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AnimalsTranscript
00:29Transcription by CastingWords
00:42Transcription by CastingWords
01:27Transcription by CastingWords
01:28But these bears have somehow learned to live with one another
01:33Left alone, it has become a city of bears
01:43I'll follow these bears through an entire season
01:46From spring to autumn
01:50Piece together their complex social lives
01:54And find out how these colossal giants manage to live together
01:58And the first thing this young male does when the big fella leaves
02:01And starts putting on the show for the ladies again
02:04And you've got to be tough to survive here
02:16It's a land like no other
02:23It's grisly country
02:43You know, I grew up in St. Anne's in Lancashire
02:47And to me, Alaska was this far-off, wild place
02:52Somewhere at the ends of the earth
02:56But the first time I took flight over this country
02:59I was blown away by the size of the place
03:05To me, it really takes an animal as wild as a bear
03:08To call Alaska home
03:13It just looks and feels like bear country out there
03:20Vast and wild
03:27No way! Oh wow! Look at that!
03:30Wow! Two bears
03:32Play fighting
03:42It's early June
03:44And bears are just beginning to gather in the lush meadows
04:01You can imagine the sense of joy they must feel
04:03After being cooped up in their dark den for the past six months
04:10I can't believe we're here
04:12I love it
04:14I love this place
04:15It just feels so right to be here
04:17And I'm so dying to see what the bears are up to
04:21Especially this early in the season
04:22I've never been here this early before
04:23So it's completely new to me
04:26For the next several months
04:28Filmmaker Joe Pontecorvo and I
04:30Will be living among bears
04:34I think we've got enough stuff
04:36Looks like we're going to be here for a year
05:02We are deep inside grizzly country
05:05In a place known to have the largest concentrations of brown bears in the world
05:21I've always wanted to spend a season living among brown bears
05:24Watching their daily lives unfold
05:28But it's also a somewhat unsettling feeling
05:32To be surrounded by so many bears
05:37We are the visitors here
05:57It's like we're rigging a demolition scene
06:01Some kind of explosives
06:04That's not a bad idea
06:07I've got a much smaller camp than Joe
06:09He's got all the gear
06:11Within his electric fence
06:13So it's pretty sizable
06:14Whereas mine I just need the tent
06:16And a few of my personal belongings
06:17And of course all the food goes in Joe's camp as well
06:22There is this complete sense of isolation
06:25In coastal Alaska
06:29Where you feel genuinely like you're the first person to set foot right here
06:34First person to sit on this log
06:38And you know there are tracks going off
06:40Down this ridge of rocks here
06:43And it looks like a human set of footprints
06:46But it's not
06:47It's bear tracks
06:48And every inch of this has been influenced
06:50By the bears and the wolves that call it home
06:57You know the sun is up most of the time
07:00I mean even now it's not that late yet
07:02It's ten o'clock at night
07:03And we've still got several hours of light to work in if we want to
07:08And it's tough to go to bed
07:10Because there's something happening all the time
07:20Don't drop that camera Joe
07:22Many thousands of years ago
07:24The whole of North America
07:26Was wild enough for large carnivores
07:28So this is the front right track
07:29Of a large male
07:32But now we only find these huge carnivores
07:35In small pockets of really wild land
07:38In places like Alaska
07:40Stop, stop
07:43It's a sleeping bear
07:46We don't want to surprise him
07:48Back up
07:51You know these bears are very very tolerant
07:53But still if you've got a sleeping bear like that
07:56We certainly don't want to surprise him
07:57I mean if we used to wake up from a deep sleep
08:00Surprised like that
08:01They could quickly turn
08:04It'd be like sleeping in your motel room
08:05And suddenly having someone break the door down
08:07And enter your room
08:08What would you do?
08:09You could go into that fight response
08:11We'll cross the river and avoid him
08:14Hey there bear
08:34The bears I normally see fattening up for winter
08:37Are at the beginning of their season
08:43And the salmon run is still months away
08:52Bears have lost nearly 50% of their body weight over the winter
08:56And they are eager to get it back
08:59What they are looking for
09:01Smiling for actually
09:02Are tiny razor clams
09:04Once they find one
09:06They start digging with those massive claws
09:13It's not much of a meal
09:16But this time of year
09:18They'll take whatever they can get
09:28This is unbelievable
09:29There's a female here with two tiny cubs
09:32They probably weigh less than 10 pounds
09:34I've never seen any this small before
09:37These cubs were only born in January in the den
09:39And they probably have only been out of the den
09:41For about three weeks since mid-May
09:46Can you imagine the sensory overload
09:48That these cubs are going through right now?
