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00:01The wildest areas of Scandinavia are hidden.
00:09Deep within one of the world's largest forests,
00:14creatures hammer out a living through all four seasons.
00:20But when autumn arrives, the pressure is on.
00:24From Norway, across Sweden, and into Finland.
00:35Discover where the wild things really live,
00:40and what they must do when winter is coming.
00:54The taiga forest of Scandinavia.
01:04You're looking at the largest forest in Europe.
01:09The taiga stretches from the fjords of Norway's coast,
01:15all the way east to Finland's border with Russia,
01:19and beyond to Siberia.
01:21If you want to get a better look at what's under the white,
01:27wait for the big melt.
01:30Now, the creatures of the taiga come alive.
01:39Spring is the busy season.
01:42Then summertime, and the living is easy.
01:48But come autumn, life gets desperate.
01:52Now, the creatures of the taiga come alive.
01:56Now, the creatures of the taiga come alive.
01:59Now, the earth's clock ticks like a time bomb for creatures who must rush to prepare for the coming cold.
02:20It's a tough time for roe deer.
02:26They are prime targets.
02:29The season for love is over.
02:32Now, it's about putting on weight for winter.
02:35And roe deer are at the top of the predator menu.
02:39One who's fallen to the bottom of a cliff attracts attention.
02:53Lynx are the largest cats in Europe.
03:09Their name is a Greek word meaning to shine.
03:13Likely a reference to their reflective cat eyes.
03:22For most of their lives, they are loners.
03:25But not this big female.
03:28Not right now.
03:32She checks that the coast is clear.
03:37Then enter her kitten.
03:43Six or seven months old.
03:54And growing quickly.
03:55She waits while mum gets her fill.
04:12Until she takes a break.
04:18A brave magpie sneaks in to steal a bite.
04:25It's the season for taking risks.
04:31But the young lynx is not having it.
04:40The magpie will have to wait.
04:46Autumn signals a big change for the cults of these cats.
04:51They say a leopard can't change its spots.
04:56But a lynx can and does.
04:59It's one of the ways they prepare for winter.
05:03Their spots are starting to fade.
05:07And by the time autumn ends, they'll be barely visible.
05:10It's a practical fashion change.
05:17It gives them the best hunting camouflage for the season.
05:21Hidden figures making the most of the light before winter hits.
05:24And blending into their very special home.
05:38The taiga forest.
05:40The term taiga is a Russian word.
05:50It means land of sticks.
05:55And beneath the evergreen canopy, you can see why.
05:58These woods start as sparse patches in the colder north.
06:11Where trees struggle to battle the cold.
06:17But farther south, the forest thickens into a year round carpet of green.
06:23This is where wild things live.
06:31And in one special part of it, they thrive.
06:36The taiga stretches across the top of Scandinavia.
06:40And continues into Russia for a total of more than 6,000 miles.
06:50A political no man's land on Finland's eastern border is protected.
06:57And this is a hot spot.
07:00For some of the most iconic creatures of the taiga.
07:04Scandinavia is well known for herds of reindeer that inhabit the barren arctic.
07:16But the forests of Finland also have their own special subspecies.
07:25Forest reindeer have longer legs than their northern cousins.
07:30And they are rare beasts once thought extinct.
07:39They are well protected among the trees.
07:43And have learned to live on the greenery here.
07:46And right now, on the sprouting mushrooms of autumn.
07:54Forest reindeer travel in smaller, easy to hide groups.
07:58It's a smart tactic.
08:03But not foolproof.
08:07Especially with bears around.
08:17Once brown bears roamed all over Europe.
08:20Now, they are mostly limited to Russia, the Czech Republic area, and Scandinavia.
08:33Finland has more than 1,200 bears.
08:37Sweden, some 3,000.
08:39Eurasian brown bears.
08:43Eurasian brown bears.
08:45Like their alone time.
08:48Having a stranger wander by can mean a showdown.
08:51A showdown.
08:58unt
09:06This spot in Finland's tiger forest may not be big enough for two brown bears, both trying
09:23to bulk up for winter.
09:51This matters.
09:53This hefty guy downs plants, shoots and berries.
10:03A full-grown bear may hit a thousand pounds and stand over eight feet tall.
10:17Ravens aren't invited to the feast either.
10:32But they do play a crucial role in the taiga.
10:44In Norse mythology, two ravens are the eyes of the god Odin.
10:52In the forests of Scandinavia, they are the eyes for many creatures.
11:00A congregation like this often means something good is going down.
11:07They've farmed food.
11:14For ravens, dead animals like this boar are the most important food group.
11:23It's tough pickings for a beak.
