[Music]
all year round Poland's flora and fauna
are full of surprises
[Music]
from the mountains of the Tatra in the
south to one of the largest swamp
regions in Europe from the stork country
of missouria to the desert like dunes of
the baltic coast
a country which still have enough space
for unique wildlife ancient cultivated
landscapes
and people who foster old traditions
[Music]
the mountains are still in the grip of
winter
to the South Peaks up to two and a half
thousand meters high dominate Poland icy
winds lashed the ridges of the Tatra
part of the Carpathian belt in the
smallest area of high mountains in the
world
[Music]
the Nutcracker is at home in the pine
forests he is at the moment living on
the stores of food it hid in the ground
in autumn as good as invisible for links
[Music]
the roof of Poland parts of which are
still untouched by human contact
a mountain world of austere beauty
few animals manage to brave the icy East
polish winter bison are protected by
their thick shaggy coats these mighty
descendants of ancient cattle have
adapted to the harsh climate over
thousands of years they found a new home
on the border tubular Ross
[Music]
originally spread over the whole
continent Europe's largest land mammal
was hunted almost to extinction
the last bison in Poland was killed in
1919 and a few years later the species
was completely extinct in the wild
[Music]
sixty years ago the first bison were
released again all the specimens living
today are descendants of 12 captive
animals more than 500 of these powerful
beasts now populate the East of Poland
they tend to avoid the company of humans
the long winters in Poland are
relentless
the remains of sick or injured animals
that don't make it through the cold
season attract scavengers thus ensuring
their survival at the moment the foxes
are more preoccupied with themselves
the Ravens hastily gulped down what they
can get cautiously the Fox checks out
the situation even though in reality it
is the stronger animal but the Magpies
know how to keep the Fox distracted by
pecking its tail for instance an icy
ittle the countryside is still in its
winter torpor with daytime temperatures
between minus 20 and minus 30 degrees
Celsius
[Music]
the continental winter makes heavy
demands on humans too
once a week the farmer fetches hay for
his horses which even today are
indispensable I thought Nadja least of
all hmm
life out here is simple though still
living on the land have learned to adapt
for a country with economic aspirations
some parts of Poland seem to be caught
in a time warp but there are still
people living here who follow
ancient traditions
[Music]
at last the first signs that winter is
coming to a close the lowland rivers be
up sure an RF break up and start to flow
again but the ice and frost a tenacious
and don't give up that easily
[Music]
the beaver knows how to deal with such
wintry conditions at least most of the
time let's have another girl
the morning's hygiene routine can begin
23,000 hairs per square centimeter make
for fantastic insulation if you look
after them castor a fatty bodily
secretion protects the large rodent from
moisture and chills
the Beavers neighbors are a mother utter
and her two almost adult offspring
playful and extremely agile otters need
around 15 percent of their body weight
in food every day the mother looks after
her young for a good year
then comes the parting of the ways
day by day more ice thaws on the beach
and Neurath rivers huge quantities of
meltwater are released causing the
lowland rivers to overflow their banks
[Music]
colorful blooms at last wooden enemies
and liverwort more frogs provide the
first splashes of color in the animal
world during the spawning period in
shallow ponds the male's sport a
discreet shade of blue to attract
females and warn off other males
the flooded areas on the Mareth and its
tributary the BMP ah are increasing by
the day half water half land while the
untamed
[Music]
spring in one of Europe's largest
regions of natural swampland
[Music]
during the night more migratory birds
have arrived this ornithological
paradise is beginning to fill up more
than 180 kinds of bird nest here and
seek protection from predators and
humans in the swamp landscape
[Music]
there's room for both everyday species
like the raucous black-headed gulls and
rarities like the imposing great white
egrets whose numbers are growing year by
year the biggest bird in the region is
the new Swan like most of the other
birds here it spends most of its time
feeding apart from the occasional bout
of posing
[Applause]
the wealth of insect life on the marsh
marigold carpeting the area attracts
flocks of black-headed gulls this stalk
is looking for something bigger the
toads mating cries have given them away
[Applause]
but the stork only wants to snack on a
few leeches even the Starling anything
but a waterfowl enjoys a bath in the BMP
shop
[Music]
every day new species arrived in Poland
Amazonia the ruffs are among the last
back from spending the winter in the dry
Sahel region of Africa the males are
resplendent in their mating plumage no
two look alike an achievement in itself
there are few species of bird where the
show is quite so important each male
seems more attractive from the last full
of nervous excitement they present
themselves to the hens in the mating
arena in the rough world it's the
females that get to choose but the
rivals are content to have their faiths
