Nature

In the cold north of Finland,

the land lies deep in darkness...

and yet...

Through winter's starry nights,

and summer's fleeting days,

its skies shine with wondrous light.

But to thrive here takes special gifts...

The gift of courage.

The gift of endurance.

You must have daring...

Pluck...

and the gift of infinite patience.

This is Lapland,

Santa's snowy home,

where such gifts are a way of life.

Even Santa gets what he needs most --

reindeer!

Step inside the Arctic Circle,

where magical light is always shining.

Far to the north,

there's a winter wonderland,

famous the world over.

A place of ancient myths and old legends.

Where lights dance in a star-filled sky.

Where the sun shines in the middle of the night.

And where strange shapes stand frozen in time.

Up here, the land is always changing,

bringing both drama...

and wonder...

every day of the year.

Lapland is so full of magic,

it's even said to be the home of Santa Claus.

But even far from the festive lights,

life here is more enchanting than you ever thought possible.

Welcome to Santa's Wild Home.

In the bleak midwinter,

temperatures fall to 50-below,

and darkness reigns for weeks on end.

Life can get pretty tough.

But these musk oxen are right at home.

They're built for this.

They save energy by simply standing still,

hardly moving or even feeding for days at a time.

There's a long wait ahead before the sun returns.

Winter may be harsh,

but it's also a time of breathtaking beauty.

The aurora --

the northern lights.

Thought to be the trail of a mythical fire fox,

dashing through the snow.

Catching one is said to bring great wealth.

But winter's beauty is little comfort

to those who rely on daylight.

For some, the long night brings great challenges.

The rules are simple --

winners live, losers die.

A young golden eagle.

This is her first winter.

She has just a few twilight hours to feed.

Her kill, a red fox, could sustain her for days.

But she doesn't have that long.

Scavengers betray her.

It's a tough lesson for her first winter.

She's taken a talon to the chest.

It could prove fatal.

If she doesn't feed, she won't survive the coming months.

And now, even bigger eagles are arriving.

With this powerful adult around,

the youngster's chances are looking worse.

But she has nothing left to lose.

It's a desperate move.

One that could cost her dearly.

But she needs to eat.

And, surprisingly, her risk has paid off.

Perhaps the adult doesn't see her as threat.

It could even be one of her parents.

Either way, surviving winter

takes both bravery and good fortune.

For the first time in weeks, the sun is returning.

Legend tells of the rebirth of a sun goddess,

victorious against the darkness.

A celebration, and reminder, of its life-giving power.

The sun's warmth won't be felt for some time yet,

but its light is growing every day.

Its fragile return is the ancient root

of winter festivals everywhere.

And old myths from this white wilderness

have also shaped our image of Santa Claus.

Up here, silence rules and spirits roam.

The lynx.

Seldom seen, she appears and vanishes without warning.

She's known as the keeper of secrets,

said to see through solid objects...

Though few know the secrets

of this land like the great gray owl.

She is the nomad of the frozen forests.

Her fate is to cover thousands of miles,

searching for enough prey.

Listening for a tiny heartbeat beneath the snow.

And striking with deadly accuracy when she does.

Food is so scarce she can't afford to miss.

In winter, deep snow affects everyone here.

Even the trees themselves.

Many harden as a defense against the freeze.

But still they bend beneath the weight.

A single tree can build up three tons of snow and ice.

Unable to grow, they wait.

Frozen in time.

Strange, white sentinels of the far north.

The sun's light now shines for hours each day.

But for the trees, life remains on hold until its heat returns.

For others, the cold makes little difference.

Lichen.

This is a true survivor,

still growing at temperatures below zero,

extracting moisture from air trapped beneath the snow.

And it's the favorite food of some very famous animals.

This wouldn't be Santa's home without reindeer.

And little wonder --

hundreds of thousands of them live up here.

They're an integral part of the landscape.

But they're not alone.

Their lives are deeply connected to the people

who live alongside them.

Most reindeer belong to Sami herders.

The place outsiders call Lapland is their ancestral home.

The Sami have herded here for centuries.

Legend even has it that some Sami descend

from the reindeer themselves.

They tend to their herd all through the year,

guiding the reindeer to the best feeding areas

and protecting them from danger.

Wolves.

The most feared residents here.

Old tales tell of their magical power

to make reindeer herders sleepy.

While the cold and snow weaken many,

in winter, the pack is at its most powerful.

But still, order must be maintained.

Everyone needs to know their place.

For now, the wolves' dominance goes unchallenged.

But great change is on its way.

After months of cold,

the sun's warmth is finally reaching the land.

The days are growing longer...

The sun ever stronger.

Winter is giving way to spring.

Black grouse.

With spring in the air, it's time to breed.

Well, almost.

The females won't show up for a while yet.

For now, this is a meeting of males only.

They're here to lek -- to strut their stuff

until the females eventually turn up to pick a winner.

Like any gathering, there's a fair share of posing...

...plenty of posturing...

and some seriously fancy footwork.

To start with, it's mostly just for show.

A little sizing up, and a clean contest so far.

But that's done it.

This strange scene carries on every morning, every evening,

and often through the day,

for weeks on end.

By the time the females arrive,

whoever dominates the center ground

will win the right to mate.

Until then, anything goes.

For the reindeer and Sami herders,

excitement is in the air.

The snow will soon be gone,

and they have their own spring ritual to perform.

An epic journey is just beginning.

The reindeer need to reach their feeding grounds by the coast

before the snow gets too soft to run on.

As they move north, the spring melt follows right behind them.

Santa's home is changing.

The melting snow can be heavy going,

but there's no time to waste.

They keep on moving.

Winter will soon be a distant memory.

Their journey takes some two weeks.

And as it nears its end,

the melt finally catches up with them.

The sun's warmth transforms this winter wonderland completely.