1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:25,000 © anoXmous @ http://thepiratebay.sx/user/Zen_Bud 1 00:00:31,370 --> 00:00:37,120 Human beings venture into the highest parts of our planet at their peril. 2 00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:40,670 Some might think that by climbing a great mountain 3 00:00:40,710 --> 00:00:42,590 they have somehow conquered it, 4 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,220 but we can only be visitors here. 5 00:00:48,630 --> 00:00:52,930 This is a frozen alien world. 6 00:01:04,530 --> 00:01:07,070 This is the other extreme - 7 00:01:07,110 --> 00:01:11,280 one of the lowest hottest places on Earth. 8 00:01:17,910 --> 00:01:21,880 It's over a hundred metres below the level of the sea. 9 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:25,340 But here a mountain is in gestation. 10 00:01:25,420 --> 00:01:28,470 Pools of sulphuric acid are indications 11 00:01:28,510 --> 00:01:33,390 that deep underground there are titanic stirrings. 12 00:01:38,930 --> 00:01:42,480 This is the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, 13 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,610 lying within a colossal rent of the earth's surface 14 00:01:45,650 --> 00:01:49,740 where giant land masses are pulling away from one another. 15 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,370 Lava rises to the surface through this crack in the crust 16 00:01:56,410 --> 00:01:59,410 creating a chain of young volcanoes. 17 00:02:11,380 --> 00:02:13,590 This one, Erta Ale, 18 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:18,720 is today the longest continually erupting volcano on the planet, 19 00:02:18,770 --> 00:02:23,650 a lake of lava that has been molten for over a hundred years. 20 00:02:34,910 --> 00:02:42,080 These same volcanic forces also created Ethiopia's highlands. 21 00:02:48,090 --> 00:02:50,130 70 million years ago 22 00:02:50,170 --> 00:02:53,180 this land was just as flat and as deep 23 00:02:53,220 --> 00:02:55,260 as the Danakil Depression. 24 00:02:57,510 --> 00:03:00,850 Molten lava rising from the earth's core 25 00:03:00,890 --> 00:03:05,440 forced up a huge dome of rock 500 miles wide, 26 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:07,570 the roof of Africa. 27 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,700 Over millennia, rain and ice carved the rock 28 00:03:17,740 --> 00:03:21,080 into a landscape of spires and canyons. 29 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,460 These summits, nearly 3 miles up, 30 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:34,840 are home to some very remarkable mountaineers - 31 00:03:35,130 --> 00:03:37,550 Gelada baboons. 32 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,640 They are unique to the highlands of Ethiopia. 33 00:03:55,650 --> 00:03:59,780 The cliffs where they sleep are for expert climbers only, 34 00:03:59,830 --> 00:04:02,700 and Gelado certainly have the right equipment. 35 00:04:02,750 --> 00:04:05,040 the strongest fingers of any primate 36 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,960 and an utterly fearless disposition. 37 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,090 But you need more than a head for heights to survive up here. 38 00:04:15,170 --> 00:04:20,930 A day in a Gelado's life reveals how they've risen to the challenge. 39 00:04:34,190 --> 00:04:37,780 For all monkeys morning is grooming time, 40 00:04:37,860 --> 00:04:40,910 a chance to catch up with friends. 41 00:04:41,450 --> 00:04:43,490 But, unlike other monkeys, 42 00:04:43,580 --> 00:04:47,080 Gelados chatter constantly while they do it. 43 00:04:48,750 --> 00:04:52,800 It's a great way to network while your hands are busy. 44 00:04:53,380 --> 00:04:57,050 But these socials can't go on for too long. 45 00:04:57,090 --> 00:04:59,800 Gelados have a busy daily schedule 46 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:01,720 and there's work to be done. 47 00:05:06,140 --> 00:05:08,730 Most monkeys couldn't live up here. 48 00:05:08,770 --> 00:05:11,560 There's no food and few insects to feed on. 49 00:05:11,650 --> 00:05:13,480 But Gelados are unique - 50 00:05:13,570 --> 00:05:18,570 they're the only monkeys in the world that live almost entirely on grass. 