EUROPE’S WILD BORDERS 4 × 50 min., 4K © gettyimages covered infields of rock andice. The western coast of appear very different. Franz Josef Landis volcanic and kilometres from theNorth Pole, thetwo regions Although both are located slightly more than1,000 Franz Josef LandandSpitsbergen lieinthe Arctic. archipelago. Spitsbergen, thelargest islandof Norway’s Svalbard or 111kilometres further southandrunsthrough political border islocated onedegree of latitude to theNorth Pole, inFranz Josef Land. The related border actually liesten degrees of latitude closer If onetakes theislands into account, ’s northern freezing winter conditions. are ableto findsufficient fooddespite theharsh, into themountains inautumn. Here, thehardy animals the north, drive their herds from thecoastal regions legendary hunters, fishers and breeders of winter belongsto thereindeer. The Sámipeople, Elks roam theforests duringthesummer, whilethe and swamps. grasses andflat rocks, interspersed withrivers, moors is covered inwarped trees, meadows of herbs and become taigasat higher elevations. The landscape a landof craggy coastlines and vast that peninsula liesinNorway’s Troms ogFinnmark county, rocky plainandreach thetipof CapeNordkinn. This European mainland, oneneedsto traverse asparse In order to reach thenorthernmost point of the 1— PART THE NORTHERN BORDER BORDER NORTHERN THE northern border are changingrapidly andinexorably. birds are not endangered, butthe Arctic andEurope’s young chicks. For now, Spitsbergen’s polar bears and they willfrequently raid thebird colonies lookingfor and forage through trashcans. Inthesummer months, the bears have begunto enter humansettlements has hadanimpactonpolar bear methods: recent years, particularly duringwarmer months. This reduction of pack ice throughout theentire Arctic in However, globalwarming hasledto amassive coasts. year, upto 4,000 polar bears now roam theSvalbard have recovered. Dependingontheseason andthe the bears was bannedin1973 andpopulation numbers Svalbard’s polar bears for more than30 years. Hunting from theNorwegian Polar Institute have observed legendary inhabitant: thepolar bear. Biologists However, researchers are primarily focused onone murres, black-legged kittiwakes andnorthernfulmars. here every year, alongsideflocks of thick-billed thousands of littleauk breeding pairs congregate bearded seals, aswell asgreat bird colonies: tens of The islandsare hometo harpseals, ringedsealsand towers 1,713 metres above thesurrounding glaciers. is defined by Newtontoppen (Newton’s Peak), which include flat mountain plateaus, whilethenorth-east mountain ranges anddeepfjords. The inlandregions Spitsbergen, ontheother hand, iscovered incraggy © gettyimages where Eurasia ends historical concept rooted inantiquity. Europe ends In fact, Europe isnot ageologicalentity, just a Europe ispartof Eurasia, Earth’s largest continent. 2— PART so all280,000 New Caledoniansare andremain territory once again voted against independence, of 2020, theinhabitants of thisFrench overseas Line intheSouthPacific, in New Caledonia. InOctober point, onefindsoneself near theInternational Date If onetakes apolitical view of Europe’s easternmost eagles, gyrfalcons andred-breasted geese. found in other partsof Europe: ospreys, white-tailed ptarmigans andsomebirds that are now only rarely to inhabitthepark, includingblack grouse, willow More than200different bird speciesare estimated that draw brown bears outof thesurrounding forests. and thecrystal-clear waters are filledwithsalmon Here, beavers andotters live alongtheriverbanks untouched wilderness. UNESCO World Heritage site andEurope’s last great reserves, known asthe , are a kilometres. The park andthesurrounding nature forest wildernesscovering anarea of 20,000 square home to the Yugyd Va National Park, amountain and This isfortunate for Europe’s nature, astheUrals are Mountains. had previously studied water drainage inthe Ural geographer Philip Johan von Strahlenberg, who 18th century. This frontier was defined by the Swedish which hasrunalongtheUral Mountains since the THE EASTERN BORDER — except for itseastern frontier, off territorial rivals. kagus alsousetheir wingsto attract mates andfend down theslopeswhenfleeingfrom predators. Male wings to balance, climband, occasionally, to glide underdeveloped. Instead, thebird usesitsfully formed is half ametre longandflightless, asitsmusclesare and a very unusualbird: thekagu. The bluish-grey bird including oneof theworld’s largest gecko species Numerous endemicspeciesare found onland, can beseencavorting withtheir young offspring. fields of seagrass intheshallow lagoons, where they The seacows travel between theopenwaters andthe long vanished from muchof therest of thePacific. approximately 2,000 dugongs, aspecieswhichhas Among themost significant inhabitants are the million square kilometres of reefs andatolls. Park of theCoral Sea“, whichprotects more thanone one of theworld’s largest marineparks, the „Natural French citizens. The archipelago liesat theheartof © gettyimages flourish intheisland’s sheltered fjords. in theseicy conditions, andeven theseplants only Territories. Moss, lichenandgrass are allthat grow is undoubtedly thecoldest of the British Overseas all theway to theedgeof the Antarctic. SouthGeorgia lies inSpain, buttheEuropean politicalmapstretches Europe’s geographic andgeologicalsouthernborder breeding grounds at thistimeof year. that travel from the Atlantic to their Mediterranean in theStrait of Gibraltar to hunt thebluefin tuna After thewinter, large