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♪♪

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♪♪

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McGREGOR: 12,000 years ago

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the Northern Atlantic 
was pristine and pure.

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A land ruled by gyrfalcon...

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by walrus...

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by reindeer.

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But ancient people 
came to claim these lands too --

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people like the Vikings.

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This was a world 
they exploited...

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but it was a world they also 
nurtured and revered.

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Now travel back in time to see 
the natural world

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through ancient eyes.

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♪♪

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Travel back in time 
to experience...

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the "Wild Way of the Vikings."

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♪♪

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♪♪

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♪♪

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[ Lava gurgling ]

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[ Waves crashing ]

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♪♪

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McGREGOR: Born of fire...

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and shaped by ice...

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...the islands of 
the North Atlantic

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are among the harshest 
places on Earth...

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...but the seas and coasts here 
hold vast natural riches.

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From the 9th century onwards, 
these wild lands were conquered

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by the most advanced seafarers 
the world had ever seen...

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[ Ship creaks ]

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...the Vikings.

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From their homelands 
in Scandinavia

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to the Coast of North America,

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they traversed the ocean

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in the greatest adventure 
of the age.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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They were renowned as warriors 
and pirates...

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...but there was another side 
to the Vikings,

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one we're only just starting 
to understand...

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♪♪

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...their profound relationship 
with the natural world...

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its fabulous wild animals...

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[ Birds squawking ]

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its awe-inspiring spectacle...

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...and above all,

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its pristine wilderness.

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♪♪

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[ Bird cawing ]

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♪♪

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♪♪

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It's late winter in the Viking 
heartlands of central Norway...

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...and the reindeer 
are on the move.

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[ Reindeer grunting ]

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After six months of 
broken twilight,

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at last the sun has lifted 
itself above the mountain peaks

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and the animals 
sense the change.

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[ Reindeer grunting ]

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Big herds of reindeer range 
these mountains --

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herds many thousands strong.

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♪♪

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They're perhaps the single most 
significant wild animal

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for the early Vikings.

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Every part of the animal 
is used --

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their hides, their antlers, 
their meat, their sinews...

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...and hunting them 
is a regular activity.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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Broad birchwood skis with 
bindings of twine and leather

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are the best way of moving 
across this snowbound landscape.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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It's a chance encounter 
with the herd,

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but one no Viking can resist.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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♪♪

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Just a single 
opportunistic shot,

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but the alarm waves 
surge through the herd

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like an electric current.

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It's a defense strategy designed 
to confuse any predator --

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whether wolf,

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bear,

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or Viking.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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But achieving a clean kill 
in a swirling melee like this

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is difficult.

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Hunting reindeer 
is a communal activity,

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using knowledge 
of animal behavior

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to nudge them 
towards the perfect shot.

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There will be another chance 
tomorrow, with more hunters.

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♪♪

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The herd is heading west now,

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west to the calving grounds.

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♪♪

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In the year 800 AD,

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the Viking peoples 
are also pushing west --

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west across the Atlantic.

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♪♪

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With a wooden hull 
lashed together

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with flexible whale-bone strips,

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Viking ships can travel faster 
and further

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than any vessel of their day.

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♪♪

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Driven by the desire 
for conquest and trade,

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the Atlantic was crossed 
an island-step at a time,

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taking the Viking adventurers 
into inspiring new worlds

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full of remarkable birds 
and beasts.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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♪♪

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By the year 810,

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the Vikings had reached 
the Shetland Islands.

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[ Men shouting ]

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They weren't the first people 
to live here.

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♪♪

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The Iron-Age tower of Mousa 
Broch had stood for 1,000 years

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when the longships 
first arrived.

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♪♪

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For settlers arriving in this 
strange and windblown world,

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Mousa Broch is 
a critical navigational tool.

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Viking sagas tell of it 
being used as a hideout

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for lovers eloping from Norway 
to Iceland.

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♪♪

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But most Viking age-people seem 
to have given it a wide berth.

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[ Wind howling ]

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Perhaps because these 
ancient walls

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echo with unearthly sounds...

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[ Cawing ]

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♪♪

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But these are no trolls 
or demons...

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...not even bats or moths...

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[ Cawing continues ]

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♪♪

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They're storm petrels --

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at the size of a sparrow,

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the tiniest seabird 
in the world.

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♪♪

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For early mariners,

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storm petrels are an ill omen.

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One of these tiny birds 
taking refuge on a ship

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crossing the Atlantic

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may warn 
of an approaching storm.

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[ Thunder rumbles ]

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♪♪

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But darkness and ill weather 
are things that storm petrels

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are well-adapted to cope with.

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Using a remarkable 
sense of smell,

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they can they can navigate 
back to their nest cavities

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in the pitch darkness.

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♪♪

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Each pair nurtures a single egg,

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carefully brooded 
on the bare rock.

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Incubation duty can last 
for many days,

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and changeovers can only happen 
under cover of darkness

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when there's a gap 
in the weather.

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♪♪

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By any stretch of imagination,

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it's a life of hardship

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for such a tiny ocean wanderer.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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♪♪

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♪♪

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Shetland soon became a vital 
staging post

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in the Vikings' 
great North Atlantic adventure.

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♪♪

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The archipelago 
of a hundred islands

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offered many sheltered 
anchorages for the settlers...

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...surrounded by bountiful seas.

