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The power of the sun drives the seasons,
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transforming our planet.
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Vast movements of ocean and air currents
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bring dramatic change
throughout the year.
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And in a few special places,
these seasonal changes
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create some of the greatest
wildlife spectacles on Earth.
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Here on the western coast
of North America
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in the spring of each year,
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one of the Earth's greatest travellers
comes home.
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Over half a billion salmon
in the Pacific Ocean
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start on a 3,000-mile journey,
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returning to spawn
in the rivers where they were born.
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Travelling deep into the continent,
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these fish will not only provide food
for millions of animals,
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they will also bring life
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to one of the richest habitats on Earth.
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The coast of British Columbia and Alaska
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is rimmed by spectacular mountains.
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Although it will be months
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before the salmon enter the rivers
below these frozen peaks,
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one species that has spent the winter
sleeping up here
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is already anticipating their return.
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In January, snug in their dens,
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the females have given birth
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and now the family is beginning to stir.
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Grizzly bears.
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Whether the cubs will live or die
depends largely on one key event,
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the salmon run.
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For the next five months,
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the bears will be focused
on making their appointment
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with the returning salmon.
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Surviving the first year is hard.
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Half of all grizzly cubs don't make it.
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Throughout Alaska and British Columbia,
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thousands of bear families are
emerging from their winter sleep.
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There is nothing to eat up here,
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but the conditions were ideal
for hibernation -
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lots of snow in which to dig a den.
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To find food, mothers must
lead their cubs down to the coast
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where the snow will already be melting.
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But getting down
can be a challenge for small cubs.
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These mountains are dangerous places.
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But ultimately,
the fate of these bear families
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and indeed that of all bears
around the North Pacific,
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depends on the salmon.
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Right now, those salmon
are more than 2,000 miles away.
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After four years at sea,
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half a billion Pacific salmon
are going home,
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back to fresh water
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to lay their eggs in the rivers
where they themselves were hatched.
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How the salmon manage
to find their way back home
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across the open ocean
is still largely a mystery.
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It has only recently been discovered
that a salmon's brain
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contains small particles of iron
that, like a compass,
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help it steer the magnetic lines
of the Earth,
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showing them exactly where to go.
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For many of these salmon,
that destination is here
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along the western coast
of North America in British Columbia.
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They are making their way back
to their birthplace
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in one of its many
freshwater rivers and streams.
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Here, amongst the network
of lakes and waterways,
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lies the largest expanse of temperate
rainforest left in the world.
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It stretches from
southern British Columbia to Alaska.
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It's one of the most fertile landscapes
on the planet.
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The temperate rainforest supports even
more life than its tropical counterpart.
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For thousands of years,
salmon have returned to this country
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because of the abundance of one element:
fresh water.
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This is some of the purest water
in the world,
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thanks to these forests.
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Where the forests are still undisturbed,
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the soil,
held by millions of tree roots,
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filters the water, keeping the rivers
flowing clean and pure.
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In May,
grizzly bears come down to the coast
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to find something to eat while
they await the arrival of the salmon.
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This is where spring arrives first.
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The cubs, still feeding on nothing
but their mother's milk,
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have grown considerably.
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But it has been six months
since their mother had anything to eat.
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Now they need other food
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and the search for it
can lead them into danger.
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Some males will try to kill cubs.
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The breeding season has begun,
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and big males are here
looking for females.
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But at least there is
something to eat here,
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even if it's only grass and sedges.
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These greens, in fact,
can keep them going for months,
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but they will need
something more nutritious
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if they are to put on enough fat
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to enable them
to survive the next winter.
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In some places along the coast,
bears find much richer food.
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It's buried, but bears have
an extremely acute sense of smell
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and can sniff out a meal
even if it's beneath the wet sand.
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Clams.
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It's not only bears
that are drawn to the coast
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in search of food.
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There are more than 2,000 grey wolves
in the Great Forest.
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They leave their cubs in the tidal areas
while they hunt.
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This wolf is the pups' eldest brother.
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He's baby-sitting
while the adults are away hunting.
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He doesn't have any food for the cubs,
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so they eat whatever they can find,
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even chewing the barnacles
off the rocks.
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They, like the bears,
are awaiting the arrival of the salmon.
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The adults return and find an intruder.
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A hungry bear
has wandered into their patch.
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Coastal wolves will often kill
and eat small bears.
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But this bear is very big.
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Eventually, they decide
that this one is just too big.
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By July, the bears are all
getting very hungry indeed.
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And still the salmon are not here.
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And then, after two months
of travelling across the open ocean,
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the salmon reach the coast.
