:09:21
It would seem a place
too hostile for living things
:09:27
but each year, after a winter
that can last nine months
:09:31
Alaska erupts with life.
:09:37
Hundreds of thousands of birds
:09:39
stream here
from as far away as Antarctica
:09:42
to breed in Alaska's
protected cliffs and coves
:09:46
and to feed on it's rich seas.
:09:52
For one brief season
of abundance
:09:55
life flourishes.
:09:59
lce-falls turn to waterfalls.
:10:04
Grasses emerge, fueled by up
to 24 hours of sunlight a day.
:10:10
Animals hurry
to store up nutrients
:10:13
before winter returns.
:10:16
Without the plenty
of the warm season
:10:18
life couldn't survive
the long months of bitter cold.
:10:33
Famished from half a year
of hibernation
:10:36
even the lordly brown bear
:10:39
is content to graze in spring
:10:41
sharing the meadows with caribou
too fleet to be caught.
:10:52
As bellies fill, play begins.