in the antarctic peninsula faster than anywhere else in antarctica. we're with a team of wildlife scientists who are trying to find out how some of the biggest animals in these waters are responding. some populations around the world are getting skinny because they're not getting enough to eat because of climate change. baby's coming up on the left. mom's pooping. we'll discover secrets that are hidden in the bodies of these huge marine mammals. liquid gold! and why scientists need to be here to protect this vast icy wilderness. today, the archive footage looks shocking. it shows our brutal history with antarctica's whales. very soon, the giant packages for carcasses... some were driven to the brink of extinction by commercial whaling during the 20th century. the small whalers bring their catches to the mother ship. that was banned a0 years ago but research is now uncovering new threats to the future of these animals. that's why scientists make the long journey across the notoriously rough southern ocean to antarctica. woke up to my nightstand crashing across the room because we've hit apparently a 12m wave. i've never been in waves like that before. sarah is one of the wildlife biologists that we're travelling with. to reduce the impact and the expense of their research trip, she and the team are hitching a lift on a tourist ship. the science and the tourists want to go to the same places, where there are these hot spots of biodiversity and animals and so, we're going to the same places and get to do science at the same time. we can see our first iceberg. that means antarctica is getting very close now. when we reach the peninsula, the water's calm and antarctica reveals itself. the coldest continent on earth. a vast ice sheet that holds more than half the world's freshwater. hundreds of species depend on these cold, rich seas. for the scientists on board, this is where the hard work begins. the researchers we're following have special permits to study antarctic whales up close. let's do it. but first, they have to find them. i heard some of them. but natalia botero—acosta has spent more than a decade studying humpback whales. i think i saw him swimming — it was like lifting a pec. her work stretches from the tropical waters of colombia where the whales breed to the end of their 8,000km migration, antarctica. how is working in antarctica for somebody from the tropics? it's fascinating but i do get a cold — a lot! 0h! when we spot a whale, natalia reaches for a surprising piece of scientific equipment. tell me about the crossbow. is that — is that a weapon? no, it's not a weapon by any means. it's a tool — it's a scientific tool. we use them to collect, you know, blubber and skin samples. it goes with this bolts — modified, too. at the very end of this, we screw a tip — maybe 3cm tip — and then inside is, like, three barbs that hold the tissue but this — this barrier sort of like prevents the bolt from going inside further and then bounces back into the water. and this is how you get a tissue biopsy from a wild humpback whale. the tube on the end of the arrow takes just a tiny nick out of the animal's body. the sample is, you know, 3cm something like that for an animal, obviously, you know, 16m long, so it's essentially a mosquito bite. it clearly didn't bother them very much cos they're they're hanging around the boat. notjust got a sample from mum — is that right? we got a sample from mum. yeah, she's not distrurbed. she's right here. that's what we came for. one of the things the researchers can tell with this small nugget of tissue is if a female humpback is pregnant. so, the pregnancy is super valuable because it thought of a direct way for us to see if the population is actually growing and to tell the impacts of, for example, climate change. that information is then critical to develop conservation plans and actions. in years that we have low cis, then the following year you have lower pregnancy rates and that's as good as it gets in like, you know, getting to know the environment and getting to know the effects of all these conservation threats on the animals. italia has got a precious sample so we have to pop that in the bag and it goes back to the ship. in the bag and it goes back to the shi -. , ., ., the ship. right? yes, and to the ship. right? yes, and to the freezer _ the ship. right? yes, and to the freezer and _ the ship. right? yes, and to the freezer and there - the ship. right? yes, and to the freezer and there you i the ship. right? yes, and to| the freezer and there you go, until we go back to california. working from a tourist boat means the team can reach and work in several sites around the antarctic peninsula, but it also means they have to improvise. this is a a tourist vessel so it's not necessarily kitted out for scientific experiments. this isn't a lab — it's a store room. there's lots of stuff in here — kit bags and there's costumes, even, for some of the staff but it has become a laboratory for processing of these very precious samples of whale tissue blubber. blubber — the, like, pinky, whitish — tissue hormones hormones accumulate there and then the skin which is, like, the black tissue. oh, that's a good one. that's a beautiful one. why is that a beautiful one? it looks great. it's a good chunk of blubber and that's very valuable. like, that means that you can probably do the hormone analysis maybe even a couple of times. like, get a couple extractions. analysing this blubber will reveal chemical clues about the health of the animal. the tiny piece of skin provides a genetic profile of each whale that the team studies. so that's just like huge projects and