Full transcript
0:24BEAR: A snow leopard.
0:37He hasn't eaten in days.
0:47This may be his last chance.
1:17(theme music plays).
1:50I'm two miles above sea level here,
1:53and it is brutal.
1:56Cold, desolate, hard to breathe.
2:02But, for some, this is home.
2:12Mountains are one of the most hostile environments
2:14on our planet.
2:22Now, with the rise in global temperatures,
2:25life is even tougher.
2:29The relentless search for food.
2:34Intense competition.
2:39Unpredictable weather.
2:59Mountain animals are pushed to the edge of existence.
3:15The Arctic Circle.
3:20Nowhere is the planet warming faster.
3:24Spring has arrived here early.
3:33And that's bad news for the barnacle geese
3:36that breed in these mountains.
3:43Many nests have failed...
3:48but not this one.
3:55Three chicks.
3:57They're lucky to have made it.
4:02Forced by the early spring,
4:04the parents rush to their migration.
4:09They arrived exhausted.
4:12The female sat on the eggs for 25 days.
4:22She's lost 30% of her body weight.
4:30But for this family,
4:32the greatest challenge is still to come.
4:39The parents chose to nest on this 400 foot pinnacle.
4:47It's the only way to evade predators.
4:56Just one problem...
5:00the grass they eat is a mile away,
5:02by the river.
5:05And barnacle geese can't feed their young in the nest.
5:12If the chicks don't feed within 36 hours,
5:16they'll starve.
5:20And these chicks won't be able to fly for another month.
5:27The parents are living proof there is a solution.
5:33Just not an easy one.
5:48Dad leads the way.
5:58But the chicks are instinctively bonded to mum.
6:09Where she goes they follow.
7:04(peeping).
7:10Incredibly, it survived.
7:16But it's stunned.
7:19And now dangerously exposed.
7:47(honking, cawing).
8:06One chick gone.
8:08Now hope rests with the other two.
8:18The back of the spire is a shorter drop.
8:25But it's much harder to avoid the rocks.
8:37For this chick, there will be no escape.
8:46The third and last surviving chick.
9:23♪ ♪
10:02The snow cushions the impact, but offers no grip.
10:19(honking).
10:52Only around 50% of chicks hatched on these cliffs
10:56make it through the first month.
11:03With the seasons increasingly unpredictable,
11:07fewer chicks will survive.
11:14But this chick, at least, has defied the odds.
11:26A changing climate is affecting life in mountains
11:29across the world.
11:38Late winter.
11:41The average temperature here is rising a degree every decade.
11:56Bad news for a snow leopard.
12:01Thick fur enables him to withstand temperatures
12:04of -20 Fahrenheit.
12:12But today, it's 66.
12:18To find enough food, he must patrol a territory
12:21of 80 square miles.
12:28Dry barren slopes don't support much prey.
12:41It can be more than a week between meals.
12:55He must make a kill,
13:02or starve.
13:14BEAR: 16,000 feet up in the Himalayas,
13:19a desperately hungry snow leopard.
13:24His best opportunity in days is within sight.
13:30Blue sheep.
13:33In this heat, he can't run far.
13:38He needs to close the gap.
14:00His camouflage helps.
14:05But with so little cover, it's hard to get close enough.
14:23He ran too early.
14:26And it's too hot to give chase.
14:32Like all who live here,
14:34his fortunes are linked to the mountain climate.
14:40And even small changes can have dramatic consequences.
15:00Here in Africa, rising temperatures
15:03are forcing mountain life ever higher.
15:16An army of Gelada monkeys is gathering.
15:27They're all after one thing.
15:32But to find it, they must climb higher and higher.
15:41Their numbers grow to 1200 strong.
15:45One of the largest gatherings of monkeys on the planet.
15:56At 10,000 feet, this is what they're after.
16:03Grass.
16:05It's almost all they eat.
16:11But so many monkeys in such a small area means trouble.
16:24Especially for this old male.
16:32He needs a lot of energy to defend his family.
