ALEX CHRIS DOG_SLED_MAN HANS_MARTIN KNUT KRISTIN MAN NARRATOR ODI NARRATOR It’s a 30 day expedition to the most inhospitable corner of the planet. Scientists, sailors, adventurers. They’re on the trail of narwhal. Mysterious horned whales, whose secrets are buried in the Arctic ice. They might as well be Chasing Unicorns. CHRIS People still don’t really know what narwhal are. Sometimes people are baffled when I explain, you know, the whale with a, with a large protruding horn. People often say to me that they thought those creatures were simply mythological. My name is Chris Dembetski. I work on marine conservation projects in the Arctic. NARRATOR Chris is a lawyer turned Arctic activist. CHRIS It may be in our lifetime that there are big changes in this ocean. NARRATOR His dream is to document the narwhal’s spring migration route through Lancaster Sound, to all the little bays, fjords and inlets where they will spend the summer. CHRIS This current travels north, and then that same water, that same ocean, those currents and those whales, come in here. NARRATOR Almost every narwhal in the world migrates each spring, from the open North Atlantic, through Lancaster Sound, to shallow northern waters. Alongside bowhead whales, seals and other marine mammals. CHRIS One of the things that is so interesting about Lancaster Sound is the very big number of whales that swim through Lancaster Sound. MAN NARRATOR Narwhal populations are stable. Around 75,000. The narwhal is particularly vunerable to climate change, due to a narrow geographical range in northern Canada, and it’s specialized diet of cod, caplin and other artic species. The whales are an indicator of the Arctic ecosystem’s health, and a critical source of food for the local people. CHRIS Their entire economy is based on the sustainable harvest of fish and game in that region. NARRATOR But hidden in their harsh environment, narwhal are also a bit of a mystery. CHRIS It’s important to me to be able to help scientists tell stories that we think are important, one of which is the story of narwhal and one of the greatest marine migrations on the planet. NARRATOR It’s a risky adventure. The ice during this time has traditionally been too think for research ships to track them. And the big icebreakers scatter the animals and change the ice environment as they pass through. But the spring ice is changing. White Way, Newfoundland. Off Canada’s east coast. Chris hires a veteran seaman. Norwegian Knut Aspen. KNUT The reason why I’m here is to make Chris happy and make his dream come true. There is a reason why there’s nobody been up in this area at this time of the year, in recent time, and that’s because there’s a lot of ice. A lot of ice. NARRATOR Knut’s purchased this retired crab fishing boat. CHRIS We don’t know ah, we don’t know where she’s going. Where’s he going to put her? Over here? Right here? NARRATOR It’s not built for Arctic passage, but the price is right. And Knut’s confident it can be retrofitted to suit the expedition. KNUT So I was looking for a good starting point that we could build into a research vessel that we’re going to use on the expedition. So I kind of knew what to expect, I’d seen it before. But I was kind of nervous to see Chris’s reaction. If you’re honest about it, it’s just an old beat up fishing boat. CHRIS Is this Dwight? Hey Dwight, yeah, it’s Chris. Hey. KNUT I’m kind of excited to see what he was going to say about it. CHRIS Sort of more impressive than I thought, actually. I’m starting to believe in this. KNUT He seems to be fairly happy, and that makes a big difference. CHRIS Well the first concern for me was that this boat has to be a good platform for science, and that our biologists have to be able to work. And that’s the most important thing. We’ve chosen a small boat for two reasons. One is maneuverability, so that we can get through what we anticipate will be dense ice. And secondly, narwhal, they’re characterized as being very shy animals, they’ll often flee from the noise of ships. KNUT Well, the first thing we need to do is getting an overview of what’s here and what’s not here. There’s no ladder down here. MAN I got you, I got you, I got you. KNUT CHRIS Boy you got some strength there. KNUT When you’ve done that, you have to look at the kind of quality of the different systems, and find out what you need to change. We’re going up there. We have to be self-reliable, and you have to make sure that all the important systems are working. I would say that by looking at this, I would regard it would take at least half a year to get this thing up and running. But unfortunately we only have two weeks. So there’s going to be some people that are going to put in a lot of hours. NARRATOR Funding is in place from an Arctic