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00:03This is The Americas, an extraordinary journey across Earth's great supercontinent,
00:11the widest variety of life on the planet, the untold story of our home.
00:25Tonight on The Americas.
00:32The frozen north.
00:37An adventure through the vast wilderness of Alaska and Canada.
00:44Here, winter's beauty disguises her dangers.
01:01But when snow and ice retreat, the north reveals landscapes teeming with life.
01:19All animals here must endure or escape the extreme swing of the seasons, as the north changes
01:30before their eyes.
01:40At the top of the continent lies a frozen frontier, larger than the rest of the United States.
01:53The night reveals just how few of us live up here.
02:00From the east coast to west, three million square miles of wilderness.
02:12A late November dawn in Canada's Hudson Bay.
02:18By now, this place should be frozen solid.
02:23But this year, it's still too warm.
02:33And for a polar bear.
02:38That's a problem.
02:47He's a seal hunter.
02:49But those seals are way out on the sea ice.
02:56And right now, the ice still isn't thick enough to walk on.
03:08He's forced to wait until it really freezes up.
03:25A few dead leaves won't fix an empty stomach.
03:32In just ten years, the bear population has fallen by over a third.
03:39Waiting for winter is becoming a dangerous game.
03:48While polar bears occupy the shore, the forest belongs to wolves.
04:02Winter is their prime hunting season.
04:07When the deep snow slows down their prey.
04:12A moose would feed this 17-strong pack.
04:38As a second moose is flushed out, the pack splits.
04:45It's a costly mistake.
04:51Nine out of ten hunts fail.
05:02And with this blizzard rolling in...
05:09They've missed their chance.
05:19They've missed their chance.
05:22But that doesn't mean they'll go hungry.
05:26In this weather, the exposed coastline will claim casualties.
05:37The pack must find them first.
05:49They're nervous.
05:56This is not wolf territory.
06:14A dead polar bear is an unexpected feast.
06:27They must feed quickly.
06:33This is no man's land.
06:56It's now that Canada's top predators...
07:00Come face to face.
07:12As winter descends on the shoreline of Hudson Bay...
07:18Rulers of the forest confront a king of the ice.
07:30The wolves have strength in numbers.
07:36But at 800 pounds, this bear has a massive weight advantage.
07:51And this time, that's what counts.
07:59As winters arrive later...
08:03Polar bears, trapped on the shore, are growing more desperate.
08:16But the fortunes of all who live here...
08:20Are about to change.
08:29For six months, winter buries much of the far north.
08:36Now the wolves will get their kill.
08:43And Hudson Bay is finally frozen solid.
08:54For polar bears, the path to seal hunting grounds is clear at last.
09:07The north's extreme seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth.
09:16For months, the Arctic is plunged into darkness.
09:24But still, the sun makes its presence felt.
09:37A magical display.
09:40The aurora borealis.
09:46These are the traces of a solar storm as radiation from the sun...
09:51Reacts with gases in the earth's atmosphere.
09:58Green for oxygen.
10:00Purple for nitrogen.
10:17In Canada's Yukon forest, temperatures in early February drop to minus 30.
10:29They're so little food in winter...
10:31They're so little food in winter...
10:31You're best to either leave...
10:35Or hide away until spring.
10:46Unless...
10:49You're a snowshoe hare.
10:56Wide awake and perfectly at home...
11:00Here in the frozen forest.
11:11They survive the winter on nothing more than twigs...
11:15And bark.
11:17But they're smart.
11:19Only picking plants that provide the most protein.
11:26He's about as tall as the snow is deep.
11:31But he's got something that makes living here...
11:34Seem like a walk in the park.
11:39Enormous webbed feet.
11:44They're built in snowshoes.
11:48So he's always ready for a sprint start.
11:57And he needs to be.
11:59He's not alone...
12:01In these woods.
12:09A Canada lynx.
12:19In winter...
12:20A lynx has one main source of prey.
12:26And he's... it.
12:35His ears rotate independently...
12:38Always listening out for the ominous...
12:41The crunch...
12:42Of footsteps...
12:44In the snow.
13:05Spotted.
13:17Lynx are agile hunters.
13:22Though not quite as light on their feet.
13:28Which buys the hare precious seconds.
13:39To be continued...
