Tales of ice-bound wonderlands | Paul Nicklen

Translator: David J. Kreps Finnemann Reviewer: Niels Justus

My journey to become a polar specialist,

Min rejse til at blive en polar specialist,

photographing, specializing in the polar regions,

fotografere, specialisering i polar regionerne,

began when I was four years old,

begyndte da jeg var fire år gammel,

when my family moved from southern Canada

da min familie flyttede fra det sydlige Canada

to Northern Baffin Island, up by Greenland.

til det nordlige Baffin Island, oppe ved Grønland.

There we lived with the Inuit

Der levede vi med inuiterne

in the tiny Inuit community of 200 Inuit people,

i et lille inuit samfund med 200 inuit folk,

where [we] were one of three non-Inuit families.

hvor [vi] var en af tre ikke-inuit familier.

And in this community, we didn't have a television;

Og i dette samfund, havde vi ikke tv;

we didn't have computers, obviously, radio.

vi havde ikke computere, selvsagt, radio.

We didn't even have a telephone.

Vi havde ikke engang en telefon.

All of my time was spent outside

Det meste af min tid blev brugt udenfor,

with the Inuit, playing.

med inuiterne, og legede.

The snow and the ice were my sandbox,

Sneen og isen var min sandkasse,

and the Inuit were my teachers.

og inuiterne var mine lærere.

And that's where I became

Og det er der jeg i sandhed

truly obsessed with this polar realm.

blev besat af dette polarlandskab.

And I knew someday that I was going to do something

Og jeg vidste at jeg en dag ville gøre noget

that had to do with trying to share news about it

der havde at gøre med at dele nyheden om det

and protect it.

og beskytte det.

I'd like to share with you, for just two minutes only,

Jeg vil gerne dele med jer, kun i to minutter,

some images, a cross-section of my work,

nogle billeder, et tværsnit af mit arbejde,

to the beautiful music by Brandi Carlile, "Have You Ever."

til den smukke musik af Brandi Carlile, "Have You Ever."

I don't know why National Geographic has done this, they've never done this before,

Jeg ved ikke hvorfor National Geographic har gjort dette, de har aldrig gjort det før,

but they're allowing me to show you a few images

men de tillader mig at vise jer et par billeder

from a coverage that I've just completed that is not published yet.

fra en reportage som jeg lige har færdiggjort som endnu ikke er offentliggjort.

National Geographic doesn't do this,

National Geographic gør ikke dette,

so I'm very excited to be able to share this with you.

Så jeg er meget begejstret for at kunne dele dette med jer.

And what these images are --

Og det disse billeder er --

you'll see them at the start of the slide show -- there's only about four images --

man ser dem i starten af diasshowet -- der er kun omkring fire billeder --

but it's of a little bear that lives in the Great Bear Rainforest.

men det er om en lille bjørn der lever i Great Bear Rainforest.

It's pure white, but it's not a polar bear.

Den er ren hvid, men det er ikke en isbjørn.

It's a spirit bear, or a Kermode bear.

Det er en Kermode bjørn.

There are only 200 of these bears left.

Der er kun 200 af disse bjørne tilbage.

They're more rare than the panda bear.

De er mere sjældne end panda bjørne.

I sat there on the river for two months without seeing one.

Jeg sad der på floden i to måneder, uden at se nogen.

I thought, my career's over.

Jeg tænkte, min karriere er ovre.

I proposed this stupid story to National Geographic.

Jeg foreslog denne dumme historie for National Geographic.

What in the heck was I thinking?

Hvad søren tænkte jeg på?

So I had two months to sit there

Så jeg havde to måneder til at sidde der

and figure out different ways of what I was going to do in my next life,

og finde på forskellige ting jeg kunne gøre i mit næste liv,

after I was a photographer, because they were going to fire me.

efter jeg var fotograf, fordi de ville fyre mig.

Because National Geographic is a magazine; they remind us all the time:

Fordi National Geographic er et magasin; de minder os om det hele tiden:

they publish pictures, not excuses.

de udgiver billeder, ikke undskyldninger.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And after two months of sitting there --

Og efter to måneder med at sidde der --

one day, thinking that it was all over,

en dag, da jeg tænkte det hele var ovre,

this incredible big white male came down,

kom denne utrolige, hvide han ned,

right beside me, three feet away from me,

lige ved siden af mig, en meter væk fra mig,

and he went down and grabbed a fish and went off in the forest and ate it.

og han gik ned og fangede en fisk og gik ud i skoven og spiste den.