collaborations and the more you do with those samples, it's so hard to get them, especially here in antarctica, that it's just better practice and your technologies to as things develop so samples can be used for things in the future for things we can't even predict. exactly. whatever isn't needed for analysis will be cryopreserved, kept in very cold storage indefinitely. for now, the researchers have reserved space for their samples in an old freezer. good morning, folks. it's around 6:15 a.m. 173. it's 4 degrees celsius or 39 fahrenheit, now with very low winds. every day working here is precious — an opportunity to gather data in one of the richest, most productive parts of the southern ocean. everybody good? and during this research trip, the team will have just four days in the peninsula. let's go. so, we are going to go that way. chris johnson is from the world wildlife fund. we were going to go this way. now, we're going to go that way. we are kind of mixed up right now. let's take a peek. we're going to go and take a peek that way. he's the charity's global lead on whale conservation. as we search, the weather closes in. one of the best ways that we can find humpback whales in these conditions when it's foggy and snowy is actually listening, so we'll turn off the zodiac engine, we close our eyes and just listen for the blows. whale blows we'll hear big blows of humpback whales. and you can hear them for quite a far distance, so even though you'll hear them, it may take a while to find them. whale blows ready? there's another piece of kit to help in the search. we're looking using the drone. it's kind of our eyes in the sky to help us look for whales. we can get basically photos and videos of it, directly above it. using drones has transformed scientists ability to observe these marine mammals. we have these ocean giants all around us. their pectoral fins are so white, it's really easy to follow them in this water. this is much more than a beautiful aerial view — the team uses the drone to work out the humpback�*s weight from the length and width of their bodies. we're measuring how fat it's becoming over the season, and that's really important because they're storing enough energy to make the long migration back to their breeding ground in the eastern tropical pacific, and that's over 8,5000km, so they've got to bulk up. some populations around the world are getting skinny because they're not getting enough to eat because of climate change impacts. one recent 20—year study of humpbacks in the north pacific showed the population had declined because of a shortage of food that was linked to rising temperatures. it's why scientists monitor the whales here. what's happening to these hungry marine mammals is a signal of what's happening in the whole ocean ecosystem. climate change from fisheries�* by—catch to vessel strikes and underwater noise pollution — it's all adding up long term in terms of poor health, and that's what we're really concerned about. this is why the whales come here to feed — antarctic krill. each just a few centimetres long, collectively there's an estimated 400 million tons of these crustaceans in the southern ocean. that's similar to the combined weight of every human on earth. well, we think they're feeding on about 1—1.5 tons per day of antarctic krill. per day? per day. and we've been underestimating that until the past few years. where is a krill fishery here. krill oil is used in some animal feed and supplements. there are strict catch to protect antarctic wildlife but conservationists are concerned about the extra pressure that fishing puts on the environment. this work is helping us to find where whales feed and why they're feeding and what are the most critical habitats for them on the antarctic peninsula, so we can make those no—fishing zones. these creatures are much more than whale food — they help keep the ocean healthy and our planet cool. krill eat microscopic plants that grow in sea ice — plants that suck carbon out of the atmosphere — so these tiny animals, just by growing, eating and excreting send planet—warming carbon to the bottom of this cold ocean. but climate change is warming the ocean and since 2017, there's been a worrying decline in sea ice here. that's why scientists need to come here to figure out what impact that's having on some of the biggest animals in these oceans. one way to do that is to examine what's coming out of the animals that depend on krill. baby's coming up on the left. mom's pooping. liquid gold! is that is that what i think it is? it is exactly what you think it is and it smells exactly like you think it would. it's whale poo. whale poo, yeah. why do you need a sample of well to? , �* , why do you need a sample of well to? , �*, ., ., well to? diet. it's amazing. it's so hard _ well to? diet. it's amazing. it's so hard to _ well to? diet. it's amazing. it's so hard to get. - well to? diet. it's amazing. it's so hard to get. liquid, l it's so hard to get. liquid, smelly gold. back aboard the ship that precious specimen can be stored safely. it's ripe. it's very ripe. but you can actually see little chunks floating in it, which was a surprise to me — i mean, i've never held whale poo before. you could also do all sorts of cool things like get hormones from poo, you can look at dna. wow. and i'm — it's difficult it's really difficult to find, right? because you have to be next to whale? right, and it went in the water and it usually can just disperse really quickly. this one was a little bit harder and stayed clumped together in a way i wasn't expecting. how do you describe this? isn't it magical? and i was able to just take handfuls