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♪♪

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Seas which are also perfect 
for a mammal that seems to have

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appeared here at the same time 
as the Viking colonists...

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...the otter.

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Because the islands are well 
beyond the swimming range

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of animals 
in Norway and Scotland,

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it's thought by some experts

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that it was the Vikings 
that first brought them here.

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We don't know whether they 
arrived as pets

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or were imported to be farmed 
for their fur...

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...but they quickly established 
themselves in the wild here.

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♪♪

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With its endlessly cryptic 
coastline,

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Shetland is a wonderful place 
for an otter family.

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Females here 
often raise three cubs...

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...feeding them up on a rich 
diet of shallow-water fish,

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crabs, and octopus.

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♪♪

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The seaweed-covered inlets 
and bays

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also offer plenty of spots

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to rest and bed-down 
in between fishing trips.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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In Norse mythology,

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Otter was the son 
of the magician Hreidmar --

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a man by day but at night a 
fisherman to surpass all others.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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Like otters, the Vikings 
are adept fisherman.

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Limpets are used as bait 
to catch species like coley

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using nets 
weighted down with stones.

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♪♪

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Archaeological records 
have revealed

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that fish often made up more 
than 25% of the Viking diet.

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00:16:06,333 --> 00:16:11,966
♪♪

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♪♪

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00:16:17,666 --> 00:16:20,666
In Shetland, much fishing 
is done in the shallows

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alongside the otters.

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The catch can then be cooked

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and eaten on the beach 
straight away.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:52,933
♪♪

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00:16:52,966 --> 00:17:01,566
♪♪

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00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:03,800
The sheltered bays of Shetland

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00:17:03,833 --> 00:17:06,766
also offer sanctuary 
for harbor seals.

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[ Waves crashing ]

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In the Summer months, 
females give birth here

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on these quiet beaches.

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Seals are special 
to the Vikings.

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00:17:26,266 --> 00:17:30,466
Their skins provide them 
with clothing, footwear,

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and rope for rigging,

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and in some North Atlantic 
settlements

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00:17:35,333 --> 00:17:37,200
they're a major food supply.

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00:17:43,233 --> 00:17:46,400
But the Vikings aren't the only 
ones on the hunt for seals.

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00:17:46,433 --> 00:17:53,466
♪♪

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Orca.

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♪♪

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00:18:02,900 --> 00:18:04,333
Perhaps taking the same route

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00:18:04,366 --> 00:18:08,100
as the Viking colonists 
themselves,

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00:18:08,133 --> 00:18:11,766
an orca pod can cross 
from Norway to Shetland

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in less than 48 hours.

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00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,633
But after a two-day journey...

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00:18:22,666 --> 00:18:24,066
they're hungry.

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♪♪

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00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:36,266
Seal-hunting orca know exactly 
how to exploit time and tide.

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00:18:50,433 --> 00:18:55,433
The exposed skerries 
may offer sanctuary for now,

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00:18:55,466 --> 00:18:58,233
but as the rising tide 
covers the rocks,

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00:18:58,266 --> 00:19:00,533
the seals will have 
to enter the water...

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00:19:02,566 --> 00:19:04,300
...and the orca know it.

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00:19:04,333 --> 00:19:12,966
♪♪

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00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:21,633
♪♪

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00:19:21,666 --> 00:19:25,266
[ Orca pod calling ]

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00:19:25,300 --> 00:19:29,500
Beneath the surface, 
all aural communication ceases

246
00:19:29,533 --> 00:19:33,033
and the orca pod switches 
to hunting mode --

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00:19:33,066 --> 00:19:36,700
total silence.

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00:19:36,733 --> 00:19:42,166
Any seal in open water 
is now in peril for its life.

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00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,400
If they can hide 
in the kelp forest

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00:19:44,433 --> 00:19:46,166
they may escape detection...

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00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:51,900
♪♪

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00:19:51,933 --> 00:19:55,433
...but like Viking raiders, 
the orca are ruthless,

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00:19:55,466 --> 00:19:57,300
well organized,

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00:19:57,333 --> 00:19:59,733
and fiercely intelligent.

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00:19:59,766 --> 00:20:08,000
♪♪

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00:20:08,033 --> 00:20:16,233
♪♪

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00:20:16,266 --> 00:20:18,533
Two members of the pod 
use tail slaps

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00:20:18,566 --> 00:20:20,700
to flush out hiding seals...

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00:20:20,733 --> 00:20:27,900
♪♪

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00:20:27,933 --> 00:20:31,033
...while another pair follow 
silently behind.

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00:20:31,066 --> 00:20:36,633
♪♪

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00:20:36,666 --> 00:20:42,233
♪♪

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00:20:42,266 --> 00:20:43,966
They sight a target...

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00:20:46,366 --> 00:20:49,466
...and split up to cut off 
any escape routes.

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00:20:49,500 --> 00:20:58,266
♪♪

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♪♪

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The seal makes a dash 
for open water...

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00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:16,900
♪♪

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00:21:16,933 --> 00:21:19,166
...straight towards 
the rest of the pod.

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00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:24,766
The seal must surface,

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and the circling orca 
are ready and waiting.

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00:21:28,633 --> 00:21:36,600
♪♪

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♪♪

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00:21:44,633 --> 00:21:52,633
♪♪

275
00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:05,433
Killed by the orca bull's 
"Thor-hammer" tail slap,

276
00:22:05,466 --> 00:22:07,200
it never stood a chance.