And then I spent the entire day living my childhood dream

Og så brugte jeg hele dagen på at udleve min barndoms drøm

of walking around with this bear through the forest.

med at gå rundt med denne bjørn gennem skoven.

He went through this old-growth forest

Han gik gennem denne gamle skov

and sat up beside this 400-year-old culturally modified tree and went to sleep.

og satte sig ved siden af dette 400 år gamle kulturelt modificerede træ og faldt i søvn.

And I actually got to sleep within three feet of him,

Og jeg fik faktisk lov til at sove en meter fra ham,

just in the forest, and photograph him.

lige inde i skoven, og fotograferede ham.

So I'm very excited to be able to show you those images

Så jeg er meget begejstret over at kunne vise jer disse billeder

and a cross-section of my work that I've done on the polar regions.

og et tværsnit af det arbejde jeg har lavet i polar områderne.

Please enjoy.

Nyd venligst.

(Music)

(Musik)

Brandi Carlile: ♫ Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods? ♫

Brandi Charlie: ♫ Har du nogensinde vandret ensomt gennem skoven?♫

♫ And everything there feels just as it should ♫

♫ Og alt der føles bare som det skal ♫

♫ You're part of the life there ♫

♫ Man er en del af livet der ♫

♫ You're part of something good ♫

♫ Man er en del af noget godt ♫

♫ If you've ever wandered lonely through the woods ♫

♫ Hvis man nogensinde har vandret ensomt gennem skoven ♫

♫ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♫

♫ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♫

♫ If you've ever wandered lonely through the woods ♫

♫ Hvis man nogensinde har vandret ensomt gennem skoven ♫

♫ Have you ever stared into a starry sky? ♫

♫ Har du nogensinde stirret op i en stjerneklar himmel ♫

♫ Lying on your back, you're asking why ♫

♫ Liggende på din rug, spørger du hvorfor ♫

♫ What's the purpose? ♫

♫ Hvad er formålet? ♫

♫ I wonder, who am I? ♫

♫ Jeg undres, hvem er jeg? ♫

♫ If you've ever stared into a starry sky ♫

♫ Hvis du nogensinde har kigget op i den stjerneklare himmel ♫

♫ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♫

♫ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♫

♫ Aah, ah, aah ♫

♫ Aah, ah, aah ♫

♫ Ah, oh, oh, ah, ah, oh, oh ♫

♫ Ah, oh, oh, ah, ah, oh, oh ♫

♫ Have you ever stared into a starry sky? ♫

♫ Har du nogensinde kigget op i en stjerneklar himmel? ♫

♫ Have you ever been out walking in the snow? ♫

♫ Har du nogensinde været ude og gå i sneen? ♫

♫ Tried to get back where you were before ♫

♫ Prøvede at tage tilbage til hvor du var før ♫

♫ You always end up ♫

♫ Du ender altid med ♫

♫ Not knowing where to go ♫

♫ Ikke at vide hvor du skal hen ♫

♫ If you've ever been out walking in the snow ♫

♫ Hvis du nogensinde har været ude og gå i sneen ♫

♫ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♫

♫ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♫

♫ Aah, ah, aah, ah, aah ♫

♫ Aah, ah, aah, ah, aah ♫

♫ Ah, ah, oh, ah, ah, oh, ah ♫

♫ Ah, ah, oh, ah, ah, oh, ah ♫

♫ Oh, ah, ah, ah ♫

♫ Oh, ah, ah, ah ♫

♫ Ah, ah, oh, ah, ah, oh, oh ♫

♫ Ah, ah, oh, ah, ah, oh, oh ♫

♫ If you'd ever been out walking you would know ♫

♫ Hvis du nogensinde havde været ude og gå, ville du vide det ♫

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Paul Nicklen: Thank you very much. The show's not over.

Paul Nicklen: Mange tak. Showet er ikke forbi.

My clock is ticking. OK, let's stop.

Mit ur tikker. Okay, lad os stoppe.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Mange tak. Jeg værdsætter det.

We're inundated with news all the time

Vi bliver oversvømmet med nyheder hele tiden

that the sea ice is disappearing

om at havisen forsvinder

and it's at its lowest level.

og at den er på det laveste niveau.

And in fact, scientists were originally saying

Og faktisk, sagde forskerne oprindeligt

sea ice is going to disappear in the next hundred years, then they said 50 years.

at havisen ville forsvinde i løbet af de næste hundrede år, så sagde de 50 år.

Now they're saying the sea ice in the Arctic,

Nu siger de at havisen i Arktis,

the summertime extent is going to be gone in the next four to 10 years.

sommertidens område vil være væk i løbet af de næste fire til 10 år.

