The Big Freeze by Natgeo

You can go days without food, traverse unimaginable distances, endure relentless blizzards. But if you're a wolf on the edge of the Arctic, up against the biggest predator, there's one thing you can't do without. At first glance, the Arctic feels brutally devoid of life, though a select group of animals have figured out a way to thrive. This horse here works quietly underfoot. Every winter, sea ice starts small and delicate, then it grows over millions of square miles. How is it possible that this freezer holds the key to our entire planet? Like a lung, sea ice breathes life into the Arctic every year, in a cycle that impacts the climate across the globe. This is the story from the edge of the Canadian Arctic where it all starts. My name's Bertie Gregory and I'm a National Geographic wildlife filmmaker. Everything is at stake. We're all waiting for the big freeze. This is grey wolf territory, but right now it's also a polar bear migration path. And until the sea freeze is over, these two mighty predators will have to share this coastline. We've received a tip-off about a very cool pack of wolves. Reportedly, they've been seen harassing or even hunting polar bears. This has never been filmed before, so we're buzzing there now to see if we can try and catch up with them. Wolves here are always on the move. They live in such a harsh environment that they roam up to 1,000 square miles in search of prey. We don't want to spook him. That does not matter. That's a pretty bold wolf. I've spent months looking for wolves before and never seen one. So much for going to look for them. Wolf! It's coming over the snowdrift, just on the right. Polar bears are the apex predators of the Arctic. Weighing up to 1,500 pounds, no-one dares touch them. Except the wolves we're tracking. If they can catch this bear, it would feed the pack for a week. But this bear is not having it. There's a third one coming. A big pack of wolves could take down a polar bear. But with only three against one, who is predator and who is prey? The bear runs the numbers and goes for it. That is not a chase you see every day. Imagine chasing after a polar bear, a massive, really dangerous predator. When is that ever a good thing that you should try and eat? Finding these wolves is going to be a real challenge. Even though it was here this morning, this afternoon it could be 20 miles that way, it could be 20 miles that way. But I guess we've just got to get really, really lucky. Pretty stuck. Got ourselves a pretty good one this time. Here. We haven't found any wolves. But we have found some of their favourite food. There's at least one moose in the willows in front of us. That's a rat. Oh, he's coming over, backing up. Like a giant horse on steroids. It's our ninth day searching and still no wolf pack. They just keep eluding us. And they're asleep. So we're trying to sneak in so they don't wake up. It's been the most unstealthy approach ever. We've actually got really lucky. We're downwind of them. Their sense of smell is about 100 times better than us. So if we were upwind, they'd know what we had for breakfast. They'd know the last time we showered, which wasn't very recently. They'd know everything about us. They all howl in pitches. They're almost like a wilder version of an a cappella group. The pitch of its howl, man. It's a big male. It must be the alpha male. He seems to be calling the shots and he's got this big chunk out the side of his face. He's running with a bit of a limp. You know, one of the reasons they live in packs is because if they get injured, the rest of the pack can still provide for them. Wolf packs are also led by the alpha female. Together, they decide where and when to hunt. This pair are also the only ones to breed, adding new pups to the pack each year. They're coming over. In the movies and in the media, we like to demonise these animals. But despite being just a few feet away, I never felt any threat in those eyes. Just curiosity. They hung out with us like this for over an hour. Until the alpha female called the pack and off they went. Time to hunt. There used to be two million wolves in North America. But 400 years of systematic extermination has left us with just 80,000. Wild places depend on these wolves as they regulate prey populations. We must give them the chance to bounce back. Each hunt follows a strategy. First, they close in. Ready? Charge. The alphas must make a quick decision. Can they take down a bull moose in his prime? Is this worth exhausting the entire family? Not this time. Better find a new target.