‘Ice World Uncovered’ on Animal Planet

MANILA, Philippines – Over one-third of our planet is frozen. The icy worlds of the Arctic, Antarctic and the Russian Far East are some of the coldest and most hostile places in the world, shaped by bitter winds and unforgiving temperatures. Despite their harshness, these regions are home to an abundance of life – though only the toughest survive.

This March, Animal Planet’s Ice World Uncovered takes a look at some of these resilient creatures and how they have adapted over time to survive extreme conditions, as well as the threats they face from global warming and climate change.

Ice World Uncovered features a line-up of four programs – Amba the Russian Tiger, Penguins: The Story of Birds That Wanted to be Fish, Face to Face with the Polar Bear and Polar Bears: Living on Thin Ice.

The Ice World Uncovered programs air on Animal Planet starting Monday, March 5 at 10:00 p.m.

Ice World Uncovered, a month-long programming special, kicks off with Amba The Russian Tiger, which follows wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan to snowbound Ussuriland, home to the richest diversity of wildlife in Russia, in his attempt to track down the elusive Russian tiger. The indigenous natives call the tiger ‘Amba’ – guardian of the forest – but will Buchanan find one in the wilderness before winter ends and all hope of a sighting disappears along with the snow?

Next, Penguins: The Story of Birds that Wanted to be Fish traces how a unique group of birds that have acquired the ability to live in water for months at a time, to dive to depths of as much as 300 meters, and to withstand the rigours of the coldest regions in the southern hemisphere. But the penguins’ evolutionary success story came with a price…

The polar bear is the world’s largest carnivore. It is native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. Like the penguin, it has evolved to occupy a narrow ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted to withstand the extreme cold and to move across snow, ice and water as an effective predator. Unfortunately, polar bear populations have dwindled and they are now a vulnerable species. Learn about the growing threats of global warming in Face to Face with the Polar Bear, which follows a polar bear family struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing environment; and Polar Bears: Living on Thin Ice, which tells the story of young polar bears trying to survive on their own while learning how to be self-sufficient in the inhospitable Arctic.

Journey to the edge of civilization and meet the animals that inhabit these frozen habitats in the following programs on Animal Planet’s Ice World Uncovered programming special:

AMBA THE RUSSIAN TIGER

Premieres on Monday, March 5 at 10:00 p.m with encores on Wednesday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Gordon Buchanan heads east to Ussuriland in search of a rare Russian tiger. This beautiful and mysterious destination has the largest preserved area of forest and a surprising diversity of wildlife: wolf, bear, roe deer, sable, lynx and leopard. Gordon’s guide, Anatoly Petrov, spends a lot of time in these forests and is one of the few people who have ever seen a wild Russian tiger.

PENGUINS: THE STORY OF BIRDS THAT WANTED TO BE FISH

Premieres on Monday, March 12 at 10:00 p.m with encores on Wednesday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m.

Ever since birds first appeared on earth, their remarkable diversification allowed them to conquer all the different habitats on the planet’s surface. Their wings gave them the ability to fly and to reach places no other kind of animal could reach. Only the sea deterred them… until the arrival of penguins. Determined to conquer the oceans, penguins took millions of years to realize their objective. They managed to adapt in ways that had never been seen before amongst birds. But on their long evolutionary journey, they paid a very high price. Diversification produced different species, all capable of tolerating seemingly impossible temperatures; penguins became masters of environmental adaptation, sufferers-in-silence and noisy members of large colonies. No other family of birds has as extraordinary a tale as do penguins, the birds who wanted to be fish.

FACE TO FACE WITH THE POLAR BEAR

Premieres on Monday, March 19 at 10:00 p.m with encores on Wednesday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m.

On a remote fjord in Spitzberg (Arctic Norway), filmmaker Jerome Bouvier spent one year following the incredible destiny of a polar bear family in a rapidly changing environment. The result is a universal and dramatic tale of survival. The tale focuses on twin cubs’ education as after the weaning period, the animals need to fend for themselves and adapt to the ever-warmer summers.

POLAR BEARS: LIVING ON THIN ICE

Premieres on Monday, March 26 at 10:00 p.m with encores on Wednesday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m.

The Arctic – in winter, storm sweeps with more than 100 km/h over the ice and temperatures drop down to -60°C. In this inhospitable world lie the nurseries of polar bears, ringed seals, walruses and belugas. Thomas Behrend and his team followed two polar bear families over one year. The documentary shows the beauty of the Arctic as well as the unique behavior of its inhabitants.