And what does that mean?

Og hvad betyder det?

After a while of reading this in the news, it just becomes news.

Efter at have læst dette i aviserne i nogen tid, bliver det bare nyheder.

You glaze over with it.

Man skimmer bare hen over det.

And what I'm trying to do with my work is put faces to this.

Og det jeg prøver at gøre med mit arbejde, er at sætte et ansigt på dette.

And I want people to understand and get the concept

Og jeg vil have mennesker til at forstå det, og forstå konceptet

that, if we lose ice,

at, hvis vi mister isen,

we stand to lose an entire ecosystem.

står vi til at miste et helt økosystem.

Projections are that we could lose polar bears, they could become extinct

Prognosen er at vi kunne miste isbjørnene; de ville uddø

in the next 50 to 100 years.

indenfor de næste 50 til 100 år.

And there's no better, sexier,

Og der er ikke nogen bedre, mere sexet,

more beautiful, charismatic megafauna species

smukkere, karismatisk megafauna art

for me to hang my campaign on.

som jeg kan hænge min kampagne op på.

Polar bears are amazing hunters.

Isbjørne er utrolige jægere.

This was a bear I sat with for a while on the shores.

Dette var en bjørn, jeg sad med i et stykke tid ved bredden.

There was no ice around.

Der var ingen is i nærheden.

But this glacier caved into the water and a seal got on it.

Men denne glacier væltede i vandet og en sæl kom op på den.

And this bear swam out to that seal --

Og denne bjørn svømmede ud til den sæl --

800 lb. bearded seal --

360 kg remmesæl --

grabbed it, swam back and ate it.

snuppede den, svømmede tilbage og spiste den.

And he was so full, he was so happy and so fat eating this seal,

Og han var så mæt, han var så glad og så fed af at spise denne sæl,

that, as I approached him --

at, da jeg kom tættere på ham --

about 20 feet away -- to get this picture,

omkring 6 meter -- til at tage dette billede,

his only defense was to keep eating more seal.

var hans eneste forsvar, at blive ved med at spise mere sæl.

And as he ate, he was so full --

Og imens han spiste den, han var så mæt --

he probably had about 200 lbs of meat in his belly --

han havde sikkert cirka 90 kilo kød i maven --

and as he ate inside one side of his mouth,

og i takt med, at han spiste i den ene side af munden,

he was regurgitating out the other side of his mouth.

gylpede han ud af den anden side af munden.

So as long as these bears have any bit of ice they will survive,

Så længe disse bjørne har det mindste stykke is, vil de overleve,

but it's the ice that's disappearing.

med det er isen der forsvinder.

We're finding more and more dead bears in the Arctic.

Vi finder flere og flere døde bjørne i Arktis.

When I worked on polar bears as a biologist 20 years ago,

Da jeg arbejde med isbjørne, som biolog for 20 år siden,

we never found dead bears.

fandt vi aldrig døde bjørne.

And in the last four or five years,

Og i løbet af de sidste fire eller fem år,

we're finding dead bears popping up all over the place.

vi finder døde bjørne der dukker op over det hele.

We're seeing them in the Beaufort Sea,

Vi ser dem i Beaufort Sea,

floating in the open ocean where the ice has melted out.

flydende rundt i det åbne hav, hvor isen er smeltet væk.

I found a couple in Norway last year. We're seeing them on the ice.

Jeg fandt et par stykker i Norge sidste år. Vi ser dem på isen.

These bears are already showing signs

Disse bjørne viser allerede tegn

of the stress of disappearing ice.

på stress over den forsvindende is.

Here's a mother and her two year-old cub

Her er en mor og hendes to årige unge,

were traveling on a ship a hundred miles offshore in the middle of nowhere,

der rejste på et skib hundredevis af kilometer fra kysten midt ude i ingenting,

and they're riding on this big piece of glacier ice,

og de rider på dette store stykke gletsjer is,

which is great for them; they're safe at this point.

hvilket er fedt for dem; de er sikre nu.

They're not going to die of hypothermia.

De dør ikke af underafkøling.

They're going to get to land.

De kommer til at nå land.

But unfortunately, 95 percent of the glaciers in the Arctic

Men uheldigvis, trækker 95 procent af gletsjerne i Arktis

are also receding right now

sig nu tilbage

to the point that the ice is ending up on land

til det punkt, hvor isen ender oppe på land,

and not injecting any ice back into the ecosystem.

og tilfører ikke noget is tilbage til økosystemet.

