April 3, 2026

This is a curiously constructed documentary as it starts as if it were an animation, and one rather oppressively scored by Bach too, before we join a beautifully lithe white stoat munching on a bird. It scarpers just as a wolf arrives and then that animal swiftly procures itself an unlucky white rabbit. That feast doesn’t last long, though, for an owl promptly arrives and after an off-camera struggle it emerges, airborne, with the carcass whilst … read the rest.

This is a curiously constructed documentary as it starts as if it were an animation, and one rather oppressively scored by Bach too, before we join a beautifully lithe white stoat munching on a bird. It scarpers just as a wolf arrives and then that animal swiftly procures itself an unlucky white rabbit. That feast doesn’t last long, though, for an owl promptly arrives and after an off-camera struggle it emerges, airborne, with the carcass whilst our canine licks his wounded paw. The stoat, meantime, seems to have survived ok atop some branches and thence we go back for some more rousing organ music. So, strip out the start and the beginning, and rely on some really quite effective audio to augment the snowy visuals and we have an interesting six minutes or so of the food chain at it’s most chilling (and fresh). That the camera can offer us such clarity amidst the darkness is impressive, especially as it tracks the eventual winner through the clear skies and all in all I found this quite a compellingly eerie natural history feature.

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