[lighthearted music]
[wind howling]
- [Narrator] The ethereal blue above the Alps,
a last, vast no man's land in the heart of Europe.
This is a lofty realm,
seemingly endless,
timeless,
cold.
And yet these skies are someone's home.
The sovereign of this realm,
a symbol of elegance and dominance.
[majestic music]
A master glider, a silent hunter.
Looking down even on the climbing champions
of the animal world.
It's tough and lonely at the top, the saying goes.
In the dazzling light above the clouds,
choices seem infinite.
But for a young eagle, claiming a place among the peaks
is a daunting challenge.
[wings flapping]
To find a home takes years.
Defending it takes luck and pluck.
[eagle chirping]
Because the skies are not as lonely as they seem.
An eagle's life begins as an odyssey.
On this journey, many set out, but few arrive.
[eagle chirping]
[wings flapping]
[deer grunting]
September brings frosty nights.
And the frostier they are,
the hotter the action on the high pastures.
Powerful, dominant stags and their harems
may offer an impressive spectacle
to an observer from up high.
[eagle chirping]
But spectacles don't fill the stomach.
These huge animals will never be prey for an eagle.
[deer grunting]
[antlers clacking] [deer grunting]
[water splashing]
[antlers clacking]
[deer grunting]
[wings flapping]
[eagle chirping]
The first autumn in an eagle's life is full of surprises,
but none of them can satisfy a hungry orphan.
Since the mother killed the chamois,
the only food the young eagle has found
were scraps of carrion.
There seems to be no chance to make a fresh kill.
No marmot remains to be seen.
There are only huge and strange, leisurely creatures,
The ibex are feeding on herbs and grass.
If you're starving, you'll try anything.
The big animals are peaceful, if not overly friendly.
What about joining them?
[wings flapping]
[eagle chirping]
Begging for food is worth a try,
but all he gets from these creatures is indifferent stares.
[majestic music]
Hunger draws the young bird onward, destination unknown,
over clouds where landing is impossible,
along rocky ledges,
where the snow has not melted for quite some time.
The night frost has turned the meadows brown
and the larches golden.
[wind howling]
[wings flapping]
The first landing on snow.
Edible, yes, but it won't fill you up.
Chamois, familiar figures.
This is what mother hunted,
but now the kids are big.
At last, small animals, just right for prey,
out and about, not hibernating.
They've not yet shed their summer fur,
but soon they'll need their snowshoes.
[apprehensive music]
A mountain hare.
Even a young eagle can handle that.
[eagle chirping]
A hunter must be silent.
[eagle chirping]
The hares are alert now,
although they have not seen the eagle.
[suspenseful music]
A low, stealthy approach.
Nice try.
[suspenseful music]
[eagle chirping]
But the novice repeats his first mistake.
[suspenseful music] [eagle chirping]
[wings flapping]
Hares know how to frustrate a raptor.
The bigger the better.
[eagle chirping]
The larches have lost all color now.
The sky is still mirrored in the mountain lakes,
but not for much longer.
[majestic music]
[wings flapping]
Just as the young eagle
has gotten used to this mountain world,
it's about to change completely.
[raven cawing]
[raven trilling]
Familiar figures.
[raven]
Ravens, neighbors from the first day,
always too close, always too noisy, always annoying.
This time, however, they show what they're good for.
[raven cawing]
[raven trilling]
[raven squawking]
Their raucous voices have made the eagle curious.
Plus, there's this appetizing smell in the breeze.
not unlike an eagle's nest.
[ravens squawking]
The ravens try to distract the uninvited guest,
but the smell is irresistible.
[ravens squawking]
[raven squawking]
[ravens squawking]
[wings flapping]
Now all that's needed is the guts to take on the gang.
[eagle chirping]
[ravens squawking]
[eagle chirping]
[ravens squawking]
[eagle chirping]
[ravens squawking]
That was easier than expected.
After one month of fasting, finally a hefty meal,
all you can eat.
To survive, one doesn't have to hunt.
