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Search and rescue teams are crossing
Iceland's central plateau.

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A few kilometres below them,
a huge reservoir of molten magma

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shakes the ground as it makes
its way to the surface.

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The question is not IF an eruption
will take place,

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but when...and where.

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Icelanders have turned their
unstable, cold, rugged island

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into one of the most modern and
culturally-rich nations on earth.

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But they still keep one foot
in the wild

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and a very careful eye on the beast
stirring beneath them.

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Over what turns out to be
an explosive year,

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and through the eyes of
wild foxes...

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..an eider duck farmer...

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..and Viking horsemen,

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we'll see why everything on Iceland

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remains uniquely connected
to the land underfoot.

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Under the eerie glow
of the Northern Lights,

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Iceland is in the iron grip
of winter.

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Lying close to the Arctic Circle,

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with just a few hours
of light a day,

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it has endured months below zero.

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At this time of year, it's hard
to imagine Iceland's fiery origins,

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but the island emerged
as molten lava

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from deep beneath
the Atlantic Ocean.

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It's one of the planet's
newest pieces of land.

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Everywhere are reminders
of how little time it's had

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to shed its raw, rocky character,

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and how closely it's connected
to the very centre of the earth.

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Iceland is so new and so isolated
in the North Atlantic

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that, until relatively recently,

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there were no land mammals
here at all.

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But during the last Ice Age,

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when it was connected to Greenland
by ice bridges and ice floes,

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a very tenacious predator turned up.

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The Arctic fox.

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Iceland's first land mammal,

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in its many colour variations,
was here to stay.

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But how it survived on Iceland
without any of its regular prey,

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like lemmings, has long fascinated
scientist Ester Unnsteinsdottir.

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'This is an Arctic species,
it's adapted to the Arctic winter,

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'which is really cold.

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'And you can see it
on the thick fur,

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'it's the thickest fur in the
universe, so very well insulating.'

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It's actually better
than a polar bear's

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against the biting cold.

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Enduring extreme weather
is one thing -

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its biggest challenge on Iceland
is finding food.

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They need to eat.

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And if they don't have enough food
in the wintertime,

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especially before breeding,
they don't manage to breed properly.

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There is a remarkable lifeline.

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An arm of the Gulf Stream helps
to keep much of Iceland's

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long, rocky coastline ice-free.

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So even in winter,
foxes can scavenge

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the washed-up remains of fish,
seabirds and sea mammals.

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Only the toughest foxes hold on to
a slice of good shoreline territory

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and get the chance to breed.

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But first, they have to find a mate.

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A dark male appears
to have won over a brown female.

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A white male is desperate
to mate with her, too.

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And succeeds in grabbing
her attention.

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For a while, he seems to have
outfoxed his rival.

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But it doesn't end well for him.

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The white male
will have to try elsewhere.

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Hopefully, this brown female,
with the victor in tow,

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has the strength she'll need
to have a family.

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For the weak or the inexperienced,
winter is a punishing time.

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Less than half of all foxes survive.

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Sea mammals have an easier ride.

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The ice-free waters offer

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some of the best fishing
in the North Atlantic...

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..attracting not just seals,
but whales and dolphins.

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The fertile seas were a good reason
for humans to settle here, too.

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The first Vikings colonised Iceland
just over a thousand years ago.

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Down the generations,
through fishing and farming,

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they have carved out a unique way

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of dealing with
the many limits to life.

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Most of Iceland's people,
just over 300,000 of them,

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are descended from
the original settlers.

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And many still work the land
in tried and tested ways.

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Even their livestock traces back
to the animals

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the Vikings brought with them.

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Purest and most admired
is the Icelandic horse.

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It's smaller and much hardier
than most other breeds.

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Owners give them a little help
towards winter's end,

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but mostly, they tough out
the cruellest of weather.

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The best way to raise livestock here
is to keep the animals semi-wild.

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It gives them the character
and spirit to survive

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in this austere volcanic landscape.

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But with little prime grazing land,

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Icelanders could never rely
on their livestock alone.

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Long ago, the arrival of squadrons
of swans, ducks and geese

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would have offered relief
from dwindling winter rations.

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One species offered
much more than a meal.

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Eider ducks are among the millions
of birds that are drawn to Iceland

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from all around the North Atlantic.

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These days, Thor Bjornsson
makes an unusual living from them.

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But he can't start work until
the eiders have finished pairing up

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and have come ashore.

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He, and the birds,
are waiting for spring.

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Exposed all winter
to brutal Atlantic storms,

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Iceland has been blanketed
by huge volumes of snow.

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When that melts, it fills
thousands of streams and rivers.

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And cascades over some of Europe's

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largest and most powerful
waterfalls.

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Iceland is so new and remote

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that relatively few species
have made it here.

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Its hardy pioneers
are always under pressure.

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Even now, it's a race to make the
most of longer, warmer days ahead.

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After a winter of famine,

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male ptarmigan are hungry to reach
the buds, packed with proteins,

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which are swelling at the top
of willows and birches.

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It's a precarious high-wire act

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for a bird that spends the majority
of its time on the ground.

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Down on the coast, Thor is impatient

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for the eiders
to get on with mating.

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Millions of other migrating
and resident birds

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are already nursing eggs,
set to take advantage

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of what will be a very short,
but bountiful summer.

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BIRDSONG

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Eventually, the eiders return to the
western islands of Breidafjordur,

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finding the same nest scrapes

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that their mothers
and grandmothers used before them.

