:00:08. > :00:14.Good evening from Arctic Canada. This is one of the most hostile,
:00:15. > :00:17.most challenging and utterly beautiful environments on earth, and
:00:18. > :00:22.over the next three nights we are going to be taking you on a journey
:00:23. > :00:26.across this extraordinary region and introducing you to its most
:00:27. > :00:28.charismatic resident, the polar bear. Ladies and gentlemen, this is
:00:29. > :01:01.Arctic Live. It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon here
:01:02. > :01:06.in Canada. The temperature is a balmy minus 8, cold enough to freeze
:01:07. > :01:11.your mascara. We are on the shores of Hudson Bay. This is a very
:01:12. > :01:15.important area, because over the next few weeks this will be the
:01:16. > :01:18.first place in this region where the sea ice will form. Understand is a
:01:19. > :01:26.winter event that can't come soon enough for one of the animals here.
:01:27. > :01:31.George Buchanan will tell us more. Good evening indeed, and that animal
:01:32. > :01:38.is the polar bear. The most recognisable animal on the planet. A
:01:39. > :01:43.real true Arctic I con. I have two just behind me here. They are
:01:44. > :01:46.Without a doubt one of the most impressive animals I have ever spent
:01:47. > :01:51.time with. Our cameras have been here for the last ten days trying to
:01:52. > :01:54.film their every move. I've been lucky enough to spend time in the
:01:55. > :02:00.company of these animals before. Over the next hour, over the next
:02:01. > :02:06.couple of days we'll be bringing our cameras and all of ow much closer to
:02:07. > :02:10.these incredible creaturers. Thank you Gordon, as well as being home to
:02:11. > :02:16.polar bears this area is also home to people. People live and work
:02:17. > :02:19.here. There are also some of the world's most valuable resources
:02:20. > :02:25.here. The Arctic is changing fast. It is a place that people want to
:02:26. > :02:30.exploit. It is a place that people want to conquer. 20 miles from where
:02:31. > :02:35.Gordon and I are, here in the tundra, is a small town call
:02:36. > :02:39.Churchill. And that is where Simon Reeve is. Yes, hello everybody I'm
:02:40. > :02:44.on the edge of the town of Churchill. Very excited that you've
:02:45. > :02:50.got bears. This is a small town, 700 or 800 people roughly. But what
:02:51. > :02:56.makes this town very special is it lies smack bang on the migration
:02:57. > :03:00.route for polar bears as they head to their winter hunting ground.
:03:01. > :03:04.Polar bears can and do come into this town. It is dangerous for them
:03:05. > :03:08.as they come into interaction with humans and for us, which is why we
:03:09. > :03:13.have an armed guard. Hello Brady. Say hello. He is watching the brush,
:03:14. > :03:18.because that's where lots of polar bears lurk. Before we talk to him
:03:19. > :03:23.let's have some context of where we are. Most of the town is over there.
:03:24. > :03:27.That's where the high street is, the main street as they call it. Down
:03:28. > :03:31.there is the port of Churchill, which you can't see because it is
:03:32. > :03:36.snowing heavily. Hudson Bay is enormous. It is five times the size
:03:37. > :03:40.of the United Kingdom. I'm at the railway station. Over the next few
:03:41. > :03:44.nights we'll try to introduce you to people as well in the Arctic. Tell
:03:45. > :03:48.you a little bit about their lives, the joys and the challenges of
:03:49. > :03:52.living here. This railway station, this train for example is a lifeline
:03:53. > :03:57.for people in the north. There is no road connection with the road of
:03:58. > :04:01.Churchill, so many of the goods and food people rely on has to come in
:04:02. > :04:06.by train. Train. This is a region we are going to explore and try to
:04:07. > :04:13.explain a little bit over the next three nights live on BBC Two. This
:04:14. > :04:18.is the Arctic! Head north on our planet, the
:04:19. > :04:31.temperature drops and you enter the realm of the Arctic. Remote and
:04:32. > :04:40.distant, it's a mystical place that looms large in our imaginations.
:04:41. > :04:49.Spanning all 24 time zones this is a region dominated by the vast expanse
:04:50. > :04:58.of the Arctic ocean. Over 5 million square miles of frozen sea
:04:59. > :05:03.surrounding the North Pole. This is a place of extremes. Above the
:05:04. > :05:14.Arctic Circle the year starts in total darkness. Temperatures fall to
:05:15. > :05:25.minus 50 degrees. While in summer the sun shines brightly through the
:05:26. > :05:33.night. The ice is a crucial habitat for wildlife. Providing shelter and
:05:34. > :05:43.food for whales and seals. And for the polar bears, a place to hunt.
:05:44. > :05:48.And they are not alone. 4 million people call this national place
:05:49. > :05:54.home, this incredible place home. This is not just a show or anything.
:05:55. > :06:09.This is part of our life. It is part of who we are. Here life is ruled by
:06:10. > :06:15.ice. Every year the ocean freezes through the winter. Until the sun
:06:16. > :06:25.climbs over the horizon and temperatures rise, bringing the
:06:26. > :06:33.great melt. In the autumn, the cycle begins again. And the world of ice
:06:34. > :06:39.returns. This delicate balance helps regulate the earth's temperature.
:06:40. > :06:44.But the Arctic is changing faster than anywhere else. It feels like it
:06:45. > :06:47.has been here forever and that it will last until the end of time. But
:06:48. > :07:05.actually it is so fragile. This last great wilderness has
:07:06. > :07:11.become the last great frontier. For some, less ice means great
:07:12. > :07:20.opportunities. There's a promise of new shipping routes and the prospect
:07:21. > :07:28.of untapped oil and gas. But for others, it could bring huge
:07:29. > :07:33.sacrifices. Have you put at risk a way of life, is that more valuable?
