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[water rushing]

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{\an8}[Barack Obama] In our most remote ocean...

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{\an8}[bright string music playing]

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...over a thousand miles
from the nearest continent.

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Zavodovski Island.

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It's prone to volcanic eruption,

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sparse in vegetation,

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and lashed by storms.

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[wind whistling]

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Yet, Zavodovski is home
to over 2,000,000 chinstrap penguins.

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[serene music playing]

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[penguins squawking]

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They're here because
the surrounding waters provide

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some of the best fishing on the planet.

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[chicks chirping]

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These youngsters are
used to having their meals delivered.

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The challenge is
for those making the delivery.

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[dramatic music playing]

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A mother chinstrap,

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full of krill for her chicks.

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Just one thing stands in her way.

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The sheer cliffs
that surround this island fortress.

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It's hard enough
for those trying to get down.

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[dramatic choral music continuing]

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How will she get up?

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She could scramble up the rocks.

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[frantic squawking]

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Maybe the solution is not
to fight the ocean,

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but to ride it.

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[rousing, dramatic music playing]

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Go with the flow.

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[squawking]

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But the flow runs both ways.

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[foreboding music playing]

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The whitewater shows no mercy.

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To have any chance
of getting food to her chicks,

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she'll have to tighten her chinstrap...

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[daunting music playing]

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...and brace herself

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to ride the biggest wave of all.

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[tense music building]

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[triumphant music swells]

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Made it!

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[overlapping chirping, squawking]

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Now the final challenge...

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a one-mile climb
up the side of an active volcano

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to deliver her precious cargo.

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[uplifting music playing]

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The mighty chinstrap proves that anyone
tough enough to survive gets rewarded,

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in this, the most isolated ocean of all.

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[majestic music playing]

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The Southern Ocean
completely surrounds Antarctica.

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It's home to the coldest waters
on our planet,

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where winters can drop below -50 degrees,

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and winds reach almost 200 miles per hour.

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This remote ocean is where
the global ocean current is most powerful,

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long protecting hidden worlds.

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[music trails off]

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At the outer fringes of the Southern Ocean
lies the coast of southern Australia.

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[enchanting music playing]

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Its cold waters are home
to extraordinary species.

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Many found nowhere else.

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[quirky music playing]

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Just offshore lives the handfish.

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One of few fish that prefers
to walk rather than swim.

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And this spotted handfish is
one of the rarest fish in the world.

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Fewer than 3,000 exist...

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which makes what she's guarding
extremely precious.

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She's laid her eggs
in the only place she can.

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The stem of a sea tulip.

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[delicate, wondrous music playing]

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Raised off the silty bottom,
they're anchored against the current.

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But this does dangle them
in clear view of hungry neighbors.

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[tense music playing]

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Luckily for her young,

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she's one tough mother.

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Tail whips...

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[forceful drumbeat playing]

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...take care of hermit crabs.

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Giant sea slugs are bitten
into submission.

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She has an answer for every invader.

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But even she has a nemesis.

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A monster sea star,
ten times her body weight.

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[low, distressing music playing]

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Each of its hundreds of feet can feel,

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taste, and smell.

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And they've locked onto
the scent of her eggs.

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Biting and pushing are futile.

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[music intensifies]

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It's unstoppable.

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But she can't give up.

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So, she makes a risky move.

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Offering herself to the sea star...

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[suspenseful music playing]

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...in a desperate attempt
to lure it away from her eggs.

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It seems like a remarkable sacrifice.

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But then...

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[wondrous music playing]

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...she gives it the slip.

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Thanks to resilient moms like her,

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spotted handfish still have
a fighting chance.

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In the Southern Ocean, you have to do
whatever it takes to survive.

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And the further south you go,
the more hostile the ocean becomes.

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The great current flows full circle
around the Southern Ocean.

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A rotating wall of water,

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up to two-and-a-half miles deep
and a thousand miles wide.

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It's known as the Circumpolar Current.

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And in its path

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is South Georgia,

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one of the most remote islands
in the world.

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Yet, for a few weeks every spring,

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it becomes the busiest place of all.

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A density of coastal wildlife
found nowhere else.

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It's the breeding season,

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and every inch of this beach
is contested by giants.