277
00:22:20,533 --> 00:22:22,433
After sharing the kill,

278
00:22:22,466 --> 00:22:26,366
the pod retreats 
to deeper water.

279
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,866
Like the Vikings themselves, 
they will hunt seals

280
00:22:29,900 --> 00:22:33,066
and other marine mammals 
across the Atlantic Islands.

281
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:42,300
♪♪

282
00:22:42,333 --> 00:22:47,600
♪♪

283
00:22:47,633 --> 00:22:51,066
♪♪

284
00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:56,733
Cast from towering volcanic 
basalt and petrified ash,

285
00:22:56,766 --> 00:23:00,400
the Faroe Islands are a symphony 
in rock and water...

286
00:23:00,433 --> 00:23:08,433
♪♪

287
00:23:08,466 --> 00:23:11,433
By the year 825, 
the Viking settlers

288
00:23:11,466 --> 00:23:13,966
had established 
a small colony here...

289
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,933
♪♪

290
00:23:18,966 --> 00:23:22,866
...living by subsistence 
farming supplemented

291
00:23:22,900 --> 00:23:25,066
by one of the richest 
natural resources

292
00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:26,800
in the sub-arctic world...

293
00:23:28,833 --> 00:23:30,533
...seabirds.

294
00:23:34,433 --> 00:23:38,400
In the breeding season, seabirds 
are a more important food supply

295
00:23:38,433 --> 00:23:42,166
than livestock, fish, 
and whales combined.

296
00:23:46,233 --> 00:23:48,133
Puffins are eaten most often...

297
00:23:50,966 --> 00:23:54,166
...but the larger gannets 
provide a special prize.

298
00:23:57,700 --> 00:24:00,566
[ Birds cawing ]

299
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:08,300
♪♪

300
00:24:08,333 --> 00:24:16,000
♪♪

301
00:24:16,033 --> 00:24:23,733
♪♪

302
00:24:23,766 --> 00:24:31,433
♪♪

303
00:24:31,466 --> 00:24:35,166
With bare feet 
and a well-practiced grip,

304
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,533
the Vikings scale the dizzying 
heights of the colony.

305
00:24:38,566 --> 00:24:46,000
♪♪

306
00:24:46,033 --> 00:24:50,400
The young gannets are 
the tenderest and most prized,

307
00:24:50,433 --> 00:24:52,800
but they've only appeared 
on the very highest ledges

308
00:24:52,833 --> 00:24:54,500
of the colony.

309
00:24:59,066 --> 00:25:01,066
They're protected by 
dagger-like bills

310
00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:03,166
more than six inches long...

311
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:11,000
♪♪

312
00:25:11,033 --> 00:25:12,500
...but sooner or later,

313
00:25:12,533 --> 00:25:15,600
the adults will have to leave 
in search of food.

314
00:25:15,633 --> 00:25:23,633
♪♪

315
00:25:23,666 --> 00:25:31,633
♪♪

316
00:25:31,666 --> 00:25:36,566
Perhaps no other bird masters 
air and water like a gannet.

317
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,633
With a long, narrow, six-foot 
wingspan,

318
00:25:39,666 --> 00:25:42,266
a gannet can hover,

319
00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:44,600
glide,

320
00:25:44,633 --> 00:25:46,666
soar,

321
00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:48,033
and dive...

322
00:25:48,066 --> 00:25:54,100
♪♪

323
00:25:54,133 --> 00:26:00,233
♪♪

324
00:26:00,266 --> 00:26:02,633
...but it's beneath 
the surface of the water

325
00:26:02,666 --> 00:26:04,733
that they really 
come into their own.

326
00:26:04,766 --> 00:26:13,033
♪♪

327
00:26:13,066 --> 00:26:21,333
♪♪

328
00:26:21,366 --> 00:26:29,633
♪♪

329
00:26:29,666 --> 00:26:32,600
[ Cawing, splashing ]

330
00:26:43,366 --> 00:26:46,700
With the Atlantic offering up 
such bounty,

331
00:26:46,733 --> 00:26:49,433
the constant fishing trips 
barely make a dent

332
00:26:49,466 --> 00:26:52,366
in the vast resources 
of the sea.

333
00:26:57,300 --> 00:27:00,333
The Vikings too only take 
what they need

334
00:27:00,366 --> 00:27:04,000
leaving the colony thriving 
and ready for the next harvest.

335
00:27:04,033 --> 00:27:11,733
♪♪

336
00:27:11,766 --> 00:27:13,300
In the 9th century,

337
00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:15,400
gannet numbers 
across the Northern World

338
00:27:15,433 --> 00:27:19,400
may have run into 
tens of millions,

339
00:27:19,433 --> 00:27:20,933
individual colonies

340
00:27:20,966 --> 00:27:24,200
teaming with hundreds 
of thousands of birds.

341
00:27:24,233 --> 00:27:29,600
♪♪

342
00:27:29,633 --> 00:27:32,333
A few eggs are harvested too...

343
00:27:34,533 --> 00:27:36,200
...and the light, 
hollow wing bones

344
00:27:36,233 --> 00:27:38,733
can be used as cases

345
00:27:38,766 --> 00:27:40,733
for needles and pins.

346
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:49,300
This is the true spirit of 
the wild way of the Vikings --

347
00:27:49,333 --> 00:27:51,566
take everything that you need,

348
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:53,966
but value it 
for as long as you can.

