[tranquil music plays]
[Helena Bonham Carter] At the southernmost tip of the world,
a new life is beginning.
[squawking]
After nine weeks in this egg,
balanced on Dad's feet...
[tranquil music continues]
...emperor penguin chick Pico gets his first view of the outside world...
[chick chirps]
...and of his doting dad.
[chick chirps]
[tranquil music continues]
[chick chirps]
[wind rushes]
There's no tougher place to start life.
[somber music plays]
With temperatures down to -35 degrees,
and wind speeds up to 150 miles per hour...
Pico's home is one of the most hostile on the planet.
[somber music continues]
Three grueling months of winter lie ahead.
Pico must stay glued to his dad's feet at all times...
or he'll freeze to death in minutes.
[somber music continues]
And there's another looming threat.
The stored baby food from Dad will only last one more week.
[somber music continues]
Pico desperately needs his mom to return with fish soon to stay alive.
[somber music fades]
For many babies born wild,
growing up in a hostile home means every day is a fight to survive.
[tense music plays]
This sun-scorched valley in Central Africa
is home to ten-month-old lion cub Minnie.
[tranquil music plays]
She's the baby of this family.
[lion growls]
[tranquil music continues]
The smallest of four teenage cubs.
And the most affectionate.
Her pride dotes on her.
[tranquil music continues]
But Minnie's life is under threat.
[tranquil music fades]
Five miles north,
three nomadic males have just crossed into the family's territory.
If they take over the pride, they will kill any cubs
so they can father their own.
[foreboding music plays]
[foreboding music fades]
As the youngest, Minnie is most vulnerable.
But right now, she has a more urgent problem.
[tense music plays]
In the 100-degree heat, prey is scarce,
and the family hasn't eaten for days.
[tense music continues]
At last,
Minnie's mom spots a chance.
[tense music continues]
All six females are masterful hunters.
[tense music continues]
But sneaking up on prey with no cover to hide in
is nigh on impossible.
[dramatic music plays]
[dramatic music stops]
Like so many previous attempts this week,
it ends in failure.
[melancholy music plays]
Once again, malnourished Minnie will go hungry.
[melancholy music continues]
All her family can offer is comfort.
[melancholy music continues]
[melancholy music fades]
In some hostile homes, the challenges are easy to see.
In others, first appearances can be deceptive.
This little arctic fox pup is Silver.
[upbeat music plays]
She's six weeks old.
And unfortunately for her,
the only girl among three unruly brothers.
[upbeat music continues]
[pups squeal]
She's all for a quiet life,
but in this family, that's just not on the cards.
[pups squeal]
[upbeat music continues]
The boys might have the brawn...
but Silver definitely has the brains.
[tranquil music plays]
Today, her mom's keeping an eye on her boisterous brood...
while her dad is out hunting.
[tranquil music fades]
Bothersome brothers aside, it looks like an idyllic place to grow up.
But in fact,
Silver's island home is one of the most hostile on the planet.
[tense music plays]
Close to the Arctic Circle, it's topped by glaciers
and surrounded by icy seas
with notorious undercurrents.
Weather here can change in an instant,
bringing gales, sudden storms,
and landslides.
[tense music plays]
And that's not even the biggest threat.
In a few months, it will be winter.
[tense music continues]
Temperatures will plummet below freezing.
And by then, Silver and her brothers will have to fend for themselves.
[foreboding music plays]
The pups must fatten up fast.
Though that's easier said than done.
[foreboding music continues]
Their main food is migrant birds.
[squawking]
But their nests are in other fox territories
with extremely hostile owners.
[fox yelps]
Silver's desperate dad sneaks onto his neighbor's land.
[tense music plays]
It's a risk...
[melancholy music plays]
...but he can't let his family starve.
[melancholy music continues]
As Silver's dad approaches the nesting cliffs,
his neighbor spots him.
[tense music plays]
And heads straight for him.
[tense music continues]
[foxes shriek]
[dramatic music plays]
[foxes shriek]
[dramatic music continues]
[dramatic music stops]
[fox yaps]
The neighbor is triumphant.
[fox howls]
Silver's dad is lucky to come away unharmed.
He must continue his search for food elsewhere.
The pups are getting hungrier.
But however much the boys pester their mom...
she has nothing to give them.
[melancholy music plays]
Silver is more like her dad.
Faced with a problem, she tries to solve it herself.
[melancholy music continues]
There just might be something to eat if you look hard enough.
[melancholy music continues]
But determination alone is not enough to survive
the hostile winter ahead.
[fox howls]
[melancholy music fades]
[wind rushes]
[somber music plays]
On the other side of the world, Pico faces the same fate.
His life depends on his mom's return.
And thankfully, his wait is nearly over.
[somber music fades]
After two months at sea,
Pico's mom is finally heading home
with a belly full of fish to feed her son.
[jaunty music plays]
[penguin squawks]
[jaunty music continues]
It's a mammoth four-day trek across sea ice to reach home.
[jaunty music continues]
Pico's mom is determined to get there.
[jaunty music fades]
Just as Dad's food store runs out,
the family is reunited.
[tranquil music plays]
And Pico's dad reveals their little bundle of joy.
[tranquil music continues]
Pico is carefully swapped from one doting parent
to the other.
[tranquil music continues]
And given a much-needed meal.
After one last look at his son...
it's Dad's turn to make the epic journey to sea
to stock up on supplies for Pico.