51 00:05:29,870 --> 00:05:33,840 They live in the largest assemblies formed by any monkeys. 52 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,170 Some groups are 800 strong 53 00:05:36,210 --> 00:05:40,260 and they crop the high meadows like herds of wildebeest. 54 00:05:52,860 --> 00:05:56,320 The Gelados graze alongside Walia ibex, 55 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,450 which are also unique to these highlands. 56 00:06:03,570 --> 00:06:06,580 These rare creatures are usually very shy 57 00:06:06,660 --> 00:06:10,660 but they drop their guard when the Gelados are around. 58 00:06:14,710 --> 00:06:18,170 You might expect that grazers would avoid each other's patch 59 00:06:18,260 --> 00:06:22,720 but this is a special alliance from which both partners benefit. 60 00:06:23,470 --> 00:06:26,260 It's not so risky to put your head down 61 00:06:26,350 --> 00:06:28,430 if others are on the lookout. 62 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:32,600 Ethiopian wolves - 63 00:06:32,650 --> 00:06:35,940 they won't attempt an attack in broad daylight. 64 00:06:39,990 --> 00:06:44,820 But at dusk the plateau becomes a more dangerous place. 65 00:06:47,990 --> 00:06:50,160 With the grazing largely over 66 00:06:50,290 --> 00:06:55,210 there's a last chance to socialise before returning to the sleeping cliffs. 67 00:07:14,270 --> 00:07:18,270 An early warning system puts everyone on the alert. 68 00:08:10,910 --> 00:08:15,790 Their day ends as it began, safe on the steep cliffs. 69 00:08:23,510 --> 00:08:26,470 The Ethiopian volcanoes are dormant, 70 00:08:26,510 --> 00:08:30,510 but elsewhere others still rage. 71 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,450 Volcanoes form the backbone of the longest mountain chain on our planet - 72 00:08:48,490 --> 00:08:50,910 the Andes of South America. 73 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:59,250 This vast range stretches 5,000 miles from the Equator down to the Antarctic. 74 00:09:00,630 --> 00:09:03,420 It formed as the floor of the Pacific Ocean 75 00:09:03,460 --> 00:09:08,180 slid beneath the South American continent, buckling its edge. 76 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:24,480 At the southern end stand the mountains of Patagonia. 77 00:09:26,610 --> 00:09:28,280 It's high summer, 78 00:09:33,780 --> 00:09:38,500 but the Andes have the most unstable mountain weather on the planet 79 00:09:38,540 --> 00:09:41,880 and storms can erupt without warning. 80 00:09:43,420 --> 00:09:44,800 Temperatures plummet 81 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:50,220 and guanacos and their newborn young must suddenly endure a blizzard. 82 00:10:03,770 --> 00:10:07,530 Truly, all seasons in one day... 83 00:10:19,620 --> 00:10:20,750 A puma - 84 00:10:20,830 --> 00:10:23,170 the lion of the Andes. 85 00:10:29,550 --> 00:10:33,590 Pumas are usually solitary and secretive. 86 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:39,430 To see a group walking boldly in the open is extremely rare. 87 00:10:50,570 --> 00:10:54,700 It's a family - a mother with four cubs. 88 00:10:54,910 --> 00:10:57,580 She has just one brief summer 89 00:10:57,660 --> 00:11:01,710 in which to teach them their mountain survival techniques. 90 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:19,770 Rearing four cubs to this age is an exceptional feat, 91 00:11:19,810 --> 00:11:22,270 but she does have an excellent territory, 92 00:11:22,350 --> 00:11:24,770 rich in food and water. 93 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,070 Although the cubs are now as large as their mother, 94 00:11:31,150 --> 00:11:34,110 they still rely on her for their food. 95 00:12:58,860 --> 00:13:04,750 It will be another year before the cubs can hunt for themselves. 