and smush it into the jar. well done. thank you! this continent is unique. there's never been a war here. it's a land dedicated to science. we can look at the data in colombia, compare it with the antarctic peninsula and be able to monitor the population the whole way. the antarctic treaty is a global agreement drawn up more than 60 years ago that now has 56 signatories. it states that antarctica will be used for peaceful purposes and scientific cooperation. one of those permitted peaceful purposes is tourism, and that's growing. before the 1980s, just a few hundred people came here. —— here each year. in the summer season between 2022 and' 23, more than 100,000 people visited and the kind of little boat shed on the shore there, that's now staff quarters. steffi is an expedition leader for a tour operator. it's herjob to plan an antarctic itinerary for the 200 people on board the ship that we're travelling on. weather, ice, changing dynamics and the industry was designed when 100 passenger vessels were the norm. the larger ships, okay? and now, 100 passenger vessels are the smaller ships. the international association of antarctic tour operators sets out guidelines for the industry, including restrictions on the numbers of people that can go ashore and keeping a safe distance from wildlife. the plan was that we'd land here today but it's not possible because there are too many penguins. the rules for the tourism are that everybody has to keep 5m away from the wildlife and, as you can see here, it's not actually possible to get out of a boat and be 5m away from a penguin. hello! but you can't regulate how animals respond to tourists, as we found out with an encounter with leopard seals.— with leopard seals. leopard seals have _ with leopard seals. leopard seals have discovered - with leopard seals. leopard seals have discovered they| with leopard seals. leopard i seals have discovered they like to play with the boats. they are really curious. so whenever we have the members here, we have to be careful because they try to chew the ends of the blade so we can take some pictures and we slowly go away. two leopard seals popped up and followed the boat for about five minutes. we were moving slowly away, trying to keep our distance, we don't want to get nibbled, but it's amazing. they were not scared at all. they were not scared at all. they were just really curious. even with all the rules tourism can leave its mark. anyone visiting could unwittingly bring in seeds or microbes that don't belong here on their boots and clothes. there's even evidence of soot left on snow from ship exhaust. but according to the international union for the conservation of nature, when people experience antarctica in person, it can inspire them to protect it. my my favourite colour is blue and every time i see the deep blue inside the ice, it's like looking into the soul of something. it's so nice. it's really beautiful. everywhere ou really beautiful. everywhere you look. — really beautiful. everywhere you look, there _ really beautiful. everywhere you look, there is _ really beautiful. everywhere you look, there is wildlife i really beautiful. everywhere i you look, there is wildlife and it's beautiful. if you look, there is wildlife and it's beautiful.— it's beautiful. if you have any favourite _ it's beautiful. if you have any favourite encounters? - it's beautiful. if you have any i favourite encounters? leopard seal favourite encounters? leopard seal. i favourite encounters? leopard seal- i love — favourite encounters? leopard seal. i love leopard _ favourite encounters? leopard seal. i love leopard seals, - seal. i love leopard seals, they— seal. i love leopard seals, they are _ seal. i love leopard seals, they are my favourite. i adore them — they are my favourite. i adore them. they are the perfect combination of deadly, beautiful and slightly ugly. we love it — beautiful and slightly ugly. we love it. we love it.— love it. we love it. what did ou love it. we love it. what did you think — love it. we love it. what did you think about _ love it. we love it. what did you think about the - love it. we love it. what did you think about the cruise i you think about the cruise going by? i you think about the cruise going by?— you think about the cruise oiiin b ? ., ., going by? i did wave at them and i going by? i did wave at them and i went. _ going by? i did wave at them and i went, "hello, - going by? i did wave at them and i went, "hello, fellow. and i went, "hello, fellow unwanted _ and i went, "hello, fellow unwanted species!". - and while the scientists are here to gather data, they're also sharing their findings and conservation messages with the passengers. and we're going to talk a lot about good news — this is not going to be a bad news talk. you're going to be inspired by the end of it. is it strange in some ways to be on a tourist ship? what's that like for you? because tourism is a pressure on this place, too, isn't it? it is. tourism is something that we need to regulate closely, so we tend to work with operators where we can talk about conservation messages to the public. and one of the new things we're discovering is that whales are critical to ocean health and so, that type of partnership is really special and it really helps us try to protect this incredible place that we have. coming here repeatedly means scientists can monitor this environment. it also means they capture some fascinating wildlife behaviour up close. in krill hot spots, these social, intelligent animals work together to gorge themselves. oh, this is fantastic! trapping their prey inside a net of bubbles. they're blowing bubbles in a