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Series 2: 4. The Poles

The Spy Creatures travel to the lands of ice and snow beyond the Arctic and Antarctic circles. From penguin chicks to elephant seals, wolf cubs to polar bears, this episode showcases the hardiest and most charismatic animals in the polar world. \n\nIn the Southern Ocean, the island of South Georgia is home to 200,000 king penguins. Spy Chick makes friends among a city of chicks and gains an intimate view of life from inside the colony. As winter takes hold, food supplies run out, forcing the parents on an epic 1,000-mile fishing trip, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves. \n\nAt the other side of the world, Spy Walrus, Spy Gyrfalcon and Spy Polar Bear track the retreating polar ice, while further south, on Norway’s Hornoya island, thousands of male puffins gather in the snow as they search for their life-long partners. Spy Puffin joins them as they head-bob in an attempt to recognise who’s who and find their long-lost loves. But all is not sweetness and light. Young, single males will fight to break up established pairs and prove they’re a better catch. \n\nAs spring arrives in South Georgia, the chicks are starving, having waited four months for their parents to return. Spy King Penguin greets the parents when they finally arrive, but a barrier of 6,000 elephant seals blocks their path. As the giants sleep, the penguins have to tiptoe past, trying not to wake them. Having done that, their next challenge is finding their own chicks among the crowds. Miraculously, the chicks can recognise their parents' calls. \n\nAs summer comes to the islands of Svalbard, Spy Fox waits below the cliffs for the largest gathering of Arctic seabirds. It is joined by Arctic fox cubs as they leave the den in anticipation of one of nature’s most spectacular events. Guillemot chicks must leave their nests high on the precipitous cliffs and somehow make it to the sea beyond. Each chick's father is with them all the way as they make their first flight. But the foxes are on the lookout for any that fall short. \n\nWhile it’s summer in the Arctic, Antarctica faces the lowest temperatures on earth. The tobogganing version of Penguincam faces the full brunt of winter storms to discover how emperor penguins survive. Time-lapse cameras are used to reveal for the first time in astonishing detail how they share warmth by huddling together.

Source: BBC 2