09:51I mean they're playing with things
09:53And discovering the world around them
09:54One of them is playing with a piece of grass there
10:08A year from now
10:09They'll start to wander a little bit further from her
10:14And right now
10:15They're sticking to her like glue
10:17They don't want to let her out of sight
10:19And she certainly doesn't want to let them out of sight
10:23There's a lot of big feisty testosterone driven males right now
10:27And one of these cubs would make a very easy tasty snack for them
10:35And I just really hope that she keeps them safe
10:44Mating season lasts just two months
10:47But during that time
10:49Bears from all around gather in the lush meadow below
10:53It's a dangerous time for a mum with young cubs
10:58But experience has taught her well
11:01The bluff provides both sanctuary and a view of her surroundings
11:08With this many big males around
11:10She's just got to have her wits about her the whole time
11:19So this swagger we call it the cowboy walk
11:23And he's really doing two things here
11:26Trying to impress the female
11:29But it's also trying to make themselves feel as big as possible
11:33And look as big as possible to the other bears
11:35They're competitors
11:43Now he's a real cowboy
11:46A big brutish looking guy
11:49Everyone is keeping a close eye on Brutus
11:55Look at him salivating
11:57When these big males get worked up
11:59They'll start salivating like this
12:01God, this is unbelievable
12:04This big brutish male
12:06He's been super aggressive
12:10It's a pretty gutsy move to walk up on a mating pair like this
12:28Brutus pushed the older male right off the young female
12:32I don't think Grandpa is willing to risk his life over this one female
12:38But look at the face
12:40On Grandpa
12:43He just looks so forlorn
12:52Now Brutus is stomping his scent into the ground
12:57Erasing all traces of Grandpa from the meadow
13:04Stomping him out of existence
13:16The males here will try and mate with as many females as possible
13:20While the females are looking for the biggest
13:23The most dominant male around
13:26That'll give her cubs the best chance of survival
13:31Oh, there's another guy coming in from behind her
13:35He doesn't look big enough to take on the big guy
13:42Looks like he's going to give it a shot, though
13:47Wow, this female is getting a lot of attention
13:50Four males around her right now
13:56It's almost like she's insignificant, you know
14:00The males are fighting among themselves
14:02And the winner gets to take her home
14:14It's only different
14:14Look at them
14:33I human
14:37they are two feet away from these massive giants
14:40and they're clashing in a big aggressive fight
14:42and these females are assessing the males
14:48and he's definitely the peak of his game right now
14:51and all the other males can do is sit around watching
14:57and then the female goes home with the winner
14:59and that's why all of the males around here
15:02are at least twice as big as the females
15:04and that's because the big guys win the fights
15:07and they get to breed
15:15a quiet calm returns to the meadow
15:18and life resumes
15:20as if nothing had happened at all
15:25but these cubs are very lucky
15:26she knows how to rear them
15:28in a place where there are all these threats
15:31for them to be aware of
15:37she's a good mum
15:39I've decided to call her Nadie
15:41which means wise
15:50these cubs learn so much every day
15:53what's good to eat
15:54what bears to avoid
15:56how to be safe
15:58and by following mum
16:00they'll learn what it takes to survive
16:02in this busy city of bears
16:04that means
16:32and that means
16:33there is perhaps
16:34where we have the general
16:34it's up right
16:34because it's all
16:41I just came up over the rice to go back to the tent after being out on a walk, and
16:46there's
16:46a bear right here, and he's about 30 feet from my tent right now.
16:54A moment ago, his...
16:56Oh, hello.
16:58Hey, bear.
16:58It's okay.
17:00You are a big fella.
17:01I know.
17:02You think you can go anywhere you like, don't you?
17:04Well, you probably can.
17:06He's right between Joe's tent, which is here, and my tent.
17:10Our tents are about 30 yards apart, and he's in between them.
17:15Joe was on the other side of the tent at the time, and I was afraid that he might touch
17:19his nose to that electric fence and bolt in the opposite direction and run Joe over in
17:24the process.
17:25But so far, so good.
17:26He's a big bear.
17:27He's a big male.
17:29But he walked past my tent a minute ago, and his fur, I swear, brushed on my electric fence,
17:34and it didn't work.
17:36This is unbelievable.
17:38He's, uh...
17:40He's eating an Angelica plant right now.
17:44It's okay, buddy.
17:45Yeah.