research grant. Enough for 30 days and a small contingency, in case anything goes wrong. The plan is to build an additional cabin on the aft section of the ship’s deck. The adventure’s been funded as a research expedition. That means the ship needs to be specially outfitted for the scientist’s needs. KNUT It’s very complex. First of all you have the technical stuff. You have European scientists requiring 220 volts, you have Canadians requiring 110 volts, the boat is running off 12 volts. NARRATOR It’s two weeks’ work just to get the cabin built and wired. Knut and the crew will have to finish retrofitting the boat in Greenland, where they’ll meet up with Chris and the scientific team. It’s a seven day journey from Newfoundland to Greenland, where the expedition really begins. Knut’s joined by two trusted colleagues, who will become his crew on the narwhal expedition. Veteran Arctic sailor Hans Martin Halverson, is Knut’s co-captain, and the boat’s safety officer. HANS MARTIN NARRATOR Alex ?? is a diesel engine mechanic known for his resourcefulness. He’s also a skilled Inuit hunter, whose survival skills are a huge advantage in the high Arctic. Disko Island, Greenland. KNUT It’s a new place. New people to meet. People like to wander around a little bit, on their own. NARRATOR After a week on board, Hans Martin’s eager to get off the boat for a few hours. An old friend’s asked Hans Martin to help round up a meal for his sled dogs. These fish are called caplin. DOG SLED MAN I show you how to do. NARRATOR The caplin are so exhausted from spawning, they can be scooped up by the dozens. HANS MARTIN That’s crazy. DOG SLED MAN What I’m going to do is to dry it for the dogs, so I lay them on rocks. This is the only way for keeping them until winter time. HANS MARTIN It’s so, so easy. NARRATOR It’s a welcome diversion for Hans Martin. HANS MARTIN How often do you get to do this? NARRATOR And it could be a good omen for the expedition. The aim of the expedition is to follow whales north. The whales are following these tiny fish. The caplin are like a trail of breadcrumbs, leading to narwhal, bowhead, and the breeding grounds in Lancaster Sound. Back at the marina, the fishing boat is rechristened the Arctic Endeavour. CHRIS Good work guys. NARRATOR And the rest of the scientific team arrives. Kristin Westall, from Canada, a marine biologist, who’s been fascinated by whales since childhood. KRISTIN I went on a family trip and we went out on a whale watching expedition, and that’s sort of where I first got really excited about whales in the Arctic. NARRATOR She’ll be joined by Danish marine biologist, Odi Turbo. ODI I’ll be doing the acoustic recordings and hopefully be able to identify some of the species as we are sailing. NARRATOR Their research relies on hydrophones, underwater microphones used to record the songs and calls of marine mammals. ODI Yeah, yeah. NARRATOR A hydrophone malfunction at sea would be a disaster for Kristin and Odi, so they take their time testing and calibrating the equipment. ODI That’s the click, click, click, click. NARRATOR There’s a long list of preparations. The crew works around the clock to finish retrofitting the ship for the harsh Arctic waters. Chris hopes to leave in two days. CHRIS This is what I wanted to show you. So this is like a, it’s a satellite image. NARRATOR He’s carefully plotted his course, but mother nature has other plans. On land the weather is fine. But offshore it’s a whole other story. CHRIS Offshore the winds are very, very strong, and coming from the south. So we’ve decided that we’ll sit out that weather and leave when we have a better window. NARRATOR Chris’s contract with Knut puts a time limit on the trip. They have Knut and the boat for just 30 days from the moment it arrived in Greenland. The longer they wait onshore, the less time they’ll have for research. Chris calls for a meeting to see when they can leave. KNUT You know that this is first year ice. NARRATOR Knut’s got terrible news. KNUT Since the floes ice is this big, that means that what’s probably happened is the fjord ice in here has broken off and drifted. NARRATOR The path they’ve planned on is filling up with massive slabs of ice. Chris still wants to go as soon as possible. But Knut’s heard enough. He believes leaving now would be too risky. KNUT And from a safety perspective, the bigger the floes, the more dangerous. Cause the more pressure you can get into. And second of all, it’s kind of impossible to fiddle your way through it when they’re several kilometers across cause you can’t even see the other side. NARRATOR To make matters worse, Knut’s crew is exhausted. KNUT I don’t want to push the guys to work this hard, you know, for much longer. They haven’t eaten, they haven’t slept, they