Planet Earth; From Pole to Pole

Alison Wagner
U-Course
This episode of Planet Earth is the first installment of the critically acclaimed series that
educates about animal life, plant species, weather patterns and human impact on the
environment. This educational show is visually intriguing and beautifully filmed, which was
probably one reason it was so popular when it first came out.
The episode opens with Emperor Penguins in Antarctica who are about to enter into the
annual four-month period of darkness where the sun will not rise one time. The males must
stay behind when all other animals have migrated, in order to protect their eggs while the female
penguins journey to the sea to eat. On the opposite side of the Earth in the Arctic Tundra, a
Polar bear and her cubs emerge from their winter hibernation, and muster the strength to make
the journey to the sea ice where the seals, their prey, can be found. Like the Emperor Penguins
entering a four month struggle, the mother polar bear is emerging from a five month starvation
period and has risked everything to ensure her young survive.
When the Sun brings Summertime to northern Canada, the annual Caribou migration
occurs. These animals travel over 2,000 miles in search of food, resulting in the greatest onland migration by any animal. The most miraculous part about this, to me, is that because the
herd is constantly on the move, new-born Caribou must be up and running the day they are
born. Unfortunately, this great migration also draws predators like wolves who separate the
young or weak from the herd to eat. This footage is sometimes hard to watch, but the wolves
must also survive.
There is not enough oxygen as far north as the Arctic tundra, and the first trees are 500
miles south of there. The Tiger forest consists of conifer trees which have poisonous leaves,
and therefore does not support a lot of wildlife. Additionally, this forest circles the earth, contains
one third of the trees on Earth and produces enough oxygen to change the composition of the
atmosphere.
At 50 degrees latitude, there is more oxygen in the air and the forests there can support
more abundant forms of life due to their broad-leaved trees. But as the cycle of the seasons
continue, Winter causes animals to migrate, hibernate, or seriously struggle to find food for four
months. In Russia, the snow leopards there must scavenge or hunt to survive. There are only
40 of these leopards left in the wild due to poaching and destruction of their habitats.
At the equator, there are no seasons and jungles can support life all year long, resulting
in extremely exotic and diversified species. In New Guinea rain forests, there are as many as 42
species of Birds of Paradise with abundant feathers and attention-grabbing mating dances.
Deserts cover a third of the land surface on Earth, where water rarely or never comes.
Desert animals, like African Elephants, must make great and dangerous journeys for survival.
When the plains of Africa flood, mammals -including predators- all come together and enjoy the
abundance of nutrients that the floods bring to the area every year.
The entire episode stressed the importance of sunlight all over the world. It was a great
illustration of how Earth is a giant system with millions of connections. I enjoy this series and
have learned a lot from it.