circle and they're coming up right through the centre of the bubble net to feed. it's absolutely spectacular. wow! look at that! that's such a cool — hello! waving with a pectoral fin. this animal is using its fins to feed. it kind of looks like play. yeah, it does. but it's using its pectoral fin as a tool. to sweep the krill in. just wild! these playful giants seem to be engaged in an interspecies dance with a seal. the researchers want to identify and do what they can to protect wildlife hotspots around the peninsula. that is pretty amazing, to be able to see them under the water. hello, beautiful! my new favourite colour is the blue of a humpback whale under the water. it's a very specific colour. nice! oh, watch out! sorry. that's right. going to ask crayola to make that colour for me. we can even see evidence of close family bonds. there's two animals. humpbacks need their mums to care for them, you know, i and navigate thisl kind of wild place. while the researchers are curious about the whales, the whales seem curious about us, too. they raise their heads above the water. oh, my god! spy hopping to see what's going on. hi, mum. hi, beautiful. mum mlooks like she's going to come under us. she's right under us. she's going to come up. just hold on to the boat in case she touches the boat. whoa, she's huge! giggles. oh my. weird. i never seen a whale that close before in my life. i'm a little bit scared! they are gigantic! how did you feel when it went under the boat? little bit apprehensive! this is so beautiful. this is so be — this is so beautiful. this might be the most beautiful thing i've ever seen. the team makes the most of every minute they have here. so, so far, we have 67 samples between this trap in the previous one. an amazing, amazing success. last year in the same situation — two trips — we got 40. today is their last day. the more samples they can get, the more detailed picture they'll have of what's happening in this environment. you've got to be patient. you've got to give the animals some space and understand their behaviour and, you know, every now and then, you actually get a result. is that a female? it's hard to say. it didn't react. it didn't make a big deal, so maybe a female. yeah. laughter. that's natalia's test. yeah, the males are like, you know, we're — we're a time — bit more more anxious. you know, it's all right. we are a little bit sensitive. we are a little bit sensitive. we have _ we are a little bit sensitive. we have a whale up at your 12 o'clock — we have a whale up at your 12 o'clock. . , ., ., , ., we have a whale up at your 12 o'clock. , ., ., , ., ., o'clock. occasionally, a whale will show _ o'clock. occasionally, a whale will show a — o'clock. occasionally, a whale will show a little _ o'clock. occasionally, a whale will show a little frustration. i will show a little frustration. sometimes we get a little reaction like that and it's like _ reaction like that and it's like a _ reaction like that and it's like a little mosquito bite for wales — like a little mosquito bite for wales and it's really temporary so sometimes we will see a fluke — so sometimes we will see a fluke slap or apec slap and it's something that's very temporary and it is not long lasting _ temporary and it is not long lasting. you want to try one more? _ lasting. you want to try one more? and then call it? this will— more? and then call it? this will he — more? and then call it? this will be our— more? and then call it? this will be our last whale so i'm going — will be our last whale so i'm going to _ will be our last whale so i'm going to put the drone up and lets— going to put the drone up and let's do— going to put the drone up and let's do it _ going to put the drone up and let's do it. vicki, i can see him — let's do it. vicki, i can see him in _ let's do it. vicki, i can see him in the _ let's do it. vicki, i can see him in the water now. over by the edge _ him in the water now. over by the edge of the rocks. sometimes after all the feeding, whales are too tired to participate. the talia can only take a biopsy from a moving whale that is arching its body out of the water. can you tell me what you are going to do? �* ., ., to do? i'm going to hit the water to — to do? i'm going to hit the water to try _ to do? i'm going to hit the water to try to _ to do? i'm going to hit the water to try to wake - to do? i'm going to hit the water to try to wake her. to do? i'm going to hit the | water to try to wake her up. they are asleep and you cannot... ? they are asleep and you cannot. . . ?_ they are asleep and you cannot. . . ? , ., , ., cannot...? oh, yeah. they are very sleepy- — cannot...? oh, yeah. they are very sleepy- the _ cannot...? oh, yeah. they are very sleepy. the talia - cannot...? oh, yeah. they are very sleepy. the talia kind - cannot...? oh, yeah. they are very sleepy. the talia kind of. very sleepy. the talia kind of access to _ very sleepy. the talia kind of access to the _ very sleepy. the talia kind of access to the right _ very sleepy. the talia kind of access to the right part - very sleepy. the talia kind of access to the right part of. very sleepy. the talia kind of| access to the right part of the body because these two leap —— humpbacks are really sleepy. she is just trying to put a dive through the water to make them is wake up.