Planet Earth II

The Himalayas are among the most hostile places on Earth, yet snow leopards manage to live here. A leopard rubs its cheeks against a rock to mark its scent. It then stands at a cliffside and begins to call out, perhaps to attract a mate.

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In the mountains of Israel, Nubian ibex live atop the steepest cliffs beyond the reach of predators. Ibex are adept at navigating this terrain, able to scale even almost vertical cliff faces with their soft cloven hooves. To reach standing water, however, the ibex must descend 300-metres into the valley below, where they are vulnerable to predators. One group of kids follows an adult ibex down the nursery slopes to seek out water but, once they reach level ground, they are ambushed by a red fox. The young ibex immediately scatter towards higher ground; the fox isn't able to keep up with them on such steep inclines and the ibex are able to escape and safely reach the stream below to take a drink.



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A red fox attempts to hunt a group of Nubian ibex kids as they descend down from their nursery slopes in search of water. Despite the fox's best efforts, it is unable to match the young ibex in their agility on the steep inclines and is forced to give up the chase.

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Golden eagles are superbly adapted for hunting from the air on the slopes of the French Alps. Their eyes are able to spot prey from over 3 kilometres away and, once they do, they dive at speeds exceeding 300 kilometres an hour to reach it. And they must be fast, because here, especially so in winter, there is heavy competition. A female eagle finds a dead fox and is able to ward off a mob of carrion crows to claim the carcass. Though the crows attempt to distract her to steal a morsel here or there, the real threat comes in the form of another, bigger eagle. The two eagles collide, claws and wings outstretched. She is able to defend her position from this first challenger but soon the carcass attracts many more eagles in the area and eventually she is forced to give up the meal.

Carrion crows feed on the carcass of a dead fox in the French Alps, until a golden eagle swoops in to claim the kill. Despite this, the crows quickly regain confidence and attempt to steal pieces of food - some are even brave enough to nip the eagle's feathers, perhaps in an attempt to harass it into giving up the meal or simply distract it so that the other crows can feed.

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Each spring in the Canadian Rockies, grizzly bears emerge from their hibernation dens up 3,000 metres on snowy mountain slopes. For a mother with three newborn cubs, the priority is to get down to find food (she has not eaten in 5 months) but they must tread carefully on the leeward slopes which are prone to avalanches. Across the valley, bears have made their way down and will now spend the summer months gorging on the freshly blossomed meadows and occasionally take prey such as marmots. These bears also have a unique way of shedding their thick winter coats. They find particular trees to use as scratching posts. Up on thier hind legs, they dance and wiggle up against the tree trunk, holding branches for support. As they do so, they leave scent marks, which helps the bears recognise which individuals are in the area.

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Hoary marmots are potential prey for hungry bears emerging from hibernation in the Canadian Rockies.

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Yellow-bellied marmots are potential prey for hungry bears emerging from hibernation in the Canadian Rockies.

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Despite its territory in the American Rockies being blanketed in metres of snow during winter, the bobcat remains an effective predator. It listens for the faintest sounds of movement of prey, such as deer mouse, scuttling around below the snow, and uses boulders as stepping stones to avoid revealing its presence. Many animals, including the bobcat, also seek out streams fed by Yellowstone's volcanic hot springs where the water is 50 degrees warmer than the surrounding air. Here the bobcat hunts waterfowl, such as goldeneye ducks.

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During winter in Yellowstone, deer mice tend to remain beneath the snow to avoid predators. Still, for one unlucky mouse, this protection isn't enough when a bobcat manages to detect its presence under a snowbank on a boulder and pounces.

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Yellowstone's geothermal activity keeps its rivers from freezing over in winter, drawing many animals, including coyote, to the riverbanks where the temperature remains several degrees warmer than the surrounding snow-covered forests. Such a draw are the rivers, that coyotes have even adapted to fishing in them during these leaner times.

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Goldeneye ducks are among the animals that benefit during winter from Yellowstone's geothermal activity, which keeps its rivers from freezing over. Out on the water, the ducks are safer from predators such as bobcats.

An American red squirrel in Yellowstone National Park sits high up on a tree branch but still within the purview of a hunting bobcat, which scales the treetrunk in a flash to grab the squirrel in its jaws.

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In the high Andes, mountain viscacha stake out the best patches of rock to soak up the rays of the rising sun. At this altitude, the atmosphere is too thin to provide adequate protection from ultraviolet radiation, so by mid-morning the viscacha are forced to seek shade.

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James's flamingos in the high Andes flock at salt lakes 4,000 metres above sea level. At this altitude, even the salt water freezes overnight, leaving the flamingos trapped in the ice each morning. As the sun rises, the ice thins enough to allow the flamingos to break free and clamber atop it. It's risky business though - in some places the ice isn't strong enough to support the birds and some fall through once again.

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Andean flamingos on a soda lake in the high Andes appear unaffected by the midday sun, even as other animals seek shade. During the breeding season, these birds gather together to perform elaborate courtship dances, walking with their necks held tall and shaking their bills from side to side. This frenzied activity, during which they continue to move with the dancing group as they feed, lasts a month, after which they will have formed mating pairs.

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In the Himalayas, the prey density is too low to support more than four leopards in every 100 square kilometres. Yet, these usually solitary creatures are able to keep track of each others' presence in the area because they leave scent and urine marks, which combine to create a unique signature, on rocks on the trails that multiple leopards frequent. One adult female, still weaning her two-year-old daughter, is coming back into heat. Her calls attract males in the vicinity, but this puts the cub in danger. Snow leopards meet so infrequently, so these encounters are marked with uncertainty and tension, and can quickly turn violent. The female adopts a submissive posture to pacify and distract two rival males, allowing her cub to escape to safety. A month later, the female and her daughter are spotted again via remote camera traps but this time the two leopards travel separately, with the cub now fully independent.

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