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Kamchatka, located in Russia's Far East, is a remote peninsula renowned as a land of fire and ice, featuring over 300 volcanoes (roughly 30 active) and intense geothermal activity. It is a biodiversity hotspot with dense brown bear populations, giant sea eagles, and pristine salmon rivers, making it one of the world's last great wilderness areas....
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00The Russian wilderness.
00:02Remote and inhospitable.
00:06Areas that were closed to the world for years now reveal landscapes and wildlife seen by few.
00:12On Russia's far eastern edge is the stark peninsula of Kamchatka.
00:18In this surprising place, heaven and hell collide.
00:24Life and death in a delicate balance.
00:30Volcanoes create a land of fire and ice.
00:33A place of power where animals walk a fine line.
00:37This is Kamchatka.
01:08Russia. The largest country on earth. Almost twice the size of the United States.
01:15It extends across eastern Europe and all of northern Asia.
01:20Epic in scope and dazzling in its extremes, each section is a world of its own.
01:26On its eastern edge lies the dramatic Kamchatka Peninsula.
01:34Kamchatka is a place of extremes.
01:37Lava seeps from volcanoes creating new land.
01:41But the severity of winter can blanket even these giants as bitter weather takes hold.
01:50It's hard to believe any animal could endure temperatures plunging to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
01:55And yet many do.
02:04Stellar sea eagles face adversity with grim determination.
02:12Only the toughest survive.
02:18They find refuge at Lake Kurel, a crater 80 km square.
02:23Volcanic heat stops it freezing.
02:27Up to 800 sea eagles spend six months of the winter here.
02:34Although skilled at fishing, they prefer to steal another's catch.
02:41Massive beaks make short work of frozen and fresh fish.
02:46While weaker crows scoop up precious morsels.
02:51Shielding their lunch from the mob of bullies can be a short-lived success.
02:59Feft is part of the mealtime ritual.
03:08Kurel is Eurasia's largest salmon spawning ground.
03:12Around 8 million come each year.
03:15But after the salmon breed, they die.
03:19The lake becomes the eagle's well-stocked fridge.
03:29Despite this access to fish, getting them just isn't easy.
03:38Golden eagles also come to the lake for a share of the spoils.
03:46Stellar's eagles are two-thirds heavier, but golden eagles can take care of themselves.
03:56And their appetites are just as big, though their smaller, less powerful beaks can make mealtime mature.
04:06A lone golden eagle may spend hours trying to peck through the tough, frozen fish scales to reach the hard
04:12-won flesh.
04:14So they work as a group, forming a ring to repel their competitors.
04:22Food gets shredded and shed.
04:25A raucous dinner with the relatives.
04:31Until the Stellar's eagles lose their calm and crash the party.
04:41But the Stellar's need to watch their backs.
04:44A golden eagle is no pushover.
05:15The
05:16Good luck.
05:51The winning golden eagle can get back to its meal.
05:59A remote peninsula pocked by mountains and volcanoes, Kamchatka spans 470,000 square
06:07kilometers of rugged and inhospitable terrain.
06:12And though it's larger than Sweden, fewer than 400,000 people call Kamchatka home.
06:22The sea of Orhotsk flanks the western edges.
06:26In winter, which is half the year, it becomes an impenetrable mass of ice flows as waves
06:32slowly succumb and freeze.
06:45To the east lie the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean, a rugged coastline on the rocks.
06:59This desolate wilderness suits the red fox.
07:07Foxes don't hibernate.
07:09They grow thicker seasonal fur to survive the minus 15 degrees Celsius coastal temperatures.
07:17It's now time to be social.
07:23Males seek out one or more females to mate with.
07:34These two have already bonded.
07:50They scent mark their territory together, a clear signal for others to stay away.
07:59They'll enjoy their honeymoon to the end of winter, and if they have cubs, they may stay
08:04together until autumn, but they have a long way to go before then.
08:16At sunrise, the male prowls for food.
08:22He relies on his keen hearing and sense of smell.
08:30The strange staccato calls of a black-billed kappa keli echo through the woods.
08:38He struts his stuff to impress females.
08:50But as the fox tries to pinpoint the source, the kappa keli goes quiet.
09:00He won't be joining the fox for breakfast.
09:17The female has been digging a new den.
09:21Foxes may have several snow holes within the territory.
09:26In Europe, foxes can return to the same site for generations.
09:30But here in Russia, they must dig temporary homes first.
09:34When the snow melts, they move on.
09:42A ptarmigan has become her partner's next target.
09:48Like the kappa keli, he's on the prowl for a mate.