:07:34. > :07:40.How do you even price such a thing? In a place where life is driven by
:07:41. > :07:49.ice, what happens when it disappears? In Churchill every year
:07:50. > :07:56.polar bears gather on the shores of Hudson Bay to wait for the big
:07:57. > :08:01.freeze. And every year they're waiting longer. Living with these
:08:02. > :08:08.Arctic icons is a huge challenge. He's coming back. Any closer and I'm
:08:09. > :08:17.getting into the car. But the prospect of a future without them is
:08:18. > :08:21.impossible to imagine. Out here on the tundra I'm on one side of this
:08:22. > :08:26.lake. If you can see that enormous buggy over there, that is where
:08:27. > :08:30.Gordon is and we have been watching some entrancing footage of the polar
:08:31. > :08:36.bear. Gordon, we are going to come straight to you to see this bear.
:08:37. > :08:41.And spoil my lovely quiet moment I was having with this beautiful bear?
:08:42. > :08:44.I'm trying to do three things at once. Watch this bear, think and
:08:45. > :08:48.operate the camera at the same time. We have another bear over there. I'm
:08:49. > :08:53.going to whizz round. Let's look at this one. There you go. Go. A lovely
:08:54. > :09:00.big bear. This is polar bear central. This one is on the move.
:09:01. > :09:04.And this fella is lying down. These bears are doing the same thing, they
:09:05. > :09:09.are waiting for the sea ice to freeze. You might be forgiven for
:09:10. > :09:13.thinking this is the sea ice. This is actually a pond, frozen fresh
:09:14. > :09:17.water lake. It is practically frozen solid, so all of the bears in this
:09:18. > :09:24.area are just killing time, waiting for the sea to freeze, trying to
:09:25. > :09:30.conserve energy. And wait for them to feed again. Nearer these bears,
:09:31. > :09:34.they've probably not had a substantial meal for three months
:09:35. > :09:38.now. They are a creature, let me just see if I can zoom in. It will
:09:39. > :09:43.be a little bit bouncy, because there's a few of us on this. They're
:09:44. > :09:49.a very patient creature, the polar bear. They are physiologically
:09:50. > :09:58.adapted to put up with these long periods without food. This bear is
:09:59. > :10:02.just stunning. I'm blown away be it. Kate, I don't know if you've got any
:10:03. > :10:05.other bears on your side but we'll see what you've got there. It is
:10:06. > :10:09.beautiful. Thank you Gordon. I'm seeing yours from a different
:10:10. > :10:14.angling but haven't got quite the close-up lens. If you would like the
:10:15. > :10:20.ask us any questions while on air you can e-mail arcticlive@bbc.co.uk.
:10:21. > :10:29.Or contacting us on Twitter use the #ArcticLive. There are roughly 19
:10:30. > :10:33.populations of polar bear. About 25,000 animals in total, scattered
:10:34. > :10:37.across the Arctic. But Churchill likes to call itself the polar bear
:10:38. > :10:47.capital of the world. Gordon went to find out whether it deserves that
:10:48. > :10:51.title or not. Churchill might be remote, but once a year this small
:10:52. > :10:58.town becomes the centre of the polar bear world. Thousands of people come
:10:59. > :11:08.here with one thing on their minds. We've come to see polar bears! It's
:11:09. > :11:17.so awesome to be able to see them in the wild. Once a trading post and
:11:18. > :11:22.the military stronghold, Churchill sits on the western shores of Hudson
:11:23. > :11:27.Bay. The town lies right on the migration route the bears take every
:11:28. > :11:33.year to reach their frozen hunting grounds. This is a regular town, the
:11:34. > :11:39.school bus is there. Just a regular town with some polar bears wandering
:11:40. > :11:43.around. When ice breaks up in spring, they come ashore. Fasting
:11:44. > :11:49.through summer, conserving energy where they can. But every autumn
:11:50. > :11:53.when temperatures drop, hungry bears head back to the Bay, waiting for
:11:54. > :12:07.the ice to form so they can head out to hunt once more. Living side by
:12:08. > :12:15.side with polar bears obviously has its dangerers but Churchill has its
:12:16. > :12:21.very own polar bear cops. Manitoba conservation runs patrols day and
:12:22. > :12:31.night. Call-outs get a rapid response and bears are chased away.
:12:32. > :12:39.Problem bears are taken to polar bear jail and held for up to a
:12:40. > :12:48.month. Before being relocated by helicopter and released further up
:12:49. > :13:00.the coast. Now that is something you don't see every day. Unless you live
:13:01. > :13:10.in Churchill. It is fair to say Churchill has embraced its status as
:13:11. > :13:15.the polar bear capital of the world. It is not the easiest of
:13:16. > :13:21.relationships. But this tiny remote town remains one of the best places
:13:22. > :13:28.on the planet to see one of earth's most extraordinary animals. Hello
:13:29. > :13:34.again. We are live in the town. As I said, bears do come right into the
:13:35. > :13:39.town. Sightings and encounters, as they call ate, are reported to a
:13:40. > :13:44.polar bear alert hotline. I have some statistics for the season.
:13:45. > :13:57.Polar bears have come into the area around the town 22 times just this
:13:58. > :13:59.week. 184 times this year. Brady, I was pointing at your dog. This is
:14:00. > :14:23.your dog. What breed is she? If you are an album for jobs. View
:14:24. > :14:31.can, volunteer firefighter 's bear guard. Today. 'S dangerous are they?
