A Year on Planet Earth: Nov 8

Episode 4 of A Year on Planet Earth: Autumn, the season of change.

Narrated by Stephen Fry.

In Northern Canada, the cold is felt early, by September temperatures can plummet as low as -20C. But there is one stretch of river that still flows, and ‘ice bears’ are able to fish for the final salmon of the season.Those that can’t survive the cold weather, need to get on the move.

Monarch butterflies emerge, and set off on a mammoth migration to Mexico – 2500 miles south. South of the Equator, it is the toughest time of the year in Southern Africa.

The rains have been gone for many months, and watering holes have all-but dried up. An elephant calf is dangerously vulnerable to predators. Nearly a year old, its time for a king penguin chick on Marion Island to answer the call of the ocean. She’s replaced her fluffy coat with tightly-packed waterproof feathers. It is time for her first ever swim, but troubled waters are ahead.

There are two more episodes remaining.

8:40pm Wednesday on Seven.