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[low, croaky bellowing]

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Bull elephant seals,

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onshore to battle for breeding rights.

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They can grow up to 20 feet long
and weigh more than 8,000 pounds.

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[harsh, aggressive music playing]

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These enforcers are
as big and bad as they come.

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But even the ultimate tough guy
was small once.

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[gentle music playing]

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[penguins squawking]

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A baby born just hours ago.

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He'll face many challenges
in his quest to become a giant himself.

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First, he needs to fill out
his oversized birthday suit

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with his mother's rich milk.

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Because he has competition.

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A south polar skua...

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[mischievous music playing]

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...who has no qualms
about stealing from a baby.

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[mother seal grunts]

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[mother seal brays]

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[mother seal braying]

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This skua's off to find an easier target,

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and the pup's learned a lesson.

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Stay close to Mom.

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00:16:37,101 --> 00:16:39,701
But his next test won't be so easy.

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[chilling music playing]

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With the beach overcrowded,
tensions are growing.

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Giant males stop at nothing
to defend their territories.

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[panicked squawking]

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They don't care
who gets caught in the crossfire.

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[newborns yawping shrilly]

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Being crushed is the number one
cause of death for newborns.

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[bright music playing]

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But today, this little pup
has been given a second chance.

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And so far, Mom's never left his side.

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Over the new three weeks,
he'll put on 150 pounds,

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and then everything changes.

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[pensive music playing]

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Because one day,
he wakes up to a terrible shock.

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Mom is gone.

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Having given him
nearly half her body weight in milk,

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she has to return to the ocean to feed.

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He can't follow because he can't swim.

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He needs to find a safe place to learn.

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[wind rushing]

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[whimsical music playing]

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But, he's easily... distracted.

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[huffing]

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[wondrous music playing]

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The seminal moment
for every elephant seal pup is

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their first contact with water.

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[mysterious music building]

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[wondrous music playing]

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On entry,
an extraordinary reaction occurs.

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He holds his breath.

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His heart rate slows.

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Blood diverts to his brain.

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It's the first step on his journey

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to becoming a marine mammal.

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But he still has a lot to learn.

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After a month of practice
in the shallows with other pups,

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he's ready to enter the ocean
for the first time.

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Over the next few years,

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he'll learn to hold his breath
for more than two hours

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and dive to a depth of over 6,000 feet.

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And one day, he'll return to these shores

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as the largest, toughest seal
in our oceans.

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[sweeping, majestic music playing]

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From South Georgia,

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the great current surges on
at five billion cubic feet per second.

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Driven by ferocious winds
and the turning of the earth,

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it becomes the most powerful
movement of water on the planet.

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A gigantic barrier to the other oceans.

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[majestic music swells]

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And at its center is
the most isolated continent of all.

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[wind whistling]

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Antarctica.

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Over five million square miles
of frozen wilderness.

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[measured, mysterious music playing]

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Many of the continent's vast glaciers
extend out from land

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as floating ice shelves
on the ocean's surface.

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At the ocean's southernmost point,

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the current pushes
under the Ross Ice Shelf,

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which is larger than
the state of California.

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The ice here can be over 800 feet thick.

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And yet, where the current flows,

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there is life.

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[bright, wondrous music playing]

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Invertebrates have existed down here,
seemingly unchanged,

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for millions of years.

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All of them clamoring for their next meal.

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00:24:23,301 --> 00:24:26,060
Including an Antarctic sea spider.

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[eerie music playing]

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00:24:28,221 --> 00:24:30,141
He's the size of a dinner plate,

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00:24:33,461 --> 00:24:35,941
and may not have eaten for several months.

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00:24:40,781 --> 00:24:42,581
With all the competition here,

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that's unlikely to change anytime soon.

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00:24:49,141 --> 00:24:53,181
He needs to find somewhere
where he has the advantage.

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00:24:55,621 --> 00:25:00,301
A place where the water is so cold,
it's on the brink of freezing.

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Where ice crystals can grow
on any surface they touch...

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00:25:11,741 --> 00:25:13,980
[eerie, mysterious music playing]

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00:25:13,981 --> 00:25:15,781
...forming ice caverns.

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00:25:21,421 --> 00:25:23,861
But their beauty hides their danger.