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The mother duck cradles her eggs
in a pillow of down

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collected from her own
breast feathers.

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There is no other duck down like it.

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It's this down
that Thor wants to harvest,

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but he'll need his extended family
to help gather it.

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Thor's farm consists of nearly
300 small islands.

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And they'll have to deal with over
3,000 wild eider ducks.

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It's going to be a busy few weeks.

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Spring has finally reached
Hornstrandir,

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the craggy, lonely,
north-western corner of Iceland.

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After a severe winter,
this female fox

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is hanging around
one of only two den sites.

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The lack of food over the past
few months will have taken its toll,

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but now she has to step up a gear.

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She's looking after
not just herself...

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..but six newborn cubs.

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Her work is cut out.

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She's a mum with a sky-high
milk bill.

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Just to keep up production,
she's going to have to spend

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the next weeks hunting fulltime.

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Arctic foxes
are feisty opportunists.

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They may be small, but when
livestock arrived on Iceland,

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they soon worked out how to kill
animals much larger than themselves.

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In response, the early settlers
began hunting foxes

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to keep their numbers under control.

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Today, foxes still take livestock

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and the hunting quotas
enshrined in law in the 13th century

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are still in force.

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On Iceland's marginal land,

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the challenges facing both fox
and farmer cannot be underestimated.

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Making a living out here is tough.

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For farmers like Halldor,
horses are their pride and joy.

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These days, Halldor
and his son-in-law, Snorri,

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mostly breed them for riding.

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Horses are still better than 4x4s

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on Iceland's rough tracks
and mountain passes.

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Just as sturdy and dependable

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as when they were the backbone
of Icelandic communities.

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HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE:

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The finest horses became
highly-regarded status symbols.

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SNORRI IN ENGLISH: You had a lot of
respect if you had the best horse.

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Even if you were a poor farmer,

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if you had the best horse,
you had respect.

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HALLDOR SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

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SNORRI TRANSLATING:
"Really important for the young guys
to have a nice horse

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"when they were looking for girls.

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"When you came with good clothes,
on a nice horse,

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"you had a good chance."

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Every spring, Halldor checks on
his pregnant mares.

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He hopes his favourite stallion
will be the father.

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The very best foals will be much
admired at the end-of-year round-up,

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but Halldor has no control
over their arrival.

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They give birth
to their foals in secret.

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Often after dark, and without help.

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Halldor has to trust that his mares
are robust enough to cope.

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Over 3,000 eider ducks are now
settled on eggs on Thor's islands.

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He and his family carefully comb
each rocky outcrop,

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looking for nests.

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Thor's unusual livelihood allows him

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to spend time in
the wildest parts of Iceland,

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among the nature he loves so much.

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'I started about 1970.

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'And I was 14 years old then.

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'I found it very, very nice
to be with the birds, like this.

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'Collecting down
and all the wildlife around it.'

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Thor carefully sets the eggs aside,
removes the down,

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and will re-cushion the eggs
in soft, warm hay.

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The female ducks can then return
to their duties with no harm done.

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His yield is limited by the number
of birds that return each year.

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Some years are better
than others and...

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..we get up to 55 kilos
of eiderdown.

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00:19:51,100 --> 00:19:57,540
Normally, it's about 65 nests
in one kilo of down.

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Eiders have proved tricky
to domesticate.

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00:20:02,300 --> 00:20:05,420
Their down can only be farmed
from wild birds.

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00:20:05,420 --> 00:20:08,500
To increase overall numbers,

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00:20:08,500 --> 00:20:11,020
Thor collects and rears
a few offspring

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that may not otherwise survive.

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00:20:13,340 --> 00:20:18,900
'A lot of young ones,
eider ducklings, die in many ways.

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00:20:18,900 --> 00:20:23,780
'Bad, er...weather, wet and windy.

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00:20:23,780 --> 00:20:25,940
'They cannot get enough food.

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00:20:25,940 --> 00:20:28,660
'So normally, they maybe raise up
one duckling,

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00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:30,900
'two ducklings, something like that.

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00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:32,940
'We take one or two eggs
from the nest,

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'depends how many eggs
are in the nest.

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00:20:35,780 --> 00:20:40,060
'When we started here, it was about
something between 500 or 600 eiders

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'nesting in the homeland area,
but now it's more than 1,000,

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'so they come back.'

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While his eggs are incubating,
Thor gets down to business.

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00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:59,340
Nearly three quarters of all
eider duck down comes from Iceland,

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00:20:59,340 --> 00:21:01,220
and it's all gathered by hand.

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00:21:02,780 --> 00:21:06,340
Thor's family painstakingly
pick the down clean

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00:21:06,340 --> 00:21:08,860
before it's bagged up for sale.

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00:21:08,860 --> 00:21:13,660
Most becomes a cosy filling for
high-end duvets, quilts and jackets.

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00:21:13,660 --> 00:21:15,700
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

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00:21:19,060 --> 00:21:23,700
Its secret may lie in the way
the fibres flex and lock together,

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creating thousands
of minuscule air pockets.

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It's such effective insulation

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that it's been used to keep
astronauts warm in space.

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This is duck down
that's flown to the moon and back.

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CHIRPING

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After a few days under a heat lamp,
Thor's ducklings begin to hatch.

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00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:53,380
They grow quickly.

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00:21:53,380 --> 00:21:57,660
In the wild, eider ducklings
can fledge after just a month.