96 00:13:15,630 --> 00:13:18,630 Without their mother's skill and experience 97 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,550 they would never survive their first winter. 98 00:13:42,070 --> 00:13:44,870 Battered by hurricane force winds, 99 00:13:44,950 --> 00:13:48,000 these slopes are now lifeless. 100 00:13:51,250 --> 00:13:54,960 Further north, they hold other dangers. 101 00:14:26,370 --> 00:14:29,660 Moving at 250 miles an hour, 102 00:14:29,710 --> 00:14:33,630 an avalanche destroys everything in its path. 103 00:14:54,190 --> 00:14:56,320 In the American Rockies 104 00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:01,320 a 100,000 avalanches devastate the slopes every winter. 105 00:15:04,370 --> 00:15:08,990 This huge mountain chain continues the great spine 106 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,670 that runs from Patagonia to Alaska. 107 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,600 The slopes of the Rockies, bleak though they are, 108 00:15:34,650 --> 00:15:38,570 provide a winter refuge for some animals. 109 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,110 A mother grizzly emerges from her den 110 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,530 after six months' dozing underground. 111 00:15:47,620 --> 00:15:49,370 Her two cubs follow her 112 00:15:49,450 --> 00:15:53,080 and take their first steps in the outside world. 113 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:10,890 These steep slopes provide a sanctuary for the cubs. 114 00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:14,640 A male bear would kill and eat them given the chance. 115 00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:18,440 But big animals find it difficult to get about here. 116 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,230 Males may be twice the size of a female 117 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,650 and even she can have problems. 118 00:16:38,170 --> 00:16:41,880 Her cubs, however, make light of the snow 119 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:43,880 and of life in general. 120 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,230 But the mother faces a dilemma: 121 00:17:00,270 --> 00:17:03,150 it's six months since she last fed 122 00:17:03,190 --> 00:17:06,200 and her milk is starting to run dry. 123 00:17:06,570 --> 00:17:09,910 She must soon leave the safety of these nursery slopes 124 00:17:09,950 --> 00:17:12,870 and lead her cubs away from the mountain. 125 00:17:13,330 --> 00:17:18,460 If she delays, the whole family will risk starvation. 126 00:17:46,110 --> 00:17:50,530 Summer reveals the true nature of the Rockies. 127 00:17:58,750 --> 00:18:00,370 Stripped of snow, 128 00:18:00,460 --> 00:18:04,170 the peaks bear their sculpted forms. 129 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,260 Only now can mountaineers reclaim the upper reaches. 130 00:18:42,250 --> 00:18:48,550 Two miles up the crumbling precipices seem devoid of life. 131 00:18:58,100 --> 00:19:01,440 But there are animals here - 132 00:19:20,830 --> 00:19:22,710 a grizzly bear. 133 00:19:22,790 --> 00:19:27,710 It seems to be an odd creature to find on these high rocky slopes. 134 00:19:31,050 --> 00:19:34,930 It's hard to imagine what could have attracted it here. 135 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:55,360 At this time of the year bears should be fattening up for the winter. 136 00:19:55,410 --> 00:20:00,490 Yet they gather in some numbers on these apparently barren slopes. 137 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:16,890 They're searching for a rather unusual food - 138 00:20:18,430 --> 00:20:19,760 moths. 139 00:20:19,890 --> 00:20:23,480 Millions have flown up here to escape the heat of the lowlands 140 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:26,310 and they're now roosting among the rocks. 141 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,990 Moths may seem a meager meal for a bear, 142 00:20:33,070 --> 00:20:34,950 but their bodies are rich in fat 143 00:20:34,990 --> 00:20:39,740 and can make all the difference in a bear's annual struggle for survival. 