:14:32. > :14:35.An extremely, especially this time of year, they are very hungry,
:14:36. > :14:42.looking for position in the eyes as it forms. A loss of action on the
:14:43. > :14:49.tundra. They were here first in the town is in the first-half. His
:14:50. > :14:54.position on the ice. We've been chatting to do that, that, you
:14:55. > :14:58.rather love the full affairs. That is the main driver while I'm here, I
:14:59. > :15:06.feel responsibility to try to help preserve the species is not of my
:15:07. > :15:12.function is to help them in this that this is your garden is from the
:15:13. > :15:20.fares but is it fair garden and bears
:15:21. > :15:41.What if worst comes as you are how can you protect themselves if they
:15:42. > :15:47.encounter in bears? On one thing to do is to live in pictures live with
:15:48. > :15:59.a friend of the pathogen. The Trek Factory
:16:00. > :16:12.you have a starting pistol to scare them away. I have this nine
:16:13. > :16:18.millimetre pistol. It works... That goes on the top like that. The
:16:19. > :16:24.climate in the Arctic is changing rapidly, something we'll talk about
:16:25. > :16:27.much more tomorrow. As the ice melts, communities in the far north
:16:28. > :16:32.have to take tough decisions about their future and whether they
:16:33. > :16:46.exploit them was his. I headed to Greenland to find out more. It's
:16:47. > :16:52.late summer in Greenland. I'm on a boat heading to a small town. There
:16:53. > :16:59.are a few obstacles in our way. It is absolutely incredible here.
:17:00. > :17:05.Greenland, the biggest island in the world, is almost nine times the size
:17:06. > :17:11.of the UK. Almost the entire country is covered by a fast, thick ice
:17:12. > :17:22.sheet, so the population of 56,000 lives around the coast. It looks
:17:23. > :17:24.spectacular. I headed to Narsaq. The people traditionally relied on
:17:25. > :17:35.fishing and hunting for their living. Nina Jensen a teach in the
:17:36. > :17:38.school here shows me around. It's a small community, people know each
:17:39. > :17:48.other and they care about each other. You might even somehow be
:17:49. > :17:56.related to them. Does it feel everyone is extended family? Yeah.
:17:57. > :18:05.I'm just realising, it is currently quarter past six on Monday, and if
:18:06. > :18:15.we just turn on all the way around, you can see there is not a lot going
:18:16. > :18:19.on here, is there? No. Very quiet. The charm of ice in a summer
:18:20. > :18:23.disguises the fact life here is tough, declining fish stocks and
:18:24. > :18:27.collapse of the fishing industry means high unemployment and an
:18:28. > :18:33.exodus. The town population has fallen 20% in the last decade. It
:18:34. > :18:40.kind of looks like a ghost town. It's quite sad, isn't it? There are
:18:41. > :18:47.still families living here but most of them are closed. This is the
:18:48. > :18:54.other side of Narsaq. It seems like people kind of lost hope about
:18:55. > :18:59.Narsaq. Have you lost good friends who have moved away? Yeah, all those
:19:00. > :19:07.who I went to school with, I might be the only one who moved back.
:19:08. > :19:12.Really? Greenland is a young country that became largely independent from
:19:13. > :19:20.Denmark in 2009. Many here now want to capitalise on the fact the Arctic
:19:21. > :19:29.is warming and the ice retreating. There are plans to develop huge
:19:30. > :19:33.mines across Greenland. This man is from Denmark. He works for the worm
:19:34. > :19:38.that wants to mine the mountain behind Narsaq, he hopes new industry
:19:39. > :19:44.can stop the exodus. How much of a challenge if it to keep youngsters
:19:45. > :19:48.in Greenland? My daughter is 23, she is studying in Denmark, so is my
:19:49. > :19:54.son, my wife is down there, you know, taking care of them. That's
:19:55. > :20:01.tricky. It is a big challenge. We have this Spain drain, if there is
:20:02. > :20:05.no job or future for them, with education. I hope my children are
:20:06. > :20:09.coming back but I don't know for sure. Is it one of the reasons he
:20:10. > :20:15.wanted to get involved in the company behind the mine? The
:20:16. > :20:21.resources is not fish or hunting. I also think the resources is
:20:22. > :20:25.minerals. Geologists say the mountain here contains huge deposits
:20:26. > :20:30.of extremely valuable rare earth minerals. Mining is a huge story
:20:31. > :20:34.across the Arctic with enormous environmental and social
:20:35. > :20:41.consequences. The plan is for the next 37 years to move about 3
:20:42. > :20:47.million tonnes a year. For 37 years. We could go on for even longer. What
:20:48. > :20:51.sort of scale are we talking about for the pit? Not a small hole. It's
:20:52. > :20:56.going to be a huge hole in the ground. Mining in Greenland has
:20:57. > :21:02.split the country, the economic potential is clearly massive, but
:21:03. > :21:06.the environmental risks worry many. Here there is the presence of
:21:07. > :21:12.radioactive uranium which the miners will have to dig up to get to the
:21:13. > :21:16.rare earth minerals. Does the worry about the uranium here keep you
:21:17. > :21:19.awake at night, are you concerned about that aspect? I've been talking
:21:20. > :21:24.to the chemical engineers and people who've worked in this industry many
:21:25. > :21:30.years, they are saying it is doable. If we look to other countries, if
:21:31. > :21:31.you can do it in Canada with similar climatic challenges, we can do it in
:21:32. > :21:44.Greenland. What a place. When I look at this,
:21:45. > :21:49.of course, a major part of my mind thinks, this is a beautiful
:21:50. > :21:56.wilderness. Leave it as it is. Keep the stuff in the ground. Of course
:21:57. > :22:00.every country uses its resources as best it can for the benefit of its
:22:01. > :22:10.people. Greenland is no different. People here need jobs.
:22:11. > :22:14.Among those arguing against the mine are some of the area's sheep those
:22:15. > :22:41.Now we have to gather all the sheep from the mountains and then we will
:22:42. > :22:44.have the lambs given to the store, what do you call it?
:22:45. > :22:47.Are you talking about the slaughterhouse?
:22:48. > :22:50.Naasu's husband, Pitak, inherited the farm four years ago after his
:22:51. > :22:58.His family have been farming here for how long?
:22:59. > :23:03.This way of life hasn't changed for generations.
:23:04. > :23:10.But Naasu and Pitak are worried it's now at risk.
:23:11. > :23:20.Managed to get the sheep, including the very
:23:21. > :23:23.They fear radioactive dust from the mine
:23:24. > :23:31.Some local people already told us, we won't be
:23:32. > :23:32.buying your meat if the
:23:33. > :23:36.Because we know that the sheep will get affected.