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CHIRPING

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00:22:03,420 --> 00:22:04,740
But under Thor's wing,

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they stand a much better chance
of making it to adulthood.

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00:22:08,380 --> 00:22:10,540
CHEEPING

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For these first days, at least,

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they only have eyes
for their new duck dad.

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They won't follow him
around long-term,

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00:22:35,620 --> 00:22:38,260
but Thor will have to spend the rest
of the summer

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00:22:38,260 --> 00:22:40,500
as a stay-at-home father,

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00:22:40,500 --> 00:22:43,940
teaching them skills they'll need
to become wild birds.

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The longest days of the year
are approaching,

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00:22:51,660 --> 00:22:54,900
when the sun barely dips below
the horizon.

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The fullness of summer

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00:22:56,540 --> 00:22:59,820
is only really felt
around the island's edges.

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00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:10,260
Hardly anything lives on the vast,
ash-covered central plateau.

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00:23:13,220 --> 00:23:16,900
Its many volcanoes erupt
too frequently and violently

242
00:23:16,900 --> 00:23:19,100
to give life much chance.

243
00:23:21,940 --> 00:23:25,620
It's like a sleeping giant that
everyone's turned their back on,

244
00:23:25,620 --> 00:23:28,220
but dares not forget is there.

245
00:23:41,180 --> 00:23:43,380
Watching over the fox family,

246
00:23:43,380 --> 00:23:47,340
Ester is spending more and more time
on the Hornstrandir peninsula.

247
00:23:51,300 --> 00:23:53,020
The cubs have been weaned,

248
00:23:53,020 --> 00:23:56,460
but Mum's workload
just gets bigger by the day.

249
00:23:59,940 --> 00:24:02,020
Sibling rivalry can be lethal.

250
00:24:04,460 --> 00:24:08,060
It's thought that each fight
reinforces their rank in the family.

251
00:24:10,060 --> 00:24:13,340
Dogged determination decides
who gets most food

252
00:24:13,340 --> 00:24:16,180
and who, ultimately, survives.

253
00:24:37,540 --> 00:24:40,380
This mum seems to be made of
particularly stern stuff

254
00:24:40,380 --> 00:24:43,540
and is providing
for all six of the cubs.

255
00:24:54,380 --> 00:24:57,620
She's raising her family
close to one of the most prolific

256
00:24:57,620 --> 00:25:00,020
seabird colonies in Iceland.

257
00:25:02,140 --> 00:25:05,100
There's lots of tempting food
on offer.

258
00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:08,540
The problem is that it's perched
on sheer walls of rock.

259
00:25:27,860 --> 00:25:32,140
If ever there was a high-stakes
game, this mother is playing it.

260
00:25:43,100 --> 00:25:46,980
One false step and she will plunge
hundreds of metres

261
00:25:46,980 --> 00:25:49,020
onto the rocks below.

262
00:25:49,020 --> 00:25:51,460
Her cubs will effectively die
with her.

263
00:25:52,860 --> 00:25:55,660
SQUAWKING

264
00:26:18,660 --> 00:26:20,060
She's found a kittiwake.

265
00:26:23,340 --> 00:26:24,940
But with a growing family,

266
00:26:24,940 --> 00:26:28,020
she will have to risk her life
over and over again.

267
00:26:30,260 --> 00:26:33,300
Today, she has the cliffs
to herself,

268
00:26:33,300 --> 00:26:37,380
but until the 1950s, foxes were
in direct competition

269
00:26:37,380 --> 00:26:41,180
with the people who eked out a
living on this far-flung peninsula.

270
00:26:42,940 --> 00:26:48,340
'It was very harsh, even for humans,
you know. It was really tough.

271
00:26:48,340 --> 00:26:52,980
'Bad winters and, er...not easy
to survive.

272
00:26:52,980 --> 00:26:56,260
'So, both for humans and foxes.

273
00:26:56,260 --> 00:26:59,540
'And they were probably using
the same resources,

274
00:26:59,540 --> 00:27:01,500
'both space and food,

275
00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:03,740
'so they were feeding on
birds and eggs.

276
00:27:03,740 --> 00:27:05,780
'And that's what people
were also feeding on.'

277
00:27:08,220 --> 00:27:10,060
On the remote island of Grimsey,

278
00:27:10,060 --> 00:27:13,500
they still gather eggs
from the massive summer colonies.

279
00:27:17,140 --> 00:27:21,460
Its long coastline and towering
cliffs of resistant volcanic rock

280
00:27:21,460 --> 00:27:25,180
provide ledge space for thousands
of kittiwakes and guillemots.

281
00:27:27,940 --> 00:27:30,580
And burrows above for puffins.

282
00:27:30,580 --> 00:27:32,580
BIRDSONG

283
00:27:41,220 --> 00:27:45,100
Across Iceland, there is still
the taste for seabird eggs.

284
00:27:45,100 --> 00:27:47,500
A traditional and free-range
alternative

285
00:27:47,500 --> 00:27:49,820
to battery-farmed chicken eggs.

286
00:27:51,620 --> 00:27:54,580
These days, the kit may be
relatively modern,

287
00:27:54,580 --> 00:27:57,820
but it still requires
an old-fashioned head for heights.

288
00:28:11,740 --> 00:28:14,260
Timing is crucial.

289
00:28:14,260 --> 00:28:16,780
Eggs are scooped up
right after laying.