haven’t had any time for themselves for weeks. CHRIS You know, it’s just a stressful situation. KNUT But it’s stressful because you make it stressful. You can’t really do anything about the ice. The ice is there. The weather is there. You just got to play along the rules they define. NARRATOR The whales could be passing them by right now. They’re hoping to embark on an Arctic adventure following the narwhal to it’s summer home. But the ship’s captain refuses to shove off until ice and weather offshore clear. Team leader Chris is already three days behind schedule. CHRIS I’ve been with Knut in the Northwest Passage in extremely challenging ice conditions. Sometimes, even though he’s a little bit difficult onshore, and our communication can run into the occasional bump, I really appreciate his decision-making under stress and his commitment to the safety of his crew, and that’s why he’s here. HANS MARTIN To get to a place is the best, best thing in the world but, after couple of days you just want to move on. KRISTIN Ready to go. Yup. CHRIS Sorry for the delay, as usual. You learn to translate time fast from sailors, right, and add on probably like two extra hours. NARRATOR Chris is trying to keep peace between anxious scientists and a frustrated crew. CHRIS Don’t think for a minute the weather and ice are going to be what is the make or break component of our success. Our success is to leave here safely and return to port safely, whether it be Pond Inlet or a port in Greenland, to work well as a team, to get along, and to do good science. NARRATOR It’s an uneasy truce. They agree to depart tomorrow and hope for the best. So tonight, one last get together on dry land, under a midnight sun. CHRIS Hi. Smells amazing. ODI Welcome. NARRATOR Scientists and sailors put their differences aside and put the frustrations of the past week, behind them. Early morning. Today’s the day. Before the go anywhere, Knut and Hans Martin go through the final safety briefing with the entire team. In an Arctic adventure, one tiny mistake could be fatal. KNUT First of all, nobody should go up here alone when you’re at sea, ‘cause if you fall off, we won’t notice, and it can take hours before you notice even if it’s two minutes after you fall off, it’s a big chance that it’s too late. NARRATOR The water is just above freezing. Death comes swiftly. HANS MARTIN Temperature below 10 Celsius, it’s approximately one minute in the water per degree before you die. NARRATOR They’re finally ready to shove off. HANS MARTIN We’re now leaving for the expedition, the real part. ALEX I am so glad to be on the move. I’m ecstatic. It’s going to be epic, right? HANS MARTIN So heave away you’ll hear me sing KNUT Heave away, haul away. HANS MARTIN Oh heave away your rolling king. KNUT Heave away, haul away. HANS MARTIN So heave away you’ll hear me sing KNUT & HANS MARTIN We’re bound for South Australia. NARRATOR They’re tracing a path north, along Greenland’s coast. Further out lies a deadly maze of ice floes, too tricky to navigate. NARRATOR Day seven. CHRIS Knut and Hans Martin drove us through the night and Knut woke me up dog-tired this morning and so I’m relieving them. Now we’re heading offshore to get out of the, what Odi the shadow, the acoustic shadow of Disko Island, and that’s because her hydrophones can hear bowheads up to 80 kilometres away. So we want to give the hydrophone as much room as possible in which to listen. So we’re getting out of Disko’s shadow. KRISTIN I’m excited. I actually really feel like we’re going to see a whale today. I told that to Alex and he was like, Maybe, if we get close to the ice. And I was like, Yeah, we’re getting close to the ice. We’re going to see a whale. I can feel it. Yup. NARRATOR The researchers slowly adapt themselves to life aboard the Arctic Endeavour. KRISTIN I think I’ve baked something, probably every day for the last week. I think. Maybe. KNUT And while some people bake, some people drink beer. KRISTIN The seas are calm but the boat is, the boat is rocking quite a bit. NARRATOR This is the first meal Odi’s been able to keep down in three days. KRISTIN I feel really lucky that I’m not feeling sick this morning, and that I can really enjoy the scenery. NARRATOR Kristin’s also getting used to the Arctic sun. This time of year it shines around the clock. KRISTIN But I have no idea what time of day it is. If I wasn’t wearing my watch, I wouldn’t know whether it was time to eat lunch or time to eat dinner. That’s for sure. NARRATOR Kristin and Odi are anxious to begin their work. Narwhal aren’t the only marine mammals travelling this icy migration route that the scientists are interested in. They’re hoping to find other whales and seals too. KRISTIN You can hear a bearded seal. Kay, I’m going to