:23:37. > :23:44.Actually touchy to talk about this because
:23:45. > :23:55.Like, this is the worst thing that could happen to us, that we
:23:56. > :23:59.If the mine comes, do you think you'll
:24:00. > :24:10.I think we can find another way of living.
:24:11. > :24:11.We don't know what, but we
:24:12. > :24:21.The mining firm says the risks will be minimal
:24:22. > :24:24.and indications are the government will give the go-ahead.
:24:25. > :24:26.Mining in Greenland and across the Arctic is
:24:27. > :24:40.There are some really massive changes coming here and happening
:24:41. > :24:56.Life in Greenland will never be the same.
:24:57. > :25:07.stunning film. We'll be talking more about the changes happening in the
:25:08. > :25:12.Arctic, programme. Now I want to introduce you to Doctor Steve and
:25:13. > :25:21.strap, chief scientist at polar bear international. Thank you for joining
:25:22. > :25:25.us. -- Steve Anstrup. You've been studying polar bears a long time,
:25:26. > :25:28.you studied brown bears before polar bears, what is it about these
:25:29. > :25:34.animals that makes them so compelling? Polar bears are, like
:25:35. > :25:40.other bears, have captured the human imagination. These in particular,
:25:41. > :25:43.the largest of all of the bears roaming around in an environment
:25:44. > :25:47.that looks like the surface of the moon. How could they even make an
:25:48. > :25:52.existence out there, let alone become the largest of all of these
:25:53. > :25:57.bears? It seems like a ripe plum and the wildlife profession I then very
:25:58. > :26:01.happy to have been able to do it. You must have seen, talking about
:26:02. > :26:07.changes, some tremendous changes over your career. I know you were
:26:08. > :26:15.responsible for getting the poll bear classified as a threatened
:26:16. > :26:19.species. -- polar bear. What was it that drove you to urge the US
:26:20. > :26:25.government to pacify them that way? When I first went to the north slope
:26:26. > :26:29.of Alaska to study polar bears, in summertime the ice was right against
:26:30. > :26:33.the shore. Years later the ice was hundreds of miles offshore, now if
:26:34. > :26:40.you go there in summer you can't see the ice. We could see these changes
:26:41. > :26:45.and new because polar bears depend on ice to make a living, that they
:26:46. > :26:49.were having an impact. The work we did in 2007 protected we could lose
:26:50. > :26:55.two thirds of the world's bears in the middle of the century. We could
:26:56. > :26:57.lose them all by the end. That was the evidence that compels the
:26:58. > :27:06.secretary of the interior to list polar bears as threatened. You say
:27:07. > :27:12.polar bears depend on the ice. Val Walker e-mailed us to say why do
:27:13. > :27:17.they depend on ice to look back at sea ice? They catch mainly wind and
:27:18. > :27:22.bearded seals, it's what they eat. Seals which are basically giant fat
:27:23. > :27:27.pills on the ice, high energy, allowing diverse be large. The bears
:27:28. > :27:32.have evolved a system of catching them from the ice. If the ice isn't
:27:33. > :27:36.there they can't swim fast enough to catch seals and the seals don't come
:27:37. > :27:42.onto the land. The ice is what allows the Bears to reach prey. This
:27:43. > :27:48.is the concern, as ice forms later every day, and perhaps doesn't hang
:27:49. > :27:52.around so long, polar bears have a shorter window to feed themselves. A
:27:53. > :27:57.longer period when they are food deprived, stuck on land, an distant
:27:58. > :28:01.pack ice, and a shorter period on the ice hunting for seals. Gordon
:28:02. > :28:06.has said maybe many of the Bears here may not have eaten for three
:28:07. > :28:09.months. Another question that came in from Rupert in London is how long
:28:10. > :28:14.polar bears can go without eating. We're doing analysis. It looks like
:28:15. > :28:18.females with young calves are the most vulnerable and their calves
:28:19. > :28:28.will start to suffer by getting less meat from their mother deprived of
:28:29. > :28:33.food for 110 days. All females that comes ashore after Rifat, they could
:28:34. > :28:38.go over 200 days without eating. A remarkable ability to fast, but not
:28:39. > :28:41.an unlimited ability. We'll come back to you later in the programme.
:28:42. > :28:46.Thank you for your programmes. Keep them coming.
:28:47. > :28:53.Something in the region of 10,000 tourists visit Churchill doing polar
:28:54. > :28:58.bear season. They stay for a few days. What is the reality of living
:28:59. > :29:05.in a place like this full time? Simon Reed want to find out.
:29:06. > :29:14.Churchill, like communities across the Arctic, endures extremes. The
:29:15. > :29:20.town is more than 600 miles from the nearest city, and winter
:29:21. > :29:28.temperatures here regularly plummet to minus 30 degrees centigrade. I'm
:29:29. > :29:32.growing around in a circle at the moment, round the block, because
:29:33. > :29:40.that's all there is! In many ways this town is a bit of an island. The
:29:41. > :29:45.roads go a few miles around the town and a few miles outside the town,
:29:46. > :29:54.and then that is it. The only real way to get here is by plane or
:29:55. > :29:59.train. The railway links Churchill to the city of Winnipeg, 48 hours to
:30:00. > :30:06.the south, with other stops along the way. Welcome to Churchill! Thank
:30:07. > :30:10.you. Careful coming down. Hundreds of tourists arrive here during bear
:30:11. > :30:16.season, but because prices in Churchill are up to double what they
:30:17. > :30:20.are in less remote parts of Canada, the train is of critical importance
:30:21. > :30:25.to other locals like Charlie. This is the only way out, because they
:30:26. > :30:32.can't afford the plane. Plane. They go out usually once or twice a month
:30:33. > :30:37.and bring their groceries back. Thompson is 300 miles by train,
:30:38. > :30:45.about a 12-hour ride. It is a lot cheaper than the price are here. The
:30:46. > :30:49.railway was built in 1929 to move grain from the prayeries in the
:30:50. > :30:53.south to here in Churchill's port. From Churchill the edge of the
:30:54. > :30:58.Arctic it was shipped to other parts of Canada and around the world. The
:30:59. > :31:03.port's owner has just stopped using it and its future is now uncertain.