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00:25:27,181 --> 00:25:29,861
Because any creature
that touches the ice here

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00:25:34,501 --> 00:25:35,741
can become trapped.

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00:25:42,661 --> 00:25:48,341
But all that danger
presents a risky opportunity

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for the sea spider.

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00:25:58,541 --> 00:26:01,221
Using his long, spindly legs,

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he tiptoes across the ice...

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00:26:16,461 --> 00:26:19,301
being careful not to trigger its grasp...

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00:26:27,661 --> 00:26:30,301
and slurps up his jelly dinner.

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00:26:35,621 --> 00:26:38,901
Who needs a web
when you've got an ice cavern?

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00:26:43,061 --> 00:26:45,061
[dramatic music playing]

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00:26:49,221 --> 00:26:53,861
These super-cold conditions are sustained
by the Circumpolar Current,

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00:26:56,541 --> 00:26:59,901
which acts as an icebox,
holding in the cold.

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00:27:04,661 --> 00:27:06,380
And as winter descends,

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the ocean's surface around Antarctica
freezes into a vast sheet of solid ice.

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00:27:17,141 --> 00:27:20,261
Covering up to seven million square miles,

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00:27:23,901 --> 00:27:27,700
it's the perfect cover
for the most important species

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00:27:27,701 --> 00:27:29,421
in the Southern Ocean.

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00:27:32,541 --> 00:27:35,860
One with immeasurable power over others.

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00:27:35,861 --> 00:27:37,941
[eerie, alien music playing]

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00:27:42,061 --> 00:27:44,061
[music intensifies]

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00:27:46,061 --> 00:27:47,581
[music halts abruptly]

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00:27:50,501 --> 00:27:52,100
Antarctic krill.

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00:27:52,101 --> 00:27:53,901
[intricate, pensive music playing]

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00:27:54,541 --> 00:27:59,260
Trillions of these tiny, shrimp-like
crustaceans feed on the algae

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00:27:59,261 --> 00:28:01,261
that grows beneath the sea ice.

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00:28:04,261 --> 00:28:09,741
Their combined weight is thought to be
over 400 million tons.

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00:28:11,261 --> 00:28:14,861
The greatest mass of any wild animal.

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00:28:23,381 --> 00:28:26,021
When summer arrives, the ice melts,

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00:28:28,501 --> 00:28:32,301
and krill hunters swoop in.

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00:28:35,941 --> 00:28:38,461
From resident gentoo penguins

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00:28:39,981 --> 00:28:42,981
to great whales who've traveled
thousands of miles.

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00:28:53,741 --> 00:28:56,501
It's the great annual feast.

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00:29:26,661 --> 00:29:29,621
Then, winter comes and the whales depart,

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00:29:30,661 --> 00:29:32,981
and the sea freezes over again.

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00:29:34,501 --> 00:29:37,021
Only the hardiest remain behind.

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00:29:44,101 --> 00:29:45,901
[rousing, spirited music playing]

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00:29:51,581 --> 00:29:53,021
Who said they can't fly?

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Emperor penguins.

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[grunts]

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00:30:11,461 --> 00:30:13,700
After two long weeks at sea,

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00:30:13,701 --> 00:30:16,980
these parents need to return
to their chicks,

259
00:30:16,981 --> 00:30:21,741
who are waiting on thicker sea ice
several miles away.

260
00:30:25,421 --> 00:30:29,220
So, despite just completing an epic swim,

261
00:30:29,221 --> 00:30:32,221
they quickly transition to the track.

262
00:30:34,821 --> 00:30:37,021
[suspenseful, adventurous music playing]

263
00:30:43,981 --> 00:30:49,061
All fully equipped with the technical gear
required to survive in extreme conditions.

264
00:30:52,461 --> 00:30:54,941
Thick blubber protects them from the cold.

265
00:30:56,261 --> 00:30:58,741
Waterproof plumage keeps them dry.

266
00:30:59,861 --> 00:31:01,661
Even their legs are feathered.

267
00:31:04,181 --> 00:31:09,621
Every adaptation refined by evolution
to endure our harshest ocean.

268
00:31:24,381 --> 00:31:26,540
They've almost made it home safely...