— them is wake up. they didn't move, them is wake up. they didn't move. no — them is wake up. they didn't move, no reaction _ them is wake up. they didn't i move, no reaction whatsoever. nothing. move, no reaction whatsoever. nothin. , move, no reaction whatsoever. nothini. , ., , nothing. they are resting well. yeah, they _ nothing. they are resting well. yeah, they are _ nothing. they are resting well. yeah, they are just.. _ nothing. they are resting well. yeah, they are just.. they - nothing. they are resting well. yeah, they are just.. they are l yeah, they are just.. they are napping. yeah, they are 'ust.. they are na- imi. ., yeah, they are 'ust.. they are nauiin, ., ,,., , yeah, they are 'ust.. they are naiiini. ., ,,., , napping. hello. slowly waking ui. napping. hello. slowly waking up- when— napping. hello. slowly waking up- when they _ napping. hello. slowly waking up. when they finally - napping. hello. slowly waking up. when they finally wake i napping. hello. slowly waking | up. when they finally wake up, she can take — up. when they finally wake up, she can take a _ up. when they finally wake up, she can take a last _ up. when they finally wake up, she can take a last shot, - up. when they finally wake up, she can take a last shot, one i she can take a last shot, one final precious tissue sample. they will do one big breath, it will go — the end of an antarctic expedition is a time for reflection. just grateful for the opportunity to, like, just do what we do in a place like this and just connecting data that is so important and so critical for humpbacks and for the ecosystem. this trip was a chance to gather clues about this remote wilderness — clues the researchers will use to build a picture of the health of this fragile place. i'm at peace in this environment. i feel more connected to nature. we're getting this important data to bring to policymakers to make really important changes in international policy and protect this area for antarctic krill, for humpbacks, for penguins. you know, this place is not only important for nature but it's also important to us. just as marine wildlife depends on this place, so do we. this icy ocean cools our planet. so, scientists will keep a check on its largest inhabitants, the whales, whose bodies hold clues about the effect we have on this precious environment. i can't believe it's over! it seems like yesterday, you know, we met. what an epic place. i mean, we have got perfect weather, amazing whales around us and i think it's time to go home, so let's hit the road. yeah, there we go. that's it. let's do it. okay, let's go! oh, a hug. oh, so awesome. no tears on the boat! what a beautiful place. hello. if you're not impressed with whatjune has brought us so far weather—wise, i suspect this weekend will do very little to change your view. further showers in the forecast, albeit with some spells of sunshine in between. a rather cool feel for the time of year. the earlier satellite picture from friday shows clumps of shower cloud circulating around the centre of an area of low pressure, and this will be our weather—maker throughout the weekend with bands of showers or longer spells of rain — albeit with some spells of sunshine in between. you can see we start saturday morning with some slices of sunshine but some showers from the word go. some of those are going to be heavy, perhaps thundery. the showers could show up just about anywhere. some brisk winds across both the north and the south of the uk — in fact, through the english channel, we could see gusts of a0 miles per hour or more. at least where it's windy, the showers will move through pretty quickly with light winds. parts of northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england will see slow—moving showers and those temperatures at best between 13 and 17 degrees. so, our low is still with us through saturday night and this little weather system here will bring a clump of heavy and persistent rain southwards across scotland, getting down into parts of northern ireland and perhaps the far north of england by the start of sunday morning. we'll start sunday with temperatures around 8—11 a sunshine and showers story again for most of us on sunday but with this band of more persistent rain sinking its way down across northern ireland, affecting south—west scotland into the north of england, those showers, where they do crop up — across southern and eastern parts of england particularly — could again be heavy and thundery. 14 degrees for stornoway, maybe 19 degrees for hull and for london, so perhapsjust a little bit warmer. into monday, sunshine and showers once again — although with quite a lot of cloud, i suspect, across northern and western parts. 21 degrees possible across the southeast corner. and as we look further ahead, well, there are some signs that, at least for a while, things might try to settle down with this ridge of high pressure just trying to topple its way in, but signs are it may not last, it may not hold on for all that long with areas of wet weather returning by the end of the week. and while temperatures may climb a little, there's certainly no heatwave on the way. live from washington, this is bbc news. vladimir putin announces his conditions for a ceasefire in ukraine, demands ukraine and its allies swiftly reject. the us supreme court strikes down a federal ban on bump stocks — attachments that increase the firing capacity of guns. and cyril ramaphosa is re—elected president of south africa, after his party strikes an unprecedented coalition deal with the opposition. hello. i'm carl nasman. world leaders are heading home from italy as the g7 summit winds down. friday's official agenda included migration, chinese trade policy, and artificial intelligence. the capstone was the visit of pope francis, who championed the discussion on al. it's the first time a pontiff has participated in the g7. but ukraine once again dominated the summit, after russian president vladimir putin announced