decided on looks alone
with powerful wingbeats well-aimed kicks
and stabs of the beak the males aren't
afraid to use all the weapons of their
disposal a bit of roughhouse as it were
[Music]
Poland's largest national park on the
BMJ covers 600 square kilometres
settlement was never an issue here and
there the landscape is dotted with farms
[Music]
working the fields the traditional way
the people that live here have a
deep-rooted relationship with the
countryside they're closely attached to
their livestock and are content with
what the land and their farm yield
[Music]
they sustain the old cultivated
landscape and provide for themselves and
their animals summer and winter the
modest existence but an inheritance
[Music]
some undomesticated wildlife follow
humans into their settlements sparrows
are a typical example the track left by
the cattle is the perfect place for a
sand bath the slow-motion replay reveals
just how thorough and skillful the
sparrows twilit is as it both cleans and
gets rid of parasites in their plumage
and is obviously not just hard work
[Music]
the Working Day begins at the Florrie
anchor stables here the focus is on
ponies on conics to be exact gradually
the horses are familiarized with humans
and trained for various duties hardwork
conics weren't born to jump but to run
the Koenig or little horse is a race of
pony from Central and Eastern Europe
small but surprisingly powerful and
lively in Poland the land of horses
stables have a long tradition
Florrie Anka is still relatively new
having been founded in 1995 the aim of
the stables is to read breed conics wild
horses which died out in the wild in the
18th century
conics are known for their undemanding
nature longevity and above all
robustness making them ideal working
animals the ponies could live outside
all year round but in Floriana they're
brought inside in the evening
back in the watery world of the BMP sure
and the Neurath
[Music]
at this time of year the swamps are full
of life
[Music]
white-winged back turns out hunting the
terms of a flight enables them to keep
both a lookout for water insects and an
eye on their eggs
their nests are inconspicuous but the
decisive aspect here is the fact that
they float
[Music]
a crane crosses the swamp in search of a
bite to eat but anyone who gets too
close to the turns net can also lose
their points wizkid turns brooding many
species in the swamps breed in loose
colonies which provide a certain
security including black-necked Grebe's
their nests are also raft the rotting
plant remains which are unaffected by
changing water levels
glowing red eyes and bronze ear tufts
are their characteristics in the swamp
the best survival strategy is to get on
your own two feet as quickly as possible
a few hours ago this little crime was
still in its egg as soon as its sibling
hatches the family will undertake their
first excursion in the swamp the black
necked Grebe's and wizkid terms have
also produced offspring
[Music]
the tiny grebe chicks can already leave
their floating home by themselves but
only do so when the temptation is great
enough every year according to water
levels be MSHA and Neurath give the
countryside a new face
[Music]
two rivers that are still allowed to
make their own way
[Music]
damselflies dragonfly wings don't beat
synchronously which enables them to
hover accelerate in a flash and land
with absolute precision like this
Demoiselle the wildlife has adapted to
the changing water levels as have the
cattle from the village of DRA stovall
the way it's been for centuries
today the cows are leaving their shed
for the first time this year various
farmers drive their stock together to
the nearby BM shop
stoic and Placid the cowls wade through
the river today they're accompanied but
in future they'll make their own way
[Music]
[Applause]
hatching time for the meadow Birds is
over now the cattle can enjoy the lush
pasture and easily awaited
[Music]
the cows keep the vegetation short this
natural form of Agriculture benefits
birds like the black-tailed Godwit and
many other animals
[Music]
to the north of the swamp region live
army and missouria extensive forests and
poland's biggest lake district the
numerous farms are evidence of intact
agriculture the numerous stalks of
intact flora and fauna one in four
stalks is a pole the locals say with
pride as 25% of the world's dog
population of 50,000 breed in Poland on
top of church towers barns and farm
houses the birds distinctive clattering
is both a greeting and serves to
strengthen the bond between partners
according to popular belief here white
storks symbolize good luck and parental
care and are responsible for bringing
human babies wherever stalks live nature
and agriculture are still in harmony and
there is food in abundance
the stalks also profit from humans
[Applause]
spotted source leaks to the little
rodents inhabit open spaces here created
by the farmers Mon sirs leeks live in
family groups and spend most of the time
looking for food or eating they like
cereals and grasses they spotted the
stalk some time ago and are keeping a
lookout
a shrill whistle serves as a warning
signal but the stork is a safe distance
away
[Music]
time for some reciprocal creaming so
slicks have underground burrows into
which they can disappear instantly at
the first sign of danger the stork is
usually too late
[Music]
but stalks possess a quality sadly
lacking in Sussex
they have patience infinite patience