These ringed seals, these are the "fatsicles" of the Arctic.

Disse ringsæler, dette er "fedbergene" i Arktis.

These little, fat dumplings,

Disse små, fede tyksakker,

150-pound bundles of blubber

70 kilo spæk bundter,

are the mainstay of the polar bear.

er isbjørnenes hjørnesten.

And they're not like the harbor seals that you have here.

Og de er ikke ligesom de spættede sæler, som man har her.

These ringed seals also live out their entire life cycle

Disse ringsæler lever også hele deres livscyklus

associated and connected to sea ice.

tilknyttet og forbundet med havisen.

They give birth inside the ice,

Deres fødsel er i isen,

and they feed on the Arctic cod that live under the ice.

og de æder den arktiske torsk, der lever under isen.

And here's a picture of sick ice.

Og her er et billede af syg is.

This is a piece of multi-year ice that's 12 years old.

Dette er et stykke multi-års is, der er 12 år gammelt.

And what scientists didn't predict is that, as this ice melts,

Og det forskere ikke kan forudsige er at, når isen smelter,

these big pockets of black water are forming

dannes disse store lommer med sort vand,

and they're grabbing the sun's energy

og de tager solens energi

and accelerating the melting process.

og fremskynder smelteprocessen.

And here we are diving in the Beaufort Sea.

Og her dykker vi i Beaufort Havet.

The visibility's 600 ft.; we're on our safety lines;

Sigtbarheden er 182 m.; vi sidder fastspændt i vores sikkerhedsliner;

the ice is moving all over the place.

isen flytter sig rundt over det hele.

I wish I could spend half an hour telling you

Jeg ville ønske jeg kunne bruge en halv time på at fortælle jer

about how we almost died on this dive.

om hvordan vi næsten døde ved dette dyk.

But what's important in this picture is that you have a piece of multi-year ice,

Men det vigtige i dette billedede, er at man har et stykke multi-års is,

that big chunk of ice up in the corner.

det store stykke is oppe i hjørnet.

In that one single piece of ice,

I dette ene stykke is,

you have 300 species of microorganisms.

er der 300 forskellige mikroorganismer.

And in the spring, when the sun returns to the ice,

Og om foråret, når solen kommer tilbage til isen,

it forms the phytoplankton, grows under that ice,

skabes den planteplankton, der vokser under den is,

and then you get bigger sheets of seaweed,

og så får man store lag med tang,

and then you get the zooplankton feeding on all that life.

og så får man plankton, der lever af al det liv.

So really what the ice does

Så det isen virkelig gør

is it acts like a garden.

er at den fungerer som en have.

It acts like the soil in a garden. It's an inverted garden.

Det fungerer som jorden i en have. Det er en omvendt have.

Losing that ice is like losing the soil in a garden.

At miste den is er som at miste jorden i haven.

Here's me in my office.

Her er jeg på mit kontor.

I hope you appreciate yours.

Jeg håber I nyder jeres.

This is after an hour under the ice.

Dette er efter en time under isen.

I can't feel my lips; my face is frozen;

Jeg kan ikke føle mine læber; mit ansigt er forfrossent;

I can't feel my hands; I can't feel my feet.

jeg kan ikke føle mine hænder; jeg kan ikke føle mine fødder.

And I've come up, and all I wanted to do was get out of the water.

Og jeg er kommet op, og det eneste jeg ønskede, var at komme op af vandet.

After an hour in these conditions,

Efter en time under disse forhold,

it's so extreme that, when I go down,

er det så ekstremt at, når jeg kommer op,

almost every dive I vomit into my regulator

ved næsten hvert dyk, brækker jeg mig i min regulator,

because my body can't deal with the stress of the cold on my head.

fordi min krop ikke kan klare belastningen af den kulde på mit hoved.

And so I'm just so happy that the dive is over.

Så jeg er bare glad for at dykket er overstået.

I get to hand my camera to my assistant,

Jeg får givet mit kamera til min assistent,

and I'm looking up at him, and I'm going, "Woo. Woo. Woo."

og jeg kigger op på ham, og jeg siger, "Woo. Woo. Woo."

Which means, "Take my camera."

Hvilket betyder, "Tag mit kamera."

And he thinks I'm saying, "Take my picture."

Og han tror jeg siger, "Tag et billede af mig."

So we had this little communication breakdown.

Så vi havde et lille udfald i kommunikationen.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But it's worth it.

Men det er det værd.