11:25They need some help getting to the good stuff.
11:29These clever creatures sound the alarm.
11:37It may be a warning that danger is near, or a call that deliberately attracts the danger
11:46to carve up the meat.
12:05The large brown bear comes to stake a claim.
12:14He'll happily eat 90 pounds a day to prepare for the coming winter.
12:31He rolls the carcass over to find the best and softest bits.
12:44The desperation that comes with autumn is too much for the second bear.
12:50He takes a risk and moves in again.
12:56The taiga forest of Finland's no man's land is a hot spot for big predators.
13:08Sometimes they fight.
13:11But this time, with a pressure of winter just around the corner, they take a table for two.
13:23This dead animal is a valuable resource and all the commotion attracts other forest dwellers.
13:36A pack of wolves moves in across the landscape but only one takes the bold step forward.
13:52In this part of Finland, interactions between bears and wolves are common.
14:04And you never know who will come out on top.
14:11If it's a pack, the wolves may win the day.
14:20It depends on who's the fiercest and the most desperate.
14:34A fight over food may be worth risking an injury that could prove fatal in the wild.
14:53After a long day waiting for dibs on a carcass, the wolf finally gets his chance for a scrap.
15:00But this is not a one day match, more like a five day test.
15:24And now there are new players on the field.
15:45There are new eagles dig in while the coast is clear.
15:57While white-tailed eagles take a different approach.
16:05They watch as ravens do all the hard work of picking.
16:09Then chase them down until they drop the meat.
16:12Then chase them down until they drop the meat.
16:14Then chase them down until they drop the meat.
16:19Then chase them down until they drop the meat.
16:47Then chase them down until they drop the meat.
16:50Then chase them down until they drop the meat.
16:52The speed of the right corner is clear for the birds.
16:54And a wolf hoping for seconds has a lot to contend with.
16:57Hmm?
17:13The battles continue until every scrap is in a jaw or a claw.
17:27Autumn also kicks off a frenzy of forest activity for those who are mostly vegetarian.
17:54Red squirrels have ear tufts.
17:57This one will soon shed hers and grow fresh fur that will keep her ears warm when the temperatures again drop.
18:07And she must stock up on acorns.
18:11She eats some, but also stashes as many as she can in secret locations.
18:27If she doesn't hide her cash well enough, it will be stolen by another squirrel.
18:39Maybe a bear or even a bird.
18:49What comes next is an incredible life and death game of hide and seek.
18:55You can also get a will for the first time you are lost while you are not one man.
18:56And he must be in a market of three times.
18:57If she does not, I'm only interested in buying a bird that cannot be found in a war.
18:58But I do not think so.
18:59The red squirrel has lost
19:29another cache of acorns to a feathered thief.
19:37Without her winter food supply, this red squirrel won't survive.
19:53She must try again and work extra hard to keep it hidden.
20:04And she can't stash too much.
20:11In winter, this red squirrel will use her roadmap-like memory and keen sense of smell to find these
20:18acorns again under the snow.
20:22Her other duty is to build a nest called a dray.
20:27It could be in a hole in a tree or against a trunk or branches.
20:34But squirrels don't hibernate, so it's important that the dray be insulated.
20:43Print marking defines her territory, but she may soon allow other squirrels in to share
20:49her nest and increase its warmth in winter.
21:03The lush green of these forests allows creatures like roe deer to hide from predators.
21:14For the sake of the herd, they must stay alert.
21:24The danger appears as a red flash.
21:37A pair of foxes.
21:41Red foxes have the largest distribution around the globe of any land mammal other than humans.
21:51These two are a couple.
21:54They'll stay together through winter and prepare for pups in early spring.
22:10They prefer to live in a mix of forest and grasslands, making this area of Scandinavia a perfect home.
22:21So they can retreat here to the shelter of the woods when they need to.
22:27And hunt in the fields for mice, rabbits and wolves.
22:35Just before sunrise is a favorite time to search for a quiet breakfast.
22:43But maybe not today.
22:46There's danger nearby.
22:50Autumn in Finland's tiger forest.
22:59An interloper stops a fox in its tracks and breaks the morning calm.
23:06Wolverines are usually solitary creatures and they are nature's all-terrain vehicles.
23:17He can lope through these woods and is just as at home making tracks over ice and through the snow.
23:32And his search for forest food isn't restricted to the ground.
23:40His grip is secure thanks to his famously long and strong claws.
23:50This is a rare glimpse of a superhero hunter at work.
24:01He may travel as far as 15 miles today looking for food.
24:07And his home range may be as big as 600 square miles.