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As they near the shore,
they begin to smell fresh water.
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There are thousands of rivers
flowing into the sea,
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and the salmon have to
find the particular one
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that will lead them to their birthplace.
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They have a truly extraordinary
sense of smell.
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They can distinguish a single drop
from their home river
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amongst eight million litres
of sea water.
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As they detect the waters of home,
they converge into the narrow fjords,
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which act as underwater corridors.
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But other creatures
also know these corridors.
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Killer whales. They eat a lot of salmon.
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And so do Steller sea lions.
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Salmon sharks are here, too,
specifically to feed on salmon.
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But there is one predator
that they can never see coming.
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The bald-headed eagle.
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Once past these coastal predators,
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there is little to prevent them
from reaching their home river.
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It's now late July
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and the salmon are poised
at the edge of their inland realm.
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In the estuaries of the larger rivers,
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all five species of Pacific salmon
mingle together.
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Pink, chum, coho, sockeye and Chinook.
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The drive to get into the rivers
is strong.
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Their eggs will only survive
in fresh water.
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In late July, however,
the water level is often too low
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for the first salmon
to enter the smaller rivers.
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That doesn't stop them trying.
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But the very water
that has drawn them back home
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will eventually kill them.
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As their kidneys and other organs
adjust to the sudden lack of salt water,
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they stop eating and even drinking.
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So the energy stored in their bodies
is all they have
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to power their swim upriver and spawn.
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However, the salmon
in the smaller streams
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have a more immediate problem.
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The low water has stopped them
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before their journey upstream
can even begin.
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But their coast, every year,
is swept by great storms.
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In the skies above the North Pacific,
a huge eddy is forming.
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It moves towards the coast
and the high coastal mountains.
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The clouds are driven up
and over this massive barrier,
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and they drop their load of water.
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The Great Forest gets up to
three metres of rainfall a year.
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Bears have thick coats
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and the heavy rain
doesn't seem to bother them at all.
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The steep Rocky Mountains
funnel the rainwater into the rivers
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and levels quickly rise.
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This is what the salmon
have been waiting for.
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The first wave of travellers
advance upstream.
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No sooner do they start
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than they are faced
with another challenge.
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But six million years of evolution
have prepared the salmon well.
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Their bodies are solid muscle
and perfectly streamlined.
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Clearing these falls for a salmon
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is like a human being jumping over
a four-storey building.
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In many of these falls, however,
the salmon face more than just water.
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The bears know that this is
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where they can get
the first proper meal of the season.
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But it's not easy.
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There is an art
to catching a leaping salmon.
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And this young bear
hasn't yet acquired it.
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This is what salmon were born to do.
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They are driven to get up these rivers
to their spawning grounds.
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Their parents made it up here,
and nothing short of death
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will stop them from
repeating that journey.
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They are trying to get to the exact
stretch of gravel where they hatched.
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Some lucky ones may only
have to go a few miles inland.
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But others are faced
with a truly daunting journey.
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The farthest that salmon have been
known to swim upriver
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is 2,000 miles.
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Summer rains can be short,
and when they stop
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the water levels in many of the rivers
along the coast drop quickly.
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The first salmon in the rivers
are once again trapped by shallow water.
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And worse, they're in bear country now.
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In early August, mother bears begin
to patrol the rivers looking for fish.
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Like this one,
they are usually skinny and starving.
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She and her cubs
have eaten nothing but plants
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since they emerged from their den.
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They are in desperate need
of a proper meal.
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Bears of all ages and experience
come to the rivers to look for salmon.
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The first fish of the season, however,
are hard to catch.
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This young bear
is still learning how to do it.
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Step number one is spotting a salmon.
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00:24:57,767 --> 00:25:00,486
A higher perspective usually helps.
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00:25:03,927 --> 00:25:07,636
In these early days,
fish are few and far between.
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And when they do appear,
they are moving very fast.
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00:25:44,007 --> 00:25:47,079
The salmon also have
lots of places to hide.
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The rivers are only shallow
in short stretches
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and they can quickly shoot across them
and escape into the deep pools.
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This mother and her cubs
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are going to have to
wait a little longer
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00:26:06,367 --> 00:26:09,598
for the conditions to change
before they can get the meals
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00:26:09,687 --> 00:26:11,405
they so badly need.
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00:26:18,727 --> 00:26:20,001
But for the salmon,
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00:26:20,087 --> 00:26:23,443
these deep-water refuges
are becoming prisons.
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00:26:30,727 --> 00:26:35,039
It may be weeks before it rains again
and they can move on.
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00:26:40,847 --> 00:26:44,123
Their bodies are now
beginning to change.