[raven squawking]
Just watch the ravens and know your strength.
[dreary music]
[wind howling]
Suddenly, overnight, nothing is as it was.
A young eagle's first day of real winter must be a shock.
But not only does life go on,
for some, it's getting into full swing just now.
For chamois, winter means rutting season.
[dreary music]
Dominant bucks won't tolerate rivals.
[apprehensive music]
[chamois trilling]
Any impudent young male should know it's do or die.
[wind howling]
The sunny side of the Alps turns grim
when massive snow clouds keep rolling in
from the Mediterranean.
But there's no such thing as bad weather for chamois.
They've spent millions of years
adjusting to an extreme climate.
[wind howling]
The red deer are now seeking refuge in the mountain forest.
Once upon a time, red deer were just summer guests up here.
In autumn they would migrate down
into the valleys of lowland rivers.
Today that's where the people are,
so they have no choice but to sit out the mountain winter.
A mountain hare in the snow is like a fish in the water.
These are creatures of the ice ages and the Arctic.
[wings flapping]
[eagle whooshing]
[wings flapping]
[eagle screeching]
[snow rustling]
Their winter fur should make them disappear,
but an eagle's eye can distinguish
the most subtle tones of white.
[eagle chirping]
That is as long as the eagle sees anything at all.
A whiteout like this will blind anyone.
An emergency landing in soft snow may seem lucky.
For an eagle, it's anything but.
[bird squawking]
To save energy, the deer moves slowly now, or not at all.
[dreary music]
[suspenseful music]
An inexperienced young eagle, however,
may soon be totally exhausted.
Deep, fresh snow can ground an eagle permanently.
[suspenseful music]
[eagle chirping]
[dreary music]
[eagle chirping]
The snow is wet and begins to cling to the plumage.
[eagle chirping]
The bird instinctively feels only a big tree can save it.
Ice on the plumage makes it impossible to fly.
And sitting in the snow overnight
would freeze the feathers to the ground.
[wings flapping]
[wind howling]
Another nocturnal snowstorm
and the eagle's journey of life may be over.
[wind howling]
Six feet under is the perfect place to truly rest in peace.
Marmots cozy up as families to keep warm.
While the eagle has to sit out icy storms,
the marmot sleep through the winter weather's whims.
[hay rustling]
They survive on their body's storage of fat and water
and benefit from thick fur and a burrow padded with dry hay.
[wind howling]
While the weather outside pushes everyone to the limits,
it's safe and cozy inside
to doze deeply and for a long time.
There's not the slightest draft down here
no matter how hard the storm may blow outside.
[wind howling]
Mountain hares and ptarmigan
use the deep snow to their advantage.
Well protected against strong winds,
they calmly weather any storm for days on end.
The grounded eagle
has nothing but its plumage for protection.
Thanks to their fluffy underwear,
eagles can withstand temperatures
as low as minus 30 centigrade.
But stiff, heavy ice on the outer plumage
can be a serious hazard.
[dreary music]
Even in the deep of the alpine winter,
there will be warm, sunny days.
Southern slopes can almost feel like summer.
[wings flapping]
These specialists have been safe from windchill,
but they've been sitting motionless for quite some time.
Now the eagle could hunt if it wasn't for the icy feathers.
In the cold, red deer lower their heart rate
and hardly move.
Now they reboot their circulation.
Many young foxes do not survive their first winter.
[lighthearted music]
Harsh weather eliminates the old and weak of any species.
Their death gives young, inexperienced hunters
a chance to make it through the winter.
[wings flapping]
The eagle can finally move again, but the ordeal isn't over.
[eagle chirping]
In deep snow, eagle and fox are struggling alike.
[eagle chirping]
Both are hungry.
And both are threatened by the ice clinging to their bodies.
chamois tried to avoid deep snow and wind
by staying close to overhanging rocks.
[snow rustling]
But high above them, along the ridges,
the wind has piled up tons of snow.
[avalanche rumbling]
[apprehensive music]
[avalanche rumbling]
[apprehensive music]
Even miles away, the sudden pressure wave of an avalanche
can flatten an entire forest.