144 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,750 Another battle is being waged here 145 00:20:45,790 --> 00:20:48,790 but on a much longer timescale. 146 00:20:48,830 --> 00:20:53,340 These loose boulders are the mountain's crumbling bones. 147 00:20:53,380 --> 00:20:55,680 The Rockies are no longer rising 148 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,590 but slowly disintegrating. 149 00:21:03,430 --> 00:21:10,060 All mountains everywhere are being worn down by frost, snow and ice. 150 00:21:16,070 --> 00:21:19,870 The Alps were raised some 15 million years ago 151 00:21:19,910 --> 00:21:25,330 as Africa, drifting northwards, collided with the southern edge of Europe. 152 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,260 These spires are the eroded remains of an ancient seabed 153 00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:39,180 that once stretched between the two continents. 154 00:21:56,190 --> 00:22:00,070 But these are just the Alpine foothills. 155 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:04,450 The range at its centre rises to 3 miles high 156 00:22:04,540 --> 00:22:08,120 and is crowned with permanent snows. 157 00:22:21,430 --> 00:22:22,680 The Matterhorn, 158 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,520 its summit too steep to hold a snow field. 159 00:22:35,230 --> 00:22:39,610 Mont Blanc - the highest peak in Western Europe. 160 00:22:52,790 --> 00:22:56,170 The distinctive jagged shapes of the Alps 161 00:22:56,250 --> 00:22:59,760 were carved by those great mountain sculptors - 162 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:01,510 the glaciers. 163 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,310 Immense rivers of moving ice, 164 00:23:10,350 --> 00:23:11,770 laden with rock, 165 00:23:11,810 --> 00:23:14,270 grind their way down the mountains, 166 00:23:14,310 --> 00:23:17,150 gouging out deep valleys. 167 00:23:23,660 --> 00:23:28,450 They're the most powerful erosive force on our planet. 168 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:40,550 A moulin - a shaft in the ice opened by melt water 169 00:23:40,590 --> 00:23:44,140 as it plunges into the depths of the glacier. 170 00:23:59,860 --> 00:24:01,530 Like the water running through it, 171 00:24:01,570 --> 00:24:04,280 the ice itself is constantly moving, 172 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,120 flowing down the valley with unstoppable force. 173 00:24:27,180 --> 00:24:29,850 Alpine glaciers may seem immense, 174 00:24:29,890 --> 00:24:32,810 but they're dwarfed by those in the great ranges 175 00:24:32,850 --> 00:24:36,350 that divide the Indian subcontinent from Tibet. 176 00:24:40,820 --> 00:24:43,570 This is the boulder strewn snout 177 00:24:43,610 --> 00:24:49,530 of the giant Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan. 178 00:24:58,710 --> 00:25:01,920 It's the biggest mountain glacier on Earth - 179 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:06,010 43 miles long and over 3 miles wide. 180 00:25:06,090 --> 00:25:09,640 This huge ice-filled valley is so large 181 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,310 it's clearly visible from space. 182 00:25:35,540 --> 00:25:40,170 This is the greatest concentration of peaks over 5 miles high 183 00:25:40,210 --> 00:25:42,960 to be found anywhere on Earth. 184 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:49,180 They're the most dangerous mountains of all. 185 00:25:49,220 --> 00:25:55,310 K2 and her sister peaks have claimed more lives than any others. 186 00:26:06,780 --> 00:26:10,030 The peaks here rise so precipitously, 187 00:26:10,070 --> 00:26:12,870 the glaciers are so steep and crevassed 188 00:26:12,910 --> 00:26:18,160 that few except the most skilled mountaineers can penetrate these ranges. 189 00:26:21,630 --> 00:26:25,250 Markhor gather for their annual rut. 190 00:26:37,930 --> 00:26:41,020 Males must fight for the right to breed, 191 00:26:41,060 --> 00:26:46,110 but on these sheer cliffs any slip by either animal could be fatal. 