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00:26:44,727 --> 00:26:49,278
As their sex hormones stimulate
the production of eggs and sperm,
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00:26:49,367 --> 00:26:51,517
their skin changes colour.
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00:26:54,247 --> 00:26:58,081
Some develop a humped back
and a hooked nose.
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00:27:00,687 --> 00:27:03,838
All these changes
use up precious energy.
215
00:27:04,247 --> 00:27:06,602
The longer the fish wait in these pools,
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00:27:06,687 --> 00:27:08,405
the less likely they will be able
217
00:27:08,487 --> 00:27:11,797
to complete the journey
to their spawning grounds.
218
00:27:16,607 --> 00:27:19,804
The mother bear and her cubs,
finding little in the shallows,
219
00:27:19,887 --> 00:27:23,721
now try their luck
in the deeper salmon-filled pools.
220
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The salmon are easy enough to see.
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With so many fish here,
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00:27:38,607 --> 00:27:42,202
this young bear should surely
be able to catch something.
223
00:27:47,367 --> 00:27:50,962
But finding the salmon
is only part of the problem.
224
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Bears must pin a salmon
to the stream bed
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00:27:56,407 --> 00:27:57,920
in order to catch it.
226
00:27:58,007 --> 00:28:00,726
Not easy in deep water.
227
00:28:04,007 --> 00:28:06,396
Older bears know that
it's almost impossible
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to get a meal this way.
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But while the salmon here may be
relatively safe from the bears,
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they are not out of danger.
231
00:28:22,407 --> 00:28:27,037
The late summer sun is warming the water
so that levels are dropping
232
00:28:27,127 --> 00:28:30,836
and the amount of dissolved oxygen
is decreasing.
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00:28:34,927 --> 00:28:39,478
The time spent in these worsening
conditions is beginning to show.
234
00:28:45,087 --> 00:28:49,444
The experienced bears
show the youngsters what to do.
235
00:28:50,407 --> 00:28:53,399
Catching live salmon in these pools
may be difficult,
236
00:28:53,487 --> 00:28:55,557
but there are dead ones for the taking,
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00:28:55,647 --> 00:28:58,036
if only the bears can reach them.
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00:29:03,927 --> 00:29:08,478
The problem is that most bears
don't like to get their ears wet.
239
00:29:22,367 --> 00:29:26,042
However, the old bears
know a trick or two.
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00:29:34,607 --> 00:29:38,043
It just needs a little fancy footwork.
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00:30:03,127 --> 00:30:06,756
This year, the water levels
are particularly low
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00:30:06,847 --> 00:30:10,396
and by September,
the salmon are in real trouble.
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00:30:12,527 --> 00:30:15,246
In the confined oxygen-poor water,
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there is an increased risk
of parasites and infections.
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00:30:23,207 --> 00:30:26,279
In some years,
these conditions can get so bad
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00:30:26,367 --> 00:30:30,883
that most of the salmon die before
they even reach the spawning grounds.
247
00:30:36,567 --> 00:30:41,083
What they need is more rain. And soon.
248
00:30:44,887 --> 00:30:49,642
Luckily, this year
the autumn rains arrive on time.
249
00:31:15,567 --> 00:31:18,764
The salmon can set off once again.
250
00:31:21,447 --> 00:31:25,759
However, so much rain
brings different challenges.
251
00:31:31,247 --> 00:31:35,399
The fish now have to battle
against powerful torrents.
252
00:31:47,287 --> 00:31:51,565
But the salmon know how to
turn this swift, turbulent water
253
00:31:51,647 --> 00:31:53,683
to their own advantage.
254
00:32:06,607 --> 00:32:11,203
Scarcely beating their tails,
they manage to propel themselves forward
255
00:32:11,287 --> 00:32:13,357
by using the energy of the water,
256
00:32:13,447 --> 00:32:17,235
much as a sailboat does
when tacking into the wind.
257
00:32:43,367 --> 00:32:46,120
But that doesn't mean
there will be no further problem
258
00:32:46,207 --> 00:32:48,767
in reaching the spawning grounds.
259
00:33:10,087 --> 00:33:14,558
This is going to be the end of the road
for a lot of salmon.
260
00:33:16,327 --> 00:33:18,602
These bears are really hungry.
261
00:33:18,687 --> 00:33:21,155
They haven't tasted salmon for 10 months
262
00:33:21,247 --> 00:33:24,922
and the big males battle
for the best fishing spots.
263
00:33:31,527 --> 00:33:34,837
The longer the salmon take
over their journey upstream,
264
00:33:34,927 --> 00:33:36,997
the weaker they become.