I'm going to show you pictures of beluga whales, bowhead whales,

Jeg vil vise jer nogle billeder af hvidhvaler, grønlandshvaler,

and narwhals, and polar bears, and leopard seals today,

og narhvaler, og isbjørne, og leopard sæler i dag,

but this picture right here means more to me than any other I've ever made.

men dette billede her betyder mere for mig end nogen af de andre jeg nogensinde har taget.

I dropped down in this ice hole, just through that hole that you just saw,

Jeg faldt ned i dette hul i isen, bare gennem det hul I lige så,

and I looked up under the underside of the ice,

og jeg kiggede op på undersiden af isen,

and I was dizzy; I thought I had vertigo.

og jeg var ør; jeg troede jeg havde et svimmelhedsanfald.

I got very nervous -- no rope, no safety line,

Jeg blev meget nervøs -- ingen reb, ingen sikkerhedsline,

the whole world is moving around me --

hele verden flyttede sig rundt om mig --

and I thought, "I'm in trouble."

og jeg tænkte, "Jeg er i vanskeligheder."

But what happened is that the entire underside

Men det der skete var, at hele undersiden

was full of these billions of amphipods and copepods

var fyldt med disse amphipoder og copepoder,

moving around and feeding on the underside of the ice,

der flytter sig rundt og æder på undersiden af isen,

giving birth and living out their entire life cycle.

føder og lever hele deres livscyklus.

This is the foundation of the whole food chain in the Arctic, right here.

Dette er fundamentet i hele fødekæden i Arktis, lige her.

And when you have low productivity in this, in ice,

Og når man har en lav produktivitet i dette, i is,

the productivity in copepods go down.

går produktiviteten i copepoder ned.

This is a bowhead whale.

Dette er en grøndlandshval.

Supposedly, science is stating

Videnskaben udtrykker, angiveligt,

that it could be the oldest living animal on earth right now.

at det kunne være det ældste levende dyr på planeten lige nu.

This very whale right here could be over 250 years old.

Denne hval lige her kunne være over 250 år gammel.

This whale could have been born

Denne hval kunne være blevet født

around the start of the Industrial Revolution.

i starten af den industrielle revolution.

It could have survived 150 years of whaling.

Den kunne have overlevet 150 års hvalfangst.

And now its biggest threat is the disappearance of ice in the North

Og nu er den største trussel den forsvindende is oppe nordpå,

because of the lives that we're leading in the South.

på grund af de liv vi lever sydpå.

Narwhals, these majestic narwhals

Narhvaler, disse majestætiske narhvaler

with their eight-foot long ivory tusks, don't have to be here;

med deres 2,4 meter lange elfenbens stødtænder, behøver ikke at være her;

they could be out on the open water.

de kunne være ude i det åbne hav.

But they're forcing themselves to come up in these tiny little ice holes

Men de tvinger sig selv til at komme op i disse bittesmå huler i isen

where they can breathe, catch a breath,

hvor de kan ånde, få vejret,

because right under that ice are all the swarms of cod.

fordi under den is er alle sværmene med torsk.

And the cod are there

Og torskene er der,

because they are feeding on all the copepods and amphipods.

fordi de lever af alle copepoderne og amphipoderne.

Alright, my favorite part.

Ok, mit yndlings stykke.

When I'm on my deathbed,

Når jeg ligger på mit dødsleje,

I'm going to remember one story more than any other.

er der en historie, jeg vil huske mere end nogen anden.

Even though that spirit bear moment was powerful,

Selvom det øjeblik med kermode bjørnen var ret kraftfuldt,

I don't think I'll ever have another experience

Jeg tror ikke jeg nogensinde vil have en anden oplevelse

like I did with these leopard seals.

ligesom den, jeg havde med leopard sælerne.

Leopard seals, since the time of Shackleton, have had a bad reputation.

Leopard sæler, har siden Shackletons tid, haft et dårligt omdømme.

They've got that wryly smile on their mouth.

Det har det skæve smil om munden.

They've got those black sinister eyes

De har de sorte skumle øjnene

and those spots on their body.

og pletterne på deres krop.

They look positively prehistoric and a bit scary.

De ser helt klart præhistoriske ud og lidt skræmmende.

And tragically in [2003],

Og tragisk nok i 2004,

a scientist was taken down and drowned,

blev en forsker taget med ned og druknede,

and she was being consumed by a leopard seal.

og hun blev fortæret af en leopard sæl.

And people were like, "We knew they were vicious. We knew they were."

Og folk sagde, "Vi vidste de var ondskabsfulde. Det vidste vi de var."

And so people love to form their opinions.

Så mennesker elsker at danne deres egen mening.