192 00:26:57,620 --> 00:26:58,950 A snow leopard - 193 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,620 the rarest of Himalayan animals. 194 00:27:02,710 --> 00:27:05,960 It's a female returning to her lair. 195 00:27:16,890 --> 00:27:23,150 These are the first intimate images of snow leopard ever filmed in the wild. 196 00:27:32,990 --> 00:27:36,120 She greets her one year old cub. 197 00:27:40,500 --> 00:27:42,870 Her den is well chosen. 198 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,880 It has exceptional views of the surrounding cliffs. 199 00:27:50,170 --> 00:27:52,430 On these treacherous slopes 200 00:27:52,470 --> 00:27:55,090 no hunter other than the snow leopard 201 00:27:55,140 --> 00:27:58,640 would have a chance of catching such fragile prey. 202 00:28:05,770 --> 00:28:09,480 A female with young makes an easier target. 203 00:28:28,750 --> 00:28:31,920 Her large paws give an excellent grip 204 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,550 and that long tail helps her balance. 205 00:28:44,770 --> 00:28:49,610 Silently she positions herself above her prey. 206 00:29:52,250 --> 00:29:55,460 She returns with nothing. 207 00:30:26,500 --> 00:30:32,380 Golden eagles patrol these cliffs in search of the weak or injured. 208 00:30:52,770 --> 00:30:55,020 With a 2 metre wing span 209 00:30:55,070 --> 00:30:58,400 this bird could easily take a young markhor. 210 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:04,120 Eagles hunt by sight 211 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:08,620 and the thickening veil of snow forces them to give up. 212 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:27,850 For the leopard the snow provides cover 213 00:31:27,890 --> 00:31:30,310 and creates an opportunity. 214 00:31:48,830 --> 00:31:52,960 The worsening weather dampens the sound of her approach 215 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:57,170 allowing her to get within striking distance. 216 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,650 It was an act of desperation 217 00:32:16,690 --> 00:32:19,570 to try and catch such a large animal. 218 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,160 Wolves have made a kill 219 00:32:31,250 --> 00:32:34,960 giving other hunters a chance to scavenge. 220 00:32:51,140 --> 00:32:54,940 The worst of the blizzard brings success for the snow leopard, 221 00:32:55,020 --> 00:32:57,770 but having descended so far to make the kill 222 00:32:57,860 --> 00:33:02,030 she has a grueling climb to get back to her lair. 223 00:33:16,250 --> 00:33:18,380 The cub must be patient. 224 00:33:18,460 --> 00:33:21,170 It'll be a year before it has the strength and skill 225 00:33:21,250 --> 00:33:25,340 to kill for itself on these difficult slopes. 226 00:33:50,450 --> 00:33:54,200 The snow leopard is an almost mythical creature, 227 00:33:54,250 --> 00:33:56,120 an icon of the wilderness, 228 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,380 an animal few humans have ever glimpsed 229 00:33:59,420 --> 00:34:03,000 for its world is one we seldom visit. 230 00:34:11,010 --> 00:34:14,350 The Karakoram lie at the western end of a range 231 00:34:14,390 --> 00:34:18,520 that stretches across a tenth of our planet - 232 00:34:18,810 --> 00:34:20,940 the Himalayas. 233 00:34:30,990 --> 00:34:33,990 These, the highest mountains of the world, 234 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:36,160 like other great ranges, 235 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:40,290 were created by the collision of continents. 236 00:34:41,460 --> 00:34:43,920 Some 50 million years ago 237 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,050 India collided with Tibet 238 00:34:46,130 --> 00:34:50,840 thrusting up these immense peaks, which are still rising. 239 00:34:56,060 --> 00:34:59,560 This vast barrier of rock and ice 240 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,980 is so colossal it shapes the world's climate. 