265
00:33:40,327 --> 00:33:43,876
And these falls present them
with their biggest challenge yet.
266
00:33:45,647 --> 00:33:49,959
Although the falls aren't very tall,
the bears hold the high ground.
267
00:33:52,687 --> 00:33:57,442
The salmon make short exploratory leaps
to see where the bears are.
268
00:34:12,327 --> 00:34:14,795
But they don't always get it right.
269
00:34:20,087 --> 00:34:24,205
This mother bear has been waiting months
for this moment.
270
00:34:26,407 --> 00:34:29,444
Competition is fierce
for these first salmon,
271
00:34:29,527 --> 00:34:32,280
even between a mother and her own cubs.
272
00:34:37,967 --> 00:34:41,516
More and more fish arrive
at the foot of the falls.
273
00:34:52,127 --> 00:34:56,837
Eventually they have to go for it,
regardless of the danger.
274
00:35:35,007 --> 00:35:37,965
But numbers are on their side.
275
00:35:38,047 --> 00:35:42,757
For every salmon that gets caught,
hundreds make it past the bears.
276
00:36:15,567 --> 00:36:17,125
By early September,
277
00:36:17,207 --> 00:36:20,836
the salmon have almost reached
their spawning grounds,
278
00:36:20,927 --> 00:36:25,842
that one particular patch of gravel
where they hatched four years ago.
279
00:36:30,767 --> 00:36:33,804
The salmon have now travelled far inland
280
00:36:33,887 --> 00:36:37,277
and can be found from California
to the Arctic Ocean,
281
00:36:37,367 --> 00:36:41,918
across a fifth of the entire
continent of North America.
282
00:36:59,047 --> 00:37:02,198
But the journey has taken a heavy toll.
283
00:37:03,487 --> 00:37:08,481
For every thousand that hatched,
only four manage to return.
284
00:37:12,367 --> 00:37:15,564
And even for those salmon
that have made it back,
285
00:37:15,647 --> 00:37:17,399
there are still more dangers.
286
00:37:17,487 --> 00:37:20,206
They have finally reached
the end of their road
287
00:37:20,287 --> 00:37:23,836
and are so tired and battered
that they are easy prey.
288
00:37:24,327 --> 00:37:27,478
The advantage is fully to the bears now.
289
00:38:35,487 --> 00:38:38,559
The bears are spoiled for choice.
290
00:38:42,807 --> 00:38:44,479
In the best spawning areas,
291
00:38:44,567 --> 00:38:47,923
there are thousands of salmon
in every mile of river.
292
00:38:51,807 --> 00:38:55,561
The bears here will gorge themselves
for the next two months
293
00:38:55,687 --> 00:38:59,282
and the mothers with their cubs
can now gain the weight they will need
294
00:38:59,367 --> 00:39:02,564
if they are to make it
through the coming winter.
295
00:39:14,527 --> 00:39:19,521
The salmon are so abundant
that even the little cub is having a go.
296
00:39:29,327 --> 00:39:33,878
He has caught a female pink,
the smallest of the salmon species.
297
00:39:36,527 --> 00:39:40,839
He is already learning the skills
he will need to survive as an adult.
298
00:39:47,007 --> 00:39:49,646
But he's got a little way to go yet.
299
00:39:53,647 --> 00:39:56,957
Although the salmon are now
at the mercy of the bears,
300
00:39:57,047 --> 00:39:59,163
they will not leave this place.
301
00:39:59,247 --> 00:40:01,886
Their nature impels them
to lay their eggs
302
00:40:01,967 --> 00:40:04,322
where they themselves were born.
303
00:40:12,167 --> 00:40:14,397
Even though the bears eat their fill,
304
00:40:14,487 --> 00:40:18,366
there are so many salmon
that most will survive to spawn.
305
00:40:24,527 --> 00:40:29,396
The sockeye salmon's brilliant colour
signals that they are ready to breed.
306
00:40:30,847 --> 00:40:35,204
Males battle with each other
for position behind the females.
307
00:40:43,607 --> 00:40:47,805
The female digs out a shallow scoop
as a nest.
308
00:40:58,327 --> 00:41:03,526
The male nestles up against the female,
stimulating her to release her eggs.
309
00:41:06,687 --> 00:41:09,997
When she's ready,
she lowers herself over the nest.
310
00:41:10,087 --> 00:41:12,317
She begins to turn out her eggs
311
00:41:12,407 --> 00:41:16,036
and the male releases a cloud of sperm
into the water.