And that's when I got a story idea:

Og da var det, jeg fik en ide til en historie:

I want to go to Antarctica,

Jeg vil tage til Antarktis,

get in the water with as many leopard seals as I possibly can

komme i vandet med så mange leopard sæler, som det overhovedet kan lade sig gøre

and give them a fair shake --

og give dem en fair omgang --

find out if they really are these vicious animals, or if they're misunderstood.

og finde ud af om de virkelig er ondskabsfulde dyr, eller om de er misforståede.

So this is that story.

Så dette er den historie.

Oh, and they also happen to eat Happy Feet.

Oh, og de spiser også "happy feet" [en tegnefilms-pingvin].

(Laughter)

(Latter)

As a species, as humans, we like to say penguins are really cute,

Som mennesker, kan vi godt lide at sige, at pingviner er virkelig søde,

therefore, leopard seals eat them, so leopard seals are ugly and bad.

derfor, leopard sæler spiser dem, så leopard sæler er grimme og onde.

It doesn't work that way.

Sådan fungerer det ikke.

The penguin doesn't know it's cute,

Pingvinen ved ikke den er sød,

and the leopard seal doesn't know it's kind of big and monstrous.

og leopard sælen ved ikke, at den på en måde er stor og uhyggelig.

This is just the food chain unfolding.

Dette er bare fødekæden, der udspiller sig.

They're also big.

De er også store.

They're not these little harbor seals.

De er ikke de små spættede sæler.

They are 12 ft. long, a thousand pounds.

De er 3,6 meter lange, og vejer 450 kilo.

And they're also curiously aggressive.

Og de er også påfaldende aggressive.

You get 12 tourists packed into a Zodiac,

Man pakker 12 touristen ned i en Zodiac [gummibåd],

floating in these icy waters,

flydende rundt i dette ishav,

and a leopard seal comes up and bites the pontoon.

og en leopard sæl kommer op og bider i pontonen.

The boat starts to sink, they race back to the ship

Båden begynder at synke, de skynder sig tilbage til skibet

and get to go home and tell the stories of how they got attacked.

og kommer hjem og fortæller historierne om hvordan de blev angrebet.

All the leopard seal was doing --

Det eneste leopard sælen gjorde --

it's just biting a balloon.

den bider bare i en ballon.

It just sees this big balloon in the ocean -- it doesn't have hands --

Den ser bare denne kæmpe ballon i havet -- den har ikke hænder --

it's going to take a little bite, the boat pops, and off they go.

den vil bide lidt, båden sprænger læk, og de er væk.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So after five days of crossing the Drake Passage --

Så efter at have brugt fem dage på at krydse Drake Passage --

isn't that beautiful --

er det ikke smukt.

after five days of crossing the Drake Passage,

Efter at have brugt fem dage på at krydse Drake Passage,

we have finally arrived at Antarctica.

ankommer vi endelig til Antarktis.

I'm with my Swedish assistant and guide.

Jeg er sammen med min svenske assistent og guide.

His name is Goran Ehlme from Sweden -- Goran.

Hans navn er Göran Ehime fra Sverige -- Göran.

And he has a lot of experience with leopard seals. I have never seen one.

Og han har meget erfaring med leopard sæler. Jeg har aldrig set en.

So we come around the cove in our little Zodiac boat,

Så vi kommer rundt til bugten i vores lille Zodiac båd,

and there's this monstrous leopard seal.

og der er denne monstrøse leopard sæl.

And even in his voice, he goes, "That's a bloody big seal, ya."

Og selv med hans stemme, siger han, "Det er en forbandet stor sæl, hva."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And this seal is taking this penguin by the head,

Og denne sæl tager fat i hovedet på denne pingvin,

and it's flipping it back and forth.

og den kaster den frem og tilbage.

And what it's trying to do is turn that penguin inside-out,

Og det den prøver at gøre, er at vende vrangen ud på pingvinen,

so it can eat the meat off the bones,

så den kan spise kødet af knoglerne,

and then it goes off and gets another one.

og så smutter den og får fat på endnu een.

And so this leopard seal grabbed another penguin,

Så denne leopard sæl fik fat på en anden pingvin,

came under the boat, the Zodiac,

kom ind under båden, Zodiac'en,

starting hitting the hull of the boat.

og begyndte at bumpe i bådens skrog.

And we're trying to not fall in the water.

Og vi prøver på ikke at falde i vandet.

And we sit down, and that's when Goran said to me,

Og vi sætter os ned, og da siger Göran til mig,

"This is a good seal, ya.