241 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:08,650 Warm winds from India, full of moisture, 242 00:35:08,690 --> 00:35:11,200 are forced upwards by the Himalayas. 243 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:13,910 As the air rises so it cools, 244 00:35:13,950 --> 00:35:16,120 causing clouds to form 245 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:18,870 and the monsoon is born. 246 00:35:57,490 --> 00:36:02,290 At high altitudes the monsoon rains fall as snow. 247 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,540 Here, at the far eastern end of the range in China, 248 00:36:06,590 --> 00:36:11,720 one inhabitant endures the bitter winters out in the open. 249 00:36:18,970 --> 00:36:23,190 Most other bears would be sleeping underground by now, 250 00:36:23,270 --> 00:36:28,270 but the giant panda can't fatten up enough to hibernate. 251 00:36:30,860 --> 00:36:35,110 Its food, bamboo, on which it totally relies 252 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:38,120 has so little nutritional value 253 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:42,410 that it can't build up a store of fat like other bears. 254 00:36:43,580 --> 00:36:48,540 Most of the creatures here move up or down the slopes with the seasons 255 00:36:48,590 --> 00:36:51,670 but the panda is held captive by its diet 256 00:36:51,710 --> 00:36:56,680 for the kind of bamboo it eats only grows at this altitude. 257 00:37:03,770 --> 00:37:09,480 But these forests hold fewer challenges for the more mobile. 258 00:37:12,190 --> 00:37:19,080 The golden snap-nosed monkey, like the giant panda, lives only in China. 259 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:26,500 Their thick fur allows them to survive at greater altitudes than any other monkey 260 00:37:26,540 --> 00:37:31,500 and when the cold bites they have these upper slopes to themselves. 261 00:37:39,180 --> 00:37:41,220 Even if you have a warm coat 262 00:37:41,260 --> 00:37:46,140 it apparently helps to surround yourself with as many layers as possible. 263 00:37:48,230 --> 00:37:50,730 But at least these monkeys have a choice - 264 00:37:50,770 --> 00:37:54,240 if they tire of tree bark and other survival food 265 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,780 they can always descend to lower warmer altitudes 266 00:37:57,820 --> 00:38:00,120 and not return there till spring. 267 00:38:04,580 --> 00:38:06,790 As the snows retreat 268 00:38:06,870 --> 00:38:09,460 trees come into bloom. 269 00:38:15,550 --> 00:38:16,970 Cherry blossom. 270 00:38:20,090 --> 00:38:21,550 Rhododendrons - 271 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:25,100 here in their natural home they form great forests 272 00:38:25,140 --> 00:38:29,020 and fill the landscape with the covers of a new season. 273 00:38:48,750 --> 00:38:54,710 These forests are a host to a rich variety of springtime migrants. 274 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:13,060 Beneath the blooms - another display. 275 00:39:16,190 --> 00:39:19,650 It's the mating season for oriental pheasants, 276 00:39:19,740 --> 00:39:21,610 Himalayan monal, 277 00:39:25,450 --> 00:39:26,990 tragopan 278 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,000 and blood pheasant. 279 00:39:37,340 --> 00:39:42,470 Musk deer make the most of a short flash of spring foods. 280 00:39:44,180 --> 00:39:47,970 This male smells a potential mate. 281 00:40:03,530 --> 00:40:07,280 The red panda, rarely glimpsed in the wild. 282 00:40:07,330 --> 00:40:09,830 It was once considered a kind of raccoon, 283 00:40:09,870 --> 00:40:13,370 but is now believed to be a small mountain bear. 284 00:40:24,510 --> 00:40:31,350 By midsummer its larger, more famous relative, has retreated into a cave. 285 00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:50,910 A giant panda nurses a tiny week old baby. 286 00:40:57,460 --> 00:41:01,590 Her tender cleaning wards off infection. 287 00:41:13,180 --> 00:41:17,230 She won't leave this cave for three weeks, 288 00:41:19,020 --> 00:41:22,990 not while her cub is so utterly helpless. 