Fox Dives Head First in to Snow | 4K UHD | Planet Earth II | BBC Earth

BBC Earth

11 Jun 202404:22

Summary

TLDRIn a harsh winter, 60 million tons of snow cover the bison's territory, forcing them to expend massive energy to stay warm and search for scarce food beneath the snow. With temperatures plummeting to -40°C, survival hinges on their ability to reach the ground. Bison use brute strength, moving tons of snow daily with their powerful necks, while foxes employ precision and cunning to exploit the bison's efforts, seeking more nutritious prey. This tale of survival on the prairies highlights the contrast between brawn and brain, illustrating the diverse strategies animals use to endure the winter.

Takeaways

❄️ 60 million tons of snow cover the bison's territory.
😫 Pushing through deep snow is exhausting work for the bison.
🌨️ The bison are slowly starving and keeping warm requires huge amounts of energy.
🧥 Their thick coats can insulate them down to -30°C, but it's currently -40°C.
🥶 The bison's food is buried beneath a meter of snow, posing a survival challenge.
🦊 The fox shares the same problem, with its food also deep beneath the snow.
💪 Bison use brute strength to shovel through five tons of snow a day.
🦊 The lightweight fox needs precision to reach its food.
🌱 Bison reach their goal of a mouthful of withered grass.
🦊 The fox takes advantage of the bison's digging to find food.
👂 The fox listens carefully to pinpoint its moving target under the snow.
🧠 The fox's prey is small but 100 times more nutritious than dried grass.
🧩 On these prairies, sometimes brain beats brawn for survival.

Q & A

What challenges do the bison face in the winter?
-The bison face the challenge of pushing through deep snow, which is exhausting and causes them to slowly starve. Keeping warm in the harsh temperatures also saps huge amounts of energy.
How do the bison's thick coats help them survive the cold?
-The bison's thick coats can insulate them down to -30°C, providing essential protection against the cold.
What is the temperature mentioned in the script and how does it affect the bison?
-The temperature mentioned is minus 40°C. At this extreme cold, the only food source that can keep the bison alive is buried beneath a meter of snow, making survival very challenging.
What problem do the bison share with a surprising neighbor?
-The bison share the problem of accessing food buried beneath the snow with a surprising neighbor, the fox.
How do the bison manage to reach their food source under the snow?
-The bison use their massive neck muscles to shovel through five tons of snow a day to reach their food source, which is withered grass.
How does the fox benefit from the bison's digging?
-The fox benefits from the bison's digging by spotting an opportunity to access food where the bison have dug.
What strategy does the fox use to hunt for food under the snow?
-The fox uses precision and listens carefully to pinpoint its target beneath the snow. This strategy is crucial for the fox to catch small prey, which is 100 times more nutritious than dried grass.
What is the fox's prey mentioned in the script and why is it important?
-The fox's prey is small animals moving under the snow, which are very nutritious and essential for the fox's survival through the winter.
How does the survival strategy of the bison differ from that of the fox?
-The bison rely on brute strength to shovel through snow to reach their food, while the fox relies on precision and careful listening to hunt small prey under the snow.
What is the key message about survival in harsh winter conditions as depicted in the script?
-The key message is that survival in harsh winter conditions requires different strategies; for the bison, it's brute strength, and for the fox, it's precision and listening skills. Both animals must adapt to access food and survive.

Outlines

00:00

🐃 Bison's Struggle in Deep Snow

The paragraph describes the harsh conditions faced by bison in a snowy environment. With 60 million tons of snow covering their territory, the bison are struggling to find food and energy to keep warm. Their thick coats can insulate them down to -30°C, but the temperature has dropped to -40°C. The only sustenance available is buried beneath a meter of snow, which poses a significant challenge for the bison. The paragraph highlights the bison's use of brute strength, with massive neck muscles allowing them to shovel through snow to find withered grass, a critical resource for their survival.

