{1259}{1338}For the last 50 million years|the world has been getting {1329}{1390}slowly colder. {1414}{1508}But something else has now helped|tip it over the edge. {1504}{1627}A change in the earth's orbit is taking|it further from the sun. {1615}{1702}This has brought on an lce Age. {1696}{1773}Conditions for all life become|extremely hazardous, {1765}{1833}even for the mighty mammoths. {1993}{2113}The early autumn snow f all has concealed|a barely frozen pond. {2102}{2202}This young female has f allen through|the ice and is trapped. {2300}{2387}Such are the bonds between mammoths|that the heard do not leave {2377}{2430}their stranded sister. {2427}{2571}They stay near by, distressed but|powerless except to comfort her. {2962}{3067}Before long, the scavengers|have started to gather. {3335}{3442}lt could take days for the female|to die and the heard cannot {3429}{3482}afford to wait. {3477}{3556}Eventually they are forced|to abandon her. {3548}{3711}They must keep moving to escape|the coming lce Age winter. {3998}{4082}For the few months of summer there is|little here to suggest that {4073}{4143}the world is in the middle of an lce Age {4143}{4277}An endless sea of grass and flowers|supports a variety of animals. {4267}{4400}But just a few metres down, the ground|is frozen solid all year round. {4426}{4524}There is now so much water frozen|at the poles that sea levels {4512}{4571}have f allen dramatically. {4564}{4654}lf it wasn't an lce Age this grassland|would be the bottom {4644}{4693}of the North Sea. {4689}{4832}As it is, it's a magnet for millions|of grazing animals during the summer. {4833}{4941}The biggest grass-eaters of them|all are the mammoths. {5089}{5186}This programme will be following one|particular herd in their annual {5175}{5236}struggle against the elements. {5231}{5344}Like all mammoth herds, this one is|mostly female since males leave {5330}{5372}at adolescence. {5370}{5441}There are five adult females|a ten year old male and {5434}{5597}smallest of all, a male calf|just six months old. {5587}{5723}Born in the spring he has yet to|experience how bad a winter can be. {5773}{5863}The eldest member is the matriarch. {5857}{5980}She is a veteran of some 40 winters|and it is her experience {5964}{6082}that ensures the survival of the herd|when the going gets tough. {6269}{6398}Mammoths are just one of many herbivores|to enjoy the summer bounty. {6388}{6511}They are all animals, in their own way|built for the cold. The mammoths {6495}{6617}and bison have their characteristic|shaggy coats while the Saiga {6602}{6675}antelopes have another adaptation. {6679}{6806}Broad noses help them warm up the|air before they breathe it. {6950}{7068}With so much game it is not surprising|there are also predators. {7136}{7205}Human hunt on these plains in summer. {7198}{7306}They have not physical adaptation to|cope with the cold but instead {7293}{7401}wear animal hides and weave cloth to|protect themselves. {7533}{7661}These predators specialise in small prey|and seldom hunt anything as big {7645}{7704}and dangerous as the mammoths. {7705}{7790}But mammoths are nonetheless very|important to them. {7834}{7919}With so little wood on parts of|the plain they collect {7910}{8009}the tusks of dead animals to|build huts and even use their {7997}{8059}bones for fuel. {8087}{8200}These most inventive of creatures are|capable of making the most of {8185}{8252}every resource available. {8401}{8507}Of all the summer visitors|the most numerous are the flies {8494}{8583}which are a constant source of|irritation for the mammoths. {8661}{8741}The humans, however|have learnt to do something about them. {8737}{8829}They grind up a paste made out of|a mineral called ochre which {8818}{8888}helps keep the insects at bay. {8998}{9092}Come the autumn, this plain will|become a freezing hell hole {9080}{9169}so the mammoths make the most of|the summer while they can. {9192}{9332}They eat up to 180 kilograms of grass|a day while the males mate with {9314}{9377}as many females as possible. {10219}{10310}Early autumn and the big|freeze has begun. {10300}{10374}The mammoths are still on|the northern plains. {10407}{10501}These creatures evolved from|hairless elephants in Africa {10490}{10570}but have become living fortresses|against the cold. {10573}{10662}Under their skin they have a|layer of f at 10cms thick {10651}{10692}for insulation. {10689}{10777}Also they have small ears and|short tails to prevent them {10766}{10822}losing too much heat. {10849}{10957}On top of all this they have their|characteristic carpet of hair {10944}{11039}which has now grown to a metre|in length as their bodies respond {11028}{11086}to the drop in temperatures. {11350}{11474}As the weeks pass, the true savagery of|the climate begins to bite. {11523}{11617}The humans have already left the plains|to seek shelter and {11605}{11671}milder weather further south. {11849}{11920}Soon the mammoths too will