{29858}(ANN0YED SQUAWKING)
{30295}{30406}Nobody likes to see their nest|disappearing from beneath their feet.
{30457}{30523}But when thieves come from all sides,
{30525}{30586}there's not much you can do.
{30764}{30882}After five weeks of incubation,|the chicks start to hatch.
{30889}{30937}(FEEBLE SQUAWK)
{31017}{31068}Unlike the Macaronis,
{31070}{31142}both the Gentoos' eggs hatch.
{31144}{31227}For three weeks,|the adults care for the chicks,
{31229}{31283}protecting them from the cold.
{31285}{31360}They take turns to bring meals|of small fish and krill.
{31411}{31493}But the labour of doing so is enormous,
{31495}{31605}for there's that snow slope|to be traversed every time
{31607}{31687}and penguins were not designed for skiing.
{32566}{32614}As spring advances,
{32616}{32704}more and more of the peninsula|becomes ice-free,
{32706}{32785}and humpback whales|appear along the coast, seeking krill.
{33059}{33129}The sea ice, as it disintegrates,
{33131}{33209}forms a sort of soup of loose blocks.
{33211}{33265}This is the pack ice.
{33267}{33329}The whales will go no further.
{33426}{33493}(WH00SH 0F EXPELLED AIR)
{33635}{33679}At its outer edges,
{33681}{33747}the pack is easy to get through.
{33749}{33870}But further south, the floes become|bigger and more closely packed.
{34177}{34282}0nly the most powerful ice-breaking|ships can force a passage
{34284}{34378}through the vast band of broken ice|that rings the continent.
{34380}{34435}In places, it's 200 miles across.
{34437}{34487}This, however, surprisingly,
{34489}{34601}is home of the most numerous large mammal|in the world apart from man -
{34658}{34707}crabeater seals.
{34709}{34771}Up to 30 million live around the continent
{34773}{34863}in this in-between world of ice and water.
{34865}{34914}Here they rest and pup.
{34916}{34964}They never come to land.
{34982}{35066}Despite their name, they live on krill.
{35068}{35169}They sieve sea water|through their interlocking teeth
{35171}{35260}and consume 20 kilos of it every day.
{35749}{35824}Even further south, beyond the pack ice,
{35826}{35906}there still remains|mile after mile of winter ice
{35908}{35965}that has not yet broken up.
{35992}{36088}Very few creatures can get|across this to the land beyond.
{36090}{36140}But one does...
{36274}{36325}...the Adelie penguin.
{36327}{36416}They breed further south|than any other penguin.
{36418}{36529}They can't wait for the ice|to break and have to walk.
{36531}{36625}In some years, they will march|for over 60 miles
{36627}{36701}to reach their traditional breeding grounds.
{36703}{36768}The Antarctic summer is short indeed.
{36770}{36818}They must hurry.
{37571}{37641}Their journey is remarkable enough
{37643}{37740}but, incredibly, one creature|makes an even longer one.
{37817}{37885}Snow petrels are smaller than pigeons,
{37887}{37950}yet they fly across ice that never melts
{37952}{38042}and climb to altitudes of 3,000 metres
{38044}{38155}right up and onto the vast Antarctic ice cap.
{38235}{38314}Here, over an area larger than Australia,
{38316}{38378}the ice is several miles thick.
{38380}{38445}It blankets whole mountain ranges.
{38447}{38536}0nly the summits of the tallest|project through it,
{38538}{38584}as "nunataks".
{38670}{38780}These few tiny patches of rock|isolated in a sea of ice
{38782}{38876}are as precious as an oasis in a desert.
{38878}{38951}0nly 2% of the continent is ice-free,
{38953}{39038}and nearly all of that is near the coast.
{39040}{39126}But snow petrels can't lay their eggs on ice
{39128}{39248}and are prepared to fly|a very long way to find bare rock.
{39250}{39391}0ne of their nests was found on a nunatak|like this, 144 miles from the coast.
{39457}{39536}Snow petrels bring life to this,
{39538}{39625}the most life-less part of our planet.
{39798}{39892}They breed further south than any other bird.
{39894}{39942}They have to wait
{39944}{40002}for their nesting ledges|to be cleared from the thick snow.
{40004}{40123}Even at the height of summer,|temperatures don't rise above minus 30.
{40125}{40182}There is no unfrozen water,
{40184}{40271}and to keep clean they have to bathe in snow.
{41816}{41900}As soon as the winds|have swept the bulk of the snow
{41903}{41952}from the higher rock slopes,
{41956}{42008}the snow petrels take possession of them.
{42010}{42070}But there is still much to do.
{42072}{42129}They may have to excavate a metre of snow
{42131}{42243}to get into a crevice|and find a nest site that suits them.
{42347}{42395}In the coming season,
{42397}{42488}they will have to make the journey|of over 200 miles back to open water
{42490}{42571}again and again|to collect food for their chicks.
{42645}{42693}But with their arrival,
{42695}{42794}spring has, at last, come to the deep south.
{42851}{42953}Next week, with the ice retreating|to its minimum extent,
{42955}{43019}we will watch the race to breed
{43021}{43123}as the wildlife takes advantage|of the brief Antarctic summer.