[tranquil music continues]
[tranquil music fades]
[penguins chirp]
With both devoted parents working as a tag team,
it doesn't take long for Pico to more than double in size.
[tranquil music plays]
[penguin chirps]
His mom's feet don't seem quite as big as they used to.
[tranquil music fades]
[jaunty music plays]
He should now be mixing with other chicks his age.
But Pico is in no hurry to leave his mom.
[penguin chirps]
[jaunty music continues]
Time for a little persuasion.
[penguins chirp]
Cautiously, he approaches two chicks on their own,
but they don't seem keen to make friends.
[penguin chirps]
[gentle music plays]
No chick finds it easy to stand on their own two feet.
[gentle music continues]
But there comes a time in each one's life when they have to be brave.
And for Pico, that time is now.
[jaunty music plays]
His mom is going to sea
and leaving him in a nursery for the very first time.
[jaunty music plays]
First days are always daunting.
[tense music plays]
And he hasn't been apart from Mom or Dad since he was born.
[penguin chirps]
[tranquil music plays]
With his mom's gentle encouragement,
this little chick takes his first big step to independence.
[tranquil music continues]
One last glance back at Mom...
and Pico is accepted into the gang.
[tranquil music continues]
From now on, he'll spend weeks at a time
in the world's coldest boarding school,
huddling with his newfound friends for warmth.
[tranquil music fades]
Pico couldn't have had a tougher start in life.
[wind rushes]
[tranquil music plays]
But thanks to his parents' tireless efforts,
he's made it to spring.
[penguin chirps]
Soon, he'll be strong enough to fend for himself out at sea.
[tranquil music continues]
With parents as devoted as Pico's,
even the coldest homes can feel warm.
[penguin chirps]
[tranquil music fades]
[foreboding music plays]
In Iceland, the weather is beginning to turn.
Winter is coming.
[foreboding music continues]
And Silver and her brothers urgently need to put on weight.
Silver's mom is scavenging what she can...
[pups squeal]
...but it's not enough to fatten up four pups.
With pushy brothers,
Silver gets almost nothing.
Resourceful as ever,
she's finding other ways to keep hunger at bay.
[gentle music plays]
Crowberries.
Small, but nutritious.
[gentle music continues]
And that's not all she's spotted.
[gentle music continues]
In the distance, her dad has made a big discovery.
[birds squawking]
A bay full of birds
that belongs to no one.
But a fast-flowing, icy river stands between him
and the answer to his family's problems.
[dramatic music plays]
He plucks up courage and takes the plunge.
[dramatic music continues]
Arctic foxes are not natural swimmers.
[dramatic music continues]
This is a last resort for Silver's dad.
[dramatic music swells]
[dramatic music fades]
First hurdle over.
Now for the reason he's here.
[jaunty music plays]
In his desperation, Silver's dad blows it.
[jaunty music continues]
He tries another tack.
He has plenty of enthusiasm.
What he needs is stealth.
[jaunty music continues]
[jaunty music stops]
On the opposite bank, Silver takes it all in.
[tense music plays]
Her dad's not giving up.
[tense music continues]
[tense music crescendos]
Finally, his persistence wins out.
[tranquil music plays]
Silver's first decent meal in weeks,
all to herself.
[upbeat music plays]
But her dad has three hungry boys too.
[tranquil music plays]
He rings the dinner bell.
[fox yelps]
[fox yaps]
[pups squeal]
The boys arrive as Dad takes the plunge for the second time.
Silver knows she won't get a look-in when her dad brings back the next meal.
There's only one thing for it.
[uplifting music plays]
She's never swum in her life before,
but Silver does the seemingly impossible.
Braving icy water and strong currents to follow her dad.
[uplifting music continues]
Before Silver reaches the other side,
her dad makes his second kill.
[uplifting music continues]
At last, a good-sized meal for his sons.
[uplifting music continues]
[foxes squeal]
While the boys wrestle it out between themselves...
across the river,
Silver stays focused.
[tense music plays]
A kittiwake distracted by a falcon.
It's Silver's chance.
[tense music crescendos]
She's done it.
[tranquil music plays]
Even the falcon she takes in her stride.
[tranquil music continues]
Her first-ever kill.
[tranquil music continues]
Between them, Silver and her father have changed the family's fortunes.
They have all the skills they need to survive the winter ahead.
It's true some things never change.
[tranquil music continues]
After all, you can't have brothers and not expect to be teased.
But Silver has proved that she's one exceptional sister...
[tranquil music continues]
...who's got what it takes to make it in her hostile home.
[tranquil music fades]
[foreboding music plays]
On the dried-out plains of Zambia,
baby of the family, Minnie,
is weak from hunger and struggling to keep up with her pride.
The family has at last bagged a small meal.
Their first in four days.
[lions growl]
Minnie finally catches up.
[tranquil music plays]
But she's not confident or pushy enough to muscle in.
[tranquil music continues]
Lions need courage,
and Minnie must learn to be much more assertive
if she's to survive.
[tranquil music fades]
Especially as her home has just become more hostile.
A mile upriver,
the nomadic males are moving in.
[tense music plays]
Scent marking is a sure sign that they mean to take over.
[lion growls]
The intruders' roars are a red flag for Minnie's family.
[tense music plays]
They must get the cubs into hiding before dark.
[tense music continues]
Especially Minnie, whose life has never been more in danger.
[tense music continues]
[tense music fades]
[growling]
[ominous music plays]
[ominous music fades]