drop this off the side. NARRATOR Along with documenting ice conditons, they’re recording all the animals calls and locations, to be used as a benchmark in the future. ODI Time is, approximate. KRISTIN 16 10 ODI Okay. KRISTIN Started at 15 10, ended at 16 10. ODI Okay. NARRATOR Odi and Kristin’s research is like a time capsule. A snapshot of what the Arctic is like today. It doesn’t take long for the crew to adapt to their icy surroundings. The spirit of adventure is all about experiences, even cold ones. HANS MARTIN Yup. CHRIS Go right of the corner out here. HANS MARTIN Okay. Do we got any soap? Ah, just kidding . CHRIS I’m going to back up as you get close and Knut’s going to pull you out. HANS MARTIN This is for the camera. NARRATOR This journey would be less lonesome if they could catch up with the narwhal, but the ice has put them far behind. Narwhal can travel through seas 90% covered by ice. Anything more than 50% and their little research vessel is in real danger. ODI Can you hear? NARRATOR Kristin takes another listen to the hydrophone. KRISTIN Oh yes! NARRATOR It’s the calls of three bearded seals. KRISTIN It’s quite a long call. Just keeps going and going and going. NARRATOR It’s not a narwhal, but it’s a good start. ODI I’m thinking that they’re closer ice. So if we get closer to the ice then we might hear them better. NARRATOR Until now, they’ve been steering clear of the large ice floes offshore. The narwhal feed on Arctic cod that eat tiny organisms growing beneath the ice floes. If they want to get close to the narwhal, they’ll have to get closer to the ice. KRISTIN The narwhal are going to be in the ice, in the pack ice, probably further ahead than we are, so this is our best chance getting as close as we can to the narwhal. Narwhal, narwhal, narwhal. NARRATOR But getting too close to the ice, could be deadly. Following the narwhal migration route is leading them towards a potentially deadly maze of ice. CHRIS Well we’re finally entering, entering the sea ice. The southern end of the pack, eh Knut? NARRATOR The further they go, the more ice they find. CHRIS Knut’s absolutely right when he advises that we try to avoid mucking around in this, because we could get severely delayed in this and we’ve got a lot more ice, way more ice to come. This is about as dense an ice pack as I want to be dealing with right now. Knut, this early on in the voyage I think, it’s time for you to take the helm. NARRATOR Ice like this is a handful, even for an experienced captain like Knut. CHRIS That piece of ice came really close to the prop. So all of a sudden we went from relatively open water to really, really dense ice very quickly, and we got caught up in it and had to shut the engine down momentarily. It was a pretty good example of the kind of obstacles that we’re facing with the ice, and it was only a taste of the challenges to come. NARRATOR The next morning, ice everywhere. Knut refuses to take the Arctic Endeavour any farther, until they figure out a way around the ice field. KNUT We’re not going to reach like a very tight ice edge, we’re just going to see that the concentration slowly increases and increases and increases. NARRATOR The plan is to wait it out for a day, and hope the ice moves past them. For now, they’re stuck. Kristin and Odi decide to make the best of it, lowering the hydrophone back into the water. KRISTIN Lower it just a little bit more. You can hear bearded seals. They sound farther away that at the last station. Changes the whole landscape when you can hear something you can’t see. NARRATOR But no whales yet. KRISTIN It would be nice if a narwhal came up. That would make me happy. That’s some swell. That’s the only physical activity we have for the day is, trying to balance. NARRATOR These slabs of ice are about the size of tennis courts. They could tear the Arctic Endeavour to bits. The little boat’s like an ant in the middle of a massive moving jigsaw puzzle. Chris decides they need to change course. CHRIS Knut, Jeremy just looked at the MODIS image and says to start heading a little more south. If you go straight east you’re walking right into thick ice, he says. Even though it looked worse from our angle to head in this direction and it’s, it means we’re going back a little bit, it’s still, according to the guys who are looking from the satellite, very much to our advantage. NARRATOR The plan is to head back and go around the ice, but it’s a moving target. The Arctic Endeavour just keeps finding more and more ice. CHRIS We’re trying to get north, we’ve got a long way to go. Instead we found ourselves battling and bashing our way through very, very dense ice. NARRATOR Knut has an idea. He knows a tiny protected harbour nearby. CHRIS We’re now sheltered in a little natural