"Dette er en god sæl, ya.

It's time for you to get in the water."

Det er på tide at du hopper i vandet."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And I looked at Goran, and I said to him, "Forget that."

Og jeg kiggede på Göran, og jeg sagde til ham, "Glem det."

But I think I probably used a different word starting with the letter "F."

Men jeg tror, jeg måske brugte et andet ord, der starter med bogstavet F.

But he was right.

Men han havde ret.

He scolded me out, and said, "This is why we're here.

Han skældte mig ud og sagde, "Dette er grunden til vi er her.

And you purposed this stupid story to National Geographic.

Og du fremlagde denne dumme historie til National Geographic.

And now you've got to deliver.

Og nu skal du levere.

And you can't publish excuses."

Og du kan ikke udgive undskyldninger."

So I had such dry mouth --

Så jeg havde en virkelig tør mund --

probably not as bad as now --

nok ikke så slem som nu --

but I had such, such dry mouth.

men jeg havde en virkelig, virkelig tør mund.

And my legs were just trembling. I couldn't feel my legs.

Og mine ben rystede. Jeg kunne ikke føle mine ben.

I put my flippers on. I could barely part my lips.

Jeg tog mine svømmefødder på. Jeg kunne næsten ikke få munden op.

I put my snorkel in my mouth,

Jeg puttede snorklen i munden,

and I rolled over the side of the Zodiac into the water.

og jeg rullede ud over siden af Zodiac'en ned i vandet.

And this was the first thing she did.

Og dette var det første hun gjorde.

She came racing up to me, engulfed my whole camera --

Hun styrtede op til mig, slugte hele mit camera --

and her teeth are up here and down here --

og hendes tænder er her oppe og dernede --

but Goran, before I had gotten in the water, had given me amazing advice.

men Göran, inden jeg var hoppet i vandet, havde givet mig et fremragende råd.

He said, "If you get scared, you close your eyes, ya, and she'll go away."

Han sagde, "Hvis du bliver bange, så lukker du øjnene, ya, og så forsvinder hun."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So that's all I had to work with at that point.

Så det er alt, hvad jeg havde at arbejde med på det tidspunkt.

But I just started to shoot these pictures.

Men jeg begyndte bare at tage disse billeder.

So she did this threat display for a few minutes,

Så hun udførte denne trussels fremvisning i et par minutter,

and then the most amazing thing happened -- she totally relaxed.

og så skete der den mest utrolige ting -- hun slappede fuldstændigt af.

She went off, she got a penguin.

Hun forsvandt, tog en pingvin.

She stopped about 10 feet away from me,

Hun stoppede omkring 3 meter fra mig,

and she sat there with this penguin, the penguin's flapping, and she let's it go.

og hun sad der med denne pingvin, pingvinen basker, og hun slipper den.

The penguin swims toward me, takes off.

Pingvinen svømmer hen mod mig, og forsvinder.

She grabs another one. She does this over and over.

Hun tager fat i endnu en. Hun gør dette igen og igen.

And it dawned on me that she's trying to feed me a penguin.

Og det gik op for mig, at hun prøver på at fodre mig med en pingvin.

Why else would she release these penguins at me?

Hvorfor skulle hun ellers slippe disse pingviner løs mod mig?

And after she did this four or five times,

Og efter hun gjorde dette fire eller fem gange,

she swam by me with this dejected look on her face.

svømmede hun forbi mig med dette nedslåede ansigtsudtryk.

You don't want to be too anthropomorphic, but I swear that she looked at me

Man skal ikke være alt for antropomorfisk, men jeg vil vædde med at hun kiggede på mig

like, "This useless predator's going to starve in my ocean."

som om, "Dette ubrugelige rovdyr kommer til at sulte i mit hav."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So realizing I couldn't catch swimming penguins,

Så da det gik op for hende, at jeg ikke kunne fange svømmende pingviner,,

she'd get these other penguins and bring them slowly towards me,

fik hun fat på nogle andre pingviner og bragte dem langsomt hen til mig,

bobbing like this, and she'd let them go.

nikkede sådan her, og så slap hun dem.

This didn't work.

Dette virkede ikke.

I was laughing so hard and so emotional

Jeg grinte så højt og så følelsesladet

that my mask was flooding, because I was crying underwater,

at min maske blev oversvømmet, fordi jeg græd under vandet,

just because it was so amazing.

bare fordi det var så forbløffende.

And so that didn't work.

Så det fungerede ikke.