podsof killer whalescongregate their European breeding grounds inspring. the warmer climates of Africa inautumnandreturn to million birds cross theStrait of Gibraltar: they headfor gathering places for migratory birds. Every year, 300 nature reserve considered oneof theworld’s largest by asea of wildflowers, andthe coast ishome to a and captivating: inspring, cork oaks are surrounded winds. The landscapeof Punta da Tarifa isuntamed by acauseway andisfrequently battered by strong former islandisnow connected to themainland location that makes thisregion sofascinating. The kilometres further south. Itisnot just thedistinctive Mediterranean, andtheMoroccan coast isjust ten To thewest liesthe Atlantic, to theeast isthe European mainlandliesinPunta da Tarifa, Andalusia. Geographically, thesouthernmost point of the 3— PART THE SOUTHERN BORDER BORDER SOUTHERN THE at thenorth-west edgeof theisland. technicians from the “British Antarctic Survey”, based island’s population consists of just 24 researchers and at thebeginningof the Antarctic winter. Then the around theexhibits. The museumclosesinMarch, months, four staff members show cruiseshiptourists one place: thetiny localmuseum. Duringthesummer However, thecurrency canonly actually beusedin of state, andthelocalcurrency isPound sterling. lives intheFalklands. QueenElisabeth IIisthehead governor responsible for SouthGeorgia actually The islandisBritishto thecore, even thoughthe leopard seals, fur seals andcrabeater seals. species are found alongthecoasts: elephant seals, millions of macaroni penguins. All of the Antarctic seal breeding grounds for kingpenguinsandhometo South Georgia isoneof theworld’s most significant © gettyimages Guiana ispartof theEurozone, asare theCaribbean direction, onerepeatedly encounters If onedepartstheEurasian continent inawesterly up to 14metres whilehunting. Canary IslandsandMadeira andcandive to depths of the Cory’s shearwaters, whichbreed inburrows onthe They are accompanied by millionsof seabirds like constantly between the Azores andtheCanary Islands. In summer, above all, marinemammals come andgo the dolphinsandbaleenwhaleshave enoughto eat. Strong currents inthenutrient-rich waters ensure that during mating season. group after mating withfemales from other pods generations. Even themaleswillreturn to their own The podsare ledby females andremain together for whales whichcanoften beseenoff theCanary Islands. Atlantic. Among themare theshort-finned pilot whales anddolphinscurrently inhabittheEuropean According to arecent study, approximately 1.5million underwater world of the Atlantic. cliffs of thescattered islandsand thefascinating vanishes into thesea, somewhere between thesteep Plate. Europe’s geologicalwestern border therefore Flores Islandisactually located ontheNorth American is politically, butnot geologically, partof Europe, as off Flores Island, oneof thewestern Azores. This area the actualwesternmost point islocated onarock point. If theoutlyingislandsare taken into account, Cabo daRoca capeismainlandEurope’s westernmost 4— PART THE WESTERN BORDER BORDER THE WESTERN — Europe. French Pacific. monarch ispotentially themost protected bird inthe the last possible moment. These days, theFatu Hiva conservation program was ableto save thespeciesat percent injust 20 years. An elaborate international monarch, withnumbers decliningby almost 90 island almost causedtheextinction of theFatu Hiva Rodents andcats that were introduced to the faces, despite their apparent beauty and tranquillity. reveals thedangers nature onthesePacificislands The fate of theendemicFatu Hiva monarch bird and crashing waterfalls. overgrown battlements, protected by deepgorges the surrounding Pacificlike agreen fortress with of theMarquesas Islands. The island risesabove area istheislandof Fatu-Hiva, thesouthernmost Perhaps themost spectacular place inthisremote kilometres of ocean that make uptheregion. kilometres the surface area of theislandsisamere 4,000 square The territory consists largely of water. Taken together, French Polynesia. the westernmost European territory of all: 7,000 kilometres asthecrow fliesbefore one reaches British Overseas Territory. Then there are another Pacific, oneencounters theCayman Islands, another islands GuadalupeandMontserrat. Ontheway to the — just afraction of thefive millionsquare Raging oceans. Towering snow-capped mountains. Dense, mysterious forests. They all mark Europe’s wild borders. These wild regions are home to , bears, ospreys and sperm whales. In addition — and somewhat unexpectedly — Europe also contains the world’s second-largest coral reef, vast lagoons, sea cows, green sea turtles and reef sharks.

The search for Europe’s borders reaches from the to the South Pacific and beyond, to the Antarctic. The term “Europe” is by no means easily defined: Is it only the European mainland, or do the islands off the coasts count, too?

Is “Europe” determined by geographical borders, or do political ones that include overseas territories count as well? This blue-chip documentary series takes an open-minded approach, looking for answers wherever the adventurous journey to the remotest, wildest areas of Europe leads.

Written and directed by Harald Pokieser Executive producers: Sabine Holzer, Walter Köhler 4 x 50 mins., 4K, 5.1 + Stereo

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CONTACT: Sabine Holzer, Head of Specialist Factual Berend Dreier, Director Co-Productions & Sales Sven Westphal, Director Co-Productions & Portfolio Management www.terramater.com #terramatters