349
00:27:57,633 --> 00:28:02,000
A single precious trinket 
will be used for generations.

350
00:28:02,033 --> 00:28:07,066
♪♪

351
00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:12,166
♪♪

352
00:28:18,866 --> 00:28:22,933
♪♪

353
00:28:22,966 --> 00:28:25,566
By the year 874,

354
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:30,500
the Viking colonists had reached 
the island of Iceland.

355
00:28:30,533 --> 00:28:32,733
It's possible that the Vikings 
were the first people

356
00:28:32,766 --> 00:28:35,933
to set foot 
in this world of ice and fire...

357
00:28:38,733 --> 00:28:40,666
...one of the very last places 
on Earth

358
00:28:40,700 --> 00:28:43,100
to be colonized by humanity.

359
00:28:43,133 --> 00:28:48,933
♪♪

360
00:28:48,966 --> 00:28:54,733
♪♪

361
00:28:54,766 --> 00:28:57,366
10% glacier...

362
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,733
and 50% mountainous lava desert,

363
00:29:01,766 --> 00:29:06,133
the landscape must surely have 
resonated with Viking settlers

364
00:29:06,166 --> 00:29:09,366
whose religion was rich 
with ice giants,

365
00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:13,566
human mountains, 
and rivers of fire.

366
00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:20,366
♪♪

367
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:27,200
♪♪

368
00:29:27,233 --> 00:29:29,566
Only one other land mammal 
had colonized

369
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,900
this savage landscape 
before the Vikings.

370
00:29:32,933 --> 00:29:38,566
♪♪

371
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:43,433
Crossing on an ice bridge at the 
end of the Pleistocene period,

372
00:29:43,466 --> 00:29:47,466
it's an animal as tenacious 
and hardy as any Viking...

373
00:29:51,766 --> 00:29:53,566
...the arctic fox.

374
00:29:58,233 --> 00:30:05,066
In Summer, arctic foxes feed 
almost exclusively on seabirds.

375
00:30:05,100 --> 00:30:08,000
Their denning is timed 
exactly to coincide

376
00:30:08,033 --> 00:30:10,266
with the bounty on the ledges.

377
00:30:10,300 --> 00:30:13,600
[ Cawing ]

378
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,933
The first tiny pups as black 
as coal start to emerge

379
00:30:24,966 --> 00:30:27,633
from the dens 
four weeks after birth

380
00:30:29,666 --> 00:30:33,200
[ Fox pups whine ]

381
00:30:33,233 --> 00:30:35,866
Litters of 14 are common...

382
00:30:38,033 --> 00:30:40,933
...so suckling a litter of seven 
is quite achievable

383
00:30:40,966 --> 00:30:43,033
for this experienced female.

384
00:30:46,033 --> 00:30:49,600
Arctic foxes are dedicated 
and careful parents.

385
00:30:53,466 --> 00:30:56,866
Even the runt in this litter 
is given special attention.

386
00:31:03,566 --> 00:31:06,433
It's an exhausting schedule 
for the female

387
00:31:06,466 --> 00:31:09,500
and once the feeding is done,

388
00:31:09,533 --> 00:31:12,666
she settles down to rest

389
00:31:12,700 --> 00:31:15,166
while her litter plays.

390
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:23,933
♪♪

391
00:31:23,966 --> 00:31:32,666
♪♪

392
00:31:32,700 --> 00:31:41,433
♪♪

393
00:31:41,466 --> 00:31:44,233
Arctic foxes can quite happily 
exist in temperatures

394
00:31:44,266 --> 00:31:47,266
of minus 70 degrees,

395
00:31:47,300 --> 00:31:48,633
so it's not surprising

396
00:31:48,666 --> 00:31:51,633
that their fur is the warmest 
of any mammal on earth.

397
00:31:51,666 --> 00:31:54,066
[ Fox pup growling ]

398
00:31:57,233 --> 00:31:59,533
The practically minded Vikings

399
00:31:59,566 --> 00:32:02,300
soon put this fur to good use

400
00:32:02,333 --> 00:32:04,866
for clothing and bedding.

401
00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,000
It would also have been 
a valuable trading commodity

402
00:32:12,033 --> 00:32:14,666
for these 9th-century 
entrepreneurs.

403
00:32:14,700 --> 00:32:23,300
♪♪

404
00:32:23,333 --> 00:32:25,566
Farming in Iceland 
is challenging...

405
00:32:28,333 --> 00:32:30,800
...but the newly arrived 
Vikings soon realized

406
00:32:30,833 --> 00:32:33,600
that one bird species 
could be farmed

407
00:32:33,633 --> 00:32:36,000
while staying absolutely wild...

408
00:32:39,266 --> 00:32:40,900
...the eider.

409
00:32:40,933 --> 00:32:49,566
♪♪

410
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,533
In the 9th century, 
these large sea ducks

411
00:32:52,566 --> 00:32:55,066
are among the commonest 
birds in Iceland.

412
00:32:55,100 --> 00:33:01,400
♪♪

413
00:33:01,433 --> 00:33:04,433
[ Eider calling ]

414
00:33:09,366 --> 00:33:12,400
Eider always nest 
near the shoreline,

415
00:33:12,433 --> 00:33:14,433
and once a site 
has been chosen,

416
00:33:14,466 --> 00:33:16,500
the females line 
the bowl of the nest

417
00:33:16,533 --> 00:33:19,300
with the down 
from their breasts.