go. {11916}{12025}With little grass available and no|protection from a wind chill {12011}{12132}that will average minus 50 degrees|centigrade, even they have to {12117}{12159}move south. {12250}{12333}This lce Age is in f act only one of many {12323}{12413}Two and a half million years ago|the earth's climate started on a {12403}{12498}roller coaster of warmer|and colder periods. {12487}{12604}There have been almost 50 lce Ages|so f ar but this is {12588}{12648}the coldest yet. {12729}{12838}The matriarch decides it is time to|head off towards the less {12825}{12899}exposed valleys of the Alps. {13041}{13177}lt is a 400km journey that|they are driven to every year. {13840}{13920}For the Megaloceros, autumn is not|a time to travel, {13911}{13957}it is a time to rut. {13953}{14047}These males are fighting for the harem|of females nearby. {14036}{14080}Winner takes all. {14123}{14226}Megaloceros are a giant form of deer|and the males sport a most {14214}{14269}impressive set of antlers. {14285}{14356}Each one is as long as a person. {14370}{14445}lt's a wonder they can even hold|their heads up. {14533}{14613}Exhausted from fighting,|neither has noticed {14604}{14660}they are in a trap. {14897}{15103}Humans are predators unlike any before.|They use not strength but strategy, {15073}{15164}pushing the Megaloceros into|the trees where their antlers {15153}{15203}prevent escape. {15224}{15303}Only one of them|has the energy to break out. {16248}{16339}The humans will have to take what|they want as quickly as possible {16328}{16475}before lce Age scavengers like wolves,|lions and hyenas make this a {16455}{16516}dangerous place to be. {16952}{17068}Half way through their journey and|the mammoths are progressing well. {17053}{17161}But for one member of the herd|it is a constant struggle, {17148}{17185}the youngest. {17183}{17239}This is his first winter. {17234}{17318}Many yearlings never see their second. {17496}{17579}They soon catch up with other|migrating animals. {17570}{17721}Humans are also heading for the Alps|where the extensive cave networks {17701}{17734}make perfect winter retreats. {17733}{17837}The matriarch keeps a wary eye on them|and the humans know better {17824}{17885}than to get too close. {18416}{18530}The days pass and the calf is starting|to get into trouble. {18516}{18588}He is having real difficulty keeping up. {18641}{18765}His mother stays with him but the herd|cannot wait and the pair are {18749}{18807}starting to f all behind. {19018}{19124}On this snowscape a lion might seem|out of place but they are common {19111}{19224}in Europe at this time and a baby|mammoth in trouble is just {19210}{19316}the sort of thing to bring|this cave lion out of its den. {19426}{19542}Defended by a full grown adult|the baby is relatively safe. {19527}{19651}But the lion continues to stalk|hoping for the mother's guard to slip. {19656}{19740}The pair have now completely|lost the herd. {20025}{20127}Across the landscape other mammoths|are making the same journey {20114}{20205}This is an adult male and|he travels alone. {20211}{20305}There are lions in his way|feasting on a straggler, {20295}{20418}in this case not a mammoth|calf but a human. {20805}{20879}The lions will have to let him pass. {20871}{20968}Nothing gets in the way of|a mammoth migrating. {21132}{21249}Mammoths are sociable animals and|as the forests around them become {21235}{21337}denser so the small herds|start to join up. {21393}{21519}Soon hundreds of mammoths are winding|their way through the wintry {21502}{21565}lowlands of Europe. {22012}{22131}As the mammoths near the Alsace region|the terrain changes dramatically {22116}{22200}Flat plains give way to|hills and valleys. {22235}{22372}lt is here that lives another species|of human, the Neanderthals. {22501}{22570}They are much shorter than|the other humans and, {22562}{22635}like other lce Age animals|they have big noses to {22628}{22692}warm the air they breathe. {22690}{22814}Rather than migrate they stay within|the same valleys all year long, {22805}{22905}weathering out the worst of the winter|in shallow caves. {22921}{23044}But with this recent lce Age their|numbers have plummeted. {23030}{23108}This is now an endangered species. {23328}{23460}Another animal that doesn't travel|south in winter is the woolly rhino. {23461}{23579}They are very short-sighted and this|huge male has not even noticed the {23563}{23639}Neanderthal just 50m away. {23771}{23872}For a while, the Neanderthal doesn't|notice the rhino either. {24047}{24150}Woolly rhinos are easily startled and|will charge at anything that {24138}{24182}surprises them. {24180}{24264}Even at this distance he won't see|the Neanderthal but his {24255}{24343}sense of smell is better than his sight {24336}{24416}The rhino has picked up the scent. {25224}{25325}lt is fortunate for the Neanderthal|that his species is stron...
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