t is the largest land predator on Earth: The polar bear. But its Latin name Ursus Maritimus already suggests that it cannot live without the Sea. At late autumn when the coastal waters of the North Polar Regions start to freeze, it embarks on the ice to hunt seals. Only here it can catch the agile swimmers. Thus the cold and unbearable polar winters on the ice, it is for the polar bear fat time.

In northern Chile the cold Humboldt Current meets the Atacama Desert, which stretches for about 1200 km along the coast. The cold current flow is one of the reasons why it rarely rains in this region. Only the light fog which rises every morning from the sea brings scant moisture, in which a thin vegetation of lichens, mosses and cacti can thrive.

They are the garbage men of the coast: Red Cliff Crabs spend all day looking for food over the rocks. Even the strongest surf seems to have no effect on them. Tirelessly they destroy every small chunk of organic waste. However they must be careful. In addition to sea birds hunting them some crabs won`t flinch to eat a smaller crab of their own species.

The setting sun colors the water of the York Sound into a bright turquoise and emerges the bushy coastal vegetation in the warm colors of sundown. But the remote Kimberley coast which can only be reached from the sea or from the air is by far not a romantic beach: the strong tidal currents, various species of sharks, as well as the large Australian estuarine crocodile, which appears numerously, turn this into a life threatening adventure when people spend beach holiday on this wild coastline.

The Sunstar moves at a speed of just 6 centimeters per minute over the rocks on the coast of northern Chile. It´s always in contact with the water of the surf, looking for shells, which represents the majority of its food. With its 33 arms and the bright orange color on its skin, it is a rather conspicuous inhabitant of the intertidal zone and in any case a sun in the sea.

The cycle of sun and moon creates the boundary between low and high tide on the coast of the Bako National Park on the island of Borneo. Twice a day the sea recedes some kilometers back from the coast and after several hours it returns back to the beaches. The unique zone this procedure creates is the habitat for the specialists that can live and survive in the sea as well as on land. Crabs, starfish, mussels and many other animals share this niche in their daily search for food.

Even if the Pelican seems clumsy and awkward on land, in the air its flying skills are uniquely elegant. With up to 60 kilometer per hour it glides just inches over the waves in search of food. Like an arrow it plunges into the waves as soon as its prey is sighted.. and it is almost always successful.

On a beach in North Queensland, high and low tides buried a germ bud of the coastal mangrove in the intertidal zone several years ago. The pioneer germinated and its roots, which were slowly growing into the ground, prevented it from being washed out by the ocean again. Today, a lone Mangrove tree stands at this point, and is the bridgehead for the new pioneers. It will probably no longer be lonely.

Seemingly impassive, the Marine Iguana sits on the cliffs on the coast of the Galapagos Island of Isabela overlooking the hustle and bustle on the adjacent rocks. With the warmth of the rising sun the grey skin of the lizard begins slowly to discolor and starts to glow in shimmering green-orange and red colors. This is not only to impress the females in his area, but also keep competing males at a distance.

A stormy wind from the west pushes the sea against the coast of northern Chile and rips the waves against the cliffs in the Pan de Azucar National Park. The spray of crusher shoots thunder way up high, slapping again on the rocks causing them to fall down. And between the pauses of the rumbling thunder penetrates the agitated murmur of the waves breaking in the stormy sea.

The chicks of the Magellanic penguins which huddle together on the coast of Punta Tombo are no longer quite small. The feathers are ruffled by the molt which reveals that the birds will soon be full flegded. But they still need the food their parents catch for them during their day at the sea. And the school, they nest during their absence, protects them from their enemies.

The sun slowly sinks over the islands of the Baltic Sea and the sky turns in the soft light of the sunset. For a brief moment, the colors seem to explode in the clouds and burn across the horizon. But the bright firework with its blue and red tones is short-lived and the colors start changing in the night and fade quickly.

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