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Planet Earth DVD Episode Guide - Episode 6 - Ice Worlds

The sixth installment to the Planet Earth DVD series examines the Artic and Antartica. Antartica is unique in that it contains 90% of the world’s ice and stays deserted until the spring when warmer weather brings visitors to its water to harvest food. Nunataks become home to snow petrels which are preyed on by South Polar skuas. In the summer months, Planet Earth shows a pod of humpback whales hunting for krill by creating a spiralling net of bubbles in the Antartic waters.

When winter comes to Antartica the journey to their breeding grounds 100 miles away begins for emperor penguins. Their eggs are watched over by the males huddled into large groups to endure the extreme cold while the females return to the ocean.

On the other tip of the globe, the Artic is home to musk oxen which are hunted by Artic foxes and wolves. A female polar bear is shown with her two cubs as they journey across the ice in search of food. Planet Earth illustrates the stark reality of Earth’s future by showing the effects global warming is having as the sun melts the Artic ice. A male polar bear falls victim this problem as he is unable to find firm footing anywhere and has to resort to swimming. Desperately in need of food, the male polar bear attacks a colony of walrus repeatedly. The herd of walrus are successful in defeating their foe and seriously injure the polar bear in the process. He will later die.

Meanwhile, back in Antarctica the eggs of the emperor penguins finally hatch. Under the watchful eye of the male emperor penguins a new generation begins life in the blistering cold.

Post adapted from Wikipedia. Content is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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