Static crackled as then indistinct muffled radio chatter occurred.

Then the Moon was seen in the vast ocean of Outer Space.

Just 50 years ago, we finally ventured to the moon.

And then, the 3rd planet from the sun and the 5th largest planet appeared and the only known planet that supports life.

Planet Earth.

For the very first time, we look back at our own planet.

Since July 20th, 1969, Mankind was able to look back on their own home planet, 238,900 miles away. And 70% of the Earth's surface was blue from the oceans, making it look like a blue planet.

Since then, the human population has more than doubled.

The Earth spins as the sunlight shines over North America, and continues spinning as it was night over Europe as lights from it's many cities shined. And even some on the northern coast of Africa.

This story will celebrate the natural wonders that remain, and reveal what we must preserve to ensure people and nature thrive.

The Earth continues spinning as daylight shines over Africa, and Asia, to even Australia.

OUR WILD PLANET


Icicles hangs down from a ledge of a ice as droplets of waters dripped down.

A drop of water drips off a ceiling of ice.

A wavy reflection of water shows a wall of ice.

Large icebergs float in the waters of Antarctica.

The polar regions of our planet may seem beyond the reach of most of us, but they are not beyond our influence.

Over 12,000 miles to the north at the opposite end of the Earth, in the Arctic, a Polar Bear mother and her cub wanders across the sea ice in search of prey.

We, unintentionally, are changing these frozen worlds, and these changes will not just affect the poles but the whole planet.

Elsewhere in the Arctic, a pod of Narwhals dove underwater after taking a breath of air.

Back in Antarctica, a flock of Gentoo Penguins dive down to hunt.

A wave crashed against the side of an iceberg as it crashed upwards and the water rains back down.

FROZEN WORLDS


The light of dusk shines over the icy landscape of Earth's southern continent.

Antarctica.

The southern end of our planet, and the coldest place on Earth. It has been frozen for 30 million years. In its centers, the covering of ice is over 2 miles or 4 kilometers thick.

Small peaks stick out from the ice covered landscape.

Entire mountain ranges are buried beneath it.

Here, it is so cold that each winter 7,335,941 square miles or 19 million square kilometers of ocean freezes, more than doubling the size of the ice cap.

From space, Antarctica is shown with a great ice sheet surrounding it.

But when, in spring, the sea ice melts, life returns once again the continent's shores.

Eventually, the ice sheet begins to melt away as the north tip of the Antarctic Peninsula as the first to be free.

Layer of clouds float near a snow covered mountain. And the sun shines over the landscape.

The peninsula that stretches north towards South America is the first part of it to be released from winter's grip.

In the bay, an iceberg floats in the water as a group of 12 Adélie Penguins stood on a flat section.

As the sea ice breaks up, life returns.

Further out into the bay, a flock of Gentoo Penguins porpoise out of the water. Else where, a seagull lands in the water to rest as then a large shape surfaced near it as a jet of mist sprays out from the blowhole of a Humpback Whale.

Nearby, a Crabeater Seal rests on it's side on an ice floe.

There is a greater variety of living creatures here than anywhere else in Antarctica.

The flock of Gentoo Penguins continue porpoise over the water as they travel.

Elsewhere, a Humpback Whale dives down as it's tail fluke was lifted up and soon went under.

Near the shore, Gentoo Penguins swam through the shallow water as they head for shore.

On the shore, the Wild Kratts were heading out of the Tortuga after they recently arrived.

"We've all the way from the Arctic to the Antarctic." Jimmy said. "But, really, what's the difference?"

"Ah, there are lots of differences, Jimmy?" Chris said. "For 1 thing, Polar Bears live only in the Arctic."

He then works on his CreaturePod and it shows a holographic screen of the global map and shows a Polar Bear in the Arctic as it was shown in blue.

"And penguins live in the Antarctic." Martin added.

The map then showed 2 Emperor Penguins and a chick in Antarctica showed in purple.

"And just look at the map." Koki said. "The Arctic is north. The Antarctic is south. When it's winter in the Arctic, it's summer in the Antarctic." The map then showed it snowing in the Arctic, and the sun over Antarctica.

"The Arctic is a frozen ocean surrounded by land." Aviva said as the Arctic sea ice is shown surrounded by North America, Europe and Asia. "The Antarctic is a frozen land surrounded by ocean." It showed Antarctica surrounded by the Southern Ocean, as well as the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific on all sides.

"They're both too cold for humans!" Jimmy said shivering from the thought of it.

"But the Antarctic is colder than the Arctic." Koki said. "The Antarctic is the coldest place on Earth all year round!"

The map then showed a thermometer with a very low temperature.

"Brr! You're making me colder by just thinking of it." Jimmy said.

He then brought a cup and took a sip of some hot chocolate.

Then Martin noticed a Gentoo Penguin in the water close by.

"Hey, look!" Martin said. "A Gentoo Penguin."

"Wow, these are actually the 3rd biggest penguin." Chris said. "They're easy to tell for that white band over their eyes."

Gentoo Penguins spend most of their lives at sea, but now, in spring, they have to come ashore to breed.

They watched as one Gentoo hops out of the water, and onto the rocks and hops across them.

They're the fastest of all penguins in water, but on land, life takes on a slower pace.

The Gentoo soon meets up with other penguins and begins to head inland.

Soon, other Gentoo Penguins waddled up a hill as the Wild Kratts watched as they lay flat on the snow. And even one penguin hopped across each other their backs as they laughed a bit.

Some of the penguins were also following paths carved depressions in the snow as they headed uphill.

It's an uphill struggle to reach their nesting grounds...

One Gentoo continues waddling when it stumbled and fell into a carved depression, and other Gentoos turn towards it as some honked.

But the fallen Gentoo soon pokes it's head from the snow after getting up.

...but penguins never give up.

The Gentoo then continues on.

The Wild Kratts watched as the Gentoo Penguins waddled through on the depressions single file.

The paths they follow, carved by thousands by tiny footsteps, lead to Antarctica's rarest commodity.

The Wild Kratts followed the Gentoos up the hill, and saw where they were ground as it was a nesting ground on a snow free area.

Bare rock.

Less than 1% of Antarctica is ice-free, and these rocky patches are the only places where Gentoos can lay their eggs.

"Wow, a nesting ground for Gentoos." Chris said.

"Wow, there must be dozens here." Aviva said.

They then turn to a male Gentoo climbing onto the rocks that just returned from the sea.

It's been a 30-minute struggle, but he's also at the top, where his mate is waiting for him.

They then followed the penguin as he makes his way through the crowd of other penguins and nests.

At the top of the hill, a female penguin was resting on top of her nest as the male penguin soon arrived and they greet each other as they honked.

Then the penguin grabs a small stone near another penguin's nest.

He presents her with a stone, a gift to improve the nest and so win her favor.

"What's with the stone?" Jimmy asked.

"Gentoo Penguins use small stones to make their nests, and will even use them as gifts." Martin explained.

Soon, the 2 penguins honked out loudly as the female stood up.

Then suddenly, a small head was seen under the female as it was a little chick.

He's back just in time.