16:37Ten females and 12 youngsters.
16:47But you don't get much from grass.
16:50He has to spend ten hours a day feeding.
16:58And today he's gonna need all the energy he can get.
17:10Bachelor males.
17:12Outcasts.
17:14Forced to the edge of society.
17:21Any one of them would be happy to take down the old male and
17:26become the new family leader.
17:40To hold onto power, the old male must prove his strength,
17:45both to the bachelors and his females.
17:55He challenges them to chase him.
18:07(barking, yelling).
18:17But no one dares to attack.
18:20His show of force has worked.
18:25For now.
18:31The old male has little time to refuel
18:33before the herd moves on.
18:46The bachelors are back.
18:52(barking, yelling).
18:58At this high altitude,
19:00each confrontation takes more energy.
19:05A relentless cycle of moving, feeding and fighting.
19:15Moving, feeding, fighting.
19:23By late afternoon, the old male is exhausted.
19:43The strongest bachelor, 45 pounds of muscle,
19:47with energy to burn.
20:06He's the most serious challenger yet,
20:10and the old male knows it.
20:21BEAR: Two male Gelada monkeys fight for supremacy.
20:26A dominant male and a younger bachelor.
20:33One against one the bachelor is stronger.
20:46The old male won't last much longer.
20:52At least not alone.
20:57His females are loyal.
20:59They won't give up on their protector yet.
21:09This united force is overwhelming.
21:22The old male is victorious.
21:27But it's tough at the top.
21:38As the climate warms and the grass they depend on retreats higher,
21:42their battle for survival will only intensify.
22:03In the heat of mid-summer, mountain goats seek out
22:06cooler temperatures on the high ridges.
22:14This female is a natural mountaineer.
22:18She can easily access the best grazing,
22:22even with a kid in tow.
22:28But there's one thing they both need that's
22:30far harder to reach.
22:36Today, they must leave the ridge and descend
22:38into the heat of the valley.
22:45For the little one, this is a dangerous journey.
22:52With the mercury hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit,
22:55this is the hottest summer on record.
23:04After a winter of heavy snow,
23:06this means more meltwater than ever.
23:17Mum's made this journey before,
23:21but some rivers are at their highest level in 100 years.
23:55♪ ♪
24:11Their goal is in sight.
24:13Just one more river to cross.
24:17But it's the deepest and widest yet.
24:42The current is too strong for little legs.
25:20And this is what they've risked their lives for.
25:25A salt lick.
25:30These goats crave sodium, an essential mineral lacking
25:34in their mountain diet.
25:44Summer in the mountains is short.
25:49Harder times are coming.
26:02Temperatures plummet.
26:07Days shorten.
26:12Winter is here.
26:21But the hunt for food must continue.
26:34Heavy snow on higher ridges has forced these ibex
26:38down into the valley.
26:48A cold winter can be a blessing for
26:50a hungry snow leopard.
26:55He's less likely to overheat.
27:02But against the white, he's visible for miles.
27:14He must rely on stealth.
27:21Not easy in such deep snow.
27:39♪ ♪
28:09The distance was too great.
28:12The ibex too fast.
28:17Now all the animals in the valley know he's here.
28:22And he's burnt precious energy.
28:30These are desperate times.
28:33If he's to see winter through,
28:35he may have to take bigger risks.
28:45Throughout the mountains of the Northern Hemisphere,
28:48winter's grip is tightening.
28:54Animals must make the most of any last opportunity before
28:57conditions drive them to take shelter.
29:05Far above, planetary forces are on a collision course.
29:11A river of air, the jet stream,
29:13flows around the North Pole.
29:16At its center, sits a mass of cold Arctic air.
29:23But now a warming upper atmosphere is slowing the jet stream.
29:27And the cold air can escape.
29:36By the time it hits The Rockies,
29:38it's grown into a mega storm.
29:42Freezing everything in its path.
29:56BEAR: In the depths of winter, extreme storms rage across
29:59Canada and the USA.
