SURVIVORS OF THE ICE AGE

[Music] Expedition true stories of man's quest for the unknown through the steaming jungles across the burning desert to the depths of treacherous seas and to the highest mountains of the world Expedition actual film of the great Expeditions of our time recorded as they happened your host is the famous deep sea diver author and Explorer Colonel John D Craig here is Colonel Craig one of the places we never think of as being remote and unexplored is Europe but in the far north of Scandinavia lives a nomadic people whose ancestors settled there 12,000 years ago they are the lap Landers whose survival in an age World depends on their reindeer tonight we're going to join a lap family and travel with them as they drive 1500 reindeer across the frozen Arctic in search of food a Norwegian Expedition spent more than a year recording their Fight For Life in survivors of the Ice Age we'll begin in a moment [Music] we who live in moderate climates have it pretty easy when it comes to getting our food we simply go out into the Garden or to the store even so who hasn't complained about that but ever the far Northern tip of Norway it's very different the people there the lap Landers depend entirely on their reindeer for survival every year the migration of the huge herds over dangerous ice and rock terrain to Summer pastures is a terrifying Race Against Time a Norwegian Expedition filmed this remarkable drama and by the way it was so outstanding that it won International honors at the can film festival the expedition's leader was the famed Explorer fa host here now is his own account it wasn't easy to reach the true lapers who liveed Far North of the Arctic Circle to find these nomadic people we had to travel beyond the last Norwegian Villages beyond the reach of the last trading posts and into the most isolated parts of the Great Arctic plane known as the fin marks VA between ktoo and kashak the plane seem endless we travel for days without even seeing a lap tent the traders who come to this area had told me that here I would find the encampment of old maty mckl who owns 1500 reindeer when we saw the first herds I knew we were close if Matthew ML and his family accepted us and we would live and move with them for the whole year that we would get to know them in a way which had never been attempted that was our Mission Matthew michl's Camp housing all his numerous family was by a frozen stream which divides the territories of two lap tribes they just a small group of tents of reindeer wool and skin but mat ml's 1500 Reindeer made him the richest herder of the entire region Matthew ml's wife their son auntie a pet Crow it belongs to Matthew MLS grandson Little Joe manty gradually I met them [Music] all Matthew michl's closest neighbor by his winter camp is old biera his herd numbered more than a thousand it takes about 200 animals to supply even a small family because the laps get everything they need from the reindeer their food their clothing their shelter in the winter old Bea and maty ml often let their herds pasture together uh this makes it easier to to protect them against the Wolves Little Joe says that in all the world there are no bigger herds than his grandfathers and old beas a little Joe is only eight but already he's a a keen Hunter every day he goes scouting Among The Birches where he set up snares for the Tagan this bird is a kind of Arctic grous delicious to eat especially when it's roasted over an open fire at the end of A Hard Day's Work the struggle for life is difficult for both man and animal those who hope to survive must be Hardy from childhood and so the lap children they must start early to learn all the skills which their people have developed over the centuries I had been living with Matthew Mel for several weeks when one day a visitor arrived he was from a different tribe the kaks you can always recognize the Kish shocks by their distinctive hats his name was Nas and he said he wanted to become a herdsman for maty ML lately the Wolves had become more bold the old man needed another Hersman and so Nas was TI and to me it seemed that NIS was more interested in Matthew ml's pretty daughter R than in his reindeer the laps are such wonderful people once you're accepted you become a part of the family certain and so it was with nas it was fun to have somebody new around and nus was full of amusing stories [Music] for the laps wolves are a terrible Menace they kill far more reindeer than they can possibly eat and with every reindeer killed comes the threat of hunger one night while nelus was telling stories r than tending the herd wolves had gone on a rampage killing more than a dozen of maty ml's best animals and so he was unceremoniously fired and sent back to his own tribe finally around Easter came the moment for which we'd been waiting this is the time when the reindeer are ready to migrate to the coast in search of Summer pastures and the laps break Camp to follow them dried reindeer meat black pudding and homemade dried reindeer milk were prepared long ago for the long journey now they are loaded on the sleds other sleds are loaded with firewood because there's little wood to be found on the way it takes two or 3 weeks across hostile and Barren Wilderness to reach the coast everything we need for survival they must be carried with us [Music] finally in the middle of April the tents are taken down and strapped on sleds and so we start out on a long journey if for three long weeks it will be a constant struggle of men and animals against the elements there are 30 sleds heavily loaded the herd itself is already moving ahead of us once the fever of migration is upon them they they are hard to hold [Music] back the distance to the coast is about 100 miles as the crow flies but the journey for us will be uh twice that long there are many difficult stretches especially across the mountains and the reindeer themselves don't move in a straight line they travel a zigzag course constantly searching for food and so our daily progress toward the coast is actually less than 5 or 6 miles [Music] [Music] I was intrigued to see how similar the lap shelters are to the tece I've seen of the American Indians but the difference is that these are covered with reindeer skins and the Indians use buffalo Heights the lap tents take only a few minutes to put up and no matter how cold it gets Outside Inside around the fire it's quite comfortable while Auntie tells old stories of gnomes and witches the family has dinner it's a simple diet reindeer meat and it tastes best when it's roasted in the Embers outside the temperature has dropped to 30 below but inside the family is warm and safe from the blizzard then there's hot coffee in hand card wooden mons and Auntie try something different