CBeebies Snow Babies

To us, winter is a magical time of year.

All the snow and ice means warm fires and thick jumpers.

But for the animals who have to live through it,

winter is sometimes not so much fun,

or easy.

This is a story of a small group of baby animals

that live in the coldest places in the world.

Polar bear cubs,

following their mums across the snow.

Penguin chicks,

learning to waddle and swim.

And baby snow monkeys,

who must learn to help their troupe

find food and shelter.

With the help of their mums,

dads

and families,

they are going to take the first steps

of their young lives.

These are the Snow Babies.

Antarctica is the coldest place in the world.

In winter, the sun hides away

and it's freezing cold.

While Antarctica would be much too cold for you or me,

for one remarkable animal,

this is the perfect place to live and play.

These are emperor penguins.

They huddle closely together to keep warm

against the cold winds.

Winter is coming to an end

and the weather is changing.

PENGUINS SQUAWK

It's now springtime

and this baby penguin has just hatched.

Like a first day of school,

this little chap has lots of new things to learn -

such as standing on his own two feet.

Luckily, he's got his dad with him

at the start of his big adventure.

Two months before this penguin hatched,

his mum went off to find fish to feed her new family.

Mum has a long, long journey home from the ocean.

Our chick has never met his mum before.

Dad has fed his son what he can,

but there's not much to give his hungry chick.

Both father and son

can't wait for a proper meal.

Dad hasn't eaten much in a very long time.

His tummy must be rumbling.

Hopefully, Mum will be back soon with lots of fish to eat.

Until then, it's a matter of wait and see.

Fingers crossed, though,

it won't be too long till she's waddling back to join them.

HE GASPS

Look! Over there!

Waddling across the ice!

It's the mums.

They've returned with fish and squid

for their newborn chicks.

PENGUINS SQUAWK

Welcome home, Mums!

But with lots of penguins all calling out at once,

how will the mums ever find their own families?

Listen to all those penguins!

SQUAWKING

Amazingly, penguins can recognise

their families' calls,

even with all this noise.

Mum has found them.

Back together at last.

Mum and Dad share a big hug.

Two months is a long time to be away from home.

CHICK PEEPS

Because the chick has never seen his mum before,

he's a bit shy.

Come on, little fella. It's OK!

Look at him, hiding underneath his dad.

After months of it being just the two of them,

it's hard for Dad to let go.

It takes a lot of gentle nudging,

but he's finally ready to let Mum take over.

Baby penguins only have a small amount of feathers

to keep them warm,

so they need to stay close to their parents.

Oh! Oh, quickly now!

Ah! Mission accomplished.

The young chick gets his first full meal

as he spends quality time with his mum...

and dad finally has time to go fishing.

Er...

but remember,

the water's edge is a really long way away.

It's going to take Dad ages to get there.

Happy waddling, Dad!

At the top of the world, in the snowy Arctic,

winter is coming to an end...

..and spring is on its way.

But the snow isn't going anywhere.

HE SHIVERS

For the very first time,

this polar bear cub has come out of her den

beneath the snow.

Mum has been feeding her lots of milk

to help her grow big and strong.

CUB GROWLS

Mother and baby are leaving their den to look for food.

That's if baby can keep up!

"Oh! I almost slipped, Mum!"

This icy slope is very steep

and difficult to walk on.

Although Mum is making it look easy.

"I'm coming, Mum!

"I'm going backwards now!"

Oh, that looks like fun!

It looks like Cub is quite scared.

But it's OK,

because Mum's here to help.

Come on, you can do it.

Soon the sea ice will start to melt back into water,

which will make finding food more difficult.

Mum and Baby have a very long journey ahead of them.

Good luck!

In the polar regions,

winter is cold and dark,

and seems to go on forever.

These are the mountains of Japan.

There are not many plants to eat during the winter months

for the animals here...

but don't worry, because - look!

See what happens when winter turns to spring?

Look! Everything's green again.

This troupe of macaques has the right idea.

Playing in the sunshine.

And it looks like they've got a lot to celebrate

with a new baby joining their family.

It's a baby boy!

This tiny monkey

will need all the warmth, protection

and milk his mum can offer.

Welcome to the world!

With so many green plants and blossoming trees,

it's hard to believe that these macaques

are also known as snow monkeys.

Very soon, the mountains will be covered in snow again...

..and this will be our baby monkey's first winter.

A group of snow monkeys is called a troupe

and this baby has lots to learn

about fitting in.

Oh, she doesn't look too happy!

I'm with you, monkey.

Let's stay with Mum.

Back over in the Arctic,

the polar bear cub has similar ideas.