:31:04. > :31:07.Its closure was doubtless increase Churchill's isolation and its
:31:08. > :31:14.possible decline. But this town seems to have a way of making the
:31:15. > :31:22.best of things. Hang on, let's look at this. An up to the minute weather
:31:23. > :31:29.report for the town of Churchill. If the Rock is blue, it is cold. If the
:31:30. > :31:38.Rock is gone... There's been a tornado! Life on the frontier isn't
:31:39. > :31:43.for everyone. The climate is harsh, the costs are high. But somehow
:31:44. > :31:53.Churchill, a town at the end of the earth, survives. We are live again
:31:54. > :31:57.here in Churchill. You just caught me admiring this great beastie of a
:31:58. > :32:02.train. Look at it. It has two engines at that end. You don't want
:32:03. > :32:06.to be rolling across the tundra of Canada with polar bears and other
:32:07. > :32:12.life around with just one, because they can break down. Down. This is a
:32:13. > :32:18.viewing car with a conservatory on top from which you can watch the
:32:19. > :32:25.aurora borealis, or the northern lights. Over here we've got Dwayne.
:32:26. > :32:29.Hello Dwayne. I'm all stiff. People walk like that here don't they?
:32:30. > :32:34.Sure, on a lovely cold day like today. Thank you for standing here
:32:35. > :32:38.today. Much appreciated. You are from Parks Canada. What are your
:32:39. > :32:41.priorities here in Churchill? We manage two of our national historic
:32:42. > :32:47.sites and one of our National Parks. And what are the historic sites?
:32:48. > :32:53.York Factory and Prince of Wales Fort. Item us about the fort, who
:32:54. > :32:58.built it? The fort was built, owned and operated by the Hudson Bay
:32:59. > :33:03.Company, a fur trading establishment, during the 18th
:33:04. > :33:08.century. Does that money Churchill was originally a fur trading town?
:33:09. > :33:13.Absolutely, the town grows up around the fur trading post and the company
:33:14. > :33:20.has exclusive trading rights with the first nations peoples in the
:33:21. > :33:23.area around Hudson Bay. So fur is what brought travellers here
:33:24. > :33:28.originally. Now people come by plane and train to see the polar bears.
:33:29. > :33:34.Has anyone got a live polar bear there? Fingers crossed. Simon, I
:33:35. > :33:40.have a bear just behind me here. I'm going to call in Steve. Steve, can
:33:41. > :33:46.you scoot in here? What do you think, shall I give you my
:33:47. > :33:50.binoculars? Can you tell me about this bear, it looks quite a
:33:51. > :33:55.youngster. I would say it could be three or four years old. From this
:33:56. > :34:01.angle I can't tell for sure but it looks like it is a young female.
:34:02. > :34:05.When you say a sub-adult, three to four years old, when do they
:34:06. > :34:09.separate off from the adults? Females keep their cubs with them
:34:10. > :34:13.for about two-and-a-half years. OK. So anything after that is considered
:34:14. > :34:18.a sub-adult until five or six, when they begin to reproduce on their
:34:19. > :34:24.own. And will a young bear like this have learnt this migration route
:34:25. > :34:27.from its mother? Most likely, because they only go into dens their
:34:28. > :34:31.first year. They are born in a den. They come out and the cubs don't go
:34:32. > :34:35.into a den again. They are on the ice with their mother in the
:34:36. > :34:39.wintertime. They come off the ice in the spring and go back again. They
:34:40. > :34:46.have done that a couple of times. Thank you. I'm very excited. Lovely
:34:47. > :34:49.to see bears. For many years humans have been battling against the
:34:50. > :34:56.Arctic and everything that it throws at them. But now that the Arctic is
:34:57. > :35:11.ripe for exploitation countries are preparing to battle for it.
:35:12. > :35:22.73, 77... It's April in the far north of Canada and the Armed Forces
:35:23. > :35:28.are on the move. Deep in the Maze of islands that form the Arctic
:35:29. > :35:31.archipelago around 100 troops have pitched camp on Little Cornwallis
:35:32. > :35:40.island. Their here to prove that Canada is willing and able to run an
:35:41. > :35:49.Army in the high Arctic. Right now what we have here is Operation
:35:50. > :35:53.Inupiat. We are patrolling for a presence patrol, keeps the presence
:35:54. > :35:58.on the land in our territories. It shows that we want this area and we
:35:59. > :36:05.would like to keep it. Some are in the Arctic for the first time.
:36:06. > :36:10.You're going to work the a a few times and ensure it is working
:36:11. > :36:14.smoothly. A year ago Private Steve Lockyer was on duty in the searing
:36:15. > :36:20.heat of Afghanistan. All good. Here he is facing a whole new set of
:36:21. > :36:27.problems. I've never experienced anything this cold. The last two
:36:28. > :36:30.days we had it was just crazy wind. The whole tent was shaking. Whenever
:36:31. > :36:35.you went on your shift you had to pace back and forth to keep that
:36:36. > :36:43.extra blood flowing through your body. With wind-chill it gets below
:36:44. > :36:47.minus 40 degrees here. The body restricts blood flow to exposed
:36:48. > :36:51.extremities and if they are not reheated immediately, cells begin to
:36:52. > :36:56.die. We've had a few guys that got a bit of minor frostbite. You never
:36:57. > :37:01.really know when it's setting in. We watched one guy the other day
:37:02. > :37:05.instructing something, we watched the side of his nose going white. He
:37:06. > :37:11.didn't feel it happening. Is yours OK? Yes, it is getting a little
:37:12. > :37:15.chilly now. You should cover up, your nose is going... Going white,
:37:16. > :37:20.is it? That's what I mean. You never know when it's going to happen.