🦊 Fox's Clever Survival Strategy

This paragraph introduces a surprising neighbor, the fox, which also faces the challenge of finding food beneath the snow. Unlike the bison, the fox relies on precision rather than brute strength. It listens carefully to pinpoint the location of its target, a small but highly nutritious creature that is 100 times more valuable than a mouthful of dried grass. The fox takes advantage of the bison's efforts, using their footprints to locate its prey without breaking through the snow. The paragraph illustrates the contrast between the bison's physical approach and the fox's more strategic and intelligent method of survival in the same challenging conditions.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Snow

Snow is a form of precipitation consisting of ice crystals that form in the Earth's atmosphere when the temperature is below freezing. In the video, snow blankets the territory of the bison herd, creating a challenging environment for survival as it covers the food resources they need to survive the harsh winter.

💡Bison

Bison are large, even-toed ungulates native to North America and Europe. They are the main subject of the video, depicted as struggling to survive in the extreme cold and deep snow. Their strength and ability to move large amounts of snow are highlighted as crucial for their survival.

💡Starving

Starving refers to the state of extreme hunger due to a lack of food. The video script mentions that the bison are slowly starving because the energy required to keep warm in the cold is sapping their strength, and their food sources are inaccessible under the snow.

💡Insulate

To insulate means to protect from heat, cold, or noise by placing material that prevents the loss of internal heat. The bison's thick coats are described as insulating them down to -30°C, emphasizing the importance of their natural adaptation to the cold environment.

💡Fox

A fox is a small-to-medium-sized carnivorous mammal with a pointed snout and bushy tail. In the video, the fox is portrayed as a surprising neighbor to the bison, also facing the challenge of finding food beneath the snow, illustrating the interconnectedness of the ecosystem.

💡Nutritious

Nutritious refers to the quality of providing nourishment essential for health. The script mentions that the food sought by the fox is small but 100 times more nutritious than a mouthful of dried grass, indicating the importance of efficient nutrition for survival in the harsh conditions.

💡Brute Strength

Brute strength implies the use of raw physical power rather than skill or intelligence. The bison's massive neck muscles, which enable them to shovel five tons of snow a day, exemplify brute strength as a survival strategy in the video.

💡Precision

Precision refers to the quality of being exact and accurate. The fox's need for precision in finding food beneath the snow contrasts with the bison's brute strength, showing that different survival strategies are employed by different species in the same environment.

💡Survival

Survival is the continued existence of a species or individual despite adverse conditions. The video's theme revolves around the survival of both the bison and the fox in the harsh winter conditions, highlighting the struggle and the strategies they employ.

💡Prairies

Prairies are large areas of flat, treeless land, often covered with grasses. The script mentions that getting through the winter on these prairies is a challenge, emphasizing the specific environment in which the bison and the fox live and the unique challenges they face.

💡Brain over Brawn

The phrase 'brain over brawn' suggests that intelligence or strategy is more effective than physical strength. The video concludes with the idea that sometimes, in the struggle for survival, cleverness and precision (as demonstrated by the fox) can be more advantageous than sheer physical power (as shown by the bison).

Highlights

60 million tons of snow now blanket this herd's territory.

Pushing through deep snow is exhausting work, and the bison are now slowly starving.

Just keeping warm saps huge amounts of energy.

Their thick coats can insulate them down to -30°C; it's now minus 40°C.

The only thing that will keep them alive is buried beneath a meter of snow.

This problem is shared with a surprising neighbor.

The food the fox seeks is also deep beneath the snow.

The survival of both creatures depends on getting through to the ground.

For the bison, it will be a matter of brute strength.

Massive neck muscles enable them to shovel five tons of snow a day.

Their lightweight neighbor, the fox, needs more precision.

The bison have reached their goal: a mouthful of withered grass.

Where the bison have dug, the fox now spots an opportunity.

Every footstep counts, but the fox mustn't break through yet.

He listens carefully to pinpoint his target, which is moving.

A small target, but 100 times more nutritious than a mouthful of dried grass.

To get through the winter on these prairies, sometimes brain beats brawn.