0:00:02 > 0:00:04My name's Steve Backshall...
0:00:06 > 0:00:09..and this is Deadly Pole To Pole.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Oh!
0:00:11 > 0:00:13From the top of the world to the bottom.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Whoa!
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Deadly places,
0:00:17 > 0:00:18deadly adventures
0:00:18 > 0:00:21and deadly animals.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24And you're coming with me, every step of the way!
0:00:26 > 0:00:27Argh!
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Deadly!
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I've been on the road now for just over a year
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and we have one last stop before we reach our final
0:00:36 > 0:00:40destination in Antarctica, but what a place to stop.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42It looks like a vast snow-capped mountain range that's just
0:00:42 > 0:00:44been dropped in the ocean.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48And in amongst those peaks, beaches and glaciers are vast
0:00:48 > 0:00:51gatherings of some of the most special animals on earth.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is South Georgia.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This stunningly beautiful, rugged island is right in the
0:01:00 > 0:01:03middle of some of the roughest seas on earth.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08It's taken us five days to get here from the mainland,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10battered by massive waves.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13We're now almost 10,000 miles from the North Pole,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and nearing the end of our expedition,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19but it's still just getting better and better,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22as South Georgia is a sanctuary to some of
0:01:22 > 0:01:24the most extraordinary wildlife you'll ever see.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Hey, I've got one! I've got one!
0:01:39 > 0:01:43First up, we head south along the island to St Andrews Bay,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46the site of a grand Antarctic spectacle.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49This part of the world,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52perhaps the best known kind of animal is the penguin.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56We've seen several different species since we've been down here -
0:01:56 > 0:01:58the macaroni, the gentoo and the rock hopper.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03But the one we're hoping to see today is simply breathtaking.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08And as we get closer, we get our first glimpse of this
0:02:08 > 0:02:10extraordinary animal.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13It looked like the beach was covered in snow,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17but actually every single one of those little white dots is a penguin.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21There could be 300,000 of them right here.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29These are all king penguins...
0:02:29 > 0:02:31the second largest of all penguins and,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33to my mind, the most beautiful.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36In their tough southern world,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39they have to fend off the toughest of opponents.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46And when at sea, their speed and agility makes them a deadly force.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51The team and I head to the beach to get a closer look.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54PENGUINS SQUAWK
0:03:00 > 0:03:04As with so much of the wildlife here in South Georgia,
0:03:04 > 0:03:05they don't see human beings as a threat.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08They probably don't see that many people,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11so they're not scared of us.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Sometimes it's completely the opposite.
0:03:16 > 0:03:17Hello.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Doesn't take long for their natural curiosity to get the better of them.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27You can see them clocking you from miles away and just waddling
0:03:27 > 0:03:31through the hoards until they get really close,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35and then they'll crane out that extendable neck
0:03:35 > 0:03:38to get a really good close look at you.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46They have the classic counter shading colouration that you
0:03:46 > 0:03:48see in so many marine animals.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52So they have a white belly and a dark back,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54and the reason for that is that once they're in the sea,
0:03:54 > 0:03:55if you look at them from below,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59their white belly disappears against the light of the sky above.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Whereas if you look down on them, then you're going to see that
0:04:03 > 0:04:07grey back disappearing into the deep blue sea that's below them.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12It's a very, very simple camouflage, but works fantastically well.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16It means that when they're out hunting
0:04:16 > 0:04:20they can keep hidden from predators, but also sneak up on their prey.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Penguins need to be robust, hardy creatures.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30The waters out there are two degrees
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and that's as warm as it gets round here.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36In order to be insulated against those kind of conditions,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39these animals have a thick layer of fatty blubber
