Beauty of animals that survive and thrive in snow and ice - from Arctic foxes to seals

One fifth of Earth is covered in snow and ice and these vast frozen landscapes are home to some of the wildlife wonders of the world.

Like this seal pup learning from its mother where to find the nearest breathing hole, or the Siberian tiger stalking through the snow, or Emperor penguin chicks gathering in Antarctica.

Polar ice sheets can be a staggering 5km thick, while on an East Antarctica plateau in the depths of winter, the air temperature can drop to minus 94C, making it the coldest place on Earth.

But there is life that thrives in the harsh conditions, as these pictures from the book to accompany David Attenborough’s new BBC series, Frozen Planet II, clearly show.

Sir David Attenborough will present Frozen Planet II (PA)

Most pup deaths are from drowning, so in the Antarctic a Weddell seal pup learns from its mother where to find the nearest breathing hole (justin hofman)

Capturing images in the snow and ice presents challenges, particularly for underwater cameramen such as Hugh Miller.

As he tried to film seal pups learning to swim, ice formed on his camera, buttons froze, water leaked into the housing, batteries died and Hugh’s fingers grew numb.

In the Greenland Sea, the underwater cameraman Hugh Miller negotiates the labyrinth of ice floes (justin hofman)

Baby harp seal on Greenland Sea ice floe will soon shed its white coat to show a grey one underneath (Justin Hofman)

Hugh says: “Conditions were really hard. The cold made it very, very difficult.”

From Frozen Planet II by Mark Brownlow and Elizabeth White (BBC Books, £28). Frozen Planet II, BBC One and iPlayer, Sunday September 11, at 8pm.