"Aww. They have a little chick." Aviva said adored.

"Wow, the chick can't be more than a few days old." Chris said.

The father penguin then turns to the chick.

There's another mouth to feed.

Soon, the mother feeds the chick with predigested fish and squid. And the mother lifts her up and the chick chirruped.

Gentoo Penguins used to be rare in this part of Antarctica, but now, as temperatures rise, their numbers here are increasing.


Elsewhere in the Antarctic waters, dozens of ice floes in different sizes float motionless on the surface.

Sea ice may appear to be flat and lifeless, but beneath it there is another world.

Underwater, Chris and Martin swam through the water with Penguin Power as they swam to an area of ice that is strangely all green.

"Why is the ice green like that?" Aviva asked through Martin's CreaturePod.

"This green ice is actually algae." Martin said.

"Algae?" Koki frowned. "That stuff can actually grow on ice?"

"Yeah." Chris said. "The sunlight can shine even through sea ice as thick as this."

As the ice melts, the light filters through, and algae, that have been trapped within the ice all winter, flourish. This upside-down world is the polar equivalent of the great grasslands.

The ice is the soil upon which plant life grows, and the herds of grazers soon arrive.

"You know, all this algae around us is almost like the African Savannah." Chris said.

"Okay, but, what exactly are the grazers down there?" Aviva asked.

Then something close by moves around and soon joined by more as Chris and Martin soon saw where they were.

"Whoa, krill!" The brothers said unison.

Antarctic Krill.

They watch as probably thousands moved along the ice wall.

"Wow, that's a lot of krill." Martin said.

Trillions of them swarm in the waters around Antarctica. Protected by the ice above, they graze on algae whilst the sun shines.

Chris and Martin watched as the krill feeds on the algae.

"Wow, these guys are almost like gazelles and zebras down here." Chris said.

But the good times don't last long.

"At least these krill will be safe for the time being." Chris said.


"What do you mean?" Aviva asked.

"When the sea ice melts, the krill will start to lose their protection." Chris said.

"And that's when the summer bounty begins." Martin said.

"Hmm. Okay we'll meet up with you guys." Aviva said. "Something tells me we might be in for a show."


The krill continue swimming around.

Once all the ice has melted, the krill lose their protection, and predators appear.


Later, Chris and Martin swam out further to open water. And came across a flock of Gentoo Penguins getting ready for a dive to catch krill.

The penguins dives down leaving trails of bubbles behind that were trapped in their feathers.

Penguins may have lost their ability to fly, but they still form flocks, as so many birds do.

Above them, more Gentoos were preparing to dive at the surface.

The longer they dive, the longer it takes them to catch their breath.

Chris and Martin soon surfaced and watched the penguins.

Ruffling their feathers traps air, which makes their bodies more streamlined.

"What's with the feather ruffling?" Aviva asked appearing on a holographic screen from Chris' CreaturePod.

"Ruffling their feathers helps trap air, and allows them to be more streamlined." Chris explained.

"Does that explain why they make a trail of bubbles when swimming?" Jimmy asked.

"Yep." Martin nodded.

Soon, 1 Gentoo took a breath and begins to dive.

One last breath...

Then the penguin dives down completely.

...and the whole group dives down together.

Soon, the other Gentoo Penguins follow.

Chris and Martin dove under and watched as the penguin begin their descend.

The Gentoos follow the krill down to depths of over 656 feet or 200 meters.

Chris and Martin watched watch as the Gentoos dive further down.

"And down they go." Chris said.

The Gentoos continue diving.

What a flock can catch in 1 dive, a giant traps in a single mouthful.


An hour later, Chris and Martin soon met up with Aviva, Koki and Jimmy after getting the Tortuga as it sails through the water in Sea Turtle Mode.

"Hey, guys." Aviva greeted.

"Hey, Aviva." Martin greeted.

Then the 2 brothers noticed some krill leaping around near them, and then suddenly, unexpectedly, a large black object launches from the depths and blows a jet of mist from it's blowhole. It was soon revealed to be a Humpback Whale as he lunges his head from the water, and came crashing down creating a large splash and lifts his left flipper out from the water.

"Whoa!" Chris and Martin said in unison. "Incredible!"

"A Humpback Whale!" Aviva gasped.

"What an entrance!" Jimmy said.

Humpback Whales from the tropics have traveled over 5,000 miles or 8,000 kilometers to get here.

Chris and Martin went under and swam next to the 30 ton marine giant.

This one chooses to feed alone.

They then watched as the Humpback then lunges forward again, and spouts a jet of mist from his blowhole. And then crashes back down into the water.

"What's with the lunge thing?" Koki asked. "What's he doing?"

"It's actually a feeding method." Chris said. "A part lunge and pounce move. Works great on the surface."

This technique, part lunge, part pounce, only works when the krill are close to the surface.

"Hey, look." Aviva said seeing something.

Chris and Martin dove under and soon saw 2 other Humpbacks.

As more Humpbacks arrive, they begin to work in teams.

Then they begin to watch as 2 Humpback Whales swam quickly towards the surface, and then turn to their left side. And then took great mouthfuls of water and krill.

By lunging together, the overspill from one huge mouth is not lost but collected by another.

The Wild Kratts continue watching as then 4 Humpbacks lunge feed as they snatched big mouthfuls of water and krill. As among them was a youngster who was learning this technique very well. And the Wild Kratts were getting great footage of them.

Close by, a petrel rests on the surface of the water. And soon flies off.

The Humpbacks continue lunge feeding as the Wild Kratts were watching in huge amazement.

Some Humpbacks regularly work in an even more coordinated way.

Then one Humpback begins to dive down as it's tail lifts up, and it's large fluke went under.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Martin asked.

"Sure am." Chris said.

They then dove under, and watched as the Humpbacks begin to dive.

"Oh, boy." Martin said. "I think they're about to do this special method."

"What is it?" Aviva asked.

"You'll see." Chris said.

"Wait for it." Martin said.

They do so when the krill has descended to some depth.

Chris and Martin watched as the whales dive down to catch up with the krill. And soon, air bubbles started rising from the depths. And at the surface, seagulls flew close by as the bubbles reached the surface.

Once in position, they blast air from their blowholes.

The bubbles continued as Chris and Martin watched from underwater, and Aviva, Koki and Jimmy watched from the roof of the Tortuga's head from above. And they saw a ring of bubbles forming a wall.

Working together, they create a curtain a bubbles around their prey.

"You guys seeing this from up there?" Chris called.

"Yeah, it's almost as if they're forming something." Koki said.

They can see the flipper of 1 whale underneath, and bubbles formed behind it.

As the spiraling net tightens, the krill are driven closer together, and then the whales lunge upwards and collect them.

Soon, 2 of the Humpbacks lunged upwards taking huge mouthfuls as they watched in pure astonishment as they feed. Each whale taking thousands of krill in one mouthful.

"Wow, I could watch this all day." Aviva said amazed by the wildlife moment.

"Me too." Koki said.

The Humpbacks continue feeding on the krill on the bubble net. And even rose up lifting their heads to drain the water from their mouths.