0:04:39 > 0:04:42underneath their skin and short, tight feathers,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45which are incredibly densely packed together.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47It has unbelievable insulating properties
0:04:47 > 0:04:49that allows them to stay warm and stay active,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51even in the chilliest seas on earth.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55It's not just the chilly sea they're up against.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02In the winter the temperature here plummets.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05With winds reaching up to 100 miles an hour,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the wind chill can be as low as -50C.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Somehow the kings not only survive, but thrive.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24But it's not just their ability to withstand the cold
0:05:24 > 0:05:26which helps them live out here.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28They also have a unique way of finding each other
0:05:28 > 0:05:30when they arrive back on land.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Wandering around any penguin colony, it's always noisy,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38but most of the time with most species of penguins
0:05:38 > 0:05:41it's just a right racket.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44King penguins, though, make the most beautiful sounds.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46They throw back their heads
0:05:46 > 0:05:48and they create this wonderful bugling call,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51but it is also very, very important.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54The chicks learn very early on how to recognise
0:05:54 > 0:05:56their parents from that sound.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59The sound is completely individual to each bird.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03And using these calls, the chicks and the adults can find themselves
0:06:03 > 0:06:05in amongst all of these swarms of animals,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08which essentially all look exactly the same.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Wonderful as this is, it's just a taste of the spectacle ahead.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Down the beach is all very beautiful,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30but I've been saving myself for my first view of the breeding colony.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32It's just over this ridge.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Wow.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Ah-ha! That is absolutely jaw dropping.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49The density and the amount of animals here
0:06:49 > 0:06:52is just impossible to comprehend - they go on forever.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02Well, I was expecting it to be big, but that is ridiculous.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09A colony this big is a mighty predatory force.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11The 300,000 penguins here are probably
0:07:11 > 0:07:15eating 300 tonnes of fish every day.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Every once in a while, you can pick out in amongst them
0:07:20 > 0:07:23a big round bundle of fluff with a tiny little head.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Those are the chicks and that's the whole reason why all these
0:07:26 > 0:07:29birds have come together in one place - it's for breeding.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Breeding amongst king penguins is pretty unusual.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42They breed probably twice in three years.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Lay one egg, and that turns into a furry brown chick.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51After about six weeks, they're old enough that they can be
0:07:51 > 0:07:53left in a creche like this,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55so there's lots of little brown youngsters
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and the adults are both off at sea feeding.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00After two months, they've got to be the same size
0:08:00 > 0:08:03and weight as the adult, but it's a full year before they're
0:08:03 > 0:08:06properly fledged and they can head out to sea to feed themselves.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14It's out at sea where they really come into their own.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16So in order to fully appreciate these birds,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18we need a marine encounter...
0:08:19 > 0:08:21..and that's going to be a tall order.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32So, in the meantime,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36we're focusing our search on an animal of mammoth proportions.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43If you need any evidence for the awesome potential of our next
0:08:43 > 0:08:46deadly animal, all you have to do is look at the skull.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49It's enormous, hefty, heavy and bony,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52I can barely hold it up in my two hands,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54and it's armed with these enormous teeth.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58This is definitely a creature to be reckoned with.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04It's the elephant seal...
0:09:04 > 0:09:06the very largest seal on the planet.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11With their trunk-like noses, the males can weigh almost four tons.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20South Georgia's one of the best places in the world to see them...