269
00:31:26,541 --> 00:31:28,341
[penguins squawking]

270
00:31:30,341 --> 00:31:31,820
...when the unexpected

271
00:31:31,821 --> 00:31:34,501
[ice crackling]

272
00:31:35,101 --> 00:31:37,021
...puts a stop to everything.

273
00:31:41,181 --> 00:31:45,981
The life of every emperor penguin
rests on the presence of this sea ice.

274
00:31:50,781 --> 00:31:54,621
So, while a small crack
may seem harmless to us,

275
00:31:56,341 --> 00:31:59,581
to them it signals a frightening change.

276
00:32:02,661 --> 00:32:07,061
And while they may not know why,
they're right to be concerned.

277
00:32:08,941 --> 00:32:10,941
[suspenseful music playing]

278
00:32:19,821 --> 00:32:24,221
The climate crisis has reached
our oceans' most isolated region.

279
00:32:24,741 --> 00:32:26,741
[chicks squawking]

280
00:32:34,501 --> 00:32:38,381
The penguins' world is suffering
from record-breaking heatwaves,

281
00:32:39,621 --> 00:32:42,541
up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

282
00:32:49,501 --> 00:32:53,821
If the sea ice melts before their chicks
have developed waterproof coats,

283
00:32:56,101 --> 00:32:57,101
they'll drown.

284
00:33:13,141 --> 00:33:16,701
Multiple colonies have already suffered
premature ice loss,

285
00:33:18,501 --> 00:33:21,821
causing the deaths
of tens of thousands of chicks.

286
00:33:28,701 --> 00:33:31,421
For nature's toughest
endurance specialists,

287
00:33:32,021 --> 00:33:34,821
this may be
the most difficult challenge of all.

288
00:33:35,421 --> 00:33:36,901
[ice creaking, groaning]

289
00:33:38,301 --> 00:33:41,461
Scientists fear
that if the warming continues,

290
00:33:41,981 --> 00:33:48,621
by the end of the century we may have
a Southern Ocean without emperor penguins.

291
00:34:02,501 --> 00:34:05,021
As the current continues its journey,

292
00:34:05,541 --> 00:34:08,661
its path is narrowed
by the Antarctic peninsula,

293
00:34:09,501 --> 00:34:11,740
where fierce winds and strong currents

294
00:34:11,741 --> 00:34:14,541
force deep water
to well up to the surface.

295
00:34:19,901 --> 00:34:24,060
This water, which originated
in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,

296
00:34:24,061 --> 00:34:26,461
is warmer today than ever before.

297
00:34:31,181 --> 00:34:34,500
The upwelling acts as a secret entrance,

298
00:34:34,501 --> 00:34:38,021
allowing warmth to infiltrate
the Circumpolar Current,

299
00:34:38,541 --> 00:34:40,141
further adding to the melt.

300
00:34:44,501 --> 00:34:46,540
With its defenses breached,

301
00:34:46,541 --> 00:34:49,021
summers have become so extreme

302
00:34:50,021 --> 00:34:51,821
that sea ice around the peninsula

303
00:34:53,821 --> 00:34:56,221
has become increasingly scarce.

304
00:35:00,101 --> 00:35:03,141
The greatest ice loss since records began.

305
00:35:04,461 --> 00:35:06,461
[somber music playing]

306
00:35:17,301 --> 00:35:19,260
Without ice to feed beneath,

307
00:35:19,261 --> 00:35:22,301
most of the krill
have abandoned these waters,

308
00:35:24,861 --> 00:35:27,861
along with many of the animals
that depend on them.

309
00:35:33,141 --> 00:35:39,021
Some of the last remaining sea ice is
protected deep within the fjords,

310
00:35:40,061 --> 00:35:43,020
and clinging on is
an ice-dependent creature

311
00:35:43,021 --> 00:35:45,420
who's not going down without a fight.

312
00:35:45,421 --> 00:35:47,501
[forceful, intense music playing]

313
00:35:49,461 --> 00:35:51,021
The crab-eater seal.

314
00:35:54,341 --> 00:35:57,461
This rugged young male is
as tough as they come.

315
00:35:59,661 --> 00:36:00,661
He's a fighter.

316
00:36:04,021 --> 00:36:06,181
And he's got the scars to prove it.

317
00:36:08,981 --> 00:36:13,061
Born on the sea ice,
he's never set a flipper on land.