17:46It's okay.
17:46You keep going, I think.
17:48Yeah.
17:49See?
17:49He's a pretty big male.
17:50It's okay.
17:53Okay.
18:18Even a simple breakfast is an adventure in bear country.
18:23With this many visitors around, you can never be too careful.
18:32But it's tough, though, you know, because these bears see the whole world through their
18:34nose.
18:35So you've really got to start looking at the world through their perspective, through
18:38their nose, and they can smell this from two miles down the valley here.
18:44There's a certain tension in the air.
18:46You're always looking over your shoulder.
18:52Any one of these creatures could wipe you out in an instant.
18:56But they choose not to.
18:57They choose to allow you to be a part of their landscape and their habitat and their home
19:03for as long as you want to be there.
19:08Nice.
19:27It almost looks like the National Park Service maintains these, doesn't it?
19:31But these are all bear trails.
19:35Generation after generation after generation of brown bears have created these trails as
19:40the most efficient route from A to B.
19:42It's a perfect system.
19:44And we've been following them.
19:47We're doing the same thing, except we're not eating the sedges.
19:52There's a lot of traffic in these meadows during mating season.
19:59And in a population this large, with this much competition, it's all about scent.
20:05And any male coming up to this could smell the ten previous males that had come up to this
20:09and done the same thing, checking out who's on the meadow here, who they're competing with
20:14tonight.
20:16They know who's on this meadow long before they even see them.
20:20Their noses are planted firmly in the sedge meadow all the time, and they're reading this
20:25landscape like a barcode.
20:27Scent is powerful advertising in the bear world, and works for both sexes.
20:34You know, the females will kind of sit down, they'll plant themselves in the meadow and coyly
20:39look around, you know, to see which males might be eyeing them up.
20:43And then the male will approach and she'll move away, and he plants his nose right in
20:47the grass to smell whether she's going to be receptive.
20:51It's almost like her placing a singles ad.
20:54Single, hairy, brown female seeks massive, promiscuous male.
21:02In a population this size, bears learn to watch their back.
21:07Their eyes are looking left, right and centre, trying to figure out who's there, who they
21:12can breed with, and who they need to avoid.
21:14So the sedges are just a kind of a distraction.
21:18Competition is not limited to males.
21:22Females will compete with other females for access to the best males.
21:26It's really unusual, and something I haven't seen before.
21:34Many of these bears have grown up together, or are related in some way, spending season after
21:41season in these same meadows.
21:46Brothers that come together and play as adults.
21:55These social complexities mean cubs here have a whole lot more to learn than almost anywhere
22:02else.
22:05Normally, brown bear cubs stay with their mum for about three years.
22:10But here, cubs might stay with mum for even longer.
22:32These guys have a good head start.
22:37Nadia is definitely a dominating presence on the meadow.
22:47She's moving right, Coriton.
22:48She's charging.
22:49She's charging at him.
23:14While mum grazes, the cubs are on high alert, smelling the air for danger, alarmed by anything
23:22unfamiliar, which for them is quite a lot.
23:27They've only been in this grand outside world for maybe six weeks now.
23:32These cubs are facing so many different choices and learning experiences every day, and it's
23:38nice to feel that we're an easy one.
23:42You're not quite sure how close to come are you?
23:46It's important they stay cautious, like their mum.
23:52But they're cubs, and the temptation to play is too great.
24:11They are gladiators as tall as grass blades.