312
00:41:34,367 --> 00:41:36,961
These salmon are the lottery winners,
313
00:41:37,807 --> 00:41:41,766
the lucky ones that have succeeded
in returning here to spawn.
314
00:41:42,727 --> 00:41:46,686
But there are enough of them
to seed the next generation.
315
00:41:53,647 --> 00:41:57,276
The spawning season
is a time of extreme abundance,
316
00:41:57,367 --> 00:42:00,245
for in the course of
ensuring their own survival,
317
00:42:00,327 --> 00:42:04,525
the salmon provide food
for a horde of other creatures.
318
00:42:11,727 --> 00:42:16,562
These Bonaparte gulls are collecting
one of the season's great delicacies...
319
00:42:17,047 --> 00:42:18,958
salmon eggs.
320
00:42:38,447 --> 00:42:43,396
For the bears, the salmon spawning
season is the pinnacle of the year.
321
00:42:50,007 --> 00:42:51,963
But for the salmon,
322
00:42:52,047 --> 00:42:55,562
it's the pinnacle of their entire lives.
323
00:43:01,687 --> 00:43:03,006
All that have reached it
324
00:43:03,087 --> 00:43:06,921
will end their days in the very place
where they began them.
325
00:43:18,527 --> 00:43:22,122
The wear and tear of their long journey
is now showing.
326
00:43:27,807 --> 00:43:30,924
Their bodies have been
deteriorating for weeks
327
00:43:31,007 --> 00:43:35,125
and with this last act of reproduction,
they are finally spent.
328
00:43:56,527 --> 00:43:58,518
But even in death,
329
00:43:58,607 --> 00:44:02,600
the salmon continue to benefit
the animals of the forest.
330
00:44:08,007 --> 00:44:12,876
The mother and her cubs will continue to
fatten themselves on the carcasses
331
00:44:12,967 --> 00:44:15,606
until they are ready
to head back up the mountain
332
00:44:15,687 --> 00:44:17,598
to den in November.
333
00:44:22,767 --> 00:44:26,760
Why Pacific salmon have to die
after they reproduce
334
00:44:26,847 --> 00:44:28,963
is not clearly understood.
335
00:44:29,687 --> 00:44:34,715
Atlantic salmon don't.
They return year after year to spawn.
336
00:44:34,807 --> 00:44:38,436
But the Pacific salmons' decaying bodies
nourish the rivers,
337
00:44:38,527 --> 00:44:41,963
providing abundant food
for their growing eggs.
338
00:44:43,887 --> 00:44:47,926
And that is what it has been all about
for the salmon.
339
00:44:48,847 --> 00:44:53,045
All their trials and tribulations
have ensured that the baby salmon,
340
00:44:53,127 --> 00:44:56,563
when they emerge from
these beautiful orange globes,
341
00:44:56,647 --> 00:45:00,686
will have everything they need
to begin this incredible journey
342
00:45:00,767 --> 00:45:02,837
all over again.
343
00:45:11,727 --> 00:45:16,596
But the legacy of the salmon extends
far beyond the rivers and streams.
344
00:45:19,767 --> 00:45:23,476
They are at the heart of
a massive network of life.
345
00:45:25,927 --> 00:45:29,886
There are more than 200 species
in the Great Forest alone,
346
00:45:30,047 --> 00:45:34,723
plants and insects, birds and mammals,
that depend on the salmon.
347
00:45:40,567 --> 00:45:42,683
It's possible that Pacific salmon,
348
00:45:42,767 --> 00:45:45,884
between their time out at sea
and their time inland,
349
00:45:45,967 --> 00:45:50,279
feed more life than any other
animal species on the planet.
350
00:45:54,887 --> 00:45:59,324
And there is one more beneficiary
of the salmon's legacy.
351
00:46:05,167 --> 00:46:09,285
The fish are a unique link
between the ocean and the forest.
352
00:46:15,567 --> 00:46:19,480
Born in fresh water,
they live their life in the sea
353
00:46:19,567 --> 00:46:23,480
and there gather nutrients with
which they build their bodies.
354
00:46:30,127 --> 00:46:34,006
Now, scattered
by feeding bears and wolves,
355
00:46:34,087 --> 00:46:38,000
the last bequest of these salmon
is to the forest.
356
00:46:48,087 --> 00:46:52,524
Nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus
that was gathered in the ocean
357
00:46:52,607 --> 00:46:55,679
is now released
from their decaying bodies,
358
00:47:00,927 --> 00:47:05,717
providing the nutrients
that enable these trees,
359
00:47:05,807 --> 00:47:09,686
Sitka spruce, red cedar,
360
00:47:11,127 --> 00:47:13,083
and western hemlock,
361
00:47:14,287 --> 00:47:17,438
to grow to such prodigious heights.
