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On Wednesday the BBC’s new flagship series, Frozen Planet starts, taking us to the ends of the Earth; the Arctic and Antarctic, and the dramatic desolation of these harsh environments.
When I met Sir David Attenborough earlier this year, we talked about the making of the series and he professed admiration for the cameramen who risked their lives diving under the thick ice in subzero temperatures to capture some of these incredible shots.
The series also features an incredible chase as wolves hunt down bison in temperatures of -50 degrees and winds of up to 100mph. Whilst the wildlife might be used to it…here the crew describe how they had to adapt to their new environment to get this stunning footage.

An update on the lost penguin found in New Zealand…after concerns he had become lethargic from mistakenly eating sand believing it to be snow, Wellington Zoo are now caring for the bird. The penguin has already undergone two operations to pump the sand from its stomach and faces another. His new nickname stems from the children’s film, Happy Feet. Also, he may have found a way home after a kindly businessman leading an expedition to Antarctica next year has offered him a lift!
Photo : AP

One poor Emperor penguin has turned up in sunny New Zealand believed to have drifted off course when fishing for krill. It’s the first time in 44 years one has been found on the island. The youngster is believed to be only 10 months old and only 80cm high (adults can grow to 122cm). Despite everything the penguin appears in fairly good health with a reasonable fat deposit so scientists are hoping the wayward bird will figure out its own way home. The penguin has been seen eating sand possibly believing it to be snow which it would normally eat to take in liquid.
Photo : Richard Gill/Department of Conservation/EPA

Worrying news with scientists finding a mass extinction in the world’s oceans ‘inevitable’ if current trends continue. It’s not just the well-publicised overfishing that is causing the problem; pollution, fertilisers and seawater becoming more acidic due to the increase in carbon dioxide. Overfishing alone has reduced some fish populations by 90%, plus many sealife are killed or injured by plastic waste dumped at sea. With two-thirds of the planet covered in water it’s vital we help save our blue planet’s sealife.

Bald penguins chicks have been baffling scientists trying to figure out the cause of their feather loss. These penguins have been found on both sides of the Atlantic; in South Africa and Argentina. The disease also affects different species of penguins and there are fears it’s spreading. Whilst it may not look serious, scientists have found that bald chicks take longer to grow.
Photo : Jeffrey Smith

This picture caught my eye…the Coleman’s shrimp artfully camouflaged in a sea urchin. Shrimp have a high tolerance to toxins which probably explains why it’s fine nestled amongst the poisonous spines of a sea urchin. Female shrimp can lay up to a million eggs at a time which hatch in the course of a day into tiny nauplii.

While this Pink Handfish isn’t going to win any beauty awards…it might for its ingenuity. Instead of swimming, these angler fish walk across sea beds with their hand-like fins. The first of these species were found in 1802 but it’s only recently been properly studied and 14 separate species have been found. They all live off Southern and Eastern coasts of Australia and are considered vulnerable due to their limited ability to flee predators.

Knut the polar bear cub who won over millions of fans after his mother rejected him and he was handreared by Berlin zookeepers, has sadly died. An inquest is due to determine why he died at such a young age as polar bears in captivity can live to over 20 years.
As the world’s largest land carnivore and the largest bear an adult male can grow up to 1,500lb. The polar bear and brown bear are closely related (strictly speaking, they aren’t two defined species as they can interbred and the offspring are fertile…!)
Photo : AFP/Getty

Poor Lonely George was rescued from his low-lying home in the Galapagos islands because of the tsunami alert from the huge earthquake in Japan.
Lonesome George is the last remaining Pinta Island Giant Tortoise in existence and when he dies the species will officially be extinct. Charles Darwin explored this islands which helped him base his theories on evolution, helped by its remote location the islands contain many endemic species.

The National Geographic have some amazing footage of the annual salmon migration…and the shark that stands in its way. Every year millions of salmon heading to their spawning ground are attacked by the thousands of waiting shark in the icy Alaskan waters.