Almost all Humpback Whales in the Southern Hemisphere come to the Antarctic to feed on krill.

Seagulls rest on the surface of the water as a Humpback dives down. And the whales continue feeding.

Since the ban on commercial whaling, their numbers have recovered dramatically, but their food supply is now under threat. In the last 50 years, with warming temperatures and disappearing sea ice, krill stocks in this part of the Southern Ocean have more than halved.

2 Humpbacks lower their heads as water drains through their baleen as they went under, and a spout was heard from them.


The next day, Chris and Martin were out swimming through the bay in Penguin Power.

Other sea hunters come here seeking bigger prey than krill.

Soon, the 2 leaped onto an ice flow and looked around trying to spot some creatures.

"Hmm. There's gotta be something out here somewhere." Chris said scanning the area.

Suddenly, a black dorsal fin rose up from the water nearby as a spout of was seen. And with was a familiar white patch.

And it wasn't alone.

All around it were several more.

"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Chris said.

"Yep." Martin said. "Come on."

They then carefully got back in the water and begin to approach them.

Antarctica's top predators.

Orca, Killer Whales.

Chris and Martin carefully swam up to the pod as it was made of 10 Killer Whales.

"Wow, 10 Orcas make a big family pod." Chris said.

"Yeah, I know." Martin said. "And these are the true top predators of Antarctica."

Over half of the world's Orca patrol these polar seas.

Martin then carefully approached one of the Killer Whales, and then touches it's fluke and activates into Killer Whale Power.

"Maybe they're hunting." Martin said. "Let's follow them."

The tall dorsal fin of a male dives underwater.

This particular pod specializes in hunting penguins.

Nearby, a lone Gentoo Penguin porpoise leaped out of the water, and 2 gulls glided over the water.

The Gentoo Penguin leaps out of the water again.

Nearby, the pod slowly begins to close in as 1 Killer Whale surfaced taking a breath.

They shift into stealth mode.

The Gentoo splashed around at the surface unaware it's being stalked. And a Killer Whale dorsal fin sails over the surface as it went under.

Hunting without making a sound, so that their prey won't hear them coming.

The Gentoo continues floating at the surface as it lifts it's head out from the water, still unaware of what is happening.

Nearby, a seagull sits on the water surface.

The Gentoo then dipped it's head back underwater.

Soon, Chris and Martin got into position to witness what was about to happen. As Killer Whales hunting penguins is rarely seen and filmed.

All was quiet for a moment.

Then suddenly the stillness was interrupted as a Killer Whale tossed the Gentoo into the air catching it completely by surprise as it hits the water. The pod starts to gather as the Killer Whale grabs the penguin again and tossed it into the air as the penguin hits the water again as the Orca attempt to stun it.

Soon, Chris and Martin watched as the Gentoo swam as one of the Killer Whales chased after it.

A penguin can outmaneuver a single Killer Whale, but it can seldom escape a pod.

The Gentoo continues swimming trying to find an escape route away from, and swam as the Killer Whale continues chasing it and swiftly lunged directly over another Orca.

Soon, the Gentoo was caught again as another Killer Whale tossed it into the air again. The Orca nears it and tossed it up again as the penguin is beginning to tire.

"You know I've heard of toss salad." Martin said. "But toss penguins?"

"Looks like the tossing is to stun and tire the penguin." Chris said. "And it's working."

They watched as the Killer Whales continue tossing the penguin into the air for what felt like an hour.

This hunt may seem cruel, but important life skills are being passed down the generations.

The 2 brothers continue watching the hunt as the penguin held it's head over the water. And then it momentarily went under as a Killer Whale held it's head over the water with the penguin in it's mouth. And then, the Killer Whale went under to drown the penguin.

And just like that, the hunt was over.

"Well, that's nature." Chris said.

"Yeah. No bad guys." Martin said. "A balance between predator and prey."

From Killer Whales to krill, all life here ultimately depends upon Antarctica's sea ice.


The rough waves crashed as the sky was gray as seabirds flew around.

The seas that surround Antarctica are the roughest on our planet.

The waves continue forming as some formed to heights of 30 feet. And then soaring over the crashing ocean, like a nomad, came a Wandering Albatross.

The world's largest flying bird, alive.

These churning waters draw up nutrients from the deep and create vast, rich fishing grounds for nomads like the Wandering Albatross.

The Wandering Albatross soars over the rough ocean using up-drifts to stay airborne. And by using a tight serpentine maneuver in a kind of daredevil stunt and game of chicken with the ocean.

Beneath the waves, currents are flowing away from Antarctica, transporting nutrients across the planet, fertilizing the oceans and helping to regulate global temperatures.

The Wandering Albatross soars over the ocean and is soon joined by 2 other albatrosses.

Elsewhere, a wave crashed against the side of an iceberg as water was tossed into the air. And the waves continue crashing against the ice was nearby was land.

The island of South Georgia.

In space, South Georgia is seen 2,579 miles north from Antarctica and 1,681 miles east from the tip of the South American peninsula. And the Antarctic ice shelf just a few hundred miles south from it.

It's far enough north to be beyond the reach of the sea ice even in midwinter, and many animals live here the year round.

Many ice floes and bergs floated around in South Georgia's waters.

A patch of grass swung as it was blown by the wind.

As well as a small white fluffy creature.

The Wild Kratts have recently arrived at South Georgia and soon came across a Wandering Albatross chick.

As South Georgia is a sanctuary for these birds.

This Wandering Albatross chick has been sitting on its nest all winter, and is entirely dependent on its parents returning with food.

The Wild Kratts watched the chick as it looked like a large fluff ball with a head.

"It kinda looks like a ball of fluff with a head and beak." Aviva said and giggled.

"Yeah, and this little guy has been sitting here all winter." Chris said.

"Really?" Koki said.

"Yeah. And the hard part probably is waiting between meals." Martin said.

It may have to wait a few days between meals, or even a couple of weeks, but at least it's not the only one who's waiting.

Nearby, in another nest, another albatross youngster was sitting in it's nest as it gnaws on a bit of nest bedding. But this one is bigger with most of it's mature feathers and a few patches of fluffy feathers. By albatross standards, it was a teenager.

And all around them were other albatross chicks of different ages.

Albatross chicks need to spend a whole year growing before they're ready to take their first flight.

Nearby, an adult Wandering Albatross soars through the air.

And then they spend several years at sea before they return to land.

The albatross chick the Wild Kratts are with soon noticed the albatross as they turn to her. And soon the chick started honking as the albatross was it's mother.

"You guys gonna wanna see this." Martin said.

They watched as the albatross glides down towards the ground like the bird version of a Boeing 747. Coming in to land on 10 foot, 3-meter wings takes some practice.

They watched as the albatross gently flapped her wings to slow her descend like how a jet plane would use reverse thrusters.

Albatross don't have reverse thrusters.

Soon, the large seabird lands on the ground but hits the ground a bit rough.

"Ooh, well at least I'm sure she had better landings." Martin said.

"Yeah, and she doesn't have her own reverse thruster like a plane." Chris said.

They all laughed a bit.

