Main content

The Frozen North

Episode 3 of 7

A look at the remote reaches of Asia’s frozen north, where creatures must overcome unique challenges, finding exceptional ways to thrive in a hostile world that pushes life to its very limits.

In northern Asia, life defies hostile extremes. In Russia's Lake Baikal, a seal pup must take evasive action when its ice den starts to melt. Hokkaido's thermal springs are a haven for dancing red-crowned cranes. On the Tibetan Plateau, a lone Himalayan wolf hunts antelope. Fish owls thrive in the forests where Russia and China meet. On the Kamchatka Peninsula, brown bears hunt salmon to prepare for hibernation. Elsewhere in Japan, bats hibernate beneath snow, while red foxes and sea eagles compete for food. In Arctic Russia, polar bears wait on isolated lands for the return of sea ice.

Available now

58 minutes

Audio described

On TV

Tomorrow 15:50

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator David Attenborough
Production Manager Mandy Knight
Executive Producer Roger Webb
Series Producer Matthew Wright
Producer Henry M Mix

Broadcasts

Entombed in snow: documenting Japan’s hibernating bats

Entombed in snow: documenting Japan’s hibernating bats

By Billy Clapham, Assistant Producer

In search of kawaii: filming Japan’s cutest bird and the marvel of the ‘sap-cicle’

In search of kawaii: filming Japan’s cutest bird and the marvel of the ‘sap-cicle’

Maple tree sap forms sugary icicles that offer wildlife a lifesaving, but fleeting, treat