362
00:47:21,207 --> 00:47:25,564
It is now known that 80%
of the nitrogen in these coastal forests
363
00:47:25,647 --> 00:47:29,435
where the salmon spawn,
comes from the sea,
364
00:47:29,527 --> 00:47:32,644
carried in the bodies
of the returning fish.
365
00:47:38,007 --> 00:47:41,522
The trees may be growing
hundreds of miles from the ocean,
366
00:47:41,607 --> 00:47:44,724
but they are still nourished
by its richness.
367
00:47:48,967 --> 00:47:50,878
The rivers of the Great Forest,
368
00:47:50,967 --> 00:47:55,279
like the veins and arteries
of an animal, carry its lifeblood,
369
00:47:55,367 --> 00:47:58,200
the Pacific salmon, throughout.
370
00:48:06,007 --> 00:48:10,762
And no animal relies on them
more than the grizzly bear.
371
00:48:15,727 --> 00:48:19,800
Thanks in large part to the abundance
of the salmon run,
372
00:48:19,887 --> 00:48:24,358
these cubs have survived their first
and most difficult year.
373
00:48:25,847 --> 00:48:28,566
The bears will sleep easy each winter
374
00:48:28,967 --> 00:48:33,995
as long as the Pacific salmon
are able to continue their epic run.
375
00:48:34,967 --> 00:48:38,118
One of nature's great events.
376
00:49:03,927 --> 00:49:05,918
In making The Great Salmon Run,
377
00:49:06,007 --> 00:49:10,637
filmmaker Jeff Turner wanted
to discover exactly how grizzly bears
378
00:49:10,727 --> 00:49:12,718
caught salmon underwater.
379
00:49:22,327 --> 00:49:26,240
But his quest was to take him
deeper into the world of the grizzly
380
00:49:26,327 --> 00:49:28,443
than he had ever imagined.
381
00:49:36,967 --> 00:49:39,606
The first challenge
that Jeff and the team faced
382
00:49:39,687 --> 00:49:42,918
was to get their latest
high-definition camera systems
383
00:49:43,007 --> 00:49:44,963
into the wilds of British Columbia.
384
00:49:45,047 --> 00:49:46,958
This is modern-day
wildlife filmmaking.
385
00:49:47,047 --> 00:49:50,756
You can't go anywhere
without about half a ton of gear.
386
00:49:50,847 --> 00:49:53,839
It's very discreet.
Animals don't notice us at all.
387
00:49:55,167 --> 00:49:58,921
Jeff has more than 20 years'
experience of filming grizzlies
388
00:49:59,007 --> 00:50:03,239
and knows how to work with them
in the wild better than anyone.
389
00:50:04,127 --> 00:50:05,765
I was just talking to Justin.
390
00:50:05,847 --> 00:50:10,637
He was telling me he just came back
from a shoot in Indonesia.
391
00:50:11,327 --> 00:50:13,557
He said he had 15 porters.
392
00:50:13,807 --> 00:50:16,958
I think we must be
doing something wrong.
393
00:50:18,607 --> 00:50:22,043
Jeff knows
that the only way to film wild grizzlies
394
00:50:22,127 --> 00:50:25,915
is with a small crew
and a very sensitive approach.
395
00:50:27,687 --> 00:50:31,646
In order to get the shots he wanted,
he used a new digital camera
396
00:50:31,727 --> 00:50:34,036
in a specially built underwater housing
397
00:50:34,127 --> 00:50:36,800
that he could set up
close to the fishing bears
398
00:50:36,887 --> 00:50:38,843
without disturbing them.
399
00:50:39,567 --> 00:50:42,559
Getting the camera in place
can be tricky, however.
400
00:50:42,647 --> 00:50:45,719
Experience has taught him
how to put them at their ease
401
00:50:45,807 --> 00:50:47,479
with just the right tone of voice.
402
00:50:47,567 --> 00:50:50,001
Hey, bear, how ya doin', hey?
403
00:50:50,087 --> 00:50:52,920
I'm gonna scare some fish up there
for ya.
404
00:50:53,207 --> 00:50:56,085
That's a good bear. I won't bother you.
I won't be long.
405
00:51:03,367 --> 00:51:05,039
This is when you need six hands.
406
00:51:05,127 --> 00:51:07,277
The wild bears seemed intrigued
407
00:51:07,367 --> 00:51:09,039
by this visitor to their river.
408
00:51:09,127 --> 00:51:12,005
You guys are as excited about this
as I am.
