Frozen Planet: Cold facts become hot viewing

FROZEN Planet is breathtaking television and this "making of " episode is in itself startling viewing.

Frozen Planet

SIR David Attenborough's Frozen Planet has been a deserved ratings success for Nine on Sunday nights.

It is without doubt breathtaking television and goes close to being Attenborough's finest achievement. This Sunday, Nine shows the "making of " episode, which is in itself startling.

Attenborough recently selected four of his favourite highlights from this epic polar series for the UK publication Radio Times.

It is hard to disagree with his comments on these:

Orcas hunt by making waves:

"I first heard about this extraordinary co-operative hunting by killer whales, in which they 'wash' seals off the ice, while I was filming the Life in the Freezer series back in 1991. Then it seemed impossible to film because the ice floes are always moving and you never know where the action will happen. However, by working with scientists who put satellite tags on the orca and then following the pod round the clock, the Frozen Planet team managed to capture the story, both above and under the water."

Greenland from above:

"The Greenland ice sheet is the largest body of freshwater ice in the northern hemisphere, six times the size of the UK and up to 3km thick. Frozen Planet filmed remarkable aerial shots of the ice sheet as its glaciers journey towards the sea. In the past 30 years, temperatures have increased here by 5C and the rate of flow of its glaciers has doubled, or even tripled."

Polar bears' bloody courtship:

"The fact that females are only ready to breed every three years means competition for mates is fierce. We filmed from helicopters and skidoos as the males tracked their potential mates. The climax of the sequence is a battle between two males."

Icicle of death:

"Salt-rich water, or brine, drains down from the ice sheet above and forms an ice stalactite, or brinicle. The brinicle grows slowly down towards the sea bed as the surrounding sea water freezes. Once this 'finger of death' reaches the bottom, it freezes to death anything on the sea floor."

Frozen Planet, Nine, Sunday, 6.30pm