[00:01.12]First though valuable nesting places
[00:03.65]must be defended from property thieves
[00:06.68]After laying their eggs
[00:09.44]take time out to clean their plumage the petrels
[00:13.22]The south polar skua is a formidable opportunist
[00:19.73]but the skuas have not chanced upon the petrels
[00:22.84]they've been waiting for them
[00:25.76]These birds do not need to go to the ocean for their food
[00:32.61]The skuas can survive further south than any other predator
[00:36.84]by exploiting the petrels' desperate need for bare rock
[00:42.22]Even at the height of summer
[00:44.4]less than 3% of Antarctica is free of ice
[00:47.96]and nearly all of that exposed rock
[00:50.24]is found in one place - the Antarctic Peninsula
[00:54.89]Its long arm extends further north than the rest of the continent
[00:59.86]so spring arrives here first