dried reindeer meat dipped in coffee to give it a special flavor Without End the wind hows the laps are used to it they know it won't last forever actually it was morning when the family went to sleep because on the spring migration the laps rest during the day and move during the night at the end of April the heat of the Noonday Sun makes the snow melt and the going becomes very difficult but when the sun drops below the Horizon the frost forms a hard crust and men and animals can uh move more easily [Music] [Music] late in the evening Matty Mel and his people they round up their animals it takes 2 or 3 hours just to get the deer together and load the sleds there's now a new urgency to the migration very difficult stretches lie just ahead and any delay could be disastrous the cows might have their calves before we reach the summer pastures and this would be a great tragedy because many of them might die in the snow we break Camp Just Before Dawn which in the Arctic comes only an hour or two after midnight and so the journey continues 30 sleds in a long line on their quiet way through the pass but suddenly chaos [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] after it was all over no one could quite explain what it happened apparently something frightened the lead deer and panic swept down the line but accidents like this happen often when the laps are on the move and they take them in their stride it doesn't take long to repair any damage to the sleds and round up the scattered deer even so it's a delay the laps can ill [Music] afford even the youngest pitch in with more determination than effect [Music] [Music] W and before long we are again on our way pushing relentlessly forward toward the coast and so the race for survival continues the laps must reach the pastures before female reindeer have their babies unfortunately a calf is born early and the mother reindeer is torn between staying behind with it or continuing with the herd this is one of the most touching incidents that I've ever seen we'll continue in just one moment [Music] the need more difficult to terrain the plains give way to Hills and the hills to [Music] mountains but here for the first time the reindeer find pastures relatively free of snow and ice here they won't have to scratch so hard for their food here we'll rest until the animals have regained their strength the air has turned mild and little Joe decided to change his Footwear when the weather is cold and dry the laps use boots with fur on the outside but now in the wet spring snow they wear boots made of leather with wooden leggings and these they line with dry grass [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] the sun is warmer every day and on the rivers and lakes the ice starts to melt Little Joe and his friends know that the trout never bite better than at this time of the year [Music] but we can't stop here forever driven by an irresistible urge the herd begins to move again and we must [Music] follow wet snow on the ground makes progress difficult the last part of the journey to the coast is very hard on everyone even the laps who are better conditioned for hardship than we are feel the strain but it's essential to reach the sea as soon as possible before the reindeer begin to C The Herd will have to swim a long distance on the icy waters of the FJ and the newborn Cals couldn't make it [Music] there are frequent stops for rest now Little Joe finds it's too warm for his fur covered Parker [Music] but now what we'd feared most was about to happen from the way some of the cows are behaving maty Mel could tell that some Cals were about to be born much too early quickly the herdsmen move in to separate the more spirited Bulls from the cows bulls have been known to kill newborn Cavs out of pure jealousy [Music] and then suddenly be before us the miracle of New Life [Music] ordinarily everyone would be happy for each new calf is important to survival but when it arrives early in the midst of the migration it can mean much heartache and tragedy there are still so many difficult Miles Ahead how on Earth can this little fellow keep up and in the mother's eyes we can see the age-old struggle between Mother Love and the migration Instinct the immense pull of the herd [Music] the great herd has begun to move the cow knows she has to keep up with it nothing will halt the migration the deer are starred for salt which they can only find on the coast and for the soft green moss of the summer pastures across the FJ the calf is now 10 minutes old it still looks terribly helpless but the wonderful thing is that only half an hour later it'll stand up and attempt to follow the mother [Music] the carow becomes more and more nervous as she watches the moving herd we wonder if she actually realizes that for the reindeer there is safety only in numbers that wolves are waiting to pick off stragglers Matthew mle says that sometimes it happens that a mother leaves a calf behind so strong is the force of the migrating Instinct the baby's strength grows very quickly but not quickly enough now it's an hour old and trying desperately to walk but it's quite obvious that it will never be able to keep up with the [Music] herd but it won't be left behind the rescue is the job of the young monsters as the last of the great herds starts out the children catch the little fellow to put him safely on a sled the mother is also roped so that her baby will have its milk on the journey to the coast the lap children have the pleasant task of looking after these early Cales later when the laps have reached the summer pastures each premature baby deer will become the property of the youngster who looked after it that is their reward but right now it's only important that they have something warm and cuddly to love and care for on the difficult stretch that lies ahead and for them that is reward enough after all this Matty ML and his family are still a long way from reaching their goal but even when they do they still must cross an icy Fjord three miles wide in a moment we'll see some preview scenes from that exciting episode next week we rejoin the lap Landers as they struggle on toward their goal through the wet snow roaring glacial streams straight down a two-mile embankment until they reach the icy Fjord the final obstacle between them and the summer pastures they move cautiously for the herd is their entire means of survival but partway across the herd panics desperately the exhausted reindeer churn and thrash in a huge aimless Circle next week last of the Arctic Nomads I hope you'll join us again next week for the last of the Arctic Nomads I think it's even more exciting than the film we've seen tonight until then this is John Craig saying thank you and good night [Applause] [Music] oh [Music]