290
00:28:16,780 --> 00:28:19,460
The theory being that
as soon as the birds realise

291
00:28:19,460 --> 00:28:21,460
their egg has gone, they'll re-lay.

292
00:28:23,180 --> 00:28:26,060
The collectors simply delay
the hatch by a few days.

293
00:28:54,620 --> 00:28:57,340
The length of cliff
which each collector sweeps

294
00:28:57,340 --> 00:28:59,100
is strictly controlled.

295
00:29:04,620 --> 00:29:07,700
Today, these eggs are sold
through supermarkets,

296
00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:10,420
or traded for autumn berries
from the mainland.

297
00:29:29,820 --> 00:29:33,860
For many, foraging remains
a part of everyday life,

298
00:29:33,860 --> 00:29:36,900
tapping into the rich
natural resources around them.

299
00:29:45,860 --> 00:29:49,700
The most remarkable resource of all
is the heat beneath their feet.

300
00:29:55,220 --> 00:29:58,860
The island lies over the edge
of two continental plates

301
00:29:58,860 --> 00:30:01,300
that are pulling away
from each other.

302
00:30:01,300 --> 00:30:04,260
Iceland is being stretched apart
in the middle.

303
00:30:06,780 --> 00:30:09,620
It's the easiest place
for boiling molten rock

304
00:30:09,620 --> 00:30:11,260
to rise towards the surface.

305
00:30:14,180 --> 00:30:17,020
This readily heats groundwater,

306
00:30:17,020 --> 00:30:19,140
which, day to day,
can be rather useful.

307
00:30:20,420 --> 00:30:24,100
Long ago, Icelanders discovered
how it could slow-cook

308
00:30:24,100 --> 00:30:27,260
one of their most celebrated foods,
lava bread.

309
00:30:30,780 --> 00:30:34,780
Every household has its
own secret recipe for roobrau,

310
00:30:34,780 --> 00:30:37,660
but each loaf will be baked
in much the same way.

311
00:30:41,780 --> 00:30:45,860
Once the dough is bucketed up,
it will be placed in a hot spring -

312
00:30:45,860 --> 00:30:48,300
nearly every rural community
has one -

313
00:30:48,300 --> 00:30:51,460
and then left for 24 hours.

314
00:31:03,660 --> 00:31:06,500
The immense geothermal power
on offer

315
00:31:06,500 --> 00:31:09,100
has transformed the lives
of all Icelanders.

316
00:31:10,780 --> 00:31:13,060
They live just south
of the Arctic Circle.

317
00:31:13,060 --> 00:31:15,740
Yet, modern, ground-heated
greenhouses

318
00:31:15,740 --> 00:31:18,340
allow them to ripen vegetables
and fruits

319
00:31:18,340 --> 00:31:21,100
that wouldn't otherwise
stand a chance of growing here.

320
00:31:28,220 --> 00:31:30,500
They've created a sustainable bubble

321
00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:32,820
in which plants
and their pollinators

322
00:31:32,820 --> 00:31:36,020
defy the limits of growing
on raw, northern rock.

323
00:31:40,820 --> 00:31:44,580
But along with their daily bread,
Icelanders are fed updates

324
00:31:44,580 --> 00:31:47,540
on the many earthquakes that occur
on the island.

325
00:31:47,540 --> 00:31:50,460
It's as routine
as the weather forecast.

326
00:31:50,460 --> 00:31:53,340
And this year, it seems,
more important than ever.

327
00:31:56,780 --> 00:32:00,340
In late May, a swarm of
200 earthquakes

328
00:32:00,340 --> 00:32:04,180
register under the Bardarbunga
volcano in central Iceland.

329
00:32:06,020 --> 00:32:09,860
It lies under Europe's
largest glacier, Vatnajokull.

330
00:32:09,860 --> 00:32:13,380
And eruptions in the past
have caused catastrophic floods.

331
00:32:19,420 --> 00:32:24,060
There's no evidence as yet that
magma is on its way to the surface,

332
00:32:24,060 --> 00:32:26,540
but pilots overflying the area

333
00:32:26,540 --> 00:32:30,300
are asked to keep an eye on any
changes to the ground below them.

334
00:32:37,060 --> 00:32:39,340
On this extraordinary island,

335
00:32:39,340 --> 00:32:41,540
ordinary life simply goes on.

336
00:32:44,460 --> 00:32:47,020
There have been over
a dozen eruptions

337
00:32:47,020 --> 00:32:48,980
in Halldor's lifetime alone.

338
00:32:48,980 --> 00:32:51,780
Right now, he has
more immediate concerns.

339
00:32:58,820 --> 00:33:01,180
One of his mares
has just given birth.

340
00:33:03,500 --> 00:33:06,980
Like many creatures
that evolved on open grassland,

341
00:33:06,980 --> 00:33:10,700
the foal's instinct is to get on
its feet as quickly as possible.

342
00:33:39,220 --> 00:33:40,700
It seems healthy.

343
00:33:55,860 --> 00:33:58,340
The new foals will stay close
to their mothers

344
00:33:58,340 --> 00:33:59,980
for most of their first year.

345
00:34:04,020 --> 00:34:07,500
But it may be the last Halldor
sees of them for a long while.

346
00:34:12,660 --> 00:34:17,460
Soon, all his horses will move up
the valley and into the mountains.

347
00:34:17,460 --> 00:34:20,260
It will give these
lower pastures a break.

348
00:34:22,860 --> 00:34:26,180
But the move is also important
to encourage the foals to run free.