0:09:22 > 0:09:26..and it doesn't take long before we spot a group of young females.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33Elephant seals, perhaps more than any other species,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36seem so out of place up on land.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38They're really heavy, they're clumsy,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41they certainly have a lot of trouble getting around,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44but in the water it is a totally different story.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47This blubbery shape turns into a lithe torpedo,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and they're able to dive down to as much as a mile below the surface.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Some of their dives have been known to last for two hours in length,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57which is just beyond belief.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00While they're down there they'll hunt for fish and for squid,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02which they eat in enormous quantities.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05This is a superbly evolved predator.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11To get an even better idea of their predatory prowess,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13I need to find one of the monster males.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17SEAL ROARS
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Most of the animals here are females,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27but that one, who just made that big bellowing roar
0:10:27 > 0:10:31and is currently with his mouth open showing off his teeth, is the male.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37The biggest male elephant seals can be ten times the weight of the
0:10:37 > 0:10:42smallest females, and all of that weight and size is about commanding
0:10:42 > 0:10:44a territory and having access to the girls.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50This sound is, at the moment, for my benefit.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52He's letting me know that these are his girls
0:10:52 > 0:10:53and I should keep my distance, so I will.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I'm just going to stay here because the last thing you want
0:10:56 > 0:10:58is an angry male elephant seal after you.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06There are two times in an elephant seal's life cycle
0:11:06 > 0:11:07when they need to come ashore.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09One of them is now, when they're moulting their skin.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12If you look carefully at some of the animals around me,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15it kind of looks like they've got peeling wallpaper
0:11:15 > 0:11:16all over their backs.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Their skin's coming off in great big sheets.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21They'll come ashore for perhaps five or six weeks
0:11:21 > 0:11:25while that skin moults off and lounge around in wallows like this.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29I have to say, the smell is utterly overpowering.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31I can barely breathe in through my nose
0:11:31 > 0:11:34because it's making me want to be violently ill.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36These animals have obviously been here for
0:11:36 > 0:11:40quite a while and the smell is just revolting.
0:11:48 > 0:11:54The other time that elephant seals come to land is when they breed.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58That's when those noises are going to come really into their own.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01It's also when elephant seals show their deadly side.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10During August the males battle for females.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15They rise up to show off their huge size...
0:12:15 > 0:12:17then launch at each other,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19tearing chunks out of their competitor.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Some encounters end with roaring and aggressive posturing,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26but many others turn into violent, bloody battles.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32With only one male on this beach,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35there's not much chance of seeing these territorial battles,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38so we're going to try our luck elsewhere.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Luckily, our captain knows of a beach where a number of juvenile
0:12:50 > 0:12:51males have been hanging out.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59And as we begin our search along the beach, suddenly something kicks off.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05SEALS ROAR
0:13:07 > 0:13:11It's two elephant seals and they're going into battle.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17This is incredible.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22These are probably young males that are just trying out their skills,
0:13:22 > 0:13:27but even so you can see how brutal it can get.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29These two massive animals laying into each other,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31stabbing with those big teeth.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35And using the layers, the thick layers of blubber,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37to protect themselves.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39It's almost like a suit of armour around the neck.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Just as we thought the male had been seen off,
0:13:46 > 0:13:52he returns to land and moves towards another group of young males.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Before two males start fighting,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00there's a good deal of posturing and an awful lot of noise made.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03So, this animal here rearing up,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05making itself look as big as it possibly can,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09exposing the teeth is almost certainly leading
0:14:09 > 0:14:13up to a bit of a battle between these two males here.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23If you look closely around the neck, in every single one of them
0:14:23 > 0:14:26there are chunks and scars taken out from where they've come head
0:14:26 > 0:14:29to head and been knocking bales out of each other.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33That trunk on the top of the nose will expand to huge proportions
0:14:33 > 0:14:39and they can bellow air through it, making a sound just like that.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41It carries across the entire beach
0:14:41 > 0:14:43and it's a way of intimidating their rivals.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51The sound they make is almost like a classic car or motorbike revving up
0:14:51 > 0:14:55and it's always a precursor to conflict.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00And the next sound is the sound of two animals that probably
0:15:00 > 0:15:03weigh three tonnes slamming against each other.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09The elephant seal, weighing in at nearly four tons.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13It's the largest species of seal on the planet,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15the champion free diver of all seals,
0:15:15 > 0:15:20and in the battles between males, absolutely brutal.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25For that reason, the elephant seal is undeniably deadly.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33The largest seal on earth.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Champion free divers, spending two hours underwater...
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and huge males that battle for females.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Without doubt...deadly.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Deadly.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53South Georgia's been everything we've dreamed of.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Although we haven't had the chance to swim with king penguins in their
0:15:56 > 0:15:58icy marine world,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01but early the next morning came a rare opportunity.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06We've woken up this morning to one of the most extraordinary
0:16:06 > 0:16:08things I have ever seen.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11I think all of us thought that our king penguin adventure was done,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13but you can see, far from it.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15The water around us is thick with them.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17This means we have the opportunity to do
0:16:17 > 0:16:21something very few people have ever done - to dive with king penguins.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41No way!