24:16He will chow down some plants or berries as he goes.
24:21But mostly he has meat on his mind.
24:24And lots of it.
24:26Hence their scientific name, which means glutton.
24:35If Wolverines have one weakness, it's speed.
24:40He's slower than most of his prey.
24:45He makes up for it with ferocity.
24:50In winter they've been known to enter dens to kill hibernating animals.
24:55In the warmer months, they tend to hunt by ambush.
25:01Hiding in trees or behind rocks until the right time.
25:07Once they make a kill, they have the strength to pull much more than their own body weight.
25:14Anything they can't eat on the spot, they will stash for another day.
25:20Only one other animal in the tiger forest can match the Wolverine's reputation for toughness.
25:30And they have the numbers.
25:36A pair of badgers nestles down in the no man's land of Finland.
25:48When the sun is up, they typically rest in their dens.
25:53The diggings outside hint at how elaborate the tunnels and dens are below.
26:05The very name badger is from the French word meaning digger.
26:11There may be more than twenty badgers behind them, all content to bunk up in the one den.
26:21But only these two are up for a morning stroll.
26:25Perhaps a visit to the latrine.
26:28That also helps mark the group's territory.
26:35They use a large scent gland by their tail for the same thing.
26:42Badgers can identify individuals in their group based on the scent they spread on plants and on their bedding.
26:50They don't hibernate, but as autumn rolls on, they spend more and more time snuggled inside.
27:09While they prep by digging in, others prepare for winter by building up.
27:15The Eurasian beaver is one of the largest rodents in the world.
27:38This couple is busy building a winter lodge and gathering enough food to get them through the season.
27:44They depend on Finland's tiger forest and eat twigs and the bark from large branches.
27:58They gnaw so much that their teeth must grow rapidly to keep up with the wear and tear.
28:06If they stop chewing, their chumpers will gain an inch in length every five months.
28:13The forest is food and the water is safety from predators.
28:21So they create a dam to extend their waterways into the woods.
28:27The dam will also stop their supplies from washing downstream.
28:34Their wide tails help them like a rudder to navigate, and their webbed feet motor them along.
28:45A gland secretes of oil that waterproofs their fur, and they spread it around by grooming themselves.
29:00You can never get enough of a good scratch.
29:11And just a bit more.
29:17That dam building will have to wait.
29:22These two are a couple for life, and will typically have two to four kids by the end of spring.
29:34Both parents will help care for their young, and the number of tree workers may increase by five or six beavers with each litter.
29:46At least here, they have room to grow.
29:51As industrious as these beavers may be, they've got nothing from other timber workers who rely solely on Finland's tiger forest.
30:08Around three quarters of Finland is woods.
30:15Trees in the country support nature and drive the economy.
30:2088% of the forest is maintained for market.
30:35Finland is one of the world's largest producers of pulp, paper and cardboard.
30:44The industry employs 160,000 people.
30:49But at the forest level, the autumn harvest is an operation for machines.
30:54They cut and strip trees in seconds.
31:22There's no evenly spaced planting of the woods here.
31:27There's no evenly spaced planting of the woods here.
31:28Workers grow pine, sprues and birch.
31:32There's no evenly spaced planting of the woods here.
31:33Workers grow pine, sprues and birch to mimic nature.
31:37And they allow trees to mature for at least 60 years.
31:38Sometimes twice that.
31:39It's well studied.
31:40It's well studied.
31:41And they allow trees to mature for at least 60 years.
31:46Sometimes twice that.
31:47It's well studied.
31:48Carefully managed and sustainable.
31:49Some years foresters add 30% of the woods.
31:50There's no evenly spaced planting of the woods here.
31:53There's no evenly spaced planting of the woods here.
31:54Workers grow pine, sprues and birch to mimic nature.
31:59And they allow trees to mature for at least 60 years.
32:04Sometimes twice that.
32:07It's well studied.
32:09Carefully managed and sustainable.
32:12Some years foresters add 30% more trees than are lost to harvesting.
32:18There are more forest reserves in Finland now than at any time in the last 100 years.
32:34Most of it on thousands of small family owned plots.
32:48These logs are trucked to trains.
32:58And from here they will be transported directly to a mill by rail.
33:09This is the longest log train in Finland.
33:13But even what you see here in this rail yard is just a small fraction of the total.
33:30If you took all the trees Finland is growing commercially and built a 14 foot high wall,
33:37one foot wide, it could circle the globe 40 times.
33:42Where the tiger forest ends in the south, Helsinki rises.
33:59Finland's capital sits on more than 300 islands.
34:04And it's the world's northernmost metropolitan area with more than a million people.
