The Great Melt
Series about dramatic wildlife spectacles. The summer melt of Arctic ice, opening up vast areas of ocean and land, provides opportunities for millions of animals.
The summer melt of Arctic ice, opening up nearly three million square miles of ocean and land, provides opportunities for millions of animals, including beluga whales, families of arctic foxes, vast colonies of seabirds and the fabled arctic unicorn, the narwhal.
For polar bears, however, it is the toughest time of year. Why? How will they survive?
A mother polar bear and her cub make their first journey together onto the sea ice. They are looking for ringed seals, their favourite prey. It is a serious business, but the cub just wants to play. The melting ice makes it harder for them to hunt and threatens their survival.
In a unique aerial sequence, the migration of narwhal with their distinctive unicorn-like tusks is filmed for the first time. The whales' journey is risky as they travel along giant cracks in the ice. If the ice were to close above them, they would drown.
Hundreds of beluga whales gather in the river shallows. They rub themselves on smooth pebbles in one of the most bizarre summer spectacles.
Guillemot chicks take their first flights from precipitous sea cliff nests to the sea 300 metres below. They attempt to glide to safety, but many miss their target. Their loss is a bonus for the hungry arctic fox family waiting below.
As the melt comes to an end, the bears gather, waiting for the sea to freeze again. Two 400kg males square up to each other to spar.
In the final ten-minute diary, Quest for Ice Whales, the crew show how they managed to capture footage of the elusive narwhal on their annual journey through the ice.
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Narwhal - The Arctic Unicorn
Duration: 01:04
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Narrator | David Attenborough |
Producer | Justin Anderson |
Series Producer | Karen Bass |
Broadcasts
- Wed 11 Feb 2009 21:00成人论坛 One & 成人论坛 HD
- Sun 15 Feb 2009 18:00
- Mon 16 Feb 2009 01:25成人论坛 One except Wales
- Sat 21 Feb 2009 17:35成人论坛 HD
- Mon 23 Mar 2009 20:00成人论坛 HD
- Sun 20 Sep 2009 16:55成人论坛 HD
- Sat 20 Feb 2010 15:00成人论坛 HD
- Sat 21 Aug 2010 19:00
- Sat 26 Feb 2011 19:00
- Wed 11 May 2011 22:30成人论坛 HD
- Sun 12 Jun 2011 14:30成人论坛 HD
- Wed 5 Jun 2013 16:15成人论坛 Two except Yorkshire
- Mon 26 May 2014 16:30成人论坛 Two except Yorkshire
- Mon 2 Mar 2015 20:00
- Sun 31 May 2015 20:00
- Mon 8 Feb 2016 16:15成人论坛 Two except Yorkshire
- Sat 13 May 2017 19:00
- Mon 15 May 2017 01:25
- Sat 23 Mar 2019 15:30成人论坛 Two except Scotland, Wales & Yorkshire
- Sat 23 Mar 2019 16:00
- Wed 24 Mar 2021 15:45成人论坛 Two except Scotland & Yorkshire