:37:21. > :37:25.Keeping warm, it can be a matter of hours between life and death in this
:37:26. > :37:31.environment. I couldn't believe it could be this cold anywhere! The
:37:32. > :37:41.Arctic has long been a place of strategic importance. In World War
:37:42. > :37:47.II, brutal battles were fought along an icy eastern front. During the
:37:48. > :37:59.Cold War, the Soviet Union flexed its muscles with military manoeuvres
:38:00. > :38:04.across the north. The United States and Canada stationed troops from
:38:05. > :38:07.Alaska to Greenland, and built an early warning system in case
:38:08. > :38:18.long-range missiles were sent over the top of the world. The Cold War
:38:19. > :38:22.ended 25 years ago, but climate change means valuable natural
:38:23. > :38:30.resources may be up for grabs. So some believe the Arctic could become
:38:31. > :38:34.a frontier once more. Relations between East and West have
:38:35. > :38:40.deteriorated of late and in the north Russia's impressive network of
:38:41. > :38:48.bases continues to grow. While Canada has a far smaller permanent
:38:49. > :38:54.military presence. But an indigenous Inuit population still makes a
:38:55. > :38:58.living here in hunting communities scattered across this territory.
:38:59. > :39:04.Their traditional knowledge has been put to use by the military as part
:39:05. > :39:12.of a northern volunteer force called the Canada Rangers. Their job here
:39:13. > :39:20.is to protect the camp from the oldest enemy they know. Bears. When
:39:21. > :39:26.I hear polar bears in the not far distance I try to chase occupy with
:39:27. > :39:31.the snowmobile. But if they keep coming back and try to attack us,ly
:39:32. > :39:40.just shoot it right away. Their weapon of choice... It is vintage
:39:41. > :39:47.but dependable. This is a 303 British rifle, the best gun in the
:39:48. > :39:55.Arctic. The others... These are the best up north. I like helping
:39:56. > :40:00.others. That's my thing. To keep everybody safe. Safe. To the
:40:01. > :40:04.Canadian military this local expertise is ir replaceable. The
:40:05. > :40:08.Rangers are an incredible group of people. The benefit of having the
:40:09. > :40:12.Rangers on the ground with us here is we learn the traditional skills
:40:13. > :40:17.that have been passed on for thousands of years. Making igloos,
:40:18. > :40:20.snow shelters, how to survive on land, to navigation. The Rangers are
:40:21. > :40:24.the knowledge keepers and the watchers of the north. But they are
:40:25. > :40:30.here to make sure that we don't die on the land. Traditional knowledge
:40:31. > :40:38.is one thing. But the military are here to show they can practise
:40:39. > :40:47.modern warfare in the snow. If you feel unsafe at all, start shooting.
:40:48. > :40:56.Ready! For Steve, that means target practise with some serious weaponry.
:40:57. > :41:00.I think I've done alright. My hands are frozen. A different experience
:41:01. > :41:07.shooting in the cold. Your hands get colder. The weapons function a
:41:08. > :41:12.little bit differently. It is tough up here, but to create a force
:41:13. > :41:16.capable of fighting in the Arctic there is no substitute for first
:41:17. > :41:24.hand experience. I didn't think I would be coming to the Arctic. But
:41:25. > :41:29.here I am. Any place really can turn into a potential campaign. We just
:41:30. > :41:35.have to be prepared to deploy anywhere. At the moment, there seems
:41:36. > :41:42.no immediate threat of a Russian invasion. So for now the biggest
:41:43. > :41:51.danger remains the cold. Your nose is going again. It doesn't take
:41:52. > :41:56.long. I think it'd be grossly unfair just to have polar bears on Arctic
:41:57. > :42:02.Live. I'm joined by a polar bear expert. One of the world's finest,
:42:03. > :42:07.Andy here. You are a pro perfect at the University of Alberta and you've
:42:08. > :42:14.been studying polar bears for 32 years? Just 32. A one-trick pony. I
:42:15. > :42:18.can understand completely why this animal has so captivated you, but
:42:19. > :42:23.you've worked with them across the range, not just in Canada. That's
:42:24. > :42:29.right, I was working on polar bears in the Norwegian Arctic in Svalbard
:42:30. > :42:34.for several years. That's where I've spent time with polar bears in the
:42:35. > :42:38.past. You can't compare one polar bear population like-for-like. They
:42:39. > :42:45.are different. They are different, they are the same. Genetically they
:42:46. > :42:50.are similar to the bears in Norway but the bears here do things
:42:51. > :42:53.differently. If we went south we would find the pregnant females at
:42:54. > :43:00.this time of year. In the high Arctic they will dig their den into
:43:01. > :43:04.a snow bank. Here they are digging into the very thick Pete banks. When
:43:05. > :43:10.the snow comes they will giver birth to their cubs. And you know quite a
:43:11. > :43:14.lot about 13 bears in this area, because you've been doing GPS
:43:15. > :43:18.collaring? That's right. We have satellite collars and we have six
:43:19. > :43:23.locations for the bears. We can follow them for up to a year or two
:43:24. > :43:27.depending on the bear. I was hoping that we might see one of your
:43:28. > :43:32.collared bears. You told me yesterday that the nearest bear is
:43:33. > :43:35.about 40 miles from here? Yes. At this time of years the females don't
:43:36. > :43:40.want to come up to the coast. Most of the bears have cubs. Around the
:43:41. > :43:44.coast we have a lot of adult males. They are dangerous for those small
:43:45. > :43:49.cubs. They will kill them, so the females don't want to come anywhere
:43:50. > :43:53.near them at this time. If you spent time with the bears in the Arctic at
:43:54. > :43:56.this time of year you might be forgive than they don't do much,
:43:57. > :44:00.they don't like to walk around, but as we've seen from your data they
:44:01. > :44:06.can put on the speed and motor around.
