:27:17
After as few
as six weeks of warmth
:27:20
the air grows chilly.
:27:23
Summer visitors head south
to escape the fierce cold ahead.
:27:34
The first snowfall
can arrive in August.
:27:39
Now Alaska's animals must employ
every instinct and adaptation
:27:43
for winter survival.
:27:47
As many as 4,000 eagles
gather along the Chilkat River
:27:51
in the southeast
:27:53
the largest known congregation
of bald eagles in the world.
:28:01
Though most Alaskan rivers
freeze
:28:03
geothermal heat
keeps the Chilkat open
:28:06
enabling the eagles to feed
:28:08
on the river's unusually late
salmon run.
:28:17
Somehow, bald eagles know
to return late each fall
:28:21
to the one place that will help
ensure their survival.
:28:33
One Alaskan animal actually
yearns for the onset of winter.
:28:39
Where most creatures would
perish from exposure
:28:42
polar bears thrive.
:28:59
Their body heat is preserved
by thick fat