13:44To be continued...
13:47To be continued...
13:58But no hiding place...
14:01Will be safe...
14:03For long.
14:14To be continued...
14:18Canada Lynx don't give up on dinner easily, so escape must be timed to perfection.
14:43With the help of those snowshoes, you can hit a top speed of 30 miles per hour.
14:55A clean getaway.
14:59And that's unusual.
15:05Canada Lynx rarely miss.
15:10This is one lucky bunny.
15:18When the breeding season arrives, there will be more hares to take the heat.
15:26Until then, he'll need to stay on his toes.
15:44By late winter in Alberta, 12,000 feet up, the towering mountains of the Rockies are coated in layer upon
15:55layer of snow.
16:00In places more than 20 feet deep.
16:14A playground for millions of visitors every year.
16:26But be careful.
16:29The spring sunshine weakens the vast shelves of mountain snow.
16:35The spring of snow.
16:40Priming one of nature's most destructive events.
16:57Avalanche.
17:22A million tons of snow and ice.
17:26The race downhill at speeds over 100 miles an hour.
17:44More than 2,000 avalanches are reported in the Rockies every year.
17:51Many more go unwitness.
18:03As the planet warms, avalanches are becoming ever more unpredictable.
18:23In the shadow of the Rockies, even in late April, snow still falls across these vast grasslands.
18:33But make no mistake, spring has arrived.
18:39And so have a group of determined dancers.
18:46But will all this be enough to melt the heart of an ice queen?
18:57Standing high over the plains of Alberta, the Rockies channel warm winds down their eastern flanks.
19:06Winds known as snow eaters.
19:12As they descend, they heat up, raising the temperature of the plains below by as much as 20 degrees.
19:29Out on the prairies, pretty much everyone is an early riser.
19:41None more so than sharp-tailed grouse.
19:47They're here to catch the very first rays of sunshine.
19:52But they can't resist any spotlight.
20:01The males gather every April for a mating dance-off.
20:09The females are the judges.
20:12And the prize is, well, bet you can guess.
20:23As dawn breaks, it's showtime.
20:35Stomping their feet 20 times per second, with a shake and a shimmy, it's all about seduction.
20:49They look their best at this very moment.
20:54And they know it.
20:57She'll be looking for style.
21:04And stamina.
21:08Very nice.
21:12He's not bad either.
21:18The choice is bewildering.
21:37But without a clear winner, fights break out on the dance floor.
21:51With all this testosterone flying around, she's losing interest.
22:10They seem to want the fight more than the prize.
22:19The males need to up their game.
22:30By June, under a sun that no longer sets.
22:37Even the most stubborn snow melts away to reveal lush grasslands.
22:52New life transforms the frozen north.
23:00This is America's largest wildlife refuge.
23:0530,000 square miles of Alaska.
23:11The Arctic Refuge.
23:21In summer, one animal dominates these plains.
23:27Caribou.
23:31You might know them as reindeer.
23:35They're nomads.
23:36Following the retreating snow melts.
23:39Sometimes for a thousand miles.
23:41The longest land migration in the world.
23:49Every summer, for centuries, caribou have been coming here to have their calves.
24:01This little male is only three weeks old.
24:06But he can already run faster than an Olympic sprinter.
24:17It's easy to lose track of whose mom is whose.
24:27Wanting to explore can get you into trouble around here.
24:35Anyone who can't keep up with a herd will be left behind.
24:53But their unique calls and scent usually mean they can find each other.
25:01Come wintertime, she will be independent.
25:06But until then, mom is his whole world.
25:12Whether she likes it or not.
25:20As the herd eat their way through more than a thousand tons of tundra grasses every day.
25:29They move further west across the coastal plains.
25:39But hunger is driving them towards danger.
25:48The snow that blanketed the frozen north.
25:53Now descends from the mountains as billions of gallons of milk water.
26:00Channeled into raging torrents.
26:04Cutting across the caribou's path.
26:11These rivers are deeper and faster than ever before.
26:18And the feeding grounds lie on the other side.
26:25This crossing is more than a young calf is ready for.
26:33But survival depends on it.
27:00The current takes them by surprise sweeping him off his feet.
27:35This mother now has a tough time.
27:37What choice to make.
27:47On the riverbanks of Alaska's Arctic Refuge.