:44:07. > :44:12.These bears are on vacation, waiting for the ice to come back. When it
:44:13. > :44:18.comes back they will move north up the coast and head on the forming
:44:19. > :44:23.sea ice onto Hudson Bay. They are hunting seals all the time. This is
:44:24. > :44:27.where they make their living, way out on the sea ice. The interesting
:44:28. > :44:31.thing is they will come right back here, they've got this amazing
:44:32. > :44:36.ability to home right back into this area. The Belvedere following is 11,
:44:37. > :44:41.she left a pub. She lost her cub over the winter but she's coming
:44:42. > :44:47.back here. Probably where she was born as well. In total we are
:44:48. > :44:53.talking, some Bears could move thousands of miles? Over winter.
:44:54. > :44:59.Easily, about 800 kilometres to the other side, 500 miles, they can
:45:00. > :45:03.easily go there and back, moving about 15-20 kilometres, ten miles a
:45:04. > :45:08.day is nothing. Driven by food. You'll be with me for the next
:45:09. > :45:10.couple of days. I'd like to go back to Kate to find out if that bear
:45:11. > :45:22.with her earlier is still with her. Thank you, Gordon, we have got a
:45:23. > :45:28.bear live just here, the most magnificent sight, I can barely tear
:45:29. > :45:34.my eyes away from her. These polar Bears bring in thousands of tourists
:45:35. > :45:38.to Churchill every bear season. They bring valuable revenue. For other
:45:39. > :45:43.communities in the Arctic they have become more dependent on revenue
:45:44. > :45:46.from some things that may give them short-term benefits but long-term
:45:47. > :45:52.could undermine their entire existence.
:45:53. > :46:00.At the northernmost tip of the United States, it's the middle of
:46:01. > :46:06.June. If you were asked to imagine what the north coast of Alaska looks
:46:07. > :46:11.like 500 miles above the Arctic Circle, I'm guessing you might think
:46:12. > :46:15.it looks like this, a vast expanse of frozen tundra with no sign of
:46:16. > :46:21.human habitation. The reality of the modern-day Arctic is much of it
:46:22. > :46:25.looks like this. The Arctic is full of resources, one of the most
:46:26. > :46:27.important being oil. With oil comes infrastructure, buildings, money and
:46:28. > :46:38.people. This is a dead horse, the hub of
:46:39. > :46:44.operations for the Prideaux Bay oilfield. The deposit discovered
:46:45. > :46:51.here in the late 1960s was the biggest in the whole of North
:46:52. > :46:58.America. My guide here is Joe. This is one of our oil trucks. Of Little
:46:59. > :47:04.red services. Which helps customers like BP to keep the oil flowing.
:47:05. > :47:11.Everything we're going past, is it all directly connected to the oil
:47:12. > :47:15.industry? Yes, it is, there is nothing here that isn't oil related,
:47:16. > :47:22.nobody lives here full-time. The only reason this place exists is to
:47:23. > :47:27.support the oilfield. Access to the well is off-limits but on the edge
:47:28. > :47:34.of town Joe shows me a piece of infrastructure this place couldn't
:47:35. > :47:40.do without. This looks like the end of the road. This is the
:47:41. > :47:52.trans-Alaska pipeline. Where that building is. It works its way before
:47:53. > :47:56.it goes underground. It goes 795 miles that way. Over three mountain
:47:57. > :48:01.ranges, because a couple of major rivers. Why isn't the oil taken out
:48:02. > :48:08.by road? Presumably it can't go out by ship. The ocean freezes. It also
:48:09. > :48:12.couldn't go out by truck because at its prime it was open 2.1 million
:48:13. > :48:23.barrels a day down this line, a lot of trucks. From here in Prudhoe Bay
:48:24. > :48:30.on the north coast of Alaska, the pipeline stretches right across the
:48:31. > :48:36.state all the way to the south. Oil could now be pumped directly from
:48:37. > :48:43.the Arctic to an ice free harbour with access to the Pacific ocean and
:48:44. > :48:49.the rest of the world. When the oil began to flow, so did the money.
:48:50. > :48:54.What was it like when you got here in late 1979? It was the wild West.
:48:55. > :48:57.I mean I was a young kid working on a drilling rig. It was an
:48:58. > :49:03.opportunity of a lifetime, I was making more money than I knew what
:49:04. > :49:06.to do with. After my first, I went off and bought a house, great
:49:07. > :49:14.things, the biggest thing that had ever happened in Alaska. As the
:49:15. > :49:20.industry grew, dead horse expanded into the sprawling industrial hub it
:49:21. > :49:21.is today. But the oil workers are relative newcomers on the north
:49:22. > :49:43.Slope. Along the coast from Deadhorse is
:49:44. > :49:44.the city of Barrow, home foot centuries to the indigenous Inupiat
:49:45. > :49:47.people. This is the day that we celebrate
:49:48. > :49:54.catching the whale. It's a nice, happy
:49:55. > :49:59.get together party. The whole whale is shared
:50:00. > :50:06.with everybody. We were blessed with it,
:50:07. > :50:08.so we're going bless Bowhead whales are the prize catch
:50:09. > :50:19.here and to mark successful hunts, the community comes together
:50:20. > :50:21.to share in the spoils, and to take part in
:50:22. > :50:29.the traditional blanket toss. This is how hunters once
:50:30. > :50:34.tracked their prey on the sea ice. The higher you jump,
:50:35. > :50:37.the further you see and the more Why is it important
:50:38. > :50:40.for the community to That's what we have been doing
:50:41. > :51:09.from time immemorial. Subsistence hunting is no longer the
:51:10. > :51:15.only way to make a living. After the oil was discovered, the Inupiat
:51:16. > :51:20.secured a share of the profit and ever since oil money has funded both
:51:21. > :51:25.local government and individuals. In the form of an annual pay-out.
