Life in the Snow

1

These are our planet's

winter wonderlands.

And the remarkable animals

that call them home.

I'm Gordon Buchanan

and, as a wildlife cameraman,

I've visited many of these

unique and special places.

But the animals that live in places

like this need to be resilient,

and many of them

are specially adapted

to make the very most

of these seasonal conditions.

I'm going to reveal

the extraordinary animals

that don't just survive, but

positively thrive, in the snow.

Oh, very, very cute!

Each has different and surprising

tactics to face winter head-on.

From the polar bear mother,

who spends seven months

without food and water

to give her babies

the best start in life.

To the fox, who can catch food

it can't even see.

And a seasonal specialist,

the reindeer,

and a surprising secret

behind that red nose.

Just how these animals

make these places their own

are amongst the most incredible

stories in the natural world.

I hope you've snuggled

up nice and warm,

because it's time to meet

the amazing animals

that spend their life in the snow.

Each year, up to one third of our

planet is transformed by snow

into a sparkling world

of wonder and white.

The animals who live here must

adapt to this dazzling change.

How they rise to the challenge

of living in the snow

is what sets each of them apart.

Our first animal is the world's

largest land carnivore.

They face the coldest temperatures

the Arctic has to offer.

But they seem to take it

all in their stride.

The polar bear.

Most animals couldn't live

this close to the North Pole.

But he appears

to be revelling in it.

In fact, the bears roll in the snow

when they want to cool down.

But how is it possible

to get too hot in the Arctic?

The polar bear has

the thickest fur of any bear.

But, it's the 11 centimetre

fat layer beneath the skin

that makes all the difference.

It keeps in the heat

like nothing else.

It works so well,

polar bears can swim for mile after

mile in the freezing Arctic Sea.

To maintain this vital layer,

they need to eat as much fatty food

as they can find.

The polar bears' staple diet

is seal.

But they spend most of their time

under the ice.

The bear can't afford a drawn-out

game of hide and seek.

His sense of smell is 100 times

better than ours.

Able to track a scent

from 20 miles away.

A bear can smell a seal

through a metre of snow.

A seal can be nearly 50% blubber.

He'll catch nearly one a week,

enough to keep his insulation

in top condition.

At this time of year, female polar

bears have a very different problem.

They have their cubs in the

depths of the Arctic winter.

A polar bear simply can't give birth

out on the Arctic ice -

with such small, vulnerable babies,

it is way too cold.

Down to minus 50 Celsius.

So, for a pregnant mother living

in such a cold and exposed place,

there's really only one place to be.

And that is underneath the snow.

It might sound counterintuitive,

but we can actually use snow

to keep us warm.

Within this lump of snow

is trapped air,

and trapped air makes

a fantastic insulator.

So, when you're in a snow hole,

or a snow den,

you could even get cosy.

And, when a polar bear is

underneath the snow like this,

the temperature inside can be an

incredible 30 degrees warmer

than the temperature outside.

And when she's hidden

in a den like this,

that's when something

truly remarkable happens.

Around the turn of the New Year,

across the Arctic,

under three feet of snow and ice...

..female polar bears give birth.

Then in early spring,

they emerge for the first time.

April in Svalbard.

Just the right moment

to see this happen.

Aw!

Oh, very, very cute!

Both cubs combined aren't even

as big as the mother's head.

At three months old,

this is their very first experience

of the outside world.

During her time in the den,

she loses half her body weight.

Her milk is 30% fat,

so her cubs grow fast.

Oh...

Wow.

Look at that!

They're already 20 times heavier

than when they were born.

Just about big enough to take on

their frozen world.

And it's all down to their mother's

winter hidden beneath the snow.

Polar bears aren't the only animals

to use this strategy.

Our very own common dormouse spends

more than half of its life asleep.

Avoiding the winter altogether.

And the Arctic ground squirrel

can let its body temperature drop

to 2.9 degrees below freezing.

It's the coldest any mammal can get.

Remarkably, it appears to change

the chemistry of its body

to stop ice crystals forming.

Every few weeks, it has to feed,

so it shivers and shakes

in its sleep

to raise its temperature

just enough to wake up.

But bears are the most

impressive hibernators of all.

Able to survive up to seven months

without food or water.

There is no doubt about it.

Taking shelter beneath the snow

is a really good strategy.

For a baby bear, for the first

few months of its life,

the den is its world.

But sooner or later, mother bears

and the cubs do need to emerge.

And getting the timing right

is absolutely critical.

It's spring in North America.

And this young female black bear

has just come out of her den.

In a normal year, she'd emerge

to greet a brand-new spring.

But an unexpected cold front

has blown in from the Arctic.

What's worse, she has

three-month-old twin cubs with her.

This is her first ever litter.

She should be keeping them warm.

Instead, she gets up and leaves.

After half a year in hibernation,

she's desperate for food.

Her cubs don't have the three

layers of waterproof fur

all adults bears grow - they're

defenceless in this weather.

Their instinctive survival strategy

is to climb a tree.

But this only works

for avoiding predators.

Up here, they're even more

exposed to the cold.

At last, their mum returns.

But straightaway,

she sets off again.

Walking in thick snow is almost

impossible on little legs.

They struggle to keep up.

Hopefully, Mum has a plan

to keep them warm and safe.

Overnight, temperatures

drop to minus 12 degrees.

Dawn. The storm has passed.

But, what about the cubs?

Their mother led them

to a sheltered spot

and kept them warm through the chill

of the night with her own body heat.

Experience can make all the

difference to living in the snow.

It's been a steep learning curve for

this family, but they've made it.

Being ready and equipped

for the cold is critical.

As I can show you.

This is a thermal camera.

It sees temperature

as different colours.

Right now, I'm just wearing

a thin top,

and it should show me losing

body heat in red and white.

Now, as I stand here,

I can actually feel the cold

nipping at my exposed skin.

On the thermal camera

that will show as white hot.

So it's all about layering up.

It's about keeping that heat in,

and we do that with insulation.

For any animal that lives

in a snowy wilderness,

they've got to be able to take

the cold in their stride.

And there is one very special animal

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