318
00:36:17,981 --> 00:36:18,981
[music trails off]

319
00:36:22,341 --> 00:36:23,461
But lately,

320
00:36:24,421 --> 00:36:28,261
his world has become unrecognizable.

321
00:36:34,461 --> 00:36:39,221
He's found one of the few remaining
pieces of ice he can haul out on.

322
00:36:41,541 --> 00:36:44,221
And he's joined
by another species of seal,

323
00:36:46,701 --> 00:36:47,540
a Weddell,

324
00:36:47,541 --> 00:36:49,541
who's also seeking refuge.

325
00:36:52,821 --> 00:36:55,421
The bay is unusually quiet.

326
00:37:00,021 --> 00:37:02,021
[menacing music building]

327
00:37:11,861 --> 00:37:13,261
[jarring stinger]

328
00:37:14,941 --> 00:37:16,941
[menacing music continuing]

329
00:37:22,701 --> 00:37:23,701
Orca.

330
00:37:26,981 --> 00:37:29,101
Antarctica's killer whales.

331
00:37:33,821 --> 00:37:37,101
But these are not any old killer whales.

332
00:37:39,781 --> 00:37:41,301
They are seal hunters...

333
00:37:51,141 --> 00:37:53,781
and they've covered all the exits.

334
00:37:58,861 --> 00:38:03,021
For the seals,
the sea ice has become a life raft.

335
00:38:05,381 --> 00:38:07,460
Luckily, the sharp edges of the ice

336
00:38:07,461 --> 00:38:10,260
prevent the killer whales,
and their thin skin,

337
00:38:10,261 --> 00:38:12,021
from getting too close.

338
00:38:20,101 --> 00:38:24,061
As long as the seals stay on their raft,
they're safe.

339
00:38:37,701 --> 00:38:41,381
But this pod isn't going anywhere.

340
00:38:46,181 --> 00:38:48,181
[dramatic, forceful music playing]

341
00:38:49,421 --> 00:38:55,381
Working together, they channel their power
to create a single, large bow wave.

342
00:39:08,021 --> 00:39:10,141
The crabeater gets right back on,

343
00:39:11,821 --> 00:39:14,141
with the Weddell trailing behind.

344
00:39:20,901 --> 00:39:22,141
But the wave hunters

345
00:39:24,821 --> 00:39:26,421
are just getting started.

346
00:39:41,141 --> 00:39:44,341
The Weddell,
slower-moving and with more body fat,

347
00:39:45,461 --> 00:39:46,981
is the easier target.

348
00:39:48,421 --> 00:39:50,301
And unlike the crabeater,

349
00:39:51,661 --> 00:39:54,181
Weddells aren't natural-born fighters.

350
00:39:58,501 --> 00:40:00,501
[dramatic, suspenseful music playing]

351
00:40:27,861 --> 00:40:31,101
[Weddell bleating plaintively]

352
00:40:38,941 --> 00:40:41,181
It's a quick death for the Weddell.

353
00:40:58,421 --> 00:41:00,421
[water rushing]

354
00:41:03,341 --> 00:41:04,341
But the hunt

355
00:41:06,501 --> 00:41:08,181
is not over.

356
00:41:20,741 --> 00:41:23,941
These killer whales are struggling
to find enough food.

357
00:41:29,941 --> 00:41:31,700
The fiery crabeater...

358
00:41:31,701 --> 00:41:34,340
[snarling, hissing]

359
00:41:34,341 --> 00:41:36,421
...is not their first choice of prey.

360
00:41:39,021 --> 00:41:40,941
But without much sea ice,

361
00:41:41,781 --> 00:41:43,861
they'll take what they can get.

362
00:41:45,981 --> 00:41:46,981
As they regroup,

363
00:41:48,501 --> 00:41:52,581
he seizes the moment to slip away.

364
00:42:04,061 --> 00:42:06,061
[frantic, dramatic music playing]

365
00:42:21,381 --> 00:42:27,461
A piece of ice, jammed between two others,
protects him from their attack.

366
00:42:28,581 --> 00:42:30,581
[distressing music playing]

367
00:42:43,501 --> 00:42:47,541
But in an astonishing display
of tactical intelligence,

368
00:42:48,661 --> 00:42:51,701
the killer whales begin to free the ice.