The albatross chick soon chirped as it's mother went up to her chick.

The mother albatross sat by her nest and chick as it gnaws around on her bill.

The chick is this female's first. She's been raising it for 6 months, and has another 6 to go.

Soon, the mother albatross opened her bill and the chick started feeding.

Her chick is smaller than it should be, a sign that her mate has not been returning with food. He may well have been one of the many that die, entangle on longline fishing lines.

"You know, for an albatross chick at this age, it seems small." Martin said now realizing about the chick's state.

"What do you mean?" Aviva asked.

"Well, albatross parents always bring food back for their chick." Martin said. "But I don't think the father has been returning with food. He may have sadly died from entanglement of fishing lines and other sea debris."

"Oh, poor thing." Aviva said sadly.

Yeah, it's sad how people can be careless sometimes when tossing away old fishing gear." Chris said. "They just don't know the harm that could do."

"So, you guys said this is the largest flying bird, right?" Jimmy asked.

"Yep, the Wandering Albatross is the largest flying bird in the world." Martin said. "It has a 10 foot wingspan."

"That's big." Koki said.

"I bet there's never been a bird bigger than that and can fly." Jimmy said.

"Actually there is." Chris said.

"Get gotta here." Aviva scoffed unconvinced.

"No, we're serious." Martin said. "Throughout history, there actually has been flying birds bigger than the Wanderer." He then works on his CreaturePod and showed a holographic screen of the fossil remains and image of an extinct eagle. "700 years ago in New Zealand, there was a monster eagle patrolling the forests. It was part of the Maori Legend as a fierce aerial predator. With a beak the size of a butcher's cleaver, and razor-sharp talons as big as the claws of a tiger. The Greek for grappling hooks is "Harpax". And that word gives this bird it's name: Harpagornis. The Hasst's Eagle."

"Hasst's Eagle?" Aviva said. "Sound's scary."

"You're telling me." Jimmy nervously shuddered.

"It was the largest eagle to have ever existed." Martin said. "More powerful than today's Harpy Eagle. So big, it preyed on the large flightless Moa birds it shared New Zealand. It had a wingspan of 8 to 9 feet across, a foot shy from the Wanderer's, but still a powerful predator. The first humans to arrive to New Zealand were living in fear of this eagle."

"I can see why." Jimmy said. "Being picked off and eaten."

"Well, there isn't been evidence of Harpagornis preying on humans." Chris pointed out. "But it is believe to be big and strong enough do to so." He then worked on his CreaturePod and showed a holographic screen of the fossil remains and image of a large vulture. "This bird was definitely huge. This is Argentavis, the largest vulture to have ever lived. It had a wingspan of 16 to 21 feet across, dwarfing the Andean Condor today."

"But there is 1 bird that broke Argentavis' record completely." Martin said his CreaturePod showed the fossil bones of a seabird similar to an albatross, and an image of the bird. "This bird was discovered in South Carolina, 2014. And it was soon called, Pelagornis. The largest flying bird of all time. It's body alone was 6 feet long, as long as a person. And it has a wingspan of 24 feet, the Wandering Albatross could easily sit under one of it's wings, and it's wingspan rivals that of a Harrier jump-jet."

Pelagornis soared the skies 27 million years ago, and got as big as flying birds can get.

Chris then works his CreaturePod, and soon showed a holographic Wandering Albatross, Harpagornis, Argentavis and Pelagornis next to each other with their wings out.

"Whoa, that's crazy!" Koki said stunned.

"Yeah, Pelagornis was as big as flying birds got." Chris said.

"Were there any bigger flying animals?" Jimmy asked.

"Not as birds, but yes." Martin said. "Most pterosaurs actually grew bigger then 24 foot wingspans, making eagles today like hummingbirds to them."

"But there is one, that is the biggest flying creature ever." Chris said working on his CreaturePod.

Then a holographic image appeared as Aviva, Koki and Jimmy thought it was the closest thing of seeing a real dragon.

"Meet Queztalcoatlus." Martin said. "Named after the Serpent God of the Aztec, this is the biggest flying creature of all time. A wingspan up to 40 feet, that's a little bigger than most World War II fighter planes like a P-51 Mustang."

"Incredible!" Aviva said amazed. "It's always like nature is always doing science experiments on animals all the time."

South Georgia is an ideal place for Wanderers to raise their young, but now fewer adults are returning here to nest, and in recent years, the breeding population has declined by 40%.

The Wild Kratts then watched a Wanderer holds it's wings up, and rushed down the hill and soon got airborne and flies off. A similar way of how fighter planes and jets take off from aircraft carriers.

The chick sits at it's nest.

For now, waiting on its nest, the chick is safe.

There are no land predators here.


But the same cannot be said for South Georgia's seas.

Chris and Martin swam through the surrounding waters of South Georgia in Penguin Power as they explored a kelp forest.

Giant kelp flourishes in these ice-free waters.

"Gee, it's kinda weird swimming through a kelp forest." Martin said.

"Yeah, it's like swimming through trees." Chris said.

Somewhere among the kelp, a spotted object glides through the water.

The perfect place for an ambush.

The 2 brothers swam as then Chris suddenly noticed something close by.

"Whoa, what was that?" Chris said.

"What was what?" Martin asked.

"I thought I saw something right there." Chris said pointing to the place where he saw it.

Chris and Martin slowly swam forward knowing they weren't alone, they swam through a patch of kelp and carefully peaked through. And then saw a Leopard Seal swimming by with a dead King Penguin in it's jaws that it recently catch.

"Whoa." Chris said.

"A Leopard Seal." Martin said amazed though keeping his voice down.

Leopard Seals overwinter here to escape Antarctica's frozen ocean.

The 2 brothers peaked out and saw a 2nd Leopard Seal swimming by.

They should have returned south by now, but this year they've stayed longer.

Moving through the kelp carefully, they soon 2 more Leopard Seals.

"What are Leopard Seals doing here at this time of year?" Martin wondered.

"They usually head back south to the mainland." Chris said. "But why have these ones stayed?"

And they've delayed their departure for good reason.

Chris and Martin carefully moved through the kelp as they soon saw 5 Leopard Seals.

They then surfaced as a Leopard Seal surfaced nearby taking a breath of air.

There are King Penguins here.

"Chris, look!" Martin said noticing something.

Some distance away, a group of King Penguins porpoise bound over the water as they were heading to shore after a fishing trip.

Each is a substantial meal, if you can catch it.

1 Leopard Seal surfaced it's head near the brothers eyeing the penguins and went back under.

"Looks like we're about to have a hunt." Chris said.

Soon, 1 Leopard Seal begins to head out towards the group of Kings and got into position just ahead of them.

Returning to feed their chicks, the Kings have no choice but to run the gauntlet.

The Leopard Seal watches the penguins and begins to get ready to snatch one.

Chris and Martin soon got to the left side of the group of penguins as they continue to porpoise over the water.

Kings rarely porpoise like this. It uses more energy, but its faster than traveling underwater.

Soon, the Leopard Seal begins to pursue the Kings.

The King Penguins hurried to the shoreline knowing they were being chase.

