PLANET EARTH Ice Worlds

Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic can be reached by land based predators which is why little auks have kept the ability to fly. They use scree slopes to protect their eggs, burrowing up to a meter beneath the rocks. At the height of summer the sun never sets but just skims the horizon before rising again. Migrants return to the Arctic from far and wide. They've come to make the most of the brief flush of food and to produce their young.



Sandhill cranes have travelled all the way from New Mexico. Their chicks（雏鸟） join the growing band of youngsters exploring the tundra. For a few months each year the Arctic becomes the land of the midnight sun and twenty four hours of daylight allow animals to feed around the clock. The arctic fox finally has enough food to raise her large family. If you choose to nest in the open you must be prepared for a fight.



Arctic skuas will see off any trespassers（侵略者） even large vegetarians. The male polar bear's ice world has finally vanished beneath him. While the female is still kept on land by her dependent cubs the male can take to the sea in search of food. Ducking and diving, he hopes to ambush（埋伏） seals resting on the remaining fragments of ice. In these new surroundings he is a surprisingly adept swimmer.