Between Estonia and Finland
The Baltic Sea is the youngest ocean in the world and first evolved after the last Ice Age. We think we know everything about it, yet still it has many surprises in store. Wind and waves still shape the shores of the Baltic Sea. The second episode presents a world comprising tens of thousands of islands, between Estonia, Gotland in Sweden and the Finnish Archipelago Sea. In the Autumn on Saaremaa, the largest Estonian island, nasal sounds can be heard from one corner to the next: The mating calls of the Moose. Huge bulls make their way to the traditional rutting areas in the south of the island. The landscape here is stony and riddled with countless bays. In the north, the Panga Cliff, a limestone wall of some 20 metres in height and more than 400 million years old. In the beginning of March, animal filmmaker Christoph Hauschild and his team accompany two seal researchers going about their work. Their destinations are two small islands in the Bay of Riga. A popular spot for grey seals. This is the first time that a film team has been allowed on the island. Just how many animals there are, can first be seen from the air. The beach is packed with young seals. The largest gathering in the Baltic Sea. The absence of pack ice forces the mothers to come here. Global warming has visibly changed the Baltic Sea as far as the Bay of Riga. The winters are simply too hot for the well-insulated young seals. So as not to overheat, they take dips in the cooling water. The underwater camera captures intimate moments and reveals just how playfully the youngsters enjoy the cool water. Just 200 kilometres to the west lies an ancient coral reef, Gotland. The Swedish island is like an ark in the central Baltic Sea. Much of the flora and fauna one otherwise only finds in Southern Europe can be found here on the second largest island in the Baltic Sea. Golden eagles breed here in the trees and in the spring, the ground is covered in orchids. 35 different varieties grow on Gotland.
S1E2 51 min