24:14things in their minds
24:16hmm
24:19hmm
24:24God
24:25hmm
24:26hmm
24:27It's
24:27it's
24:38it's
24:43it's
24:44it's
24:54the scent of a large male is carried on the wind
24:58mom can identify an individual from nearly 200 meters away
25:02just by their scent
25:06she's obviously very cautious of this male
25:08probably knows him
25:11and is keeping her distance
25:16it's really interesting because there's this tolerance thing going on
25:19at this time of year
25:20the rest of the year these females avoid the males
25:23like the plague they don't want anything to do with them
25:25they can be quite aggressive so
25:27they just keep apart
25:34and these females know that the big males are more cautious than they are
25:37when there's people around
25:38so she might use us as a barrier for his advances
25:56he's getting hyper-focused on her right now
26:00this is going to be close I think
26:06you know
26:07this big male is all worked up so it is difficult to know what he might do
26:15we should be careful as well here Joe
26:18it's best for us to just stay put stay low and don't move
26:29this is going to be close Joe
26:36okay the male is coming up right behind you here Joe
26:43okay okay okay it's okay it's okay it's okay
26:49it's okay we're not touching her
26:54it's okay
26:57it's all right but it's okay
27:02it's okay
27:14she clearly needs the protein that these sedges are providing
27:17but at the same time she's got to keep the cubs safe
27:20from these big males that are coming over
27:26so
27:50it's okay
27:52so
27:57try to pick up the weather forecast i just want to know what we're letting ourselves in for here
28:02you know because the weather really seems to be coming in seas eight feet we should probably make
28:09sure your gear's okay joe actually you know just get it all inside the tent and figure things out
28:14look at that that's not my pillow i don't use pillows when i'm camping
28:19i usually i sleep on a steak you know because i'm a real tough guy and if i'm feeling like
28:24treating
28:24myself maybe a boot but definitely not one of these pillows i don't know where that came from
28:29did you put that in here joe it's been a really stormy couple of days it's pouring with rain
28:40outside you can perhaps hear it on the tent here and uh it's difficult just being holed up in the
28:48tent all this time but i've rigged a tarp and i've got a bit of a porch here and it's
28:56keeping a lot
28:56of the rain out so fingers crossed but it's tiring it's it's tiring just dealing with it you know
29:06so um i'm gonna try and get some sleep and hope that my tent and tarp is all intact in
29:14the morning
29:27the seas are calm again but something is upsetting the flock
29:39this guy is headed straight for a puffin colony
29:48brown bears don't normally hunt puffins the bears are opportunistic and experimental animals
29:54especially when driven by hunger even the puffins are surprised
30:08in this case the bear is rewarded
30:29with the good weather comes carefree days
30:37oh they're the entire family's having a good time tonight she's even growing more relaxed
30:41look at that you can tell that they've put a considerable amount of weight on
30:46and they're probably three times further away from the safety of the bluff than we've ever seen them
30:50before
30:54where does she go oh she's in the middle of the meadow there
30:57oh yeah she's moving away this bear just came out of the trees here see it in the older to
31:00your right joe
31:01the d has settled down quite a bit over the last couple of weeks but still keeps a healthy distance
31:09and for good reason mating season is winding down
31:16a quiet desperation hangs in the air as the bears anticipate the arrival of the first salmon
31:28lately the d hardly gives me a glance
31:32i realize it's incumbent on me to respect her boundaries
31:37i have to constantly remind myself what they're capable of
31:45i wish i could join them with this little tussle wouldn't that be fun just jump in and roll around
31:52there with them
32:01it's impossible not to get caught up in how adorable all this play is
32:07but all this play has a purpose
32:10the sticks and driftwood they pretend to the salmon they've never tasted
32:18all the affection they show mom
32:26the sparring
32:28it all has a purpose
32:31the environment these cubs grow up in is dangerous
32:35highly competitive
32:39and often unpredictable
32:46we're all cool it's okay
32:48no we're okay hey it's all right it's okay
32:57the d is so comfortable with us that she's grazed very close to us now
33:10in this situation it's best just to remain as still as possible and just let her pass
33:16it's all right everybody just chill
33:26it's all right don't you come any closer though you guys you'll get us into trouble here
33:31it's okay yeah
33:40it's okay no don't come any closer hey it's all right yeah i know
33:57that was intense she was closer than any bear has been to me before
34:02and uh i just sat here in the meadow to start with
34:05i was probably 80 yards away from her and she grazed to within five six feet away from me
34:12and uh there's no way not in a million years would i ever approach this situation but it was her
34:17choice to come to me and it's intense though i'm exhausted from just having her that close and staring at
34:24me in the eyes it's a prehistoric feeling
34:32it's really raw that's for sure she's 30 feet away right now and she might as well be the other
34:39end of a football field she seemed like a long way away
34:52life for these little guys like us all is never going to be more carefree than this
35:23in these still moments
35:26it's easy to forget the season is racing by
35:36two months have gone by since i first arrived
35:42it's this in-between time that's toughest of all
35:48the wolves with a new litter are desperate for a hunt
35:59the fields are drying up and pushing the bears towards the water
36:07but their feast is yet to arrive
36:14females gather at the river mouse
36:16with the anticipation of an early run
36:31the birds are just gonna die
36:32and that's why it's gonna be in the depression
36:33and it's been the one that's going to be in the desert
36:38and the animals are getting hurt
36:38so
36:38and we're not going to be in the water
36:38we're just going to be a fence
36:39your life is a matter of that
36:47and we're not going to be in the sea
37:05This early there are more bears than fish, and it's still unclear whether there's anything
37:12worth eating in the shallow tide.
