A Year in the Wild

Stretching from the Antarctic in the south to the Arctic in the north, the Atlantic Ocean is vast, wild and unforgiving and each season brings new challenges for its indigenous creatures. Atlantic winters bring bitter storms, suffering and conflict. Animals that spend the frozen months here must be ready to face its fierce onslaught as short days make it difficult to find enough food in time. However, while most are battling to survive, some are just starting to raise a family.

As winter draws to a close, the Atlantic springs back to life and hope returns. Temperatures rise, days lengthen and food is plentiful again. However, spring in the north is short, the animals only have a few months to find food, a mate and start a family - all the while avoiding predators. Around the British and Irish coast, thousands of gannets that spent winter off southern Europe and north Africa, must find a place to nest before they can raise a family. Meanwhile, killer whales leave Iceland and head to the Shetland Isles, where they hunt harbour seal pups.

In the Atlantic's extreme north region, summer is short and food limited. Three of the five Arctic fox cubs have already left home - and time is running out for the remaining two. The two white-tailed eagle chicks have fed well and are now almost the size of their parents. They have out grown their nest, so it's time to take their first flight. For puffins, leaving home means jumping from their cliff top nests 600ft to the ocean below. Further south, in southern Spain's Donana National Park, dung beetles benefit from the rare Retueta horses, while in the UKs shallow coastal waters, sea horses dance, basking sharks gorge and blue sharks scavenge.

In the Atlantic's far north, autumn is the season of gales, cooling temperatures and driving rain. This is the season when the wildlife must make the final preparations for winter or migrate to warmer climes. For some autumn is also the season to battle for a mate.