349
00:34:27,780 --> 00:34:30,180
If they're to survive
their first winter,

350
00:34:30,180 --> 00:34:32,020
they need to become resilient.

351
00:34:39,540 --> 00:34:41,780
Horses from all
the farms around here

352
00:34:41,780 --> 00:34:44,860
are allowed to return
to their roots.

353
00:34:44,860 --> 00:34:48,460
Just like the ancestral wild horse
of the Eurasian Steppes,

354
00:34:48,460 --> 00:34:50,540
they'll roam in large herds

355
00:34:50,540 --> 00:34:52,740
and won't see their owners

356
00:34:52,740 --> 00:34:54,620
for many months.

357
00:34:54,620 --> 00:34:58,260
You want to keep this wildness
a little bit in the horses.

358
00:34:58,260 --> 00:35:00,740
And this is
the best place to do that.

359
00:35:00,740 --> 00:35:05,780
And it's also really important
that young horses go there, foals,

360
00:35:05,780 --> 00:35:08,460
to learn this as quickly as possible.

361
00:35:08,460 --> 00:35:13,620
This strengthens their mind
a lot to do this.

362
00:35:13,620 --> 00:35:17,500
Because you never know
in Iceland, if... Just...

363
00:35:17,500 --> 00:35:20,180
If it gets lost on the mountains,

364
00:35:20,180 --> 00:35:23,460
they know how to help themselves.

365
00:35:23,460 --> 00:35:28,740
I think also for the growing of
the horses and the young horses,

366
00:35:28,740 --> 00:35:33,620
it's, like, it grows much better
and stronger on the mountains.

367
00:35:36,420 --> 00:35:38,900
The Skagafjordur region
prides itself

368
00:35:38,900 --> 00:35:41,700
on producing the very best
Icelandic horses.

369
00:35:44,860 --> 00:35:47,140
Strict rules control the breed.

370
00:35:49,340 --> 00:35:52,700
A horse sold abroad
is never allowed to return,

371
00:35:52,700 --> 00:35:56,500
having lost the magic mix
of wildness and trainability.

372
00:35:58,980 --> 00:36:01,820
This is the trait
Halldor's foals must develop

373
00:36:01,820 --> 00:36:04,900
if they are to do him proud
at the end-of-year round-up.

374
00:36:20,580 --> 00:36:23,380
The short summer is pressing on.

375
00:36:23,380 --> 00:36:27,420
Wild eider ducks are already leading
their young broods out on the water.

376
00:36:36,660 --> 00:36:38,540
The eider is a diving duck

377
00:36:38,540 --> 00:36:41,660
that spends the whole winter
living at sea.

378
00:36:41,660 --> 00:36:43,900
It's vital they become
powerful swimmers.

379
00:36:49,620 --> 00:36:51,700
Thor's ducklings, too,

380
00:36:51,700 --> 00:36:54,660
must begin learning how to face
the trials ahead.

381
00:36:59,900 --> 00:37:02,580
Younger members of the family
lead the way.

382
00:37:06,340 --> 00:37:10,300
They get very quickly
very big and strong.

383
00:37:10,300 --> 00:37:14,780
And we bring them to the sea
every day, or sometimes twice a day,

384
00:37:14,780 --> 00:37:17,340
to feed in the sea
and swim a little bit.

385
00:37:20,620 --> 00:37:23,820
Here, they'll build up their muscles
and sharpen their instincts.

386
00:37:25,180 --> 00:37:27,180
They're still vulnerable to the cold

387
00:37:27,180 --> 00:37:29,500
and to ravenous black-backed gulls,

388
00:37:29,500 --> 00:37:32,620
so the children must guide
and protect them.

389
00:37:35,500 --> 00:37:38,140
First days, we have to look
very well after them

390
00:37:38,140 --> 00:37:40,900
because they want to go away.

391
00:37:40,900 --> 00:37:44,660
So we try to gather them
and so they don't swim away.

392
00:37:46,820 --> 00:37:49,260
This wilful streak is good.

393
00:37:49,260 --> 00:37:51,220
It means they haven't been tamed.

394
00:38:07,420 --> 00:38:10,660
All in all, it's a fun way
for the kids to connect with nature.

395
00:38:21,020 --> 00:38:22,980
And the smallest member
of the family

396
00:38:22,980 --> 00:38:25,140
gets to talk down to someone else.

397
00:38:48,460 --> 00:38:50,260
It's home-time.

398
00:38:50,260 --> 00:38:55,460
The ducklings are gently herded
and counted back in.

399
00:38:55,460 --> 00:38:57,820
Where they'll fluff
themselves back up

400
00:38:57,820 --> 00:39:00,420
in readiness for the next stage
of their training.

401
00:39:07,740 --> 00:39:09,540
For now, it's job done.

402
00:39:14,420 --> 00:39:16,580
BIRDSONG

403
00:39:16,580 --> 00:39:20,820
In Hornstrandir, the Atlantic Ocean
is slowly gnawing

404
00:39:20,820 --> 00:39:24,540
at what remains of a very ancient
and immense lava flow.

405
00:39:29,060 --> 00:39:33,220
On its unforgiving edge,
the mother fox has defied the odds.

406
00:39:41,940 --> 00:39:45,220
All six of her cubs are still alive.

407
00:39:45,220 --> 00:39:47,980
Although life is a challenge,
they currently stand

408
00:39:47,980 --> 00:39:50,940
a better chance in Iceland
than elsewhere in the Arctic.