1 penguin dove back under as a Leopard Seal surfaced nearby.

Soon, the first penguins begin to hurry on the beach as Chris and Martin made it to land as well as a Leopard Seal watches the fleeing group.

It's hard to select a moving target in a panicking crowd, but if there are stragglers, the odds change.

The Leopard Seal lies on the beach, and then a lone King Penguin was seen in the waves as the other penguins stood on the beach. And Chris and Martin watched as well.

The Leopard Seal approaches the penguin as it quickly nears it's sharp beak near the seal's face.

Razor-sharp teeth vs. a stabbing beak.

They watched as the seal tries to grab the penguin, but it quickly manages to get to the beach as the seal turns to it and was behind it.

But then the seal stopped when it was just a few feet away, and they both froze.

It's stalemate.

Both are exhausted after the chase.

Chris and Martin watched the stand-off for what felt like an hour, but soon, the Leopard Seal begins to turn away and heads back into the water.

The hunter decides that the meal is not worth the fight.

The King Penguin caws out as it was very lucky.


In the Tortuga's HQ room, Aviva, Koki and Jimmy saw the whole thing and they all sighed in relief.

"Phew. That was 1 lucky penguin." Jimmy said.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Aviva said.


"Yeah, but not every penguin will be as lucky as him." Chris said. "Why don't guys come on out here?"

"On our way." Aviva replied.

The King Penguins soon begin to waddle up the beach heading inland to their nesting ground.

And the lucky penguin begins to head off to catch up.

For the penguin, it was too close for comfort, but that was just the first hurdle in getting back to feed its chick.

Soon, Aviva, Koki and Jimmy met up with the brothers as they recently deactivated and watched the penguins.

"You guys sure those are King Penguins and not Emperor Penguins?" Jimmy frowned. "I mean, how can you tell them apart?"

"Well Emperors and Kings are similar." Chris said. "But you can tell them apart after seeing them." He works on his CreaturePod and showed a holographic screen of an Emperor and King Penguin side by side. "For 1 thing, Emperors are taller, Kings are 2nd in the biggest penguins."

"And Kings have a more longer sharper beak." Martin added. "And they have yellow-orange coloration on the chest, while Emperors have a yellow color."

"And look at their feathers." Aviva said. "I noticed that the King Penguin is a little lighter in color. It some grayish as well."

"Ah, gotcha." Jimmy said now getting it.

"Hey, these Kings are on the move." Chris said watching the penguins heading off. "Let's follow them."

They begin to follow the penguins as one of them cawed.

It isn't going to be a walk in the park.

The Wild Kratts soon got further up the beach, but then suddenly stopped dead in their tracks and froze seeing what was ahead of them.

"Ah-!" Jimmy exclaimed.

1 King Penguin waddles carefully as it begins to enter a large maze of sleeping behemoths. As snoring was heard among the crowd.

The Wild Kratts blinked a few times still stunned of what they were seeing.

"Oh, boy." Chris said.

The King Penguin continues through the maze as one of them jolted a bit. And soon, other Kings begin to follow behind it.

Among the crowd, one of the sleeping behemoths opened it's eye as one waddles by and closed it again.

Luckily, penguin is not on their menu.

Close by, one of the males blows air out through it's large nose as peddles of sand were tossed. And the owner sleeps as the penguin waddles by.

Still, it's best to let sleeping giants lie.

3 King Penguins worked through the maze of sleeping giants as one of the females woke up and growls a warning at the passing penguins as one of them honked.

The penguins were waddling around through a maze of Southern Elephant Seals. The largest seal species on Earth, 20 feet long and 4 tons of massive blubbery bulk, these behemoths are bigger than Walruses. And are so big, they have little fear of Leopard Seals as adults.

Soon, the Wild Kratts managed to carefully make their way through the massive colony of seals. As most of them were females, as well as mothers and pups.

Elephant Seal females don't take kindly to being disturbed from their slumber, but it's the 4-ton males you need to look out for.

"This is crazy of walking among these seals." Aviva whispered.

"Yeah, females don't like being disturbed." Chris said.

"But I think it's the males that we need to watch out for." Martin said. "Male Elephant Seals have very bad tempers if you get on their bad side."

Then rasping grunting was heard as a female lifted her head up as a bull Elephant Seal calls out close by as a sign of dominance.

Then, the large male started to charge.

They are fighting for access to the females.

The King Penguin then turns to a 2nd bull Elephant Seal as it bellows out.

"Uh-oh." Martin said. "A fight is about to start."

They then turned to the first male.

Getting bulldozed under angry blubber is to be avoided at all costs.

Chris then quickly realized they were in between the 2 males, as the most dangerous place to be, is between an Elephant Seal male, and where it wants to go.

They quickly moved out of the way as the first male nears the challenger and they both lifted the front half of their bodies high enough to look a person in the eye. And then they body slam each other as the challenger bites the dominant male's neck, the goal is to scrap each other with their lower canine teeth inflecting as much wounds till one of them backs down.

"Those tusk-like canines are like daggers jabbing at each other!" Chris said. "It's like 2 sumo wrestlers in a dagger fight."

"Yeah, male Elephant Seals fight constantly for access with the females." Martin said. "Winner takes all."

"But why the big nose?" Jimmy wondered.

"Wait, I know this one." Aviva said remembering something. "Remember the Ker-Honk adventure? With the Proboscis Monkeys, males have them for control of their family groups. And that the girls like them and they don't have the big nose themselves."

"Hmm." Chris said looking through his CreaturePod and showed a side-by-side image of a Proboscis Monkey and Elephant Seal male. "I think you're actually right, Aviva. And the bigger the nose, the better chances."

"That, and the biggest and strongest bulls that can fight off rivals." Martin added. "The dominant bull or beachmaster, can have lots of females in his patch, as well as pups."

As the fight continued, one of the King Penguins noticed a gap among the maze of Elephant Seals.

An escape route.

The 2 bull Elephant Seals continue body-slamming each other full of rage.

Time to run for it.

The Kings begin to make a run for it as well as the Wild Kratts as they soon made it through the Elephant Seals.

"Phew. Close one." Martin said relieved.

"Yeah, we should really do an adventure on those seals." Chris said. "Those seals are packed with serious Creature Power."

"Oh, an Elephant Seal Power Suit would something." Martin said.

"I'll be sure to add it on the list." Aviva said.

Next to them, a male King Penguin joins next to them.

At last, he's reached the nursery.

"Hey, you can see another difference between King and Emperor Penguins." Chris said seeing the chicks near them.

"Say, aren't Emperor chicks like Spinner are white with a black marking on the face?" Jimmy asked thinking back to the Mystery of the North Pole Penguins? adventure.

"Yeah, and these are King chicks." Martin said. "They're actually all brown."

They then saw the saw colony.

"Holy chicks!" Koki exclaimed feeling like her eyes might pop.

The King Penguin begins to move forward.

Now come's his final challenge.

Finding his chick in the crowd of half a million.

Ahead of them, was a crowd of penguin chicks.

"Whoa!" Aviva exclaimed. "There must thousands of them."

"Maybe 500,000 at least." Chris said.