:51:26. > :51:34.Edward is an elder in this community and until 2011 he was mayor of the
:51:35. > :51:41.North Slope Borough. There is no question our economy has been based
:51:42. > :51:47.on oil. Airports, roads, housing, health clinics, jobs, we are
:51:48. > :51:56.dependent on oil and gas for our infrastructure up here. But with the
:51:57. > :52:03.oil comes a dilemma. See Inupiat can tolerate onshore drilling beneath
:52:04. > :52:07.the tundra, but Prudhoe Bay oil is slowly running out. Companies
:52:08. > :52:14.started looking at untapped deposits beneath the Arctic Ocean. In 2005
:52:15. > :52:20.Shell began acquiring rights to drill offshore. For Edward this
:52:21. > :52:31.threatened the Inupiat way of life. You opposed it, is that right? Over
:52:32. > :52:39.my dead body, I said. What were you worried about? Valdez, the first
:52:40. > :52:44.major oil spill in American waters. In 1989 the Exxon Valdez ran aground
:52:45. > :52:49.at the other end of the pipeline. Over a quarter of a million barrels
:52:50. > :52:54.of crude oil has devastating effects on marine wildlife and a similar
:52:55. > :53:03.spill in Arctic waters could be even more of a problem. The development
:53:04. > :53:08.Shell were doing was right in the path of a bonehead wale westward
:53:09. > :53:16.migration. They had no oil spill equipment up here. They had no Coast
:53:17. > :53:22.Guard. No other ships to come to their age, nothing you know, what's
:53:23. > :53:29.wrong with you guys? -- come to their aid. How do you put at risk a
:53:30. > :53:38.way of life, is it more valuable? Than a wail out there? How do you
:53:39. > :53:43.even priced such a thing? Shell was forced to improve its safety plan
:53:44. > :53:48.before test drilling was finally approved. But working offshore is
:53:49. > :53:57.expensive so in 2015 with the oil price at rock bottom, plans were put
:53:58. > :54:01.on hold. The dilemma, though, remains, when onshore oil runs out,
:54:02. > :54:07.so will the money the Inupiat depend on. But going offshore risks a spill
:54:08. > :54:15.that could be even more damaging to their way of life. That's what we're
:54:16. > :54:19.going to be faced with. For us it becomes a matter of survival. We
:54:20. > :54:34.going to do it. We're going to survive.
:54:35. > :54:41.I'm living Churchill. On one of the streets. Houses around. With my
:54:42. > :54:49.expense, mayor of Churchill. Thanks for joining us. -- with Mike Spence.
:54:50. > :54:53.Welcome to Churchill. Pleased to have you here. I was wondering what
:54:54. > :54:57.you are going to say. We would have seen a film where they've heard
:54:58. > :55:02.about the challenges that people in the far north facing. What would you
:55:03. > :55:06.say the biggest challenges you are facing here are? One of the
:55:07. > :55:14.challenges we are faced with in our community in particular is the fact
:55:15. > :55:21.that employment is really a critical tool for us as a community to
:55:22. > :55:27.prosper. People need jobs. People need jobs, we're a community that
:55:28. > :55:38.is, as you are known, well known. Tourism plays a big role. We have
:55:39. > :55:45.turned tourism to be one of the number-1 resources that we basically
:55:46. > :55:49.signal to northern Canada and other communities that you know, they are
:55:50. > :55:54.faced with challenges, there are opportunities. You've had a shock
:55:55. > :56:04.recently, what happened at the port? In July this year we were notified
:56:05. > :56:12.the owner of the port rail line were cancelling the 20 16th shipping
:56:13. > :56:14.season. It has put jobs into uncertainty, hasn't it? --
:56:15. > :56:26.cancelling the 2016. We're trying to work with them,
:56:27. > :56:31.we've not been successful, but... Fingers crossed. I'm positive we can
:56:32. > :56:35.turn this around. The town makes good money from the tourism
:56:36. > :56:40.industry. This is your hotel. Everybody has more than one job
:56:41. > :56:44.here. The tourism industry, the bear industry is 5-6 weeks, you have to
:56:45. > :56:46.provide jobs the rest of the time as well. In this community we've been
:56:47. > :56:58.very resource for. -- resource for. We've had other
:56:59. > :57:02.tourism opportunities. With Northern lights. We'll have to stop, lots of
:57:03. > :57:09.good advertising for the town, we love this place, that it for
:57:10. > :57:11.tonight. Come back tomorrow, more fascinating stories and interesting
:57:12. > :57:14.people to meet. Let's go to the tundra.
:57:15. > :57:20.The best advert for the town is the fact I have a polar bear over there
:57:21. > :57:26.and there is a tundra buggy full of tourists. This is the best possible
:57:27. > :57:31.place in the world to see polar bears and we're going to be here for
:57:32. > :57:38.the next couple of nights. Tomorrow I promise, I guarantee, Arctic Live
:57:39. > :57:42.are going to bring you more polar bears live.
:57:43. > :57:50.One more quick question for you, Steve. Henry Simon, Simon from Hong
:57:51. > :57:54.Kong, said why don't polar bears fall over on the ice? They have
:57:55. > :58:00.really good traction for two reasons. If you look at their paws
:58:01. > :58:04.they have bumps that increase the surface area and therefore increase
:58:05. > :58:09.friction. And by late winter that paws are also totally covered by
:58:10. > :58:13.for, which really gives them good purchase on the ice as they are
:58:14. > :58:19.running across. Brilliant, there is the answer, keep questions coming
:58:20. > :58:23.in. Tomorrow what's going to be happening? Simon back in Greenland
:58:24. > :58:27.looking at Glaziers. Gordon will find out what happens when a polar
:58:28. > :58:34.bear comes to town. And I'll be in Arctic Sweden with Sami reindeer
:58:35. > :58:36.herders. We'll be back here on the tundra at 8pm tomorrow night. A very
:58:37. > :59:03.good night. Goodbye. WAVES LAP,
:59:04. > :59:04.WIND ROARS BIRDS SING,
:59:05. > :59:07.CRICKETS CHIRP