409
00:51:12,087 --> 00:51:13,964
Okay, and now to the left.
410
00:51:14,047 --> 00:51:16,038
What Jeff
was hoping to capture
411
00:51:16,127 --> 00:51:21,042
was a shot of bears catching salmon
from both above and below water.
412
00:51:22,287 --> 00:51:24,721
He needed to operate the camera
from a distance
413
00:51:24,807 --> 00:51:29,005
so that the bears would be so relaxed
they would continue fishing.
414
00:51:30,767 --> 00:51:33,565
But that meant connecting
the camera to his computer,
415
00:51:33,647 --> 00:51:35,365
using fibre-optic cable.
416
00:51:35,447 --> 00:51:38,519
..or if they come through here,
you know, catching it.
417
00:51:38,607 --> 00:51:40,518
And all that cable in the river
418
00:51:40,607 --> 00:51:45,283
proved too much of a temptation for one
particularly mischievous young bear.
419
00:51:45,447 --> 00:51:48,325
A situation that called for
some firm bear-talk from Jeff.
420
00:51:48,407 --> 00:51:52,480
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Drop it. Drop that!
421
00:51:53,327 --> 00:51:54,885
Yah! Yah! Yah!
422
00:52:00,527 --> 00:52:02,802
You guys can't bite the cable.
423
00:52:03,487 --> 00:52:04,715
Jeez!
424
00:52:07,567 --> 00:52:10,957
Luckily, the camera was still working.
425
00:52:12,087 --> 00:52:15,602
But Jeff soon realised that the salmon
were avoiding the shallow waters
426
00:52:15,687 --> 00:52:18,645
and he wasn't getting
the shots he wanted.
427
00:52:19,567 --> 00:52:22,320
The bears were being drawn
to the deep pools
428
00:52:22,407 --> 00:52:24,796
where the salmon were hiding out.
429
00:52:26,287 --> 00:52:28,642
He had to try a new approach.
430
00:52:29,447 --> 00:52:32,837
The water levels in the creek are low
and dropping.
431
00:52:33,447 --> 00:52:35,836
It means that the salmon
that are in the system now,
432
00:52:35,927 --> 00:52:36,962
they're not moving.
433
00:52:37,047 --> 00:52:40,198
They're just sort of staying
in the deeper pools.
434
00:52:40,407 --> 00:52:43,922
So it means that
if the fish won't come to me,
435
00:52:44,007 --> 00:52:46,441
I'm gonna have to go to the fish.
436
00:52:47,367 --> 00:52:49,801
Since he didn't have
a shaggy fur coat,
437
00:52:49,887 --> 00:52:54,563
Jeff squeezed into a dry suit to
protect himself against the icy water.
438
00:52:56,847 --> 00:52:59,281
The camera needed to be
on the bottom of the pool,
439
00:52:59,367 --> 00:53:00,959
some three metres deep.
440
00:53:01,047 --> 00:53:05,404
But getting down there in an
air-filled dry suit was no easy matter.
441
00:53:14,487 --> 00:53:15,920
I'm bobbing.
442
00:53:16,887 --> 00:53:20,516
Jeff clearly needed
to put on some weight.
443
00:53:22,527 --> 00:53:25,485
I feel like I'm in some sort of
old medieval movie or something.
444
00:53:25,567 --> 00:53:27,205
Yeah?
-Yeah.
445
00:53:28,167 --> 00:53:32,479
Mel Brookes or something.
Young Frankenstein.
446
00:53:33,367 --> 00:53:34,561
Okay.
447
00:53:41,527 --> 00:53:44,087
With his improvised diving belt,
448
00:53:44,167 --> 00:53:47,762
he could now get down deep enough
to position the camera.
449
00:53:52,887 --> 00:53:54,639
The bears were learning very quickly
450
00:53:54,727 --> 00:53:57,639
that Jeff and his crew
were not a threat.
451
00:53:57,927 --> 00:54:02,205
They watched him curiously as
he retreated to a respectful distance
452
00:54:02,287 --> 00:54:05,085
and controlled his camera
from his laptop.
453
00:54:08,207 --> 00:54:10,402
What would the bears do next?
454
00:54:16,567 --> 00:54:20,924
He didn't have to wait long before
the first bear waded into the pool.
455
00:54:22,007 --> 00:54:25,716
But this youngster seemed
totally out of his depth.
456
00:54:26,327 --> 00:54:29,763
This is really funny. This little guy,
he doesn't know how to get down there
457
00:54:29,847 --> 00:54:32,315
so he can't quite reach the bottom.
458
00:54:33,287 --> 00:54:36,996
So he is just hanging,
bobbing along here.