37:16Oh, that's a flounder.
37:26No salmon yet.
37:30The competition is becoming fierce.
37:33The early females are suddenly being boxed out of their spot.
37:47All this splashing around, it's hard to tell whether they're onto something, or simply
37:53chasing ghosts.
38:22It's hard to tell if they're on the ground, it's hard to tell if they're on the ground.
38:28Oh, wow. She's got it. She's got it. It's a salmon.
38:57Oh, wow.
39:20The feast has begun. The salmon are coming home.
39:26It feels as if the river itself has been anticipating this moment.
39:31And for a short time, salmon will be the lifeblood of this place.
39:45But now, the clock has started on this narrow window for the bears.
39:59This is a pretty mature female, and she really knows what she's doing, and she's got this
40:05really healthy, fat, cuddly-looking cub. He's never more than ten feet behind his mum.
40:13She shares nearly every fish she catches with her young cub.
40:20He'll grow fast, and her determination will pay off in how quickly he learns how to live here.
40:40With all his needs met, he's relaxed to hone his skills.
40:50Oh, look, he's snorkeling. He's got his head right underwater so that he can see the fish.
41:07It's incredible. Time after time, she's catching female fish.
41:13And it's important that she catches the female fish, because they're full of fat in the form of their eggs
41:18that the cub can really benefit from.
41:29This young male has been closely watching her, and now that she's resting, he's decided to test out her fishing
41:37spot.
41:38Probably, probably, in his first year of life without a mum, and he is suitably overwhelmed by the environment and
41:46the number of bears here.
41:47But he doesn't have much time to fumble.
41:55The salmon run is brief and unpredictable.
41:59It's vital to him for surviving the winter.
42:03But so far, he's unable to pull the trigger.
42:12The river is so densely packed right now that bears need to employ a number of strategies to catch salmon
42:19and keep a safe distance from each other.
42:35The bears that are forced into the deeper water have to snorkel to track their prey.
42:41The salmon hide in these deep pockets, out of reach.
42:49Even as some of the bears are struggling to catch anything, others are becoming much more selective and giving some
43:00lucky salmon a second chance.
43:13The salmon pack the dense channels, trying to reach the spawning ground, the completion of their journey.
43:21But first, they have to get through this gauntlet of bears.
43:38The salmon pack, in fiveacas, away.
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44:06Still, many will make it far, far up river, where they will spawn and end their journey.
44:16Life is good, they've even got time to play, and she's only got one cub, so she'll tend
44:22to play more with that one cub.
44:29I don't think there's any bond stronger in nature than a female bear and her cub.
44:37I just imagine his surprise four years from now when she turns around and doesn't want
44:41to know him anymore.
44:45She'll want to move on, and he'll be on his own.
44:53Life is not so easy for the wolves.
45:00The salmon taunt them, but the chase is more an act of desperation than anything.
45:11The salmon are still too deep for the wolves to catch.
45:20I haven't seen Nadia or her cubs for weeks now.
45:24I hope they're okay.
45:28But Fatso and his mom have become regular visitors along this busy stretch of river.
45:39Fatso is quickly becoming a serious hunter.
45:45As he tags along with the expert, he takes every opportunity to flaunt his kung fu moves.
45:57This mom has just arrived with three cubs, the first triplets we've seen this year.
46:04It's unusual for her to still have all three cubs this far into the season.
46:10It's probably her first trip down to the river, and they will take whatever they can get.
46:19It's certainly a different situation than Fatso is used to.
46:25The river definitely shows off the diversity of bears here.
46:34But even poaching scraps around this many bears is more than she's comfortable with.
46:41So they'll eat this meal on the road.
46:51She's found a quieter stretch of the river.
47:01It seems that for a couple of them at least, these are their first litters, so the first
47:05time they've experienced having to look after their young cubs.
47:08And there is this incredible, almost panic, more than urgency, it's almost just a panic
47:13to feed right now.
47:15The anticipation of denning for the whole winter without enough fat just is this innate fear
47:21that they have.
47:32The density of bears here makes things tense for these larger families.
47:39She is just frantic.
47:42She senses that if she doesn't catch something fresh, they won't last very long.
47:52The cubs aren't comfortable yet with mum thrashing off into the deep without them.
47:59She tries to reassure them and guides them to a safe beach to wait for her.
48:05But they aren't so easily convinced.
48:13You can definitely tell that she senses the pressure to catch fish right now.