0:16:43 > 0:16:46HE LAUGHS
0:16:49 > 0:16:54Penguins have that wobbling gait - they look so clumsy -
0:16:54 > 0:16:59but underwater their grace and elegance is just bewitching.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04They pull in that retractable head and neck,
0:17:04 > 0:17:09forming a perfect stumpy torpedo shape...
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and then their short, stiffened wings paddle them
0:17:12 > 0:17:14through the water at great speed,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18sometimes leaving a trail of silvery bubbles behind them.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22It's absolutely breathtaking.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29When they're travelling, like now, they stay close to the surface.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32But when they're hunting, it's a whole different story.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35'As the larger penguin species
0:17:35 > 0:17:39'are the world's greatest deep sea diving birds.'
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Most of their dives will be 30 or 40 metres,
0:17:42 > 0:17:47but the deepest ever recorded was 300 metres...
0:17:47 > 0:17:52down into waters that are always dark and have unimaginable pressure.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57On those dives they're hunting for squid and their main prey,
0:17:57 > 0:17:58which is lantern fish.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Along with their close relative the emperor penguin,
0:18:06 > 0:18:11kings hunt in huge numbers, scything through shoals of prey.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Their success is due to one thing - their wings.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22No longer used for flying,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25they've evolved into paddles that drive them
0:18:25 > 0:18:27through the water at great pace.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42The first explorers that came to this part of the world
0:18:42 > 0:18:44thought that penguins were fish.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47It's easy to see why.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51As they go zipping past your ears,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55they're much more like a shoal of fish than they are birds.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07'Very few people have ever swum with these extraordinary predators.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11'In South Georgia we may be the very first.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13'This is an experience I will never forget.'
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Unbelievable.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Their ability to fly underwater,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27their bright colours, their simple camouflage,
0:19:27 > 0:19:33there's no doubt that these masters of Antarctica are deadly.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37They are underwater speed demons...
0:19:38 > 0:19:41..with a multipurpose beak...
0:19:41 > 0:19:43able to survive the freezing Antarctic winter.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49These icons of the south are definitely deadly.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Deadly.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Before we leave to continue south,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00we head to the rusting, broken down ghost town of Grytviken...
0:20:02 > 0:20:05..as South Georgia has a deadly history.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Many of the wonderful whales that
0:20:17 > 0:20:20we've featured over the years, like blue whales...
0:20:23 > 0:20:24..humpback whales...
0:20:27 > 0:20:28..and Sperm whales...
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Wow.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33..would have been caught and killed by boats like this.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37You can still see the harpoon up at the front of it.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42In South Georgia's waters, there were perhaps 175,000 whales killed.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Throughout the Antarctic, as many as 1.5 million.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Grytviken was in operation for 60 years.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54In the summer months, the 500 workers caught whales for oil and meat.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02The whales were caught and processed on huge factory ships.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09In the 1960s, the whaling came to an end
0:21:09 > 0:21:11because there were simply no whales left to kill.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20The industry died and Grytviken became a ghost town...
0:21:21 > 0:21:26..but signs of its dark past are still strewn about the ruins.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32There's still evidence everywhere of what went on here.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35That's one single vertebrae from the spine
0:21:35 > 0:21:37of one of the great whales.