27:53This caribou mother scams the water for any sign of her missing calf.
28:10The herd is moving on.
28:13Her instinct to follow them is just too strong.
28:32Down riverbanks of Alaska's Arctic Refuge.
28:34The calf is still alive.
28:58He has a fighting spirit.
29:03But he's exhausted.
29:09mom's nowhere to be seen as the herd slows down to feed all a lost calf can do is try
29:23to catch up
29:41female caribou rarely adopt lost or orphaned young
30:17mom recognizes a familiar
30:46you have to grow up quickly in the far north
30:53these ancient roots will soon be ingrained in his memory
31:03his destiny is to endlessly wander this vast american tundra
31:21as summer warms the north hundreds of these swollen rivers carry soil and nutrients from the land to the sea
31:37and for some this becomes a time of plenty
32:01in july on alaska's isolated round island
32:06a strange sound is carried on the wind just listen
32:26this is the surprising song
32:33of male walruses
32:37known as chiming
32:42it's made by pockets of air in their throats
32:47usually they sing to impress females during the winter mating season
32:55but there's no ladies in sight
33:03which probably suits the ladies just fine
33:14on alaska's warm summer evenings
33:18perhaps this is nothing more than their very own lullaby
33:26for walruses the short summers are all about downtime
33:36but in the shallows of alaska's mainland
33:41there's no time to rest
33:49pink salmon gather at the starting line of a race that will test them to their limits
33:57driven by an urge they cannot ignore
34:00salmon arrive at the entrance of the very same stream in which they were born
34:08now two years later
34:10it's their turn to breed
34:14all 200 million of them
34:19this female is carrying at least 2,000 eggs
34:25returning to the same spot in which she was born
34:29will give her offspring
34:31the best chance of survival
34:33but ahead of her lies a killer assault course
34:47she must succeed
34:49or die trying
34:54prince william sound alaska
34:58as the tide races out
35:02countless pink salmon
35:04are waiting
35:09the scent of their spawning grounds
35:11grows stronger
35:18now it's a race
35:19to cross the shallows
35:21before the tide
35:22cuts them off
35:34one wrong turn
35:35and it's game over
35:44for gulls
35:46the banquet
35:48has begun
35:53they can be picky at this stage
35:59only selecting the most tender flesh
36:29this female has made a serious
36:32error
36:33and is now dangerously exposed
36:52her determination seems to confuse her attacker
37:07this is only the beginning
37:11every salmon is now on borrowed time
37:20from here on out
37:22they barely eat or rest
37:25as they forge upstream
37:35this journey
37:36takes a grim toll
37:41as their bodies begin to shut down
37:44and decay
37:46some faster than others
37:51finally
37:52they arrive
37:53at their spawning grounds
37:56but it's not over yet
38:03this female needs to construct
38:06a shallow nest
38:07known
38:08as a red
38:14she flicks away fine sediment
38:16to prevent her eggs
38:19from being smothered
38:31she will fiercely defend her nest
38:34from other females
38:40by now
38:41some males
38:43look like the swimming dead
38:46they're zombie salmon
38:48they're zombie salmon
38:52they're zombie salmon
38:53desperate to mate
38:54before they die
38:55they die
38:59kind of gross
39:14after all she's been through
39:17she's not going to settle
39:19for anything less than perfect
39:32males fertilize eggs
39:34in as many reds as possible
39:36but this will be her only chance
39:44she will only release her eggs
39:46when she's ready
39:50it's the moment
39:51that will seal
39:53her fate
39:56spawning and dying
39:57on the same stretch of river
39:59as her mother
40:00is a female salmon's
40:03destiny
40:10though their journey ends here
40:12these salmon leave behind
40:14millions of eggs
40:16that will become
40:17the next generation
40:29life
40:33dictated by the seasons
40:42in just two months
40:44winter returns
40:56some begin the long trek south
41:02others
41:03surrender
41:05to many months
41:06in the den
41:15but there are those
41:16who are perfectly at home
41:18in this snowbound world
41:27a place
41:29full of magic
41:36one thing is certain
41:38here in the frozen north
41:44nothing stays the same
41:46for long
41:49for long
42:16a place
42:30and a place
42:31for long
42:31and to be
42:32the end
42:33You
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