Episode 6 of Sir David Attenborough's latest series Planet Earth III is all about extremes.
In this episode David Attenborough reveals the extraordinary ways in which animals battle to survive the elements in a world of extremes.
What can we expect from episode 6 of Planet Earth III?
From mountain summits to scorching deserts, polar tundra to deep underground caves, these remote places are rarely visited, yet the animals that survive there are some of the most resilient and specially adapted on Earth. Here, life exists on a knife edge.
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In Vietnam, the true scale and grandeur of what’s thought to be the world’s largest cave - Hang son Doong - is revealed. In its depths, blind white cave fish are found in tiny pools of water, surviving on nutrients washed in from the jungle above.
On Ellesmere Island, a pack of Arctic wolves fight to rebuild their strength after one of the toughest winters on Earth. But the season of plenty is not all it seems, with prey so scarce they must travel vast distances to find it. And when they do, they must battle their ancient foes, musk oxen, a relic of the Ice Age.
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Emerging after months below the ice, a European common frog sticks it’s head out of the snow. It’s a sunny spring day in the Alps, and the perfect day to find a mate. But dozens of frogs are all racing towards the same breeding pool. Who will get there in time?
Huddling can be a survival superpower, especially in the winter cold of the Atlas Mountains. For a young barbary macaque, separated from the group, it’s vital to find and re-join the huddle before nightfall, but there is a surprising obstacle in his way. The ultimate huddle is found in the mountains of Mexico where millions of monarch butterflies are overwintering. But the calm is shattered when a storm hits their forest shelter.
Fires are one of nature’s most destructive forces, but they are also vital for keeping some habitats healthy; few places more so than northern Australia’s savannahs. A pair of golden shouldered parrots are raising their family... inside a termite mound. Thick walls keep the chicks safe from predators but when a fire unexpectedly strikes, will the nest protect them?
As our climate changes, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and often more intense. On the plains of Kenya, an elephant mother is struggling to keep her two sons alive, and after months of drought and with food and water supplies critically low, the family are faced with tragedy.
Few places are more extreme than the Gobi desert where temperatures can range between -30 and +40 degrees Celsius. But the snow leopard has made its home here. This rare and intimate view of a mother and cubs reminds us that the extremes still hold some of planet Earth’s greatest secrets and most spectacular natural wonders.