"No way he could find his chick." Jimmy said. "They all look the same!"

"True." Chris said. "But there is one way."

The King Penguin then held his head up.

He calls...

The King Penguin then caws out calling to his chick.

...and listens for a recognizable reply.

Among the crowd, one of the chicks chirps out flapping it's flippers.

"Like Emperor Penguins, King parents call out to their chicks with one type of call." Chris said. "And each penguin has it's own call."

"So, he can actually find his own chick even in a crowd like this?" Aviva said.

"Yeah." Martin said.

The King Penguin then waddles forward.

His chick could be another mile or 2 away, at the back of the colony.

The Wild Kratts continue following their penguin friend as he waddles through the colony in search of his chick.

But that's the trouble with chicks. They're never where you left them.

Astonishingly, in all this racket, a parent and its chick can recognize each other's calls.

Close by among the crowd, a chick calls out to it's parent as it chirps.

And soon, the penguin that the Wild Kratts are following went up to it as it was the chick's father. And soon he starts feeding his chick.

"Wow." Aviva said.

The things parents got through to deliver a meal.

If only they knew.

A flock of gulls flew over the colony of King Penguins and Elephant Seals.

For such a small island, South Georgia supports an extraordinary quantity of life.

A large number of King Penguin waddle through the water.

All these creatures ultimately depend on the krill that develops under the sea ice around the Antarctic peninsula.

The King Penguins stood by the crashing waves as some penguins were in the water.

With sea ice disappearing, so South Georgia's future is far from certain.

The King Penguins enter the water as other Kings left the water returning from a fishing trip as the Elephant Seals rest on the beach.


In space, light from the sun shines over the other pole of the Earth.

The Arctic.

At the other end of the planet, in the north, the effects of climate change are being felt even more intensely.

The Arctic is not a continent surrounded by sea but a frozen ocean ringed by land.

The sun shines over the Arctic sea ice as it looked like a white desert of ice. And the Tortuga flies over it as it recently just arrived.

Here, in spring, the sea ice is still at its maximum extent.

Snowflakes gently fell over the landscape.

It's a vast, firm hunting ground for the planet's largest land carnivore.

Chris, Martin and Aviva were already out as they rode on Chris' snowmobile as they looked across the landscape. And recently spotted a large male Polar Bear.

The Polar Bear walks across the snow-covered ice as he patrols his hunting ground for prey. The trio were 200 feet away from him which is a safe distance for them as the male bear saw them of no concern.

A male Polar Bear in search of his next meal on the frozen fjords of Svalbard in the high Arctic.

"Wow, he really is huge." Aviva said.

"Yeah, that's the largest land predator on Earth, right there." Chris said. "He could very well be over 1,000 pounds."

"And he is hunting." Martin said.

They watched at the large bear continues across the snow.

He's looking for seals, which make up the bulk of his diet.

They watched the Polar Bear as he continues his search for food.

He must eat 2/3's of the food he needs for the whole year before the ice melts and his hunting platform disappears.

Soon, the Polar Bear got to something in the ice and looks down.

Below him, a Ringed Seal dives down as he was standing over a breathing hole.

Above her, the Polar Bear turns away but then suddenly quickens his pace and approaches a Ringed Seal pup which was the female's pup under the ice. The male Polar Bear went up to the small pup, and grabs it in his mouth by the neck. And soon heads off.

Chris, Martin and Aviva were sad as they saw the whole thing, but knew it was a part of nature. As not all seal pups will make it to adulthood.

Under the ice, the former mother Ringed Seal begins to head up.

The Ringed Seal mother had no choice but to leave her pup alone on the surface.

Soon, the mother surfaced and took a breath air as she pokes her head from the breathing hole. And she soon hauls herself out of the water.

In the past, she would have built a den inside a ridge on the ice, but now the sea freezes so late that the ice is flat, and she had to leave her pup out in the open.

Nearby, the male Polar Bear heads off with his prize dangling in his jaws.

The seal pup is only a snack for him, but will do for now.

The Ringed Seal lies on the ice, and looked over to the 3 humans nearby.

Possibly grieving unknowingly, on the inside.


Later, they headed off across the sea ice.

Theses changes in the ice may benefit the bears for now, but in the long term, a crash in their most important prey will follow.

Eventually, they came across another Polar Bear, a female this time as she stood up on her hind legs to get a better look across the landscape for prey.

This new, flatter ice makes life difficult for the bears, too. There's nowhere for them to hide in order to creep up on a seal.

The female drops as she wasn't alone, and a few yards behind her was a cub probably 2 years old.

And for a mother with a young cub in tow, being stealthy isn't easy.

They watched as the cub followed it's mother, and then rubs it's body on the snow and got up again.

Nearby, a Ringed Seal poked it's head out from a breathing hole and saw the 2 bears.

The mother continues on as the cub seems to be messing around.

The cub doesn't yet appreciate the need for care when sneaking up on a seal.

Then the cub rose up and then pounds the snow with his front paws. He then pounds the ice again.

"What is he doing?" Aviva wondered.

"Oh, that's how Polar Bears look for seals in the ice." Martin said. "When a bear picks up a seal scent, it would pound the ice until it breaks through the ice and tries to snatch the seal from inside."

With fewer seals hiding in dens, learning this pounding technique, once so useful, is now almost pointless.

The cub continues pounding the ice, and soon it manages to break through as it's head was in the water.

Nearby, the Ringed Seal continues watching.

Soon, the cub was nearly in the water as it's hind legs were sticking out. He struggled for a moment, but soon manages to get a footing and pulls himself up.

Still, at least he's discovered what a seal hole looks like...

The cub soon lifts his head out from the water and shakes the water off his coat.


Towards late afternoon, they were still following the Polar Bear mother and cub as they were still hunting.

His mother knows that overcast conditions are good for hunting, and he knows when she's serious.

The mother and cub continued on when then a Ringed Seal was sighted resting.

Adult seals make a much better meal.

Nearby, Chris, Martin and Aviva quietly watched from 300 feet away but can see the seal as the bears begin to slowly creep up on it.

The mother bear carefully stalks towards the seal being as quiet as she can.

Her cub carefully treads in her footsteps, and takes care not to break her outline.

Neither must put a foot wrong.

The mother kept still holding her left front paw just above the snow. And the seal soon lowered it's head down.

They must move as one.

Soon, the 2 bears started to slowly approach the seal and soon froze again after a few steps.

They kept dead still as the seal watches them, it then lowered it's head down, but then lifts up again after a moment. And then a stroke of bad luck struck them as the seal dives down into a breathing hole.

The mother bear huffed an exhale likely in disappointment and soon heads off.

Most seal hunts end in failure.

The mother Polar Bear treks across the snow as her cub follows her.

The bears must keep searching.

Her cub wanders off, and gets another chance.

Chris, Martin and Aviva momentarily lost sight of the cub, but soon found him and he has a lone seal pup in his sights.

They watched as the cub begins to stalk around the small pup.

A seal pup alone on the ice.

The small pup whimpered.

Now it's not stealth that is needed, but confidence.