48:18She's just arrived, later than the other bears, and it's just a matter of time before these
48:23fish dry up here, and so she's got a lot of work on her hands.
48:54All this company has no one
48:57chance to catch anything. A quiet window of opportunity is gone, and it's back to leftovers
49:08for the family. Even during salmon season there are waves. The fish come in with the
49:25tides, but that doesn't mean every tide has fish. I thought I'd scout down to the mouth
49:33of this river and see what was happening downstream. If there's any action to be had, that's where
49:41it would be. Well, that's a familiar face. I almost didn't recognize her, but that's definitely
50:02Nadia and her two cubs. Hardly recognizable from the tiny little cubs that we saw a few
50:08weeks ago. They're not only larger and healthier and fatter than they were a few weeks ago
50:12when I last saw them, but they've grown up as well. You know, they've got this different
50:17attitude now. This is such an important time of year for her and her cubs. I'm so relieved
50:24to see that she's got both of them. Neither of them have been killed, and that's really
50:30common with young cubs. But not only that, they look in great shape as well.
50:46See, she's yawning like that. That's a sign of anxiety when they yawn like she's doing
50:50now. Look how well-trained the cubs are. They're butterballs right now. And I think the other
51:00bears have noticed that she's a little feisty and potentially aggressive, so they don't mess
51:06with her at all.
51:12Using mum as a barricade there, that's priceless. She's gone off to fish and she's left them
51:18behind, and they know not to disturb mum when she's fishing. They've got a few weeks until
51:22they den, but the urgency is on now. Her senses are definitely tuned in. That's all she's thinking
51:29about right now is fish. Every movement in the water, every scent on the air, and she's focused
51:38on it. And her senses attuned to any intruder. Especially any male that might threaten her cubs.
52:04She has two precious things to look after here. And she'll fight to the death to protect
52:13those cubs. For the moment, it looks like she's got the river to herself. But this male won't
52:29give up trying to carve out a small fishing hole for himself. It only takes a moment to run
52:38down this salmon. But does he have time?
53:14to Куб to kill the river and kill himself?
53:17To the left...
53:25To be continued...
53:28To the right...
53:39This may be the last I see of them this year.
54:02Joel's gone ahead to check out the salmon as they make their final push up the falls.
54:08It looks like Fatso and Mom are there waiting for them.
54:26There is an electricity to this place.
54:32An energy that comes from the urgency of life here.
54:45It's late September.
54:47For these bears, this is the last chance to pack on the pounds for winter.
55:07Fatso has landed his first fish.
55:10Oh my gosh, that is so great.
55:14He looks so proud.
55:17Look Ma, I did it.
55:21It's a good start for this little cub.
55:35We normally think of bears as solitary animals, but in this dense population, in this city of bears, they've learned
55:44how to be social.
55:46How to get along with each other.
55:50Never before have I lived among these bears for such a long period of time.
55:55Basically being their neighbour.
55:58And really watching their lives unfold on a daily basis.
56:03And I've seen another side of these bears.
56:06A tenderness and a complexity that's really been eye-opening.
56:13It's the first bear I've seen in a few hours.
56:16And those that I have seen are along the riverbank.
56:21And kind of looking out hopefully into the water to see if there's any more fish.
56:27The salmon run's coming to an end here.
56:31And I'm sure the bears are anticipating that long winter ahead.
56:36You know, I've really come to know these bears.
56:40Nadie and her cubs.
56:42Fatso and his mum.
56:48I'm a little bit lost for words, to be honest.
56:52I just feel like I've had this intimate... intimate relationship with it.
56:57I feel very at home here.
57:01Ah.
57:09What makes this place really wild
57:13is knowing the tracks I leave today
57:16will be bear tracks or wolf tracks tomorrow.
57:22Wilderness isn't the wide open spaces,
57:25but the wild things that fill it.
57:48Alaska is the last stronghold for some of the Earth's wildest creatures.
58:04This may be the end of my journey,
58:07but Alaska's wilderness, and its wildest creatures,
58:11will always call me back.
58:18This may be the end of my journey,
58:19but Alaska's wilderness, and its wildest creatures,
58:20will always call me back.
58:24The spring seems to have sprung for some already,
58:27and to celebrate,
58:28with brand new Gardener's World,
58:30here on BBC HD at half past eight tomorrow evening.
58:33Don't miss the first in a new series.
58:36Yay!
58:47We are now on.
58:48By the way,
58:49we are now into the Northeast,
58:55You
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