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00:12Our weather is wilder, fiercer, more unpredictable than ever before.
00:27Rare red weather warnings meaning there's a potential danger to life.
00:31Such weather is more frequent and intense.
00:34I think we had this conversation in our newsroom, you know, when they were evacuating all the people.
00:40What about the animals?
00:46For the first time, we see the planet's most extreme weather
00:54through their eyes.
01:04When nature turns against them, they're not just enduring.
01:12They are fighting back in remarkable ways.
01:23The bigger the storm, the greater the heroes.
01:32These animals are a force of nature.
02:03The rise in temperature would mean that all of the Earth's frozen parts would exist.
02:08They experience irreversible damage with disastrous consequences for millions of people, societies and nature.
02:19Finding new ways for people and wildlife to coexist has become more urgent.
02:27Are they invading our space, or are we invading theirs?
02:54The Himalayas, peaking at over eight thousand eight hundred meters.
03:03It's the highest mountain range on Earth.
03:10Temperatures can drop to minus fifty degrees Celsius.
03:23But even here, life can find a way.
03:34Known as the Ghost of the Mountains.
03:43The Snow Leopard, with a three-inch-thick coat.
03:51He's perfectly adapted to these extremes.
04:08Snow leopards typically live solitary lives.
04:15But he is not alone.
04:32Unusually, at two years old, he still lives with his sister.
04:55But their world is changing around them.
05:10The Himalayas are warming nearly three times faster than the global average.
05:23In this shrinking ice world, they are losing their territory.
05:30And with it, their prey.
05:37Those that remain, live a precipitous life.
05:52It's a perilous place to hunt.
06:08But they can scale the seemingly impossible.
06:24Using their thick tails as a counterbalance.
06:28And inch long claws like crampons.
06:34And inch long claws like crampons.
06:37They close down the distance.
07:04At twice his size.
07:07A male blue sheep.
07:09A male blue sheep.
07:09Thisland is too dangerous to fight.
07:12A male blue sheep.
07:37It's too dangerous to tackle alone.
07:58Driving it closer
08:05To the edge
08:35To the edge
08:38Until this big will feed the siblings for a week
08:49But they might not have a week
09:00An older, larger male
09:09He's looking for a territory of his own
09:14And is ready to kill for it
09:29The Himalayas may be warming at an alarming rate
09:35But nowhere is melting faster than the arctic
10:09The area of arctic sea
10:11Ice was almost 1 million square miles below its average in past years
10:21An arctic fox
10:25Forced to make one of the greatest journeys by any land animal
10:32Foxes like these becoming increasingly isolated
10:35This could threaten the very survival of the region's most iconic inhabitants
10:44Hungry, desperate
10:45And trapped in the middle of a melting ocean
11:07July in the high arctic
11:17A female arctic fox pup
11:24Only two months old
11:27She's one of a litter of five
11:37Like all arctic foxes
11:39She was born with a brown coat
11:45And a spring in her step
11:59But all this play
12:03Is important practice
12:05For the serious business ahead
12:20In summer, Svalbard becomes home to one of the largest gatherings of seabirds
12:26On the planet
12:34Including hundreds of thousands of guillemots
12:38Including hundreds of thousands of guillemots
12:39But a thousand meters up
12:41They're impossible to reach
12:51Closer to home
12:53Closer to home
12:55A lone skewer chick
13:05An opportunity
13:08To make her first kill
13:22She's no match
13:24For an angry skewer mum
13:28With a beak
13:30That could easily blind her
13:44There's no such thing
13:46As an easy meal
14:00With each passage
14:02On a passing day
14:02She only grows hungrier
14:09But mum knows
14:11Good things come to those who wait
14:18At three weeks old
14:20The guillemot chicks
14:22Are ready to fly the nest
14:28Their maiden flight
14:30A mile-long glide
14:33To the sea
14:53While most land safely out of reach
15:06A few fall short
15:08A few fall short
15:13And mum seizes the opportunity
15:21The first one is free
15:24The first one is free
15:29Now
15:29It's her turn
15:40She's creating a larder
15:59She's creating a larder
16:01Will only last so long
16:09Once the birds have left
16:11And winter hits
16:13She'll face starvation
16:36In the far north
16:37A warming planet
16:39Is playing havoc
16:41With the seasons