418
00:33:19,333 --> 00:33:25,066
♪♪

419
00:33:25,100 --> 00:33:29,366
Eider duck farming is big 
business in Viking-age Iceland,

420
00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,933
with nesting ducks encouraged 
and predators

421
00:33:32,966 --> 00:33:35,166
like arctic foxes controlled.

422
00:33:38,133 --> 00:33:41,400
Down can be harvested 
from the nests

423
00:33:41,433 --> 00:33:43,933
and carefully replaced 
with hay

424
00:33:43,966 --> 00:33:46,533
without disturbing 
the brooding ducks.

425
00:33:46,566 --> 00:33:50,000
♪♪

426
00:33:50,033 --> 00:33:53,300
[ Eider calling ]

427
00:33:55,900 --> 00:33:58,900
Carefully cleaned of grass 
and straw,

428
00:33:58,933 --> 00:34:01,400
the pure down 
can be bagged up,

429
00:34:01,433 --> 00:34:04,666
used as lining for bedding 
and clothes,

430
00:34:04,700 --> 00:34:06,833
or traded for other goods.

431
00:34:06,866 --> 00:34:14,300
♪♪

432
00:34:14,333 --> 00:34:17,133
Eider down offers 
superb insulation

433
00:34:17,166 --> 00:34:18,766
because the densely 
barbed feathers

434
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,766
hold tiny pockets of air.

435
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:25,666
This also makes it very buoyant

436
00:34:25,699 --> 00:34:28,833
which can create problems 
for a newly-hatched duckling.

437
00:34:28,866 --> 00:34:38,500
♪♪

438
00:34:38,533 --> 00:34:48,133
♪♪

439
00:34:48,166 --> 00:34:57,800
♪♪

440
00:34:57,833 --> 00:35:01,633
[ Wings flapping ]

441
00:35:01,666 --> 00:35:03,033
[ Eider quacks ]

442
00:35:05,066 --> 00:35:08,800
[ Waves crashing ]

443
00:35:08,833 --> 00:35:12,166
By the year 950, 
the Island of Iceland

444
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,733
was booming 
with an influx of new settlers

445
00:35:14,766 --> 00:35:19,100
from Norway, 
Scotland, and Ireland.

446
00:35:19,133 --> 00:35:20,966
Its economy was completely 
driven

447
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,500
by the resources that the North 
Atlantic was able to offer.

448
00:35:24,533 --> 00:35:33,066
♪♪

449
00:35:33,100 --> 00:35:38,500
Natural products were fashioned 
into valuable commodities here.

450
00:35:38,533 --> 00:35:42,400
Antler from Norwegian reindeer 
could be carved into combs

451
00:35:42,433 --> 00:35:45,300
and traded for timber...

452
00:35:47,333 --> 00:35:49,500
...a hugely valuable resource

453
00:35:49,533 --> 00:35:52,433
in a landscape 
almost devoid of trees.

454
00:35:52,466 --> 00:36:00,133
♪♪

455
00:36:00,166 --> 00:36:07,766
♪♪

456
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:15,400
♪♪

457
00:36:15,433 --> 00:36:19,633
Tiny animal immigrants 
were also arriving,

458
00:36:19,666 --> 00:36:22,633
stowing away 
in sacks of imported feed.

459
00:36:26,366 --> 00:36:27,933
House Mice.

460
00:36:27,966 --> 00:36:35,833
♪♪

461
00:36:35,866 --> 00:36:43,700
♪♪

462
00:36:43,733 --> 00:36:51,600
♪♪

463
00:36:51,633 --> 00:36:54,866
Analysis of modern Icelandic 
house-mouse DNA

464
00:36:54,900 --> 00:36:57,466
has revealed that all 
the animals in the island

465
00:36:57,500 --> 00:36:59,800
have Norwegian ancestors.

466
00:36:59,833 --> 00:37:08,700
♪♪

467
00:37:08,733 --> 00:37:11,533
It seems that these enterprising 
little creatures

468
00:37:11,566 --> 00:37:14,700
carry the genetic signature 
of human history.

469
00:37:14,733 --> 00:37:20,200
♪♪

470
00:37:20,233 --> 00:37:25,700
♪♪

471
00:37:25,733 --> 00:37:28,966
[ Mouse squeaking ]

472
00:37:34,433 --> 00:37:37,400
The ecology of Iceland 
was changing fast...

473
00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:43,533
...but some things 
stayed resolutely the same.

474
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,633
Norse mythology was celebrated 
here for much longer

475
00:37:49,666 --> 00:37:52,333
than in the Viking 
homelands of Norway.

476
00:37:52,366 --> 00:37:56,933
[ Indistinct conversation ]

477
00:37:56,966 --> 00:38:00,033
The oral traditions of saga 
and history

478
00:38:00,066 --> 00:38:04,400
became so inter-twined 
that fact and fiction merged.

479
00:38:08,900 --> 00:38:11,933
Much of what we know 
of the pagan Viking past,

480
00:38:11,966 --> 00:38:14,500
before the adoption 
of Christianity,

481
00:38:14,533 --> 00:38:16,266
originates from stories told

482
00:38:16,300 --> 00:38:18,500
and then written down 
in Iceland.

483
00:38:22,066 --> 00:38:24,933
These stories are alive 
with animal characters.