But underneath rock overhangs, chamois stay put
while tons of snow thunder overhead.
[wind howling]
[ravens squawking]
The ravens too stay calm.
They actually welcome an avalanche.
[ravens squawking]
Even chamois can be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Again, it's the ravens that show the young eagle
how to get through the winter.
The homeless youngster already knows that resident adults
are not exactly welcoming, but hunger is stronger than fear.
[wings flapping] [eagle screeching]
[raven squawking]
[eagle chirping]
[wings flapping]
[raven squawking]
This time the eagle doesn't hesitate to push the ravens off.
[raven squawking]
No avalanche victim rests in peace for long.
Eagles, ravens, bearded vultures, foxes, and martins
will soon arrive for the funeral feast.
Without avalanches, many of them would never see the spring.
[raven squawking]
[ravens squawking]
After the feast, pure joy of being alive.
[lighthearted music]
[ravens squawking]
[lighthearted music]
But the good times won't last.
[dreary music]
This flight path is a clear signal.
The attacker means business.
[apprehensive music]
The message is familiar.
Get out of here.
You simply don't mess with a resident pair.
And so the odyssey continues.
Next valley, next shock.
[apprehensive music]
[eagle trilling]
Bearded vultures are real giants,
the biggest raptors in the Alps.
Trying to fight back.
That's truly valiant but hopeless.
[dreary music]
[majestic music]
A young eagle, whether male or female,
lives as a nomad for several years.
Claiming a territory, if possible at all,
can only be accomplished with a life partner.
The southerlies of spring have carried the young bird back
to where the landscape is familiar.
These high peaks, these glaciers, these wide valleys,
this is where life began.
[eagle chirping]
And here, the rock face with the tiny ledge.
And in the sky, a familiar silhouette.
The mother descending on the nest like she used to.
[eagle squawking]
But she is not alone.
[eagle squawking]
[eagle chirping]
The homecomer flies by to have a closer look.
A mistake.
For the breeding pair, the young bird is an intruder now.
The mother immediately attacks.
[apprehensive music]
[eagle screeching]
[eagle trilling]
Now the pair acts in unison.
[eagle trilling]
Frightened, the youngster takes cover
and realizes you can't go home again.
[snow rustling]
harbingers of spring appear out of the ground.
[snow rustling]
Warm, dry winds lick away the snow,
exposing more grassy patches every day.
[lighthearted music]
Not only the marmots are lured out by the spring sun.
Brown frogs have spent the winter
in underground bodies of water.
On the very day the ice
on high alpine lakes begins to break,
brown frogs appear as if summoned
by a magic [speaking in foreign language].
[water splashing]
marmots are impatient to feed, but not the frogs.
In their hundreds, they race towards the water.
None of them wants to miss the annual orgy.
In order not to freeze to death,
the frogs must move in the daylight.
Just above freezing in here, quite agreeable.
But in the shallows, over dark peat, the water is lukewarm,
the perfect spot to spawn.
[frogs trilling]
The males ride piggyback on the larger females,
eager to fertilize the spawn
as it's released into the water.
The orgy lasts three or four days.
Some males have embraced their partners
since their first jumps over the snow.
Up here, where the summer is short,
the frogs have to be fast with spawning
to ensure the new generation gets a good start in life.
A warm, dry wind licks the last snow from the slopes.
But getting to the grass can still be risky.
Now there's no lack of right-sized prey.
[apprehensive music]
Time to make a kill.
Now or never.
[majestic music]
For nearly a year, the youngster has survived.
The second year starts with a great leap forward.
The scavenger is now a hunter.
[eagle chirping]
A moment of shock.
It's just a peer, not dangerous.
Danger comes from elsewhere.
[avalanche rumbling]
Each day, avalanches come roaring down ravines.
[avalanche rumbling]
[falls rumbling]
Soon, torrents of wet snow are followed
by torrents of meltwater.
[falls rumbling]
The long silence of the mountain winter is over.