369
00:43:02,821 --> 00:43:04,821
[distressing music intensifying]

370
00:43:10,821 --> 00:43:13,381
[frantic, intense music playing]

371
00:43:20,501 --> 00:43:23,781
This larger piece should put an end to it.

372
00:43:27,261 --> 00:43:29,621
But the hunters aren't finished.

373
00:43:30,461 --> 00:43:32,461
[foreboding music playing]

374
00:43:33,661 --> 00:43:35,661
[ice cracking, creaking]

375
00:43:42,781 --> 00:43:44,301
[tense music playing]

376
00:43:49,061 --> 00:43:52,501
Using a series of subsurface waves,

377
00:43:57,301 --> 00:43:59,741
they dismantle what remains.

378
00:44:03,341 --> 00:44:05,341
[menacing music playing]

379
00:44:08,541 --> 00:44:10,741
[frantic music playing]

380
00:44:21,541 --> 00:44:23,421
Now they work from below

381
00:44:25,661 --> 00:44:26,941
to tip the ice over.

382
00:44:32,421 --> 00:44:34,421
{\an8}[snarls]

383
00:44:55,261 --> 00:44:57,821
But the crabeater still has
some fight left.

384
00:45:18,141 --> 00:45:20,421
But no matter how hard he tries,

385
00:45:22,461 --> 00:45:24,261
he can't shake them off.

386
00:45:34,741 --> 00:45:37,301
Until there's nowhere left to run.

387
00:45:42,421 --> 00:45:45,781
After four hours of continuous assault,

388
00:45:48,701 --> 00:45:50,341
he is totally exhausted.

389
00:45:52,901 --> 00:45:54,901
[somber, distressed music playing]

390
00:46:22,701 --> 00:46:25,501
But the waves are getting smaller.

391
00:46:31,661 --> 00:46:33,341
And less powerful.

392
00:46:39,421 --> 00:46:42,981
The killer whales are exhausted too.

393
00:47:03,621 --> 00:47:04,621
You win.

394
00:47:17,861 --> 00:47:19,861
[somber, distressed music playing]

395
00:47:31,981 --> 00:47:35,621
The killer whales head out
into an uncertain future.

396
00:47:39,901 --> 00:47:44,141
There are only around 100 of these
specialist wave hunters in the world.

397
00:47:45,661 --> 00:47:49,141
As the sea ice declines,
so do their prospects.

398
00:47:52,101 --> 00:47:54,781
If they lose their ability
to hunt like this,

399
00:47:56,101 --> 00:47:57,341
we'll lose them too.

400
00:48:07,381 --> 00:48:11,341
All Antarctic wildlife
depends on the sea freezing.

401
00:48:11,861 --> 00:48:13,861
[mysterious music playing]

402
00:48:14,581 --> 00:48:16,661
Even deep beneath the surface.

403
00:48:24,221 --> 00:48:26,900
Because each year, as it chills,

404
00:48:26,901 --> 00:48:32,821
250 trillion tons of surface water
plunges into the depths,

405
00:48:34,981 --> 00:48:37,101
taking the great current with it.

406
00:48:50,661 --> 00:48:56,261
At 3,000 feet, darkness and cold
combine with enormous pressure

407
00:48:57,301 --> 00:48:59,261
to slow the pace of life.

408
00:49:04,501 --> 00:49:07,381
Here, at the bottom of the Southern Ocean,

409
00:49:12,141 --> 00:49:15,621
are the oldest living animals on Earth.

410
00:49:21,141 --> 00:49:26,181
This volcano sponge was alive
before the pyramids were built.

411
00:49:27,901 --> 00:49:31,020
They can live for 15,000 years.

412
00:49:31,021 --> 00:49:32,621
[wondrous music playing]

413
00:49:36,341 --> 00:49:40,741
The Southern Ocean is the birthplace
of countless deep-sea creatures.

414
00:49:44,741 --> 00:49:48,981
And by riding the great current,
they've spread out from Antarctica.

415
00:49:52,861 --> 00:49:54,100
So that today,

416
00:49:54,101 --> 00:49:57,581
the weird and the wonderful

417
00:50:02,781 --> 00:50:05,621
have made it
into the depths of every ocean.