30:02Freezing temperatures,
30:04wind speeds of up to 150 miles per hour.
30:09Now, even the toughest animals are at their limit of survival.
30:17(wind whistling).
30:38The storms may have passed, but there is hidden danger
30:41in this landscape.
30:53Winter storms have buried this area of British Columbia
30:57under nearly 40 feet of snow.
31:02But if temperatures rise above freezing,
31:06it can have lethal consequences.
31:24On the high ridges, wind driven snow has created
31:28huge overhangs, some 25 feet thick.
31:37The longer the temperatures stay above freezing,
31:41the more the snow pack weakens.
31:59(crashing).
32:40Soon, tens of thousands of tons of snow are traveling
32:44up to 80 miles an hour.
32:56As weather patterns change, avalanches across the world
33:00are growing bigger.
33:41The more erratic and severe mountain winters become,
33:45the more victims they'll claim.
33:58But some are still succeeding in this harsh world.
34:07Golden eagles live in almost every mountain range in the
34:11Northern Hemisphere.
34:33They endure the alpine winter by using the brutal conditions
34:36to their advantage.
34:47Like all golden eagles, this female has a special sensory
34:51organ that detects change in air pressure,
34:55allowing her to locate air currents rising off ridges.
35:04With her seven foot wingspan, she can climb to over 11,000 feet.
35:14Then, to get to the next peak, she folds her wings and dives.
35:35With a top speed of 150 miles per hour,
35:39she's one of the fastest animals on the planet.
35:53It looks effortless, and it needs to be.
36:01A golden eagle may cover 100 miles a day scouring
36:04the slopes for any opportunity.
36:21A flock of ravens is a good sign.
36:28(cawing).
36:38During winter, golden eagles are forced to scavenge
36:4190% of their food.
36:55If finding food is hard, keeping it is even harder.
37:17A carcass like this attracts a lot of attention.
37:48This male is powerful.
37:53And eagles don't share.
38:10Another brutal storm.
38:13This could be the last chance to feed for days.
38:18Starvation is a serious threat.
38:21Only a quarter of young eagles will survive to reach maturity.
38:26Will it be him or her?
38:42Attacking from the air gives her the advantage.
39:04But her victory is short lived.
39:13Now both eagles may be fighting for their lives.
39:24BEAR: In the peaks of Norway, two golden eagles are fighting
39:27for a chance to feed.
39:32Both are desperate.
39:42The female stands her ground.
39:48But the male is not done.
39:52(screaming).
40:10Each eagle is armed with two inch talons.
40:14These fights can be deadly.
40:30Her kick was decisive.
40:35What's left of the frozen flesh may be just enough
40:38to keep her alive.
40:47But this harsh winter will drive others to even greater extremes.
41:12This snow leopard's relentless search for food continues.
41:23Following the scent of prey has drawn him
41:26to the edge of his territory,
41:33and into a steep ravine.
41:45Blue sheep.
41:55The broken rock provides good cover.
42:03But this is difficult terrain.
42:33Now, he must let them come to him.
43:18♪ ♪
43:54A 200 foot fall, never letting go.
44:12Finally, the snow leopard can eat his fill.
44:31But success has come at huge cost.
44:41He's badly injured.
44:49For a hunter that lives by its agility,
44:53this could be fatal.
45:12The challenges of survival up here at altitude is so extreme
45:16that it seems near impossible that anything can make it.
45:20But the resilience of mountain animals is near miraculous.
45:34Incredibly, just three days later,
45:41we filmed the same snow leopard back on its feet
45:46hunting again.
45:54It takes true grit to survive in these desolate,
45:57unforgiving landscapes.
45:59But, somehow animals still manage to triumph,
46:03to find shelter, food and, perhaps,
46:06most importantly, each other.
46:20Against all odds, snow leopards are still breeding
46:23here in the Himalayas.
46:28They are living proof of mountain animals amazing
46:31ability to succeed in a changing world.
46:42Their offspring will be the hope for the future.
47:04Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.