Documentary producer Kathryn Jeffs takes you into the mysterious, frozen world of Antarctica and the Arctic with her new series. By Team Viva
What’s the truth about the frozen world of Antarctica? From lost civilisations to numerous shipwrecks, secret battles and divine glaciers, extreme weather conditions and polar habitats, this continent continues to intrigue as it is replete with a sack of unsolved mysteries. Even though life on planet’s extreme polar regions could be incredibly difficult, these seemingly bizarre but breathtaking icy landscapes are the habitat of a range of wildlife species and a world that is incredible. Have you ever imagined what life or even travelling to such a place would be? And what is the extreme climate like? Would the weather conditions let you survive even for a minute without appropriate clothing?
Portraying the great wilderness of the Arctic and the Antarctic, Frozen Planet is back with its season two on Sony BBC Earth. Produced by Kathryn Jeffs and narrated by naturalist Sir David Attenborough, the show takes new technology to the most extreme and remote parts of the Earth to enable the viewers to experience them up close. Different camera teams capture ground-breaking views as they dive deep into the magical world of icy giants, plunge into the erupting polar volcano and ultimately fly towards the South Pole across the Antarctic ice cap. Shares Kathryn, “Our world is a beautiful place but sadly people don’t know this. The show gives them an insight into how wondrous and breathtaking this planet is. People have dived deep into the frozen oceans to capture photographs. It makes the audience look beyond their imagination of how such extreme places are. It documents the lives of polar species very closely and how they survive at such high altitudes. Our team has captured detailed pictures of polar bears.”
Ask her about her experiences, she recalls staying at a small island for months and learning about the ‘Holy Grail’ of shipwreck, the British mystery of Endurance that lies at the bottom of an ice shield and remains the biggest unsolved and toughest nut to crack till date. They learnt about the giant ship which was discovered in the Weddell sea of Antarctica.
“Also, we could actually feel climate change and shrinking glaciers closely. We could almost feel it taking place,” she says.
However, what should people expect from such a show? Is there a message that it gives about the biodiversity or climate change? Kathryn has an answer. “There is no message as such. These are very inexplicable places and the ones probably humans would never discover or travel to. Our aim is to show a world that is close to being bereft of any form of human life. It is a world of the Adelie penguins, seabirds, polar woolly bears, even caterpillars which become moths within months of hatching, giant albatrosses which only appeared in stories, killer whales, Arctic wolves, seals and so on...”
Highly fascinated by penguins, she says that it was an absolute visual feast to look at these flightless birds so closely. Of course, she camped during the six-month period of darkness. The show will take you on a journey that explores it all — from Greenland ice caps, to colossal icebergs calving (breaking) into the sea, frozen rivers and glaciers, giant sea spiders, penguins building their nests, mating and huddling together in their creches, the sun never setting during summer, cubs taking their first swimming lessons with their polar bear mother, the effect on wildlife and their living patterns when the first blizzards strike the area.
One can witness the spectacle of a river frozen for six months releasing freshwater in the Arctic Ocean and fuelling the mass migration of fishes, birds and whales. Or hold your breathe as you see storm petrels darting around the waves lapping against the sides of an iceberg. Or witness the human-like behaviour of the beluga whale as it uses the gravel on the beach as a loofah.
(Frozen Planet premieres September 24 at 9 PM on Sony BBC Earth.)