The new series of Race Across the World starts tonight at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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Having honed their survival strategies over millennia, mammals have evolved to be masters of the cold. In this episode, we journey across the globe, exploring a frozen world, from icy seas to snow-capped mountains and meet the unique mammals that call them home. For most, the cold is a killer. But for mammals, with their unique physical traits like warm thick fur and rich nourishing milk, and remarkable behaviours like hibernation, conquering the cold is possible.
We begin our journey on the Arctic islands of Svalbard, where polar bears, synonymous with this cold archipelago, dominate this remote frozen world. But as their world warms, and the frozen seas that are their hunting grounds disappear, they are being forced to find new sources of food. For the first time, we follow a polar bear hunting on land as it heads high up into the mountains in a rarely seen long-distance pursuit of Svalbard’s reindeer.
Mammals have been forced to adapt to the cold for millions of years. Whereas other species avoided the series of thick ice sheets that once covered a quarter of all land, mammals were able to survive the freezing conditions, and by adapting their behaviour, many are now completely at home in these inhospitable lands.
One land that has little changed since the last ice age is the tundra of northern Alaska. In this remote, hostile landscape, a mythical and rarely seen mammal endures: the wolverine. They rely completely on snow to survive, providing them meat from animals that have succumbed to the cold and dens in which to raise their young. Whilst other animals either flee or hibernate to avoid the coldest time of year, they stay active all winter, traversing the vast landscape in search of food. This privileged view reveals a surprisingly caring side of a highly elusive animal.
Knowledge can play a huge role in surviving the cold. Rather than roaming huge distances, some smart mammals will return annually to places they know will provide them with food. In Canada’s northern Yukon, a unique community of bears has been passing knowledge down the generations of a special ice-free river. While most bears are already hibernating, this late flowing river allows chum salmon to spawn into the winter months, giving the bears an opportunity for one last feast before hibernation that they simply cannot resist.
Mammals’ ability to hibernate is a clever way to avoid winter, and deep underground in an abandoned mine, little and big brown bats are well into their hibernation. But not all stay asleep. One sneaky bat wakes in order to mate while the rest of the colony sleeps on.
Bringing newborns into a world of snow and ice has many challenges, but mammals’ unique ability to produce fat-rich milk allows harp seal mothers to have one of the shortest weening periods of all. In just 12 days, off the coast of Greenland, they race to fatten their pups to independence as the icy nursery melts around them.
Far above sea level, the remote Kluane Mountains of North America support the largest ice field outside the poles. In this rugged landscape of rock and ice, pika, a relative of the rabbit, patiently wait for summer. Having stayed awake all winter, surviving on food they collected last year, once summer does return, they will all have just a few weeks to harvest nearly a year’s worth of food before the winter lockdown begins again. But storing your hard-earnt supplies all in one place comes at a risk if you can’t trust your neighbour.
Averaging 4,000 meters above sea level, the thin air of the lofty mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China struggle to retain much heat at all. As a result, life here always feels cold. Snow leopards are the top predator and have lived here for millions of years, but recently their lives have become linked with humans and the domestic yak they herd. It’s too good an opportunity to ignore. But through a community initiative, they have found a way to live alongside each other, even when the yak are taken by the leopards.
Back at sea level, on the shores of Canada’s Hudson Bay, for mammals specialised for life in the cold, a warming world is now the biggest challenge. Here, arctic fox and polar bears wait together by open water where there should be ice. For arctic foxes living here, as food ashore runs out, they would normally move and follow the polar bears onto the ice in order to scavenge off the bears’ kills. But as the winter freeze, and arrival of the ice is delayed, the bears cannot hunt, and life becomes more and more desperate. This has led to the foxes resorting to cannibalism, desperately fighting with each other to feed on the unfortunate foxes that have succumbed to hunger.
Five teams of intrepid Brits battle it out in a breathtaking 15,000-kilometre race across eastern Asia through some of the world’s most populous regions and some of its most unexplored.
The teams will race from northernmost Japan, crossing six seas and eight borders, skirting the path of the volcanic ring of fire – the most geologically unstable region on the planet – to reach the finish line in Lombok, an idyllic Indonesian island paradise.
It’s a journey that will see them race through multiple countries, including experiencing Japan’s clash of ancient traditions with the ultra-modern, unexpected South Korea. They will come face to face with chaotic and colourful Vietnam and brave the unexplored Indonesian archipelago – the largest Muslim nation in the world. Leaving behind their smartphones, internet access and bank cards, they will be armed only with the cash equivalent of the airfare from Sapporo to Lombok.
The race begins in Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido, the most northerly of the four main islands of Japan. To reach the first checkpoint in Nara City, the teams face 1,600 kilometres through one of the most expensive countries where only a small percentage of the population speak English. With a myriad of routes to choose from, they must use all their skills, ingenuity and determination to make it off the island and to the checkpoint.
At just 20 years old, the youngest competitors of the race, trainee pilot Owen and football referee Alfie from St Albans have a shared love of travel and a drive to win. Best friends since year 7, the determined pair fast-track to Tokyo, where they stumble upon the Naki Sumo festival – a curious competition where babies are judged for their ability to cry first. But will their unswerving competitiveness to win come at a cost?
Retired couple Stephen, 61, and Viv, 65, from Rutland, are embarking on a quest for one last thrilling adventure before they ‘dribble into old age’. Armed with wisdom and perspective, they believe their maturity will give them an edge over their younger competitors, but a slow start brings that thinking into question.
For the first time there are two mother-and-daughter pairings in the race. Isabel, a trainee clinical scientist, is logical and likes to plan, whereas mum Eugenie, a teacher, is spontaneous and led by her heart. Isabel’s strategic thinking leads to a surprising decision that yields unexpected results. But as they attempt to merge their two contrasting strengths, they hit multiple bumps in the road.
Sharon, 52, a cleaner from Kent, and her daughter Brydie, 25, a snowboarding instructor, are determined to use their budgeting and people skills as a strategy to help cope with the challenges that come with Brydie’s dyslexia and get the edge on the other teams. Some chance interactions with Japanese locals prove that it can pay to be kind as they receive help along the way.
Well-travelled Betty, 25, and her younger brother James, 21, who prefers holidaying in Magaluf with the lads, have barely known each other as adults. The siblings from Yorkshire need to find a way of working together to get off the island of Hokkaido. But with such different approaches to both travel and life, this doesn’t come easily, and they hit a rocky start when a decision needs to be made.
As the teams close in on the checkpoint in Nara City, one of the most exciting races in the series’ history ensues in the battle for pole position.
The race will test the five teams both physically and emotionally, pushing them to their limits.
But with their feet on the ground, and their eyes wide open, the rewards will be great, and the memories will be everlasting. Only one team can emerge victorious as they all vie to be first and claim the cash prize of £20,000.