harbour just off the Uummannaq Peninsula. There’s a lot of ice just outside of this shelter so we might be stuck here for a little while. If we are stuck for a little while, what we might do is climb this mountain ridge over here to see if we can’t get a better vantage and have a look at what the ice is doing. NARRATOR The team takes shelter in the harbour hoping the ice moves past them. They’ll leave the Arctic Endeavour anchored offshore and use a small tender to head in to land. The rifle is a necessary precaution. On land there’s a constant threat from polar bears. Chris hopes he’ll get some perspective on the situation by heading to higher ground, but all he sees is ice, and trouble. Odi makes the most of her time on shore, searching the island for seabirds. The island offers a change of scenery and a chance to stretch their legs. They’ve been at sea 10 days, and they’re at least 10 days behind the narwhal. Chris is beginning to feel the pressure to catch up. The next morning, Chris is anxious to get going. CHRIS So the question is, Knut, when do you think we’ll be able to leave here to keep heading north? KNUT It’s a question of, how much do you want to get your ass beaten? You know, being out there? And you can tell that, compared with the other days now, there’s quite a bit of swell coming in here. NARRATOR The ice pack passed, but now a dangerous swell is rolling in. Knut wants to wait a little longer. KNUT But it’s no point to go through it, just to go through it. CHRIS Right KNUT If you can’t do any science, you’re not going to be able to observe any whales, ‘cause there’s like breaking waves. NARRATOR And then fate throws them another curveball. That night there’s big trouble in the engine room. While the scientists sleep, the crew struggles to figure out what’s gone wrong. KNUT Alex? You can have the hose as well. HANS MARTIN The boat is taking in water and the bilge pump is not working properly or the hose is stuck somewhere. NARRATOR This boat’s not going anywhere. HANS MARTIN It’s always so nice to have something to do in the morning. NARRATOR The Arctic expedition has been plagued by ice, and mechanical trouble. KNUT I was doing our hourly watch and I all of a sudden realized that the fish hold, there was quite a lot of water in the bilge, and we tried to empty it, no water came out. So it turned out that there was a one-way valve that was clogged up. So we tried to dismount it, it turned out that the fittings and stuff broke, of course. ALEX Hans Martin? HANS MARTIN Yup. NARRATOR The crew works all night to get the engine and bilge pump going again. Alex is legendary for his ingenuity. He once fixed a snowmobile suspension with a caribou’s thighbone. ALEX I’m going to cut this off, taper this part so it will fit into the threads, and once it’s cured, duct tape over it. It should hold. NARRATOR It takes 6 hours, but he finally gets the bilge pump going again. Day 18. They’re back in open water, but still no narwhale. Knut thinks Chris should stop and talk to some local hunters. KNUT Talking to hunters is a, I think is a very good idea. Because they really know this area and they’ve been hunting here for generations. So getting in touch with them and trying to pick their minds, I guess is the best thing we can do, really. NARRATOR The plan is to pull into a small fishing village on the coast of Greenland. People here hunt narwhal for food. They’ll confirm the route and have a good idea how far ahead the narwhal are. CHRIS So is it possible right now, to travel by boat from Upernavik to see…? NARRATOR Alex translates for Chris. The hunters have bad news. The narwhal passed here weeks ago. CHRIS Yup, they keep going north. NARRATOR The expedition is falling even further behind. CHRIS Sometimes you’re the leader. In that situation, you’re the leader. NARRATOR Still, they’re on the right track and gathering new data about ice conditions, as long as they can stay on course with the narwhal. The ice is the challenge. To stay on the track of the narwhal, they’ve got to head north. They’re heading out into rough seas, but they can’t afford to wait any longer. KNUT We just left the harbour and it’s a bit of swell out here. And, even though we just kind of departed, people are already starting to get seasick so, I guess they’ve got a long day ahead of them. NARRATOR After 10 hours they finally hit smoother seas. And right away, Kristin sights the first whale of the expedition. KRISTIN No, no, no, it’s right out in front. Let’s throw it off the front, Odi. Thank God. CHRIS We’re seeing our first bowhead. Look at that. Wow! Right there, right off the bow. See it there? See it’s back? NARRATOR It’s a bowhead. The second biggest whale in the world. CHRIS What a relief. It’s enormous. KNUT I was sleeping. CHRIS