459
00:54:44,367 --> 00:54:48,804
He's got his paw on it. Aw, damn it,
he knocked it over,
460
00:54:50,847 --> 00:54:54,157
I think he used it to stand on
to kick himself off.
461
00:54:57,087 --> 00:54:59,840
The fish
are going straight downhill.
462
00:55:00,567 --> 00:55:02,717
It's a really steep river.
463
00:55:03,127 --> 00:55:04,958
It was back into
the chilly water
464
00:55:05,047 --> 00:55:07,720
for Jeff to realign his camera.
465
00:55:18,927 --> 00:55:23,443
Soon it was up and running again
and getting some intimate shots.
466
00:55:24,367 --> 00:55:27,245
Got a good shot
of his privates there.
467
00:55:30,887 --> 00:55:33,321
Although the salmon
were still just out of the reach
468
00:55:33,407 --> 00:55:36,877
of this persistent young bear,
the camera wasn't.
469
00:55:37,447 --> 00:55:40,564
Oh no, he's getting close
to the camera.
470
00:55:40,767 --> 00:55:43,406
Be careful, bear. Ah, shoot!
471
00:55:46,167 --> 00:55:48,237
He totally knocked it over.
472
00:55:48,327 --> 00:55:51,399
I'm going to have to go
reposition that camera.
473
00:55:52,687 --> 00:55:55,520
The youngster
continued to cause problems.
474
00:55:55,607 --> 00:55:58,280
He kept on knocking over the camera.
475
00:56:04,207 --> 00:56:08,325
Then two bigger, more experienced bears
appeared on the scene,
476
00:56:08,407 --> 00:56:10,318
right in front of Jeff.
477
00:56:16,807 --> 00:56:20,959
But the remote camera was having trouble
keeping up with the action.
478
00:56:25,567 --> 00:56:30,277
To discover exactly what was going on,
Jeff needed a new perspective.
479
00:56:30,367 --> 00:56:33,325
These bears were so unfazed
by his presence
480
00:56:33,407 --> 00:56:35,637
that he decided to stay in the water
481
00:56:35,727 --> 00:56:39,515
and hand-hold the camera
on the end of a long pole.
482
00:56:47,647 --> 00:56:52,402
The bears were learning to trust Jeff,
allowing him to get even closer.
483
00:56:56,687 --> 00:56:59,440
To get as intimate as this
with wild grizzlies
484
00:56:59,527 --> 00:57:01,722
is potentially extremely dangerous
485
00:57:01,807 --> 00:57:05,038
and required all of Jeff's
many years of experience.
486
00:57:05,127 --> 00:57:06,606
That was good.
487
00:57:08,847 --> 00:57:12,283
Okay, we've got this other guy
coming out too now.
488
00:57:17,927 --> 00:57:21,078
He's gonna check it out.
Okay, you can have a look at it.
489
00:57:21,167 --> 00:57:24,762
He was now close enough
to observe their technique in detail.
490
00:57:24,847 --> 00:57:27,964
This was something
that Jeff had never seen before.
491
00:57:28,047 --> 00:57:30,481
By kicking the salmon into the shallows,
492
00:57:30,567 --> 00:57:34,765
the more experienced bears were able
to grab themselves an easy meal.
493
00:57:34,847 --> 00:57:38,806
And by hand-holding the camera,
Jeff could follow the action.
494
00:57:45,167 --> 00:57:47,556
Okay, we're getting close here.
495
00:57:48,567 --> 00:57:51,286
He's coming up to you right now. Roll.
496
00:57:52,247 --> 00:57:55,762
To get as close as this
to an adult grizzly bear
497
00:57:55,847 --> 00:57:58,122
is truly remarkable.
498
00:57:58,207 --> 00:57:59,879
Jeff makes it look easy,
499
00:57:59,967 --> 00:58:03,437
but it takes years of experience
and understanding.
500
00:58:07,927 --> 00:58:12,284
Okay, good show, guys. Thank you.
That's it. We're done.
501
00:58:12,647 --> 00:58:14,877
Yep, time to go, that's it.
502
00:58:16,527 --> 00:58:19,997
Jeff had managed
to enter the bears' world, giving him
503
00:58:20,087 --> 00:58:24,763
the most intimate shots of grizzlies
fishing underwater ever filmed.
504
00:58:24,847 --> 00:58:28,760
He had achieved this
not just by using new technology,
505
00:58:28,847 --> 00:58:31,156
but through his own
special understanding
506
00:58:31,247 --> 00:58:33,397
of these incredible animals.
507
00:58:34,305 --> 00:58:40,371
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