409
00:39:54,500 --> 00:39:59,660
'There's very few Arctic foxes
left in Scandinavia.

410
00:39:59,660 --> 00:40:03,620
'And they have been
endangered for many, many years.

411
00:40:03,620 --> 00:40:09,100
'But they're facing troubles that
we are not facing here in Iceland.'

412
00:40:09,100 --> 00:40:13,220
Ester believes the big problem
for Arctic foxes in Scandinavia

413
00:40:13,220 --> 00:40:16,860
is the northward march of
the red fox, due to climate change.

414
00:40:18,180 --> 00:40:21,020
As it moves into
Arctic fox territory,

415
00:40:21,020 --> 00:40:23,660
the red fox takes over
their den sites,

416
00:40:23,660 --> 00:40:27,220
competes for food
and even kills adults and young.

417
00:40:31,980 --> 00:40:36,300
The Arctic foxes on Iceland
remain out of reach.

418
00:40:36,300 --> 00:40:38,900
The island is an important
stronghold for them.

419
00:40:41,740 --> 00:40:43,500
Mum's job is nearly done.

420
00:40:45,340 --> 00:40:48,060
In the next few weeks,
the cubs will leave home.

421
00:40:56,180 --> 00:40:58,460
Hunger may force them
into taking livestock,

422
00:40:58,460 --> 00:41:00,260
where they risk being shot.

423
00:41:12,820 --> 00:41:15,700
The odds are that not all of these
cubs will survive

424
00:41:15,700 --> 00:41:18,540
the coming winter,
or go on to breed.

425
00:41:20,420 --> 00:41:23,580
But the Arctic fox
has an almost heroic ability

426
00:41:23,580 --> 00:41:26,180
to turn hardship into opportunity.

427
00:41:29,700 --> 00:41:32,700
This mum's given them
the best possible start in life.

428
00:41:50,500 --> 00:41:53,260
This far north, the limits to life

429
00:41:53,260 --> 00:41:56,220
for animals and humans,
are very stark.

430
00:41:57,540 --> 00:42:00,700
So Icelanders have never been shy
of taking from nature.

431
00:42:03,060 --> 00:42:07,180
Traditionally, they've harvested
everything from seabirds to whales,

432
00:42:07,180 --> 00:42:11,060
fish to seals,
some of which they still take today.

433
00:42:15,220 --> 00:42:17,860
But it's clear that
if you live on an island,

434
00:42:17,860 --> 00:42:20,100
especially one so remote
and northerly,

435
00:42:20,100 --> 00:42:22,540
you cannot take more than you need.

436
00:42:28,300 --> 00:42:30,540
Ever since the Vikings first landed,

437
00:42:30,540 --> 00:42:32,940
fishing the rich offshore waters

438
00:42:32,940 --> 00:42:35,300
have been fundamental
to the country's economy.

439
00:42:36,980 --> 00:42:39,660
In the 1970s,
Iceland even used gunboats

440
00:42:39,660 --> 00:42:43,140
to defend a 200-mile fishing limit
around their coast.

441
00:42:47,220 --> 00:42:49,140
Today, with careful management,

442
00:42:49,140 --> 00:42:52,700
their fisheries are some of the most
sustainable in the world.

443
00:43:01,220 --> 00:43:04,340
Their long-term thinking
has helped other countries, too.

444
00:43:07,820 --> 00:43:11,060
Icelandic rivers are important
spawning grounds

445
00:43:11,060 --> 00:43:12,900
for the Atlantic salmon.

446
00:43:16,940 --> 00:43:20,380
But in the 1980s,
salmon started to decline,

447
00:43:20,380 --> 00:43:22,020
due mainly to overfishing

448
00:43:22,020 --> 00:43:24,580
by commercial operations
on the high seas.

449
00:43:29,780 --> 00:43:32,820
By raising funds to buy out
the netting operations,

450
00:43:32,820 --> 00:43:35,220
effectively paying them not to fish,

451
00:43:35,220 --> 00:43:38,380
millions of salmon
were given a chance

452
00:43:38,380 --> 00:43:41,500
to return to rivers, from Norway
to North America.

453
00:43:45,980 --> 00:43:48,460
The problem is far from over.

454
00:43:48,460 --> 00:43:51,540
Striking a balance between
harvesting and protecting

455
00:43:51,540 --> 00:43:53,500
is an ongoing effort,

456
00:43:53,500 --> 00:43:56,540
but Icelanders manage it
in their own unique way.

457
00:43:58,180 --> 00:44:00,380
It's a country where
hunting and gathering

458
00:44:00,380 --> 00:44:03,180
sit side by side with modern life.

459
00:44:10,180 --> 00:44:13,620
A nation with a dynamic economy,
built around Reykjavik,

460
00:44:13,620 --> 00:44:16,460
the most northerly capital city
in the world.

461
00:44:18,500 --> 00:44:21,580
Cheap, clean, renewable power
warms homes,

462
00:44:21,580 --> 00:44:24,780
keeps the lights on
and provides mains' hot water.

463
00:44:26,420 --> 00:44:29,100
Even city pavements
have underfloor heating.

464
00:44:31,500 --> 00:44:34,540
Reykjavik's Opera House
celebrates music and drama

465
00:44:34,540 --> 00:44:37,500
inspired by the original
Icelandic sagas.

466
00:44:38,820 --> 00:44:42,260
But Icelanders
are necessarily rooted in reality.