The young hunter slowly begins to stalks closer to his target.

And Chris, Martin and Aviva watched from a distance.

"Is he actually gonna get it?" Aviva inquired.

"Depends." Chris said though isn't sure.

"Yeah, stealth isn't needed with young hunters, but confidence." Martin said.

Close by, an adult Ringed Seal poked it's head from a breathing hole which was actually the pup's mother. And watches helplessly.

There's nothing the mother can do, except hope that the pup makes it back to her hole in time.

Then, the seal pup turns and started crawling towards the hole less than 60 feet away and whimpered.

The young bear still continued slowly towards the pup, but then halts his approach.

The inexperienced young hunter hesitates.

"The cub's hesitating." Martin looking through his binoculars. "That will be a difference between making a catch and failing."

The seal pup continued towards the breathing hole and halts for a moment, and then the mother looked and noticed something.

Then, the cub's mother has arrived and saw the pup.

Its mother knows better.

"Oh, boy." Chris said.

The seal pup continues it's beeline to the hole, and the mother seal ducks down in the water and dives. And the pup crawls to the hole as fast as it's flippers can carry it.

And the mother Polar Bear walks towards it as the pup nears the hole.

And then the mother bear quickens her pace to a trot.

"It's gonna be close." Chris said watching the hunt through his binoculars.

The seal pup sat by the edge of the hole and turns back as then it's mother came back. And then the mother bear charges to a full run towards the pup, and then the pup slides into the water as the 2 seals dive down.

Safe under the ice.


Elsewhere on the sea ice, another Polar Bear mother with a younger cub wanders across the ice as snow gently fell.

Polar Bears are adaptable predators, but they rely on sea ice. If that disappears, so will the bears.


The sun shines over the edge of the sea ice leading to the open sea.

Summer at the ice edge in the Canadian Arctic, and the annual retreat of sea ice is well underway.

Underwater, a layer of freshwater from the ice mixes with the saltwater of the ocean.

As it melts, nomads arrive.

Then, appearing from nowhere like a water nomad, a long spiral tusk appeared as it was attached to a legendary Arctic mammal, and is joined by others of it's kind. 2 of them surfaced and spouted air from their blowholes.

As they were with an entire pod of 14.

Narwhal, the origin of the unicorn legend.

Their 10 foot, 3-meter tusk is, in fact, no more than an overgrown canine tooth, but its exact function, like so much about Narwhals, is still, in part, a mystery.

Chris and Martin were with them in Narwhal Power, and they float by the surface near the ice as Aviva, Koki and Jimmy were nearby just ahead of them.

"You guys in position?" Chris contacted them.

"Yeah, we see you." Aviva responded.

Other Narwhals soon came together as they start to gather.

Each summer, Narwhals travel to the same part of the Arctic, and patiently wait at the ice edge for a crack to open up.

"I still can't believe that Narwhals exist." Koki said.

"Oh, come on." Chris said through her CreaturePod. "Don't tell me you 3 never bothered to look up on Narwhals as kids, do you?"

"Uh..." Aviva, Koki and Jimmy awkwardly got uneasily.

"Okay, do we honestly need to teach you 3 more about creatures?" Martin said not believing what he was hearing.

"Hey, it's not our fault we sometimes get skeptical with you guys and on creatures." Aviva said in her defense. "I didn't believe you when you said that a Komodo Dragon can take down a Water Buffalo with a venomous bite, at first. Or with Headbanger not the culprit during the Attack of the Tree Eating Aliens."

Chris and Martin groaned as they shook their heads.

The Narwhals sat patiently by the edge of the ice.

"So, what exactly are they doing?" Jimmy asked.

"Seems like they're watching for the ice to break up." Martin said.

Under them, there was a wide gap between 2 ice floes.

A lead in the ice, wide enough for them to swim along.

The Narwhals sat by the surface as many breathe through their blowholes.

Soon, the ice started breaking apart.

Eventually, a crack appears. Their passage to sheltered, shallow bays.

2 miles away, was land.

Before long, the pod of Narwhals begin to swam underwater.

Aviva works her CreaturePod as a scope extends out and lowers into the water as they looked through the screened watching the pod swim by as Chris and Martin followed them.

Narwhals are extremely timid and rarely filmed underwater.

"Wow." Aviva said amazed.

"Cool." Jimmy said.

They watched the Narwhals as some of them surfaced blowing bubbles as they catch a breath. And they watched as they swam by them as they lay flat on the ice.

These ice whales eagerly travel down the leads as soon as they open because they're safer from predators protected by the ice.

"Amazing." Koki said.

They watched as the dive under the water.

"This is incredible." Aviva said. "So, why head through the ice to shallow water, anyway?"

"The Narwhals will be safer than in open water." Martin said through her CreaturePod. "The ice will give them protection from Orcas."

The leads may also give them access to new feeding grounds.

They watched as the Narwhals swam off.

Sea ice is not just crucial to the lives of those creatures that live around the poles.

It plays a vital role in determining the climate of the whole planet. A white surface keeps the Earth cool by reflecting most of the sun's energy back into space.

A dark surface does the opposite, absorbing 90% of the sun's energy and so warming the Earth.

As the sea ice shrinks, we're starting to lose one of our planet's protective white shields.

In space, the Arctic sea ice is seen surrounding northern North America, Europe and Asia.

For thousands of years, there's been a balance in the advance and retreat of the sea ice, but that is no longer the case.

Then a time-lapse showed the Arctic sea ice fading away.

Today, during the summer months, there is 40% less sea ice cover than there was in 1980.

The Arctic sea ice kept fading leaving ocean between the northern coast of Canada and Russia. Leaving only a quarter of ice remaining at Greenland and the Canadian islands beside it.

In the Arctic Ocean, a lone Polar Bear swam across the ice-free sea.

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as anywhere else on our planet. By 2040, the ocean here will be largely free of ice during the summer months.

The Polar Bear continues swimming as a few hundred yards away was an ice floe. It was almost like a lone person in the Sahara heading to an oasis.

This loss of ice will inevitably have devastating consequences for all those that still depend on it.


The Tortuga heads across the Arctic Ocean heading towards a region in Russia.

"So, how does Arctic ice play a role in climate change again?" Jimmy asked.

"Okay, hold on." Chris said working in the dashboard of the big screen and brought up the sun and a layer of sea ice with red arrows reflecting off it. "Okay, Arctic ice reflects the sun's energy sending back into space as a white surface keeps the Earth cool."

"But, if you get a dark surface like say with no ice." Martin said working the dashboard as it soon showed the Arctic Ocean without with red arrows being absorbed. "A dark surface absorbs 90% of that energy, and absorbs more heat."

"So, the Arctic ice acts like a shield?" Koki said.

"Exactly." Martin said. "And all of the animals we've met here in the Arctic." The screen brought up every Arctic animal they've encountered. "Polar Bears, seals, Walrus, Narwhals, Belugas, and Bowhead Whales ultimately depend on the sea ice."

"If the sea ice disappeared, they too will follow." Chris said.


On a Russian beach, a large gathering of Walruses rests by the tens of thousands as seagulls were resting on the water by the surf. But sadly a few Walruses lay dead on the beach.