484
00:38:24,966 --> 00:38:34,000
♪♪

485
00:38:34,033 --> 00:38:43,100
♪♪

486
00:38:43,133 --> 00:38:45,900
But one bird takes pride 
of place...

487
00:38:49,466 --> 00:38:51,233
...the raven.

488
00:38:51,266 --> 00:38:57,833
♪♪

489
00:38:57,866 --> 00:39:02,600
Wily and highly intelligent, 
this, the world's largest crow,

490
00:39:02,633 --> 00:39:05,266
would have been 
a familiar sight to the Vikings.

491
00:39:05,300 --> 00:39:07,833
[ Raven caws ]

492
00:39:07,866 --> 00:39:12,400
Both hunter and scavenger, 
ravens are great survivors.

493
00:39:14,133 --> 00:39:16,200
[ Raven caws ]

494
00:39:16,233 --> 00:39:19,333
On the seashore, they're happy 
to scavenge carcasses,

495
00:39:19,366 --> 00:39:22,233
outranking the smaller 
hooded crows.

496
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,733
[ Cawing ]

497
00:39:29,766 --> 00:39:34,200
♪♪

498
00:39:34,233 --> 00:39:37,066
In the Icelandic villages 
and townships,

499
00:39:37,100 --> 00:39:39,466
they're given a special status.

500
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:42,033
Perhaps even a seat 
at the king's table.

501
00:39:42,066 --> 00:39:49,766
♪♪

502
00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:53,100
Odin the all-father god 
was attended

503
00:39:53,133 --> 00:39:54,700
by two ravens

504
00:39:54,733 --> 00:39:57,333
called Hugin and Munin.

505
00:39:57,366 --> 00:40:04,866
♪♪

506
00:40:04,900 --> 00:40:07,700
Spies for the god, 
they would fly the world

507
00:40:07,733 --> 00:40:11,633
to bring him news 
of the ways of men.

508
00:40:11,666 --> 00:40:14,800
There are even accounts 
in the sagas of captive ravens

509
00:40:14,833 --> 00:40:17,266
being used for navigation,

510
00:40:17,300 --> 00:40:21,400
guiding ships to land 
after being released at sea.

511
00:40:21,433 --> 00:40:27,800
♪♪

512
00:40:27,833 --> 00:40:34,233
♪♪

513
00:40:34,266 --> 00:40:36,533
In the year 985,

514
00:40:36,566 --> 00:40:39,266
a rogue adventurer 
called Eric the Red

515
00:40:39,300 --> 00:40:41,533
reached a strange new land

516
00:40:41,566 --> 00:40:44,633
even further to the west 
of the known Viking world...

517
00:40:44,666 --> 00:40:50,566
♪♪

518
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:56,466
♪♪

519
00:40:56,500 --> 00:40:58,666
...Greenland.

520
00:40:58,700 --> 00:41:05,400
♪♪

521
00:41:05,433 --> 00:41:07,700
This colony 
Eric established here

522
00:41:07,733 --> 00:41:13,466
flourished from harvests 
of caribou, seals, and whales,

523
00:41:13,500 --> 00:41:15,400
but especially from the bounty 
offered up

524
00:41:15,433 --> 00:41:18,033
by one very 
significant species...

525
00:41:18,066 --> 00:41:23,766
♪♪

526
00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:29,533
♪♪

527
00:41:29,566 --> 00:41:32,866
...the walrus.

528
00:41:32,900 --> 00:41:39,033
♪♪

529
00:41:39,066 --> 00:41:42,800
In late 10th century Greenland, 
huge colonies of walrus

530
00:41:42,833 --> 00:41:45,666
fill the beaches north 
of the Viking settlements.

531
00:41:53,933 --> 00:41:56,733
In late summer after 
the breeding season,

532
00:41:56,766 --> 00:41:59,466
these groups 
can be thousands strong.

533
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:11,333
With a big male weighing in 
at more than 2,000 pounds,

534
00:42:11,366 --> 00:42:12,966
these animals 
are the biggest seals

535
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:14,800
in the Northern hemisphere.

536
00:42:22,100 --> 00:42:27,066
The Vikings harvest these giants 
during seasonal expeditions,

537
00:42:27,100 --> 00:42:29,900
using their hides to make ropes 
for rigging,

538
00:42:29,933 --> 00:42:33,366
but the most valuable parts 
of the animals by far

539
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:34,900
are their tusks...

540
00:42:38,433 --> 00:42:40,233
...ivory.

541
00:42:40,266 --> 00:42:42,266
[ Walrus snorts ]

542
00:42:42,300 --> 00:42:45,866
♪♪

543
00:42:45,900 --> 00:42:49,566
Genetic analysis shows 
that items like the chessmen

544
00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,266
found in 
the Hebridean Isle of Lewis

545
00:42:52,300 --> 00:42:57,033
were fashioned in the ivory 
workshops of Norway

546
00:42:57,066 --> 00:43:00,700
using tusks from the western 
Greenland walrus colonies.

547
00:43:00,733 --> 00:43:08,400
♪♪

548
00:43:08,433 --> 00:43:11,166
Precious items like carved 
chess pieces

549
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,866
were treasured by the Vikings,

550
00:43:14,900 --> 00:43:17,733
and like all their personal 
items, they were used,

551
00:43:17,766 --> 00:43:22,333
valued, and passed on 
from generation to generation.

552
00:43:26,333 --> 00:43:30,033
This was no throwaway culture.