0:21:37 > 0:21:45And these are jawbones, perhaps from a sei, fin, blue whale.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48The first explorers and sailors that came to this
0:21:48 > 0:21:51part of the world said there were so many whales that you could
0:21:51 > 0:21:54walk across the bays going across their backs.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Now whaling's been stopped for a very long time,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00but the numbers still haven't recovered.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04But there is hope. Whales are now protected all over the world,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07and in the last few years, whale numbers in the southern ocean
0:22:07 > 0:22:09have started to increase.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Hopefully, on our journey down to Antarctica,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15we may catch a glimpse of these incredible ocean giants.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Now the team and I travel further south.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27We're here to explore the southern ocean,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29as it harbours some very unusual life.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Unfortunately, the weather's got a lot chillier,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37so getting in the water is going to be seriously cold.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Scuba diving is an adventure in itself.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Just the idea of diving down below the ice into water
0:22:48 > 0:22:53that could be nearly -2 is a chilling one, literally,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55but the whole environment down there
0:22:55 > 0:22:57is one unlike any other on the planet.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Three, two, one.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15There is a very steep wall,
0:23:15 > 0:23:20which drops from the surface vertically down to about 90 metres.
0:23:20 > 0:23:26The wall itself is covered with invertebrate life...
0:23:26 > 0:23:29but there's something very specific I'm looking for.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37'I'm hoping to find the largest relative of the humble woodlouse.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41'And while I keep my eyes peeled for this curious critter,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45'we see all kinds of other life, from star fish to sea slugs,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47'and some other underwater oddities.'
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Oh, this is interesting.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56This...
0:23:56 > 0:23:58is a nemertean worm.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05It may look pretty unimpressive, but it is actually predatory.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09It will...
0:24:09 > 0:24:15inject digestive fluid into food and then suck it up,
0:24:15 > 0:24:22and it can also secrete a kind of acidic mucus on its skin
0:24:22 > 0:24:24to deter other predators.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Very curious, odd creature.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34'But then I spot something even stranger.'
0:24:38 > 0:24:40You can easily miss this,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44but it's actually one of the great wonders
0:24:44 > 0:24:47of these cold Antarctic waters.
0:24:48 > 0:24:49It's a sea spider.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54There's about 1,300 different species around the world.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58The ones here in Antarctic waters get to be the biggest,
0:24:58 > 0:25:04and there is so much that's weird and unusual about their biology.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06They don't have either gills or lungs.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11Instead they absorb oxygen through those great, big, long legs.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16This is a creature that literally never takes
0:25:16 > 0:25:19a breath in its entire life.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21And then the way they move is just
0:25:21 > 0:25:24so peculiar, it almost looks like it's clockwork.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31'But we're still hoping to find our giant bug.'
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Hey, I've got one! I've got one!
0:25:36 > 0:25:41This bizarre alien-looking creature...
0:25:41 > 0:25:45is a giant isopod.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49It kind of looks like a weird cockroach...
0:25:51 > 0:25:57..but actually its closest relative would be the woodlice
0:25:57 > 0:25:59that you find in your back garden.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04These giants can be longer than a standard ruler
0:26:04 > 0:26:06and are a glutton of the deep sea.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13They're scavengers of dead and dying corpses.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18If a carcass drops down to the sea bottom...
0:26:20 > 0:26:23..it will soon become absolutely swarmed
0:26:23 > 0:26:25with these scavenging animals.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28They can turn up in their thousands.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Using their complex mouths they pierce,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38shred and mince their food.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Although mainly scavengers,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44they've also been known to eat each other.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Mostly they get around by crawling,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55but they have got special organs on the underside of the body
0:26:55 > 0:26:57that allow them to swim.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Look at this.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06The giant isopod...
0:27:06 > 0:27:08swimming scavenger.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11They're fabulous and they're deadly.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18It's a bizarre underwater alien...
0:27:18 > 0:27:20getting as long as my forearm...
0:27:23 > 0:27:26..and they're a glutton of the deep sea.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Definitely...
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Deadly.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Join me next time as I reach my final destination
0:27:37 > 0:27:39on the Pole to Pole adventure -
0:27:39 > 0:27:40Antarctica.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46I come face to face with one of the deadliest predators of the south...
0:27:46 > 0:27:47Wow!
0:27:47 > 0:27:48'..go under the ice...'
0:27:48 > 0:27:50This is exquisite.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52'..and meet up with a familiar ocean giant.'
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Oh, my goodness!