So then she'd get another penguin and try this ballet-like sexy display

Så derefter fik hun fat på endnu en pingvin og prøvede denne ballet-lignende sexede fremvisning

sliding down this iceberg like this. (Laughter)

hvor hun gled ned af isbjerget sådan her. (Latter)

And she would sort of bring them over to me and offer it to me.

Og hun kom over til mig med dem og tilbød mig dem.

This went on for four days.

Dette fortsatte i fire dage.

This just didn't happen a couple of times.

Dette skete ikke kun et par gange.

And then so she realized I couldn't catch live ones,

Og så erkendte hun, at jeg ikke kunne fange de levende,

so she brought me dead penguins.

så hun kom med en død pingvin.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Now I've got four or five penguins floating around my head,

Nu har jeg fire eller fem pingviner flydende rundt om mit hoved,

and I'm just sitting there shooting away.

og jeg sidder bare der og kigger.

And she would often stop and have this dejected look on her face

Og hun ville tit stoppe og have dette nedslåede ansigtsudtryk

like, "Are you for real?"

som om, "Eksisterer du virkeligt?"

Because she can't believe I can't eat this penguin.

Fordi hun kan ikke tro, at jeg ikke kan spise denne pingvin.

Because in her world, you're either breeding or you're eating --

Fordi i hendes verden, yngler man enten eller man spiser --

and I'm not breeding, so ...

og jeg yngler ikke, så …

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And then that wasn't enough; she started to flip penguins onto my head.

Og så var det ikke nok; hun begyndte at kaste pingviner på mit hoved.

She was trying to force-feed me. She's pushing me around.

Hun prøvede at tvangsfodre mig. Hun skubber rundt med mig.

She's trying to force-feed my camera,

Hun prøver at tvangsfodre mit kamera,

which is every photographer's dream.

hvilket er enhver fotografs drøm.

And she would get frustrated; she'd blow bubbles in my face.

Og hun blev frustreret; hun pustede bobler i hovedet på mig.

She would, I think, let me know that I was going to starve.

Hun ville, tror jeg, lade mig vide at jeg ville sulte.

But yet she didn't stop.

Men hun stoppede stadigvæk ikke.

She would not stop trying to feed me penguins.

Hun stoppede ikke med at prøve at fodre mig med pingviner.

And on the last day with this female

Og den sidste dag med denne hun,

where I thought I had pushed her too far,

da jeg troede at jeg havde gået for langt,

I got nervous because she came up to me,

blev jeg nervøs, fordi hun kom op til mig,

she rolled over on her back,

hun rullede om på ryggen,

and she did this deep, guttural jackhammer sound, this gok-gok-gok-gok.

og lavede denne dybe, gutturelle trykluftsbor lyd, denne gokgokgokgok.

And I thought, she's about to bite.

Og jeg tænkte, hun bider om lidt.

She's about to let me know she's too frustrated with me.

Hun vil lade mig vide, at hun er frustreret med mig.

What had happened was another seal had snuck in behind me,

Det der var sket var, at der var en anden sæl, der var sneget sig op bag ved mig,

and she did that to threat display.

og hun gjorde det som trussels fremvisning.

She chased that big seal away, went and got its penguin

Hun jagede den store sæl væk, tog hen og fik fat på dens pingvin,

and brought it to me.

og bragte den hen til mig.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

That wasn't the only seal I got in the water with.

Den var ikke den eneste sæl, jeg gik i vandet med.

I got in the water with 30 other leopard seals,

Jeg gik i vandet med 30 andre leopard sæler,

and I never once had a scary encounter.

og jeg havde ikke een gang et skræmmende møde.

They are the most remarkable animals I've ever worked with,

De er de mest forbløffende dyr, jeg nogensinde har arbejdet med,

and the same with polar bears.

og det samme med isbjørne.

And just like the polar bears,

Og ligesom isbjørnene,

these animals depend on an icy environment.

er disse dyr afhængige af et is-miljø.

I get emotional. Sorry.

Jeg bliver følelsesladet. Undskyld.

It's a story that lives deep in my heart,

Det er en oplevelse, der lever dybt i mit hjerte,

and I'm proud to share this with you.

og jeg er stolt af at dele dette med jer.

And I'm so passionate about it.

Og jeg er så passioneret med det.

Anybody want to come with me to Antarctica or the Arctic, I'll take you; let's go.

Er der nogen der vil med mig til Antarktis eller Arktis, tager jeg jer med; lad os tage afsted.

We've got to get the story out now. Thank you very much.

Vi skal have historien ud nu. Mange tak skal I have.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you. Thanks very much.

Tak. Mange tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)