16:45Usually we have eight inches of snow
16:49This type of winter
16:50Could be a preview of the future
16:57Winter is a month late
17:06But when it finally arrives
17:14It hits fast
17:16And it hits hard
17:31In Alaska
17:33Life is defined by a short summer
17:37Followed by a long winter
17:43Summer
17:44But today
17:45That's all changing
17:49Summer weather
17:50Is still here
17:51In September
18:00No complaints
18:01From this Arctic ground squirrel
18:04It means
18:06More time can be spent eating
18:10In preparation for winter hibernation
18:25This year
18:26The late summer has delivered
18:28A new treat
18:37Mushrooms
18:38Mushrooms
18:40Packed with vital protein
18:42And vitamins
18:53He must take advantage
18:55Fast
19:01Others
19:02Others
19:03Others
19:03Have their eye on the prize
19:04Others
19:14Have their eye on the prize
19:18And thieves
19:21Won't be tolerated
19:22Won't be tolerated
19:47He may have seen off the competition
19:49He may have seen off the competition
19:54But he's strayed far from home
20:02And now
20:03The big freeze sweeps in
20:06With a vengeance
20:14He needs to quickly find his burrow
20:18If he's to survive the first day of winter
20:26Let alone
20:28Let alone
20:28Six months of it
20:30Six months of it
20:31Six months of it
20:48The climate is getting warmer
20:51The weather is getting more extreme
20:53The climate is getting warmer
20:56Warming mountains and shrinking territories
21:04Are setting the Himalayas big cats
21:06Are setting the Himalayas big cats
21:07On a collision course
21:14A rival male is muscling in
21:18On the young snow leopard territory
21:33But it's a home worth fighting for.
22:16He's been banished from the only home.
22:20He's ever known.
22:27He must find a territory of his own.
22:49But in a mountain range that is melting...
22:55His world is fast disappearing.
23:03Glaciers on the Himalaya Mountains are melting at a rapid rate.
23:08They could lose 80% of their volume by the end of the 21st century.
23:19Go too high, and the air is too thin to breathe.
23:27Too low, and he'll overheat.
23:40Any suitable remaining territory is already taken.
23:56He has no choice but to keep on moving.
24:23Descending below the snow line.
24:36Into an unfamiliar new world.
24:47Farmers now graze their livestock at higher and higher altitudes.
24:59And coming with them, packs of feral dogs.
25:09The hungry snow leopard has never encountered creatures like these before.
25:32All he knows is that he needs to eat.
25:55The hungry snow leopard has never encountered creatures.
26:15In Alaska, winter temperatures have dropped to minus 40 degrees.
26:37Only a few hardy specialists, like muskox, can survive in the open.
26:49Others don't have to.
27:00A meter below the surface, the Arctic ground squirrel is defying the laws of nature.
27:26With unique blood chemistry, he's the only mammal who can withstand a body temperature of minus 3 degrees Celsius.
27:43His heart usually beats 200 times a minute.
27:53Now, just once.
28:00In a state of torpor, he can live off his energy reserves for six long months.
28:17But today, winter temperatures fluctuate wildly.
28:27Weather swings are having real effects on wildlife, and they are changing their hibernation routines.
28:35A rise of a few degrees triggers his body to start waking up.
28:45And if he does, he'll burn through his fat reserves.
28:53He needs the cold weather to return and stay, or he'll never leave his burrow again.
29:12While some hunker down for winter, other Arctic animals have no choice but to face it head on.
29:23Rising temperatures are also affecting wildlife habitats.
29:27The risk is only getting worse.
29:31Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
29:45Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:02Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:02Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:08Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:11Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:18Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:21Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:21Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:22Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:22Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:22Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:23Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:25Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average.
30:30She's eaten everything she buried in the summer, and marooned on her island, she's slowly beginning to starve.