289 00:41:32,290 --> 00:41:34,000 Progress is slow 290 00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:39,540 for milk produced on a diet of bamboo is wretchedly poor. 291 00:41:46,380 --> 00:41:48,010 Four weeks old 292 00:41:48,090 --> 00:41:50,720 and the cub is still blind. 293 00:41:59,060 --> 00:42:05,030 Its eyes do not fully open until three months after birth, 294 00:42:05,110 --> 00:42:10,070 but the chances of the cub reaching adulthood are slim. 295 00:42:14,330 --> 00:42:18,170 The struggle of a giant panda mother to raise her cub 296 00:42:18,250 --> 00:42:24,340 is a touching symbol of the precariousness of life in the mountains. 297 00:42:34,470 --> 00:42:37,480 On the highest summits of our planet 298 00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:40,230 nothing can live permanently. 299 00:42:44,780 --> 00:42:46,530 The highest peak of all, 300 00:42:46,570 --> 00:42:50,740 Mount Everest, five and a half miles above sea level 301 00:42:50,780 --> 00:42:55,040 and still rising - the roof of our world. 302 00:42:56,620 --> 00:42:59,500 Of those humans who've tried to climb it 303 00:42:59,540 --> 00:43:02,670 one in ten have lost their lives. 304 00:43:02,790 --> 00:43:08,670 Those that succeed can stand for only a few moments on its summit. 305 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:14,890 The Nepalese call it 'a mountain so high no bird can fly above it.' 306 00:43:21,560 --> 00:43:26,480 But each year over 50,000 demoiselle cranes 307 00:43:26,530 --> 00:43:31,030 set out on one of the most challenging migrations on Earth. 308 00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:36,660 To reach their overwintering grounds in India 309 00:43:36,740 --> 00:43:39,870 they must cross the Himalayas. 310 00:43:46,670 --> 00:43:51,090 By late morning ferocious winds are roaring past the peaks. 311 00:43:51,180 --> 00:43:55,680 The cranes must gain height to avoid the building storm. 312 00:44:25,250 --> 00:44:28,250 They've hit serious turbulence. 313 00:44:32,880 --> 00:44:34,640 They must turn back 314 00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:36,720 or risk death. 315 00:45:12,130 --> 00:45:13,720 A new day 316 00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:16,300 and a new opportunity. 317 00:45:17,390 --> 00:45:21,850 The flock stay in close contact by calling one another. 318 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:33,610 Weak from lack of food and water, 319 00:45:33,650 --> 00:45:38,780 they use thermals, rising columns of warm air, to gain height. 320 00:45:56,380 --> 00:46:01,600 For many this is their first journey across the Himalayas. 321 00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:05,060 For some, it will be their last. 322 00:46:13,690 --> 00:46:17,150 The golden eagles have been expecting them. 323 00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:33,550 The eagles work in pairs to separate a young crane from the flock. 324 00:47:20,050 --> 00:47:22,550 It escapes the touches of one, 325 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:24,720 and is caught by another. 326 00:47:27,850 --> 00:47:31,480 But even a young crane is a heavy prize 327 00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:35,480 and the eagle has to struggle to control it. 328 00:47:54,790 --> 00:47:56,840 The mother can wait no longer - 329 00:47:56,880 --> 00:48:01,090 this is a desperate race against worsening weather. 330 00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:10,600 The rest of the flock battle on. 331 00:48:14,860 --> 00:48:20,610 In the ascent every wing beat becomes an exhausting struggle. 332 00:48:39,260 --> 00:48:45,140 At last they are over the highest barrier that lies in their way. 333 00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:56,610 But like all who visit the world of the high mountains 334 00:48:56,690 --> 00:48:58,980 they dare not linger. 250 00:49:03,115 --> 00:49:28,115 © anoXmous @ http://thepiratebay.sx/user/Zen_Bud