Wild Alaska

As spring lights up the land, Alaska faces one of the greatest transformations on earth as light and warmth return. Alaska's transition to spring may look magical, but for those animals emerging from a long winter's sleep, it's a time of intense competition, as everyone tries to cash in on Alaska's riches.

The few short months of an Alaskan summer must sustain the wildlife for the whole year. No matter how hot it gets, winter is just around the corner, and there is much to do before the sun sets again. Twenty-four hour sunlight brings its own problems: forest fires, Sahara-like sand dunes in the Arctic Circle and the very speed of seasonal change serve as reminders as to how untameable Alaska is.

To survive the bone-chilling cold, deadly blizzards and darkness of an Alaskan winter takes courage, cunning...and remarkable endurance. In the raw beauty of windswept mountain peaks, icy tundra and snowbound forests, this is the story of the tough and resourceful characters that face up to the ultimate challenges of this land.

The changing position of the sun in the sky affects the behavior of animals and plants across our planet. From the moment it rises, animals are waiting, ready to take advantage of the opportunities that the sun creates. A quirky chameleon uses solar power to survive, while a family of lemurs gets a morning heat fix.

As the sun sets and its great heat and light are extinguished, a nighttime world wakes, full of characters who have carved a niche in the darkness. Dusk sees three million wrinkled lipped bats swirl out of their cave to feast on nocturnal insects. A sea dragon courts a female in the dying light of the Australian reef. And as darkness takes hold, a pride of lions decide to go hunting.