sauce licks are only found in certain
parts of Poland maybe as a consequence
of the large store population and their
successful hunting strategy summer in
missouria poppies and cornflowers are a
regular feature and their colorful
blooms attract countless insects
[Music]
many animals profit from the wealth of
six legged life like the Hoopoe it's
young a Fed a steady stream of crickets
and other insects
the roller is as colorful as a tropical
bird and rarely seen in Poland like the
Hoopoe it loves a warm climate and is
always on the lookout for larger insects
its qualities as a singer however are
somewhat limited
[Music]
rollers can impress by their looks alone
[Music]
the who pose characteristic call can be
heard some distance away
[Music]
on the edge of the field live a family
of foxes the vixen is always on guard
but her Cubs have other concerns like
getting their mother to suckle them this
phase lasts six weeks and when mum goes
off to find food it's time for some fun
the Cubs use all of the Sandhill to mock
fight and scrap
they leave the den for the first time
age three weeks then slowly increase
their radius of activity for the moment
their world is just one big adventure
playground
[Music]
Missouri's forests stretch to the
horizon peaceful and remote
remote enough for a bird that seeks his
little contact with humans as possible
the black stork in stark contrast to
their white relatives black storks leave
hidden lives high up in the trees but
like their white cousins they reuse
their nests for years these rare birds
feel at home in rich natural Woodlands
bordered by streams and rivers which
missouria has in abundance
nextdoor a young white backed woodpecker
camels for food these birds are typical
inhabitants of the Russian taiga their
main area of closed distribution whose
western tip live in Poland feeding time
at the black storks nests a thousand
pairs live in Poland the largest
population in Europe the young white
backs woodpecker is almost ready to
leave the nest the young black stalk
still have some way to go in comparison
to their white cousins black storks
clatter very quietly but have a larger
repertoire of other calls and quiet song
[Music]
leaving missouria in the north of poland
the forests extend right up to the
Baltic
[Music]
contrasts lush green up to the seaside
and large dead trees suffocated by sand
wandering sand dunes over 40 meters high
are a constant threat to the forest in
the sliven ski national park poland
sahara 330 square kilometers of desert
like dunes always on the move
the sand comes from the sea and is
banked up and transported by the
westerly winds creatures that live here
leave no tracks
the sand is constantly resupplied by the
baltic
quietly almost unnoticed the sea keeps
Poland's desert alive
[Music]
morning mist inland summer is drawing to
a close
[Music]
loud roaring coming from a forest
clearing can only mean one thing it's
mating time for the red deer the younger
animals have no part to play the stage
is set for the larger experienced stags
they have only one thing on their minds
procreation slowly the autumn Sun gains
in strength and disperses the swaths of
mist
you
[Music]
thorn of hormone fueled energy the
senior stags are always on the move
they're kept busy bringing their doze
together and holding off rivals the
mating season takes a lot of strength
with the stags losing up to a quarter of
their weight and the doze will only mate
with the most successful stags a stag of
a completely different kind and elk it
uses the autumn to put on reserves of
fat before food becomes scarce again the
starting signal
the humans too are now busy organizing
reserves of food for the winter
[Applause]
a whole troupe of rustic characters set
off their goal is a fish farm the day
before they drained the water and now
it's harvest time they encircle the fish
with Nets then steadily reduce the
circle the atmosphere is tense
how will the catch beef a good year
everyone gets stuck in and there's
plenty to go around fish farming is a
centuries-old tradition in Poland the
men are old hands
the most popular fish harvested is cut
20,000 tons a year according to custom
most end up at home in the bathtub
before being served as traditional
Christmas dinner
[Music]
the first frosty night gives the
landscape a new look
[Music]
elq's don't mind the cold not even minus
50 degrees Celsius bothers them in the
middle of the 20th century Elks here
were almost extinct today there are once
more several thousand of these
impressive beasts in Polish forests and
even if the icy temperatures aren't a
problem the lack of greenery in the
winter forces them to eat bark and
brushwood back in the Tatra the woods
have been snowed in for weeks with more
than a quarter of the country covered in
forest wood is an important raw material
when the woods are too dense for
machinery logging horses has used a
traditional and at the same time
progressive way of working as it avoids
damage to both ground and trees the tone
may sound rough but man and animal or a
practice team and trust each other
implicitly the horses will I on the
calls of the woodsman and he relies on
them the work is potentially very
dangerous so only especially trained
experienced horses are used
[Music]
ancient forests and snowy mountain
science the Tatra with its prominent
peaks and craggy ridges is only one
facet of Poland the country with one of
the richest varieties of wildlife in
Europe
[Music]