31:03Her fate is tied to one of the planet's greatest transformations, the freezing of the Arctic Ocean.
31:34As the water turns to ice, it provides an escape route off her island.
32:06As the sun sets for the last time, she enters the four-month-long polar night.
32:21Her strategy on the sea ice is not to hunt, but to exploit those who can.
32:39She can pick up the scent of a seal kill from 20 miles away.
32:59Stealing scraps from the biggest land predator on Earth is not without risk.
33:33In years gone by,
33:36Today, arctic foxes spent the winter shadowing polar bears within a few hundred miles of Svalbard.
33:52But today, the ice is poor and the bears are scattered far and wide.
34:10The Arctic sea ice has fallen more than 60% in the last 30 years.
34:17She's forced to travel further out into the Arctic Ocean.
34:26On a desperate quest for food.
34:43Today, only a quarter of arctic foxes survive their first year.
35:02To make it, she'll need to do something extraordinary.
35:25Over in Alaska, spring has returned ten days earlier than just a decade ago.
35:37Spring is arriving earlier. This has consequences.
35:42The migration, hibernation and reproduction of animals can be impacted.
35:49After six months of sleep, the Arctic ground squirrel finally emerges fit and healthy.
36:05In preparation for the breeding season.
36:13And he's not the only early riser.
36:19An amorous female.
36:30This year, the unseasonably warm spring has brought the females out early.
36:40With just a short summer ahead, there's little time to raise a family.
36:50So remarkably, she is only fertile for a single day.
37:05There's not a second to lose.
37:15There's not a second to lose.
37:20There's not a second to lose.
37:23There's not a second to lose.
37:27She looks good.
37:35She even smells good.
37:37She even smells good.
37:56The trouble is, he doesn't yet have the goods.
38:06To save energy while hibernating, he's stopped producing testosterone.
38:13Last summer he went to bed as a man, but he's woken up as a boy.
38:27And she won't waste time with boys.
38:38Males are normally out a week before the females, to give them time to get the hormones pumping
38:44again.
38:47But today, the early spring brings the females out sooner, before the males are ready to
38:56perform.
38:58Unless they can adapt, this could spell disaster for the entire species.
39:21The Arctic Fox has survived the perilous journey across the melting sea ice.
39:36From Svalbard, she's crossed an astonishing 2,000 miles of Arctic Ocean.
39:55As the polar sun finally returns, so does the sight of land.
40:14After four months, she's made it to Canada.
40:46It's only in the last decade that Arctic Fox has died.
40:50Arctic foxes have been tracked, making this record-breaking journey.
41:15Arctic foxes live such short, dangerous lives.
41:19Arctic foxes live such short, dangerous lives.
41:20They can mate within their very first year.
41:29With a lifelong partner, and better prospects for food, they will settle here for good.
41:50Arctic foxes are struggling in a melting world.
41:56Arctic foxes live such short, but thanks to her resilience and determination, she crossed a vast, frozen ocean,
42:13giving some hope for their future survival.
42:19Arctic foxes live such short, as well.
42:38Driven by a desperate hunger, the young snow leopard has descended into the valley.
42:47Arctic foxes live such short, as a waste of
43:40Battered and bruised from the 100-meter fall,
43:51he's been rescued by the local wildlife protection team, and incredibly, the dog also survived.
44:19He doesn't yet know it, but it's the beginning of a new life.
44:46He's been taken to a new mountain home, free from humans and rival leopards.
45:03With only 750 snow leopards left in India, every single one is precious.
45:19He is one of the lucky few to be given a second chance.
45:37Snow leopards have run wild in these frozen peaks for more than a million years.
45:49But today, it's up to us to give them the space they need in a melting world.
45:57Snow leopards have run wild.
45:57Snow leopards have run wild.
46:00Snow leopards have run wild.
46:27Snow leopards have run wild.
46:27Snow leopards have run wild.
46:28Snow leopards have run wild.
46:28Snow leopards have run wild.
46:28Snow leopards have run wild.
46:28Snow leopards have run wild.
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