The far northeastern coast of Russia.

The Tortuga has recently arrived as they were surprised of how many Walruses they were seeing. But with the Walruses so tightly packed, Jimmy couldn't find a landing spot, so decided set the Tortuga into Sea Turtle Mode and lands on the water.

Chris and Martin then head over to the gathering with Walrus Power.

"I've never seen so many Walruses in my life." Chris said.

"Me neither." Martin said.

This is the largest gathering of Walrus on the planet. Over a hundred thousand have hauled out on 1 single beach.

"How many do you think there are?" Aviva asked through Martin's CreaturePod.

"Tens of thousands at least, maybe." Martin said. "Or 100,000 at the most."

Aviva, Koki and Jimmy were out on the garage platform as they looked through Koki's tablet screen as a Flycam flies over the Walrus.

They do so out of desperation, not out of choice.

"Whoa, those Walruses don't look so well." Koki said.

"Yeah, they're all cramped together like a Walrus sandwich or something." Jimmy said.

Their natural home is out on the sea ice. But the ice has retreated away to the north, and this is the closing place to their feeding grounds, where they can find rest.

"Guys, why are these Walrus are gathered here like this?" Aviva asked.

"Seems like they came here out of desperation." Martin said.

"What do you mean?" Koki asked.

"They're real home is out on the sea ice, but it seems too far for them to swim there." Chris said. "This beach is likely the closing place to their feeding grounds to rest."

Chris and Martin were on the beach as near them was a Walrus mother with her calf.

"Hey, that little guy looks a little older than Blobby." Martin said.

This calf must stay close to its mother.

The crowd of Walruses lay on the beach as many grunting was heard.

But every square inch is occupied.

Among the crowd, 2 Walruses jab each other with their 3 foot tusks. And another Walrus jabs another at it's side as they started fighting. And another Walrus among the crowd tries to haul itself over the other Walruses to get around.

Climbing over the tightly packed bodies is the only way across the crowd.

Some Walruses beneath were uncomfortable with it climbing over them.

Those beneath can get crushed to death.

Chris and Martin could hardly believe of what they were seeing as they couldn't help but feel sorry for the Walrus, as some continued jabbing each other with their tusks.

A stampede can occur out of nowhere.

Then suddenly, some Walruses panicked and started a stampede as some headed for the water as Chris and Martin barely got out of the way.

Under these conditions, Walruses are a danger to themselves.

"Maybe this isn't the best time to be in Walrus Power, Martin." Chris said.

"Maybe you're right." Martin agreeing.

They then deactivated.


Later, the 2 brothers made it to a rocky beach nearby near some cliffs that surprisingly had some Walrus resting on top.

And they recently met up with Aviva, Koki and Jimmy.

Some manage to find space away from the crowds. They struggle up the 262 foot, 80-meter cliffs, an extraordinary challenge for a 1-ton animal used to sea ice.

Watching from Koki's tablet and through the Flycam, the Wild Kratts watched some Walrus resting on the clifftops and climbing up the slope. And Chris looked up seeing 2 Walruses as one knocks a rock over the edge.

"This is crazy." Martin said. "Walrus resting on clifftops when they should be on the ice?"

"These cliffs gotta be what, 260 feet high?" Aviva said looking up and saw a Walrus near the edge.

"At least, yeah." Chris said. "They really shouldn't be up there."

At least up here there's space to rest.

At the clifftop above them, 12 Walrus rest on a ledge. And another lies near the edge.

A Walrus' eyesight out of water is poor, but they can sense the others below.

In the water by the beach, other Walruses rest.

At the clifftop, 1 Walrus rest by the edge and looks down.

As they get hungry, they need to return to the sea.

Martin looked around, and then saw a Walrus corpse a few yards away and was all battered.

"Whoa, what happen to that guy?" Martin wondered.

Koki ran a scan on her CreaturePod, and they looked at a holographic screen showing an X-ray.

"Looks like the Walrus took multiple beatings at once." Koki said.

"But, that doesn't make any sense." Chris said. "Walrus can't injure others like that."

"Something else could be going on here." Martin said not liking this.

Jimmy wanders off a few yards from the others, but then a few peddles hit Jimmy on the head.

"Huh?" Jimmy frowned and looked up and his eyes then widen.

He something on the cliff-edge in great concern.

"Uh, guys?" Jimmy said nervously concern. "Come quick, I think we've got a problem."

The others turn to him, and quickly rushed over to him not taking his eyes out the cliff.

"What's up, Jimmy?" Aviva asked.

"Um, I could just be seeing things and imaging this, but... is that Walrus about to do what I think it's about to do?!" Jimmy said pointing the clifftop.

On the clifftop, they saw a lone Walrus that looks like it's trying to climb down the cliff. But then slipped off and hits a rock, and then rolls and falls down the 260 foot cliff and hits a ledge before disappearing from view, and a large splash was indicting where it landed in the water.

And soon what felt like hours, they sadly watched more Walruses either pushed off or tried to climb down as they tumbled down the slopes.

In their desperation to do so, hundreds fall from heights they should never have scaled.

2 more Walruses slid off the slope, and rolled and tumbled down and landed by the beach as a broken-off tusk flies off.

The Wild Kratts were devastated of what they saw, and Chris and Martin, in all their years of exploring the world, creature adventuring with countless animals, have never seen anything so sad and heartrending.

Many other Walrus bodies lay lifeless on the beach, all because of a slow-dying habitat.

Then, a lone Polar Bear came up to the beach after a long swim. And walks out and sniffs the bodies looking for a fresh one to feed.

These mass gatherings of Walrus are now happening almost every year.

The Polar Bear wanders near a crowd of Walrus, and the ones near him hurried to the water. And the bear pounds a carcass with his front paws.

With disappearing sea ice, and the mass gatherings, Walrus are likely to literally fall into extinction in years time.

So the lives of Walruses, like those of Polar Bears and seals, are changing.

A Walrus body lies lifeless on the beach as a wave of water washed against it.

All are living at the frontier of climate change, and all are suffering as a consequence.


Out of the sea ice, a fog layer rest near the ice as a Polar Bear wanders into search of food.

For now, the Arctic winter returns and the sea ice reforms.

Order is restored.

Relief for the many creatures that depend on the ice.

The Polar Bear soon vanished within the whiteout like an Arctic phantom.


A trail of footprints left by a Polar Bear lay in the snow.

But for how much longer will their frozen worlds be a part of life on our planet?

And when the Arctic disappears forever...

It would be a sad, wild world, without Arctic wildlife.


Please visit to find how ourplanet .com to discover what we need to do now to keep the polar wilderness.


Author's Note:

That walrus scene literally has to be the saddest thing I've ever seen. I mean, I knew the Arctic sea ice disappearing had major effects of the animals, but I didn't think it would be that bad.

And it's sad that the Arctic will be largely free of ice in summer by 2040, 19 years from now. And if that happens, how long will it be before it disappears for good?

1 day, I hope to visit the frozen worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic Peninsula before they disappear and see it's wildlife.