467
00:44:45,300 --> 00:44:48,020
They can never forget
they're living over a huge

468
00:44:48,020 --> 00:44:50,980
and widening tear
in the earth's crust.

469
00:44:53,140 --> 00:44:55,140
And as summer draws to a close,

470
00:44:55,140 --> 00:45:00,460
the giant reservoir of molten rock
under them is beginning to stir.

471
00:45:07,460 --> 00:45:11,500
Back on the Breidafjordur islands,
wild eider offspring

472
00:45:11,500 --> 00:45:14,900
are learning what to eat
by watching their parents.

473
00:45:31,780 --> 00:45:35,260
It's Thor's job to introduce
his ducklings to the kind of food

474
00:45:35,260 --> 00:45:37,860
that will keep them going
out on the open water.

475
00:45:40,540 --> 00:45:43,780
When they grow up, they'll be diving
mainly for molluscs,

476
00:45:43,780 --> 00:45:46,740
which they eat, shell and all.

477
00:45:46,740 --> 00:45:50,060
Tiny crustaceans,
stirred up from the shoreline,

478
00:45:50,060 --> 00:45:51,260
are good starter foods.

479
00:45:58,700 --> 00:46:01,500
In the end, Thor,
as a surrogate duck dad,

480
00:46:01,500 --> 00:46:03,900
can only give them a helping hand.

481
00:46:10,620 --> 00:46:13,340
Little by little,
they spread their wings,

482
00:46:13,340 --> 00:46:15,900
foraging a little further from home,

483
00:46:15,900 --> 00:46:18,300
becoming a little wilder every day.

484
00:46:21,340 --> 00:46:25,220
But they swim then between here,
close to the island

485
00:46:25,220 --> 00:46:28,900
and go on their own trips feeding,

486
00:46:28,900 --> 00:46:31,860
but they always come home
in the evening.

487
00:46:31,860 --> 00:46:35,260
So they find something
in this ocean to eat,

488
00:46:35,260 --> 00:46:40,660
so it make them a good start
in their new life in the world.

489
00:46:46,260 --> 00:46:48,580
Eventually, Thor leaves them
on their own.

490
00:46:50,740 --> 00:46:52,620
His nurturing work is done.

491
00:46:54,700 --> 00:46:56,540
Nature will take over from here.

492
00:47:00,180 --> 00:47:02,620
But Thor hopes their homing instinct

493
00:47:02,620 --> 00:47:05,020
will bring them back
to his islands next year.

494
00:47:17,860 --> 00:47:20,900
In the high pastures,
ripening blueberries

495
00:47:20,900 --> 00:47:23,940
and the turning leaves
mark the slide to autumn.

496
00:47:29,620 --> 00:47:32,860
Even though the first snows
are dusting the mountains,

497
00:47:32,860 --> 00:47:35,300
it's a time eagerly awaited
by farmers

498
00:47:35,300 --> 00:47:37,580
in the northern area
of Skagafjordur,

499
00:47:37,580 --> 00:47:42,180
for it also heralds
the event of their social calendar,

500
00:47:42,180 --> 00:47:43,820
the annual round-up.

501
00:48:21,220 --> 00:48:24,500
The horses might die up here
in winter blizzards,

502
00:48:24,500 --> 00:48:28,140
so farmers join forces
to gather up the different herds

503
00:48:28,140 --> 00:48:30,420
and drive them all down the valley.

504
00:48:32,980 --> 00:48:34,420
For this year's foals,

505
00:48:34,420 --> 00:48:37,260
it's a complete surprise
to be near humans again

506
00:48:37,260 --> 00:48:39,340
and it goes against the grain.

507
00:49:02,300 --> 00:49:04,380
But this independent spirit

508
00:49:04,380 --> 00:49:07,740
is exactly what Halldor
and Snorri want.

509
00:49:07,740 --> 00:49:10,860
It's what the Vikings saw
in the ancestors of these horses

510
00:49:10,860 --> 00:49:13,460
when they traded them from Mongolia

511
00:49:13,460 --> 00:49:16,260
and brought them to Iceland
over 1,000 years ago.

512
00:49:26,820 --> 00:49:30,100
This is horse-trading nature's way.

513
00:49:45,340 --> 00:49:46,940
THEY NEIGH

514
00:49:54,220 --> 00:49:58,100
Somehow, each farmer must separate
their own horses from the crowd.

515
00:50:00,140 --> 00:50:02,740
But they're judging everyone else's
at the same time.

516
00:50:11,100 --> 00:50:14,740
No horse is broken in
until it's at least four years old,

517
00:50:14,740 --> 00:50:17,820
so most of them
have a mind of their own.

518
00:50:17,820 --> 00:50:20,060
But this is what they love
about them.

519
00:50:23,380 --> 00:50:25,340
It's been the only way
to raise horses

520
00:50:25,340 --> 00:50:27,100
in Iceland's harsh environment.

521
00:50:32,060 --> 00:50:36,020
Their return from the mountains,
though, always brings deep relief.

522
00:51:13,380 --> 00:51:16,220
When all is done, Halldor and Snorri

523
00:51:16,220 --> 00:51:18,780
will lead the horses
back to the farm,

524
00:51:18,780 --> 00:51:21,180
as generations have done
before them.

525
00:52:05,660 --> 00:52:08,380
The land under their feet
demands respect.

526
00:52:09,740 --> 00:52:11,740
And in this, of all years.