418
00:50:14,461 --> 00:50:17,940
Revealing that, thanks to the current,

419
00:50:17,941 --> 00:50:22,101
the Southern Ocean is more connected
than we've ever imagined.

420
00:50:24,941 --> 00:50:27,021
It's the planet's beating heart,

421
00:50:29,021 --> 00:50:34,300
pumping out a cold, deep flow of water
which powers the global ocean current...

422
00:50:34,301 --> 00:50:36,381
[majestic music playing]

423
00:50:43,941 --> 00:50:48,981
...on its 75,000-mile journey
from one ocean to the next.

424
00:50:53,381 --> 00:50:56,181
Forming one interconnected body of water

425
00:50:57,381 --> 00:51:01,381
that is our one great ocean.

426
00:51:09,101 --> 00:51:11,101
[distressing music playing]

427
00:51:16,141 --> 00:51:18,821
But because the current
connects every ocean,

428
00:51:20,181 --> 00:51:22,141
what we do anywhere

429
00:51:24,421 --> 00:51:27,901
can impact lives everywhere.

430
00:51:35,621 --> 00:51:41,741
A piece of trash carried by the current
can end up on the other side of the world.

431
00:51:47,501 --> 00:51:52,301
Thanks to our actions,
our oceans are now the hottest on record.

432
00:51:54,021 --> 00:51:56,701
As the current spreads this heat
around the world,

433
00:51:57,701 --> 00:51:59,181
fish populations move,

434
00:52:03,141 --> 00:52:04,941
making them harder to protect.

435
00:52:12,381 --> 00:52:14,261
And ice melt is accelerating...

436
00:52:18,741 --> 00:52:21,101
[agitated growling]

437
00:52:23,781 --> 00:52:24,781
[yelps]

438
00:52:29,821 --> 00:52:34,221
...which could threaten
the future of the great current itself.

439
00:52:37,221 --> 00:52:38,221
Without it,

440
00:52:40,461 --> 00:52:43,221
our weather would become
even more extreme.

441
00:52:52,861 --> 00:52:55,381
If we don't keep the oceans healthy,

442
00:52:57,501 --> 00:53:00,101
they may no longer sustain us.

443
00:53:08,101 --> 00:53:10,061
Yet here, in the Southern Ocean,

444
00:53:11,301 --> 00:53:15,700
we've shown that we can step up
when it matters most.

445
00:53:15,701 --> 00:53:16,781
[whale calls out]

446
00:53:24,621 --> 00:53:26,500
[stirring music building]

447
00:53:26,501 --> 00:53:29,901
This southern right whale is living proof.

448
00:53:36,661 --> 00:53:41,821
We once hunted her kind until there were
fewer than 100 breeding females left.

449
00:53:43,581 --> 00:53:48,301
But at the eleventh hour,
countries around the world pulled together

450
00:53:50,981 --> 00:53:52,861
to protect the great whales.

451
00:54:04,701 --> 00:54:08,461
And Southern rights have made
a remarkable recovery.

452
00:54:09,941 --> 00:54:12,940
Today, thousands of them
journey from Antarctica

453
00:54:12,941 --> 00:54:15,741
to breed along
the southern coast of Australia.

454
00:54:22,861 --> 00:54:28,501
Proving that if we give ocean life
a chance, it can bounce back.

455
00:54:38,781 --> 00:54:43,621
And if we can help save a species
from the brink of extinction,

456
00:54:46,581 --> 00:54:48,421
surely we can work together

457
00:54:50,341 --> 00:54:53,221
to bring our oceans back to health.

458
00:55:02,181 --> 00:55:04,421
More and more of us are taking action.

459
00:55:10,021 --> 00:55:11,381
Cleaning up our waste.

460
00:55:15,141 --> 00:55:18,061
Pledging to reduce emissions.

461
00:55:20,461 --> 00:55:22,061
Protecting species...

462
00:55:27,221 --> 00:55:28,221
and their homes.

463
00:55:40,221 --> 00:55:41,341
If we act now,

464
00:55:41,861 --> 00:55:48,661
we still have the power
to help heal our one great ocean.

465
00:55:49,741 --> 00:55:53,301
[rich, full whale song]

466
00:55:53,981 --> 00:55:55,981
[bright, wondrous outro music playing]