553
00:43:30,066 --> 00:43:32,900
In lands 
with such scant resources,

554
00:43:32,933 --> 00:43:36,300
pure beauty was as important 
as material worth.

555
00:43:36,333 --> 00:43:41,433
♪♪

556
00:43:41,466 --> 00:43:43,666
But ivory wasn't the most 
valuable resource

557
00:43:43,700 --> 00:43:45,466
found in Greenland.

558
00:43:45,500 --> 00:43:52,833
♪♪

559
00:43:52,866 --> 00:43:55,366
Prized above all other birds,

560
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:57,800
trade in the white gyrfalcon

561
00:43:57,833 --> 00:44:00,933
was a cornerstone of the far 
westerly Viking economies

562
00:44:00,966 --> 00:44:03,000
for two centuries.

563
00:44:03,033 --> 00:44:11,133
♪♪

564
00:44:11,166 --> 00:44:13,733
Gyrfalcons are the largest 
and heaviest member

565
00:44:13,766 --> 00:44:15,266
of the falcon family.

566
00:44:15,300 --> 00:44:20,766
♪♪

567
00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:23,400
Hunting the subarctic tundra 
for mountain hare,

568
00:44:23,433 --> 00:44:25,000
ptarmigan, and grouse,

569
00:44:25,033 --> 00:44:28,266
they can reach speeds of 90 
miles an hour in level flight.

570
00:44:28,300 --> 00:44:36,266
♪♪

571
00:44:36,300 --> 00:44:39,666
Historical and archaeological 
evidence has revealed

572
00:44:39,700 --> 00:44:43,066
the Vikings sustainably 
caught young gyrfalcons

573
00:44:43,100 --> 00:44:46,766
and then traded them 
across their entire network

574
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:50,666
to be used in a sport that was 
rapidly growing in popularity...

575
00:44:53,133 --> 00:44:54,766
...falconry.

576
00:44:54,800 --> 00:45:03,366
♪♪

577
00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:11,866
♪♪

578
00:45:11,900 --> 00:45:20,400
♪♪

579
00:45:20,433 --> 00:45:22,600
Trained to fly to a lure,

580
00:45:22,633 --> 00:45:26,100
a big female gyr 
could command a price so high

581
00:45:26,133 --> 00:45:28,733
that only the highest echelons 
of European nobility

582
00:45:28,766 --> 00:45:30,466
could afford one.

583
00:45:30,500 --> 00:45:39,700
♪♪

584
00:45:39,733 --> 00:45:48,966
♪♪

585
00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:50,766
Owning a white gyrfalcon

586
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:54,000
is the ultimate statement 
of power and glamour.

587
00:45:54,033 --> 00:46:00,400
♪♪

588
00:46:00,433 --> 00:46:06,766
♪♪

589
00:46:13,066 --> 00:46:15,133
By the year 1000,

590
00:46:15,166 --> 00:46:17,366
the Vikings had reached 
the very extremes

591
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:19,000
of the Western Atlantic.

592
00:46:19,033 --> 00:46:24,566
♪♪

593
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:27,566
Icelandic sagas recount that, 
in this year,

594
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:29,500
Eric the Red's son Leif

595
00:46:29,533 --> 00:46:31,166
found himself blown off course

596
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:34,366
while on a mission to bring 
the new religion of Christianity

597
00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:36,700
to his father's colony 
in Greenland.

598
00:46:36,733 --> 00:46:43,466
♪♪

599
00:46:43,500 --> 00:46:50,233
♪♪

600
00:46:50,266 --> 00:46:52,566
In an age before 
magnetic navigation,

601
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:54,233
Vikings lost at sea

602
00:46:54,266 --> 00:46:57,833
may have been able to plot their 
position using a sun compass...

603
00:46:57,866 --> 00:47:03,566
♪♪

604
00:47:03,600 --> 00:47:06,866
...but above all, the movements 
of birds and mammals

605
00:47:06,900 --> 00:47:09,733
gave the Vikings important 
clues about their position.

606
00:47:09,766 --> 00:47:14,866
♪♪

607
00:47:14,900 --> 00:47:19,600
Breeding seabirds will always 
guide a ship to land,

608
00:47:19,633 --> 00:47:23,266
but the sagas reveal that the 
mightiest pathfinders of all...

609
00:47:25,600 --> 00:47:27,733
...were the great whales.

610
00:47:27,766 --> 00:47:33,466
♪♪

611
00:47:33,500 --> 00:47:38,000
[ Whale calling ]

612
00:47:38,033 --> 00:47:41,400
With a range that covers 
the whole North Atlantic,

613
00:47:41,433 --> 00:47:44,033
humpback whales are special 
travelling companions

614
00:47:44,066 --> 00:47:45,866
to the Vikings.

615
00:47:45,900 --> 00:47:48,833
[ Calling continues ]

616
00:47:55,900 --> 00:48:00,233
Humpbacks always feed 
in inshore waters,

617
00:48:00,266 --> 00:48:02,233
so a whale located at sea

618
00:48:02,266 --> 00:48:04,466
will eventually 
lead you to land.

619
00:48:04,500 --> 00:48:10,066
♪♪

620
00:48:10,100 --> 00:48:15,633
♪♪

621
00:48:15,666 --> 00:48:18,800
The sagas tell us that 
Leif eventually made landfall

622
00:48:18,833 --> 00:48:21,200
in a place 
that he called Vinland,

623
00:48:21,233 --> 00:48:23,733
but we now know 
it as Newfoundland.