Mum and Baby are going to look for food together.

A polar bear's nose is one of the best of any mammal.

HE SNIFFS

They can smell their food

even if it's hiding under the ice.

They weren't successful this time,

but Mum isn't going to give up that easily.

A quick learner,

it's not long before her little cub

starts getting the hang of her surroundings.

Oh!

Although... Whoops!

..looks like she's going to need a little more practice.

Looks like even Mum's having fun in the snow, too.

Although Mum and Baby are really hungry,

there's still a lot of time to relax and play together in the snow.

As the sea ice starts to melt,

the fish start heading out to sea.

The cub tries her best to keep up with her mum.

"Wait for me, Mum!"

All this walking is hard work,

especially with tiny paws!

"Oh, my little feet are tired!"

Off we go!

There's no time to waste.

Time to get moving again.

Back in the Antarctic,

signs of spring take longer to appear.

But the penguin chicks are growing up fast

and will soon be able to swim in the ocean and go fishing.

In the meantime,

there's lots of exploring to do.

The baby penguin has lots more feathers now

and is able to waddle all by himself.

# Ba-ra-ba-ba-ba, boop! #

Although Mum is pleased her baby is taking its first real steps alone,

she follows him - just in case.

Oh! Be careful!

He's making a run for it.

At the first sign of mischief,

Mum drags this cheeky chappie back to her side.

Not for long, though.

To this baby penguin,

all this freedom is great fun.

Lots of new sights

and lots of new sounds.

BABY PENGUIN CHIRPS

Oh, you'd better not wander too far, though.

When all your family looks almost exactly the same,

it's easy to get lost.

Uh-oh,

I think we've got ourselves

a confused little penguin.

He's completely lost...

..and he can't see his mum anywhere.

Oh, hang on!

You've got the wrong mum.

This one belongs to someone else.

Luckily, Mum soon finds him

and mother and son waddle back to their spot.

I think this chick has learnt his lesson

about wandering too far away from mother's side

the hard way.

"Oh, Mum!

"This is so embarrassing!"

In the mountains of Japan,

the baby snow monkeys are busy exploring their home

and making new friends.

But being the youngest in the troupe can be hard,

especially when you're trying to join in with the older kids.

This little monkey is finding it difficult to make new friends,

but not for long.

An older baby comes over to play...

..and a friendship begins.

Soon, everyone wants to say hi...

"Hello!

"Hi, there!"

..and the baby monkey

has lots of new friends.

Back at the home of the polar bears,

the Arctic sea ice is starting to melt

as winter becomes spring.

Mother and cub have enjoyed lots of fishing during the last few months

but, as the ice melts,

it gets harder to find more food.

Polar bears have tiny bristles on their paws

to help stop them slipping

and sliding across the ice.

Oh!

Looks like these little paws aren't quite ready yet.

Beneath the ice,

seal pups are growing up

and heading out to the open ocean.

The bears chase the seals out to sea.

This might be one of the last times

they will see the seal pups for many months.

In Antarctica,

it stays colder for longer.

Unlike the polar bear cub,

this penguin chick doesn't have to travel far to get his food -

and that's because Mum and Dad do all the work.

He's now old enough to be left on his own

while his parents go fishing.

He spends most of his time playing with his friends...

..who look out for each other.

There's the odd falling out of course, though...

..but they're quickly forgiven.

Mum and Dad are now both working round-the-clock

to keep their baby healthy, happy and fed.

It's hard work,

and still a long trip to get to the sea.

But for the chicks to be ready to leave home before next winter,

the adults have no choice but to venture out for more food.

At the peak of the Arctic summer,

the sun never sets.

The sun keeps everything really warm,

and helps the plants to grow.

Lots of sea birds flock to the cold seas

now the ice has melted.

Humpback whales feast on shrimp-like krill to fill their hungry bellies.

Flying high along the cliffs,

sea birds - known as guillemots -

rush around looking for food to feed their hungry chicks.

At just three weeks old,

it's time for these young birds to test their wings

and fly for the very first time.

For some, it's a bumpy ride.

Figuring out how to land on the choppy waves.

Luckily, Mum's not too far behind to help.

Oh!

Oh!

Oops!

Not quite.

In the Antarctic,

the penguins' home is fast disappearing.

The summer sun has melted much of the ice,

leaving their home more like an icy beach.

The baby penguins have started growing

their waterproof adult feathers,

and are beginning to look after themselves

without the help of Mum and Dad.

In order to find some food,

it's now time for the penguins

to take their very first swimming lesson...

..but diving into the ice-cold sea

is not easy.

Eventually, the penguins band together

and slide into the sea.