I know you were. HANS MARTIN As always. KNUT Those bastards! Careful so you don’t fall overboard! You gotta big head! It’s heavy! NARRATOR After nearly three weeks at sea, Kristin and Odi are thrilled to share their journey with a great whale. Odi wants a better look at the bowhead. Once the sea is completely calm, Odi convinces Alex to take her closer. ODI And we don’t need to be that close, either. The most important thing is that you have to have pictures of the blowholes. This is real work. NARRATOR And adult bowhead like this one can grow to be 20 metres long and weigh up to 100 tonnes. ODI That’s excellent already. NARRATOR Odi’s photos will help identify this whale in case they ever see it again. ODI Very good, Alex. This is fantastic. I think it will come up one more time. Oh, it’s in a hurry. You can see how high it comes. It’s in a hurry now. It’s maybe a bit spooked, but that was excellent. We have ID pictures now from this one. NARRATOR Bowhead whales sometimes swim in pods. Alex and Odi haul out onto the ice to see if they can spot any more whales. Back on the Arctic Endeavour, ship’s captain Knut is not impressed. KNUT Here they’re messing around in the ice, with a small aluminum boat with a 9.9 horsepower engine. When they get more than 200 metres away from the boat, from this boat, we’re not able to see them anymore. We have no visual contact. NARRATOR He’s losing patience with the chances the scientists are taking. KNUT Well let’s say they hit a piece of ice, and the boat tipped, everybody went into the water, they wouldn’t last very long in the water. You know you can easily have three dead people. That’s how easy it is. NARRATOR Despite Knut’s fretting, everyone returns to the Arctic Endeavour safely. CHRIS I kept trying to feed her and she’s like, I’m just going to lose it. NARRATOR That night Hans Martin joins the scientists as they celebrate the first whale of the expedition. But Knut doesn’t feel much like partying. The celebration is bittersweet. The bowhead was a good start, but they’re still way behind the migrating narwhal, and they’re running out of time. The contract with Knut is about to expire. Day 25. There’s only five days left before Knut turns his boat around. They are picking up lots of information about ice and sea conditions. It’s an amazing experience. But they’re 900 kilometres from their goal in Lancaster Sound, and weeks behind the narwhal. CHRIS Oh yeah, I see what you’re saying. NARRATOR The foundations funding the expedition, want to know more about how the Arctic is changing. The expedition’s work will become a baseline for future comparisons during this critical migration season. It’s a benchmark, comparing today’s melt rate to past reports, could show how climate change is affecting the Arctic. But science takes time. CHRIS One, two, three, four. KRISTIN I think it might be going slightly slower. Wow. It’s going to be a long night. NARRATOR They need to stay close enough to the migration season for their work to be relevant. And they’re falling further and further behind the migrating narwhal. They’re out there somewhere. But the captain of the ship thinks it’s too late, and too dangerous, to reach the narwhals’ summer feeding grounds, through the northern ice. KNUT And now with the current ice conditions it’s fairly obvious that we’re not going to be able to reach Lancaster. Yeah, it’s a lot of ice here. NARRATOR He’s ready to turn south, and go home. Narwhal or no narwhal. Day 27. There’s only three days left in an expedition to follow the narwhal to their summer home at the top of the world. But the ice the narwhal are passing through is proving too much for the expedition vessel. CHRIS Satellite phone. NARRATOR Chris hires two local guides to take him farther than the Arctic Endeavour can go. CHRIS And we got sat phone, check, GPS, check, water, sleeping bags, food. There we go. I think we’re going to see some whales today. I think we finally caught up with them. NARRATOR The boats are tiny. More maneuverable, but there’s none of the creature comforts of the Arctic Endeavour. The plan is to head out onto the ice and wait for the narwhal. CHRIS We’re out at see about 50 miles off of the Greenland coast. We’ve stopped the boats because narwhal will most likely be frightened or avoid us if we’re making a lot of noise. And so we’ve pulled the boats out of the water, and now we’re sitting and waiting. NARRATOR They have enough supplies to camp for three days. All they can do is wait. On the ice, time moves at a glacial pace. They record all the dynamics of the migration route formed of ice and sea. Finally, a whale, off in the distance. By listening to the hydrophone, Kristin can tell what kind of whale it is, and how many there are. CHRIS So tell her