624
00:48:23,766 --> 00:48:29,300
♪♪

625
00:48:29,333 --> 00:48:34,866
♪♪

626
00:48:34,900 --> 00:48:38,400
Could Leif's guides to this 
new world have been the whales?

627
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:48,233
Did they pilot his ship to this 
new land which seemed so strange

628
00:48:48,266 --> 00:48:52,066
and yet so similar to the Viking 
homelands in distant Norway?

629
00:48:55,866 --> 00:48:57,966
We'll never know for sure,

630
00:48:58,000 --> 00:48:59,533
but it's certain that the seas

631
00:48:59,566 --> 00:49:01,866
around this part 
of North America

632
00:49:01,900 --> 00:49:03,600
would have been teaming 
with whales

633
00:49:03,633 --> 00:49:05,566
at the time of Leif's voyage.

634
00:49:09,566 --> 00:49:10,966
And it's certainly possible

635
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:14,166
they led these 11th-century 
pioneers to landfall...

636
00:49:18,166 --> 00:49:21,600
...the first Europeans 
to reach North America.

637
00:49:21,633 --> 00:49:28,300
♪♪

638
00:49:31,633 --> 00:49:33,966
In less than 200 years,

639
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:36,866
the Vikings had traversed 
the North Atlantic...

640
00:49:36,900 --> 00:49:38,933
[ Birds cawing ]

641
00:49:38,966 --> 00:49:42,566
...learned how to work with 
its vast natural resources...

642
00:49:44,566 --> 00:49:46,033
...and created a trading network

643
00:49:46,066 --> 00:49:48,566
that covered much 
of the known world.

644
00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:57,933
♪♪

645
00:49:57,966 --> 00:50:00,266
So, what can we in 
the 21st century

646
00:50:00,300 --> 00:50:03,566
learn from the wild way 
of the Vikings?

647
00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:10,800
♪♪

648
00:50:10,833 --> 00:50:13,800
Our world has tipped 
in humanity's favor.

649
00:50:13,833 --> 00:50:19,433
♪♪

650
00:50:19,466 --> 00:50:22,033
There are seven billion 
more people on planet Earth

651
00:50:22,066 --> 00:50:24,200
than in the age of the Vikings.

652
00:50:24,233 --> 00:50:32,433
♪♪

653
00:50:32,466 --> 00:50:40,666
♪♪

654
00:50:40,700 --> 00:50:45,033
But despite that, 
the humpback whales,

655
00:50:45,066 --> 00:50:47,733
the vast seabird colonies,

656
00:50:47,766 --> 00:50:50,433
and herds of reindeer

657
00:50:50,466 --> 00:50:52,633
are still with us,

658
00:50:52,666 --> 00:50:56,966
and it will be our legacy 
as to whether they remain.

659
00:50:57,000 --> 00:51:07,033
♪♪

660
00:51:07,066 --> 00:51:09,066
We'll never see the wilderness 
of the north

661
00:51:09,100 --> 00:51:13,800
as the Vikings did 
in those ancient days,

662
00:51:13,833 --> 00:51:16,200
but we can still value 
each animal

663
00:51:16,233 --> 00:51:17,933
and its place in the world.

664
00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:21,866
We can watch them...

665
00:51:21,900 --> 00:51:27,333
♪♪

666
00:51:27,366 --> 00:51:29,066
...live alongside them...

667
00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:33,300
...protect them...

668
00:51:35,700 --> 00:51:39,966
...and above all 
be inspired by them...

669
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:42,800
and their wild ways.

670
00:51:42,833 --> 00:51:50,333
♪♪

671
00:51:50,366 --> 00:51:57,900
♪♪

672
00:51:57,933 --> 00:52:05,500
♪♪

673
00:52:12,166 --> 00:52:13,866
Our planet is bursting 
at

674
00:52:12,166 --> 00:52:13,866
the seams.

675
00:52:13,900 --> 00:52:15,200
Around the world,

676
00:52:15,233 --> 00:52:16,600
hundreds of volcanoes

677
00:52:16,633 --> 00:52:19,766
could explode without warning.

678
00:52:19,800 --> 00:52:23,700
Now we can descend to the edge of a volcano's beating heart...

679
00:52:23,733 --> 00:52:25,366
MAN: This is one of the most 
inhospitable places

680
00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:26,633
on the planet.

681
00:52:26,666 --> 00:52:29,333
...and discover if volcanoes 
ho

682
00:52:26,666 --> 00:52:29,333
ld secrets

683
00:52:29,366 --> 00:52:30,833
to the origins of life.

684
00:52:30,866 --> 00:52:32,366
MAN: More people 
have been into space

685
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:35,066
than visited 
this insanely magical place.

686
00:52:35,100 --> 00:52:39,800
♪♪

687
00:52:48,566 --> 00:52:56,633
♪♪

688
00:52:56,666 --> 00:53:04,833
♪♪

689
00:53:04,866 --> 00:53:12,933
♪♪

690
00:53:12,966 --> 00:53:16,333
To learn more about what you've 
se

691
00:53:12,966 --> 00:53:16,333
en on this "Nature" program,

692
00:53:16,366 --> 00:53:18,400
visit pbs.org.

693
00:53:18,433 --> 00:53:24,866
♪♪