34:11It's also a city with a wild side.
34:16In green pockets of forest throughout the city, the nightlife is in a world of its own.
34:23After dark is when one of the strangest creatures of Finland's tiger forest comes out to forage.
34:32Raccoon dogs are an odd mix.
34:37A true canine.
34:38But they can't bark.
34:40And some experts place them in the raccoon family.
34:44Raccoon dogs are an invasive species here.
34:50Originally brought from East Asia to breed for fur.
34:56Now they roam free and are often found in forested areas by freshwater.
35:02These two are a mating pair.
35:11They'll hibernate together and stay close for a year or so.
35:17Before they part ways, the male will bring his mate food in the latter stages of a pregnancy and help watch over their pups.
35:28But that's all in the future.
35:31Right now, they search for frogs, snakes or lizards.
35:36Shellfish is good and even scraps left by a fisherman.
35:46Their nocturnal scavenging habits help them build up some fat for the coming winter.
35:52All the creatures of the tiger forest do what they can to prepare for winter.
36:09They bulk up on food.
36:11And for some of the biggest animals here, it's also mating season.
36:16Autumn brings on the moose rat.
36:23This is when males fight for the right to females.
36:29They have prepared all summer growing antlers that can weigh up to 70 pounds.
36:36But that's not guaranteed to impress the girls.
36:46This female charges.
36:50It's moose for Buzz Off Buster.
36:57The reason?
36:58Her nearby calf is still too young to fend for itself.
37:03So she'll wait a year before having another.
37:16Late autumn.
37:17The snow starts to hit the top of the peaks throughout Scandinavia.
37:27From the fjords of Norway.
37:33To the fields of Finland.
37:36The surrounding forest brings out its autumn best.
37:40About 20% of the trees in the taiga change color.
37:56The fall harvest.
37:58It's a signal to man and nature alike.
38:02Winter is just weeks away.
38:07Brace yourself.
38:10Before Dream Professionals
38:13You can hear some forest dwellers working extra hard.
38:16Long before you see them.
38:35New South Wales
38:38Woodpeckers rely on the forest here in a unique way.
38:48They'll pick up a nest, but mostly they want the grubs under the bark.
38:58Insects and larvae are all these birds eat.
39:04A special membrane covers his eyes to protect him from flying pieces of bark as he hammers
39:10in.
39:15And the bone structure in his head is able to absorb 99.7% of each impact.
39:29The short bursts of pecking generate heat, forcing him to pause often to cool down.
39:45He also has an extra-long tongue for whipping out his food.
39:56And all this work does the tree a great service, helping to rid it of harmful, wood-boring insects.
40:11The creatures of the taiga have done everything they can to get ready for the cold and snow.
40:21Now time's up.
40:27Winter is here.
40:30Europe's largest forest turns white.
40:40If you haven't done enough yet to prepare for this, it's too late.
40:47The woodpeckers keep pecking.
40:51No southern migration for these guys.
40:54They just have to dig deeper to grab their grub.
41:01The lynx's coat is now thicker and turning whiter, camouflage against the snow.
41:09The large padded paws ensure that they are deadly silent as they continue to stalk their prey.
41:19The wolfpack stays together all winter.
41:23Their fur, too, has grown thick to protect them from the cold.
41:29But these canines rely on other hunting tactics.
41:34By working together, they are able to outrun their prey over long distances.
41:41If your name's on the wolf menu, there's hard times ahead.
41:47Roe deer find it difficult to run through thick snow, and now it's much harder work for
41:54them to dig down and find grass and lichen to eat.
42:01Moose have the same challenge, and they are looking a lot less stately.
42:08The giant racks, male moose grew all summer, have fallen to the ground.
42:15Their heads are now as much as 70 pounds lighter.
42:22All their resources now go to surviving the winter.
42:28The hair on their bodies is made of hollow fibers.
42:33Strands trap air on the inside, which warms up from body heat and insulates them from the
42:39cold like a thermos.
42:46Their eyesight is poor, but their hearing is excellent.
42:51They keep an ear out for danger while they follow their noses to the lichen growing on
42:57the trees of the taiga forest.
43:03Even in the depths of winter, the taiga provides.
43:10As much as three feet of snow may fall this season.
43:15And that will be the ultimate test for the wild things of this forest.
43:22The winners will get to see another spring.
43:27The losers will perish.
43:31Did they store enough fat?
43:35Stash enough food?
43:38Dig it deep enough then?
43:41Or build a winter-proof shelter?
43:47The results can only be tallied in spring.
43:52The test really began in autumn, as it does every year in the wild forests of Scandinavia.
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