Mirages are shaping over the immaculate ice shelf. Close up shot of a bear inhaling the frozen air. From the bear’s point of view, we understand that... he is smelling a seal. This odour is that of a young ringed seal hidden under a thin layer of snow. A few steps and paw swipes to clear the animal and uncover a young ringed seal snack. Under the ice shelf, protected from bears by several meters of frozen ice, belugas- the white whales- are hunting halibut. In their tridimensional environment, individuals can communicate the good hunting spots while kilometres apart. The chattering of these ghost hunters is continuous.

At the South Pole, leopard seals hunt in silence. But they are nonetheless excellent tacticians. Their hunt is based on their excellent sight, experience and a perfect knowledge of their prey’s calendar. When do the parent penguins go off to feed at sea, when do they return, when are the young going to take their first bath and where exactly will they get into the water? The answers to these questions are all part of the leopard seal’s hunting culture. We follow his adventures under the surface of ice-covered bays. When his hunting season comes to an end at fall, the Northern spring wakes the polar bear which goes off to hunt. Our year in the lives of Pole predators comes to a close.

Author(s) : Frédéric Bernadicou et Julien Naar
Year : 2006
Producer(s): Saint Thomas Productions

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