Dzika Rosja Odcinek 6: Urals

The Urals take us into uncharted Russian nature. The Urals are one of the few places remaining to observe the European mink in the wild. We’ll see them nursing their newborn cubs, feeding them crayfish and also building dens in which to raise their precious offspring. With stunning underwater filming we’ll witness their swimming techniques as they hunt for fish. Other key characters include a family of Musk ox who we will they fight to protect their young. We’ve already filmed Wolverine behaviour up close and personal seeing them hunt, feed and climb throughout the summer and winter periods. Skirting around the rivers other animals come into play as we see Moose crossing rivers in search of food. Sharing the waterways with them is the strange and unique Russian Desman, an endemic water mole that has never been filmed in HD before. We have footage of them swimming, hunting, feeding and interacting with their neighbours. Cute garden dormice make their tiny beds here and flying squirrels play overhead, staying out of reach of the giant martens roaming the forest. Above them, flying squirrels glide in the taiga, landing on their tree hole and feed. The Urals are the gateway to the Eastern part of Russia. This massive mountain range stretches over almost 2,500 kilometres and forms the border between Europe and Asia. The Asian side of the Urals themselves is unexplored. Vast Nordic tundra, mountain taiga, lakes, rivers and ancient mixed forests turn the mountain range into the largest European wilderness. When the snow melts, the waters fill the northern bays of the Caspian Sea with nutrients creating blooming lotus fields, reed labyrinths, and bird paradises. On the West Siberian plain they create the river Ob delta and the biggest swamps in the world. A mystical land of forests and bogs, where deciduous landscapes give way to vast coniferous forests, fairy-tale places covered by lichens, thick moss cushions and interspersed by dramatic waterfalls.