527
00:52:14,420 --> 00:52:16,340
High in the central plateau,

528
00:52:16,340 --> 00:52:19,100
the Bardarbunga volcano
has sprung into life.

529
00:52:20,500 --> 00:52:22,940
Over a thousand earthquakes
in a single day

530
00:52:22,940 --> 00:52:28,140
suggest a huge volume of molten rock
trying to reach the surface.

531
00:52:28,140 --> 00:52:29,420
But where?

532
00:52:30,900 --> 00:52:32,580
Fearing massive floods

533
00:52:32,580 --> 00:52:36,100
should the eruption melt
the Vatnajokull glacier,

534
00:52:36,100 --> 00:52:39,180
search and rescue teams evacuate
a vast area.

535
00:52:41,820 --> 00:52:45,460
Hour by hour, scientists track
the earth tremors

536
00:52:45,460 --> 00:52:47,820
that mark the movement of the magma.

537
00:52:47,820 --> 00:52:50,740
The column of hot rock
is snaking northwards.

538
00:53:01,740 --> 00:53:05,020
Eventually, it breaks through
a fissure in the plains,

539
00:53:05,020 --> 00:53:06,900
just beyond the edge of the glacier.

540
00:53:08,780 --> 00:53:13,340
It's big. Probably the biggest
lava eruption

541
00:53:13,340 --> 00:53:17,380
that we have seen for 30 years
or so, I would guess.

542
00:53:19,860 --> 00:53:22,140
As it turns out, nothing like it

543
00:53:22,140 --> 00:53:25,700
has been seen on Iceland
for over 200 years.

544
00:53:37,180 --> 00:53:40,060
The fissure is about
400 metres long,

545
00:53:40,060 --> 00:53:45,140
but lava pours out
at nearly 300 cubic metres a second,

546
00:53:45,140 --> 00:53:47,260
like a cut that won't stop bleeding.

547
00:53:49,900 --> 00:53:54,140
Underneath Iceland, the
Eurasian plate is pulling eastwards

548
00:53:54,140 --> 00:53:58,220
and the North American plate
is pulling westwards.

549
00:53:58,220 --> 00:54:01,660
Until this eruption,
the island has been spreading apart

550
00:54:01,660 --> 00:54:04,100
at two centimetres a year.

551
00:54:04,100 --> 00:54:07,140
Here, it's opening up
ten times faster.

552
00:54:10,780 --> 00:54:16,180
The lava is a ferocious
1,200-degrees centigrade.

553
00:54:16,180 --> 00:54:18,140
It would melt even cast iron

554
00:54:18,140 --> 00:54:21,060
and incinerate a human being
in seconds.

555
00:54:23,340 --> 00:54:27,180
This is as close as we get to seeing
into the centre of the earth.

556
00:54:49,860 --> 00:54:53,660
The ground shakes as the fissure
splits open even further,

557
00:54:53,660 --> 00:54:57,340
creating a rift
that's 1.5 kilometres long.

558
00:55:11,820 --> 00:55:14,780
Pumped by pressure
that's been building for centuries,

559
00:55:14,780 --> 00:55:18,340
superheated gas and water
causes tonnes of lava

560
00:55:18,340 --> 00:55:22,340
to fountain up to 100 metres
into the air all along its length.

561
00:55:24,860 --> 00:55:26,980
These are the same monumental forces

562
00:55:26,980 --> 00:55:29,300
that created Iceland
in the first place.

563
00:56:33,220 --> 00:56:34,820
Over the next six months,

564
00:56:34,820 --> 00:56:38,460
the lava flow covers
over 85 square kilometres.

565
00:56:45,860 --> 00:56:49,660
85,000 tonnes
of poisonous sulphur dioxide

566
00:56:49,660 --> 00:56:52,260
is released into
the atmosphere every day.

567
00:56:58,980 --> 00:57:02,460
In 1783, an eruption on Iceland

568
00:57:02,460 --> 00:57:05,140
threw up so much ash
and sulphur dioxide

569
00:57:05,140 --> 00:57:08,540
that it's thought to have caused
famine on a global scale

570
00:57:08,540 --> 00:57:11,980
and the deaths of
six-million people worldwide.

571
00:57:15,020 --> 00:57:18,740
Miraculously, this fissure allows
the colossal pressure

572
00:57:18,740 --> 00:57:22,220
under Bardarbunga
to be released slowly.

573
00:57:22,220 --> 00:57:25,500
Had it gone off just
a few kilometres away,

574
00:57:25,500 --> 00:57:28,660
explosively,
under the Vatnajokull glacier,

575
00:57:28,660 --> 00:57:30,460
the picture would be very different.

576
00:57:37,180 --> 00:57:41,060
It's the ultimate reminder
that the lives of all Icelanders

577
00:57:41,060 --> 00:57:43,660
depend on the raw forces
beneath them.

578
00:57:50,980 --> 00:57:53,300
A wild life,

579
00:57:53,300 --> 00:57:55,820
uniquely connected
to nature, it may be,

580
00:57:55,820 --> 00:57:59,620
but the remarkable people
and animals that live here

581
00:57:59,620 --> 00:58:02,180
have learned how to work
with the land,

582
00:58:02,180 --> 00:58:03,860
rather than fight against it.

583
00:58:06,500 --> 00:58:09,180
They've taken all of
Iceland's opportunities

584
00:58:09,180 --> 00:58:11,860
and challenges in their stride.

585
00:58:13,140 --> 00:58:15,180
GENTLE BARK