Now it's the sun that's driving a rapid change.
Springs are gushing.
Streams are in spate.
From the bubbling of a thousand brooks,
a strange percussion takes its cue.
[capercaillie vocalizing]
To capercaillie hens, this sound is music.
[capercaillies vocalizing]
The artist is eager to impress the female audience.
[capercaillie vocalizing]
Flashy iridescence, high jumps,
and wildly flapping wings on a carefully chosen stage
are sending a message.
Look at me.
[wings flapping]
[capercaillie vocalizing]
Enchanted, a female fan has dived down from the gallery
right onto the stage floor.
She too has something to offer.
[capercaillie vocalizing]
He's got what he wanted,
but it's not the end of the show,
which has turned to the neighbors.
[capercaillies vocalizing]
[wings flapping]
To be enamored, embattled, and embroiled
means to be blind to one's surroundings.
[apprehensive music]
This hunter, however, is anything but blind.
Careful calculation is critical.
[apprehensive music]
With an eagle's wingspan,
a rapid attack between the trees is risky.
[capercaillie vocalizing]
[wings flapping]
For the male capercaillie, it's one less competitor.
For the young eagle, it's another lesson,
how a master hunter takes possession of its prey.
The youngster won't get anything here today.
Richer in experience but still hungry, he moves on.
On remaining snow fields, chamois mothers and their kids
are literally chilling during the hot, midday hours.
[lighthearted music]
A chamois kindergarten,
a place for rollicking and frolicking.
But not all the kids are healthy.
Seen from above, the landscape has completely changed,
from monotonous white to lush green grassland,
dotted with bodies of water,
reflecting the sky once more.
Looking up, the same young eagle keeps appearing in the sky.
This is exactly how the mother hunted back in the autumn.
[eagle chirping]
Now there's also a new curiosity in peers.
And apparently it's mutual.
[wings flapping]
The weakened chamois kid seeks warmth
while the others are still playing in the snow.
As the herd moves on, he's left behind.
[apprehensive music]
The eagle has noticed.
[eagle chirping]
Where is the mother?
[chamois bleating]
[apprehensive music]
All alone, its chances are slim.
The herd is long gone.
The eagle need no longer worry about the mothers.
The young hunter remembers one lesson.
[suspenseful music]
Be silent when you hunt.
Until the last moment, the target should remain oblivious.
[apprehensive music]
[suspenseful music]
[lighthearted music]
The first glide with a heavy load.
Making a kill is one thing.
[eagle chirping]
Taking possession is quite another.
This pose clearly signals, it's mine.
[eagle chirping]
But there's nothing to be feared from this visitor.
It's a bird of the same age, a male.
And this?
A female, and therefore bigger and more powerful.
As a male eagle, you don't mess with a female.
[eagle chirping] [majestic music]
But another encounter is likely.
The sky above the Alps may seem like an infinite void,
but eagles can cross enormous spaces.
Encounters are inevitable,
especially in this season
when hundreds of young eagles are exploring their world.
[eagle chirping]
Young eagles tend to team up.
They learn from each other and hunt together.
An intimate, parallel flight.
This could become a friendship.
Maybe more.
But there's no hurry.
These two still have a long way to go
before sharing airspace of their own.
Golden eagles used to find breeding space
across all of Europe.
Now the Alps are their last large refuge.
In four to five years, they will be sexually mature.
[lighthearted music]
Those years of roaming will be tough.
[eagle chirping]
Just one out of three nestlings
ever glides over the peaks at the age of one.
And becoming a master glider and hunter will take time.
Only one in five succeeds in mating and breeding.
[majestic music]
Natural selection is rigorous, and much depends on luck.
[wings flapping]
Finding a place in this steep world and claiming it
can only be achieved as a pair.
[eagle chirping]
Against all the odds, this young eagle has come a long way.
With a partner, chances improve.
The future fate of this remarkable young female
is still in the stars.
But it's individuals like her
who ensure that the eagle's cry, the call of the wild,
continues to echo among the peaks of the Alps.
[majestic music]