OneGate Media
English
2 x 45 mins
Worldwide 

These two documentaries lead us to regions that have been affected by humans for centuries, but have still maintained their closeness to nature. Highly stabilised footage taken a helicopter, show the Baltic Sea coast of the three countries an aerial perspective, while extremely high definition slow motion shots grant special insights into the world of the animal inhabitants. Wildlife filmmaker Christoph Hauschild sensitively portrays the three countries in Europe’s northeast and presents rare insights into a nature sadly missing else.

Episode 1: The Coast
The first episode of this two-part nature documentary presents the nat-ural beauty of the shifting sand dunes of the Curonian Spit, the romantic beaches of the Latvian Baltic Sea and the island worlds of Estonia. Time and again, this deserted and almost untouched nature fascinates. In the winter, ringed seals give birth to their young on the pack ice. In the spring, Konik wild horse stallions fight fierce battles amongst them-selves, while colourful European rollers fly through the dune forests. Lynxes wander through the coastal forests and in the orchid meadows turncoats and hoopoes find more than enough food. On the islands around Saaremaa in Estonia, grey seals hunt for fish. They share the archipelago with Europe’s largest tern, the Caspian tern.

Episode 2: Forests and Moorlands
The wide, often untouched wilderness of the Baltic hinterland is home to many animals. More than 350 brown bears live in the primeval forests of Alutaguse. In the spring, the Soomaa National Park transforms into a huge lake. Europe’s widest waterfall is located in Latvia. In the beginning of May, vimba bream follow the course of the River Venta. The hardly 50-centimetre-long fish have to overcome a 400-metre-long rock barrier in order to reach their spawning grounds. The Baltics are rich in superlatives: a fifth of the world’s spotted eagle stocks breed here. One of the largest courtship arenas for snipes is located here in the floodplains of Latvia. More than 1000 wolves go on the hunt in Latvia’s forests. Lithuania is the land of storks – with over 13.000 pairs, no other region in the Baltic States has more white storks.