HE SHIVERS

Luckily, they're all naturals.

Look at them go!

Wow!

Truly amazing.

Uh-oh, watch out.

There's a leopard seal about.

Oh, you'd better get out quick!

The penguins shoot back to their families on the ice.

PENGUINS SQUAWK

Whoa, look how fast they're swimming!

They're like rockets!

After so much excitement,

it's time to get serious again.

The penguins have to start fishing.

Time for another deep breath.

HE TAKES A DEEP BREATH

Ahh!

This time, the penguins swim straight out into

the open ocean all by themselves.

Good luck, guys!

Now it's summer, there's not much ice left here in the Arctic.

This is bad news for the polar bears,

as it's easier for them to fish when the ocean is frozen.

So there's only one thing for it.

Like penguins, polar bears are fantastic swimmers.

Mum is right at home under water, and can swim really fast.

Unfortunately for Mum,

she wasn't fast enough to catch anything today.

Eventually, summer ends and the weather begins to change.

Everything is starting to get colder in the mountains of Japan.

Mothers and babies cuddle together for warmth.

"Big hug, Mum!"

Further north,

these polar bears have swum back to shore.

Until the sea freezes over again,

it's going to be difficult to find any food.

"Hmm. What's Mum up to?"

"Ah, look! She's found some seaweed."

"Uh, Mum.

"You shouldn't play with your food now."

Although it doesn't fill her tummy,

it does help her little bit.

Seaweed is very healthy.

While Mum continues to fish,

her cub is chasing a bird on the shore.

Oh, be careful on those rocks!

They're slippery.

Ah, it got away!

I think you're going to need a little bit more practice.

Luckily for her cub,

she's still feeding on her mother's milk.

For Mum, though,

she's getting very hungry.

All they can do is wait for the sea to freeze over.

Winter has finally returned...

..in full force.

This will be the snow babies' first ever winter.

Wow!

It's beautiful.

The world is now covered in thick blankets of snow.

In Japan, the snow monkey babies are seeing snow for the very first time.

At first, they're just curious.

"What's all this white stuff?"

Snow monkeys are quick learners

and this young macaque has found a great way to have some fun.

Making snowballs.

Ha-ha!

The only problem is,

it keeps rolling away!

Oh, quickly, grab it!

Hmm.

What's he doing now?

Oh, hang on a minute!

That's a good idea!

Rolling the snowball down the hill will make it even bigger.

See?

I told you they're fast learners.

And it's not just the babies playing with the snow.

For this particular troupe of monkeys,

making snowballs has become a part of daily life.

When you're young,

snow is fun and extremely exciting...

..but, sometimes, it's not all fun and games.

Snow monkeys are the most northerly monkeys in the world,

and face freezing winters.

Food can be difficult to find in bad weather.

But it's OK,

snow monkeys are very clever.

They'll search the forest floor

for berries, leaves, fruit,

nuts and insects...

..and even for shellfish in the water,

hiding under the rocks.

This baby snow monkey

has been taught by his mum

how to find shellfish.

It's fiddly work,

and the water is freezing cold.

With their thick coats,

adult snow monkeys can deal with the wind and snow...

..but, for the babies,

it's going to take a little longer

to grow a coat as thick as their parents' to keep them warm.

The temperature is so cold,

even the sea freezes.

HE SHIVERS

The surface turns to an icy slush.

Yuck!

Slowly, the ice comes together...

Look at it move.

..and the sea has become land again.

Ahh!

At last, the Arctic is just how the polar bears like it.

They are back on solid ice.

Mum and Baby make up for lost time,

searching day and night

for their next meal.

And it's a success!

With their bellies full,

they take a well earned rest.

Well done, Mum and Baby.

The young emperor penguins

are now roughly the size of their parents,

and are masters of playing

and fishing in the water.

They can dive to the icy depths of the ocean on a single breath.

Much like their first steps,

swimming gives these young penguins

plenty of freedom.

In the volcanic mountains,

the snow monkeys are living up to their name.

The weather has become very cold and windy...

..but they have a secret.

It's a hot tub!

Heated by a volcano,

the water becomes lovely and hot.

For a little monkey,

it doesn't get better than this.

Ah, lovely!

Surrounded by his family and friends,

this little snow monkey relaxes in the water,

away from the cold...

..but there's someone who deserves a great big thank you,

and that is Mum.

She's nursed him and protected him,

and taught him everything he knows.

Because of her, he's happy and healthy.

"Thanks, Mum."

From their first steps

to their first meals,

all of our snow babies

have learned how to live

in some of the coldest places on Earth.

With a little help from their family and friends, of course.

Good luck, snow babies.

Ah, lovely.