we saw approximately 8 to 10 bowhead, and we got some recordings. Ah, no narwhal. We’ll call in again, at the latest, 12 hours from now. NARRATOR They’ve got two days left to search. The expedition is almost over. CHRIS We saw approximately 10 bowhead, and then we heard more through the night. And they were very distant, but there were many bowhead around. They are migrating north along the, along the east side of this ice edge. I can hear one right now. NARRATOR Plenty of whales, but no narwhal. Alex calls another hunter to try and figure out where the narwhal are. ALEX I got some good news for you Chris. Hordes and hordes of whales passing through the Pond, and no gunshot will scare them away there’s so many. They’re shooting at them and they’re still there, so. If you catch that, you’ll be laughing. NARRATOR Chris doesn’t look so happy, because that’s 500 kilometres away. All the way on the other side of the ice field and they have no way of getting there. By the time they get back to the big boat, they’ve run out of time. ALEX Do I say my farewells now? NARRATOR The contract has expired. Knut will go no further. If Chris wants to keep searching for narwhal, he’ll have to do it with Knut, Hans Martin or the Arctic Endeavour. KNUT It’s always sad when a project’s finished. But always nice ‘cause, you know, one door closing means that another door is opening. NARRATOR Knut ferries everyone to the next settlement. From there they go their separate ways. CHRIS Be safe out there. NARRATOR Odi’s heading back to Disko Island on the boat. Alex will stay with the scientists to help in one last drive to find the horned whale. Chris has got a new plan. He’ll use the last of their contingency funding to fly over the ice they could not get through. He expects to catch up with the narwhal along the way. CHRIS Hey, I’m Chris. This is Kristin. KRISTIN Hi, nice to meet you. CHRIS Alex is over there. He’s happiest to see you. You guys have no idea. We’re taking him home. We didn’t expect to finish the migration in this, in this ah, in this fashion. But ah, I’m glad we’re finishing it. KRISTIN We’re going to see some narwhals. NARRATOR Landing in Alex’s hometown of Pond Inlet, it should be a simple matter to get snowmobiles out to the floe edge, just as hunters do. From the sky, Chris can see the extent of the ice that’s caused him so much trouble. As soon as they land, it becomes clear just how fast the ice conditions change. Snowmobiles can cross breaks in the ice, but they can’t run on water. ALEX Twenty-four hours ago there were people driving their snowmobiles right here. CHRIS So we’ve missed the window… ALEX By a day. CHRIS …by a day. ALEX That’s right. Our luck couldn’t have been better. CHRIS Yeah NARRATOR There’s no landing strip where they’re headed. The only option left is a helicopter with pontoons. But even the helicopter can’t find a place to safely land near the edge of the ice. For the first time, they’re ahead of the narwhal. They’re learning that the migration route is a dynamic and changing place. The narwhal surf a wave of spring into the high Arctic. CHRIS Yeah, there’re a lot of whales here. NARRATOR They’re a kilometre from the edge of the ice. It’s an isolated and dangerous floating world that is changing by the minute. The ice could shift, or even disappear, overnight. And, they’re not alone, out on the ice. They keep vigil in turns, all through the long Arctic night. The next morning, 33 days since their adventure began. They’ve travelled by boat, airplane and helicopter, but in the end, it comes down to this. Hiking the final kilometre to the edge of the ice floe. This is it. Entrance to the narwhal summer Shangri-La, is at the icy edge of a changing world. It’s still a mystery why the narwhal make this journey. But in these shallows, they’re safe and well fed, until they race ahead of the ice again. Back into the deepest darkest north Atlantic winter. Kristin lowers the hydrophone over the floe edge. Their work to understand the narwhal and learn what they can teach us about our changing world is just beginning. For Chris, it’s been the adventure of a lifetime. But he’s just getting started. Tracking the migration route in real time, is the beginning of understanding where the narwhal are coming from, and where we’re all going. By listening to the songs, Kristin will begin to get a sense of the narwhal numbers and social groups making the long migration to their summer grounds. As they record the narwhal, the team stands in silence. Chris brought them on an adventure. Persistence brought them here. Chasing unicorns in the sea. Looking to understand, appreciate and take care of the natural world we live in. Like the migrating narwhal, the race isn’t to the swift, but to those who keep going.