09:58The fox stalks cautiously, using the woods for cover as he follows the bird's scent.
10:11While the ptarmigan seems vulnerable, the open field spoils the fox's plans for an ambush.
10:20But he isn't easily deterred.
10:35With the ptarmigan just beyond his reach, the fox gives up.
10:42The day hasn't started well.
10:44He must return to the den empty-handed.
10:51No hard feelings.
10:53The boxing match helps the couple bond.
10:56And when spring comes, they'll be ready to care for a new generation.
11:10As April approaches, the sun beats stronger across the frozen peninsula.
11:17The thick snow begins to melt.
11:26Slowly, small pools start to appear as winter loses its hold.
11:39The fresh waters feed the rivers and lakes.
11:45The first plants poke through the icy carpet.
11:48And there are other signs of life too.
11:52New tracks appear.
11:56As the icy grip eases, Kamchatka bears emerge from their dens.
12:05Around 12,000 of them live here, one of the densest brown bear populations in the world.
12:13It's not terribly reassuring for the little ermine.
12:23But after six months hibernating, this bear's priority is to clean his coat.
12:38A good roll in the snow removes built-up grime and keeps him insulated.
12:55The mixture of snow and fire makes Kamchatka's landscape unique.
13:00It has whole valleys heated from below.
13:05Geothermal hot spots, where steam and hot springs warm the banks.
13:14Heat escaping from deep fissures superheats surface water, which leaps into the air as geysers.
13:33After fasting for the whole winter, bears crave fresh vegetation.
13:39This youngster just awoke from his first solo hibernation.
13:45Now he has a trek to endure.
13:48The hot springs of this area hold little of interest.
13:56He must seek a greener pasture for his first meal of the season.
14:11As the days pass and the rivers gather speed, spring has finally arrived.
14:21The animals and plants make the most of it.
14:30In the hills, a male ptarmigan puts on his best display.
14:48But this hen's not impressed.
14:51She's too busy.
14:56Males vie for the center stage of display areas called leks, in which to woo their mates.
15:03They can fight their romantic rivals to the death.
15:14He appears to be a male ptarmigan.
15:20So while feathers fly, the indifferent female takes a dust bath.
15:28But eventually she succumbs to the winner's advances.
15:37No time for cuddling. Before he finishes his victory dance, she makes a run for it.
15:42.
15:52Bears make the long trek to the lush, steamy valleys in search of Kamchatka's delicacies.
16:01They have a nose for succulent roots and bugs.
16:07.
16:11They mainly eat salmon, but until the fish return in July, they'll make do with anything.
16:23In the east, the bears can indulge in one of Kamchatka's natural wonders, the Valley of the Gizers.
16:30.
16:35It's a bubbling geothermal cauldron of hot steam and lively water.
16:43.
16:54The heat generated by 20 large geysers brings spring weather a little earlier here.
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17:02And animals take advantage.
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20:46In June 2007, a massive landslide engulfed the pristine landscape.
20:55Four and a half million cubic metres of rock, gravel, snow and ice
21:00broke free of the mountains.
21:08In a matter of seconds, it smothered the Green Valley
21:12and many of its geezers forever.
21:23An area the size of 30 football fields became a burial ground
21:27for the wagtail chicks and other hapless creatures of the valley.
21:34The bear escaped, a refugee cast out of this Garden of Eden.
21:39But now his own weight threatens to trap him.
21:48Slowly, inching forward, he finds himself back in a winter landscape.
21:54He念 that.
21:56mmm
21:58mmm
22:01mmm
22:02mmm
22:26Oh, my God.
22:48Deprived of the hot springs and lush greenery, survivors must adapt to a dramatically different reality.
23:05The valley of the geysers has been changed forever.
23:15But nature constantly reinvents Kamchatka.
23:2129 active volcanoes continually transform the region with violent tantrums.
23:31The clockwork roll of the seasons never stops and with every change, life adapts.
23:41In late summer, Lake Kurel is the target for sockeye salmon.
23:45Having traveled from the Pacific to the Sea of Ochochsk, they must continue 40 kilometers along the Ozanaya River.
23:56Salmon are Kamchatka's lifeline. Without them, the whole ecosystem would collapse.
24:05A quarter of the world's wild Pacific salmon start life here.
24:09But it's a population threatened not just by fishing, but also poaching for highly prized caviar.
24:18In early summer, the first few salmon enter the lower river.
24:23They attract hungry mother bears who have spent two and a half months on a vegetarian diet.
24:33The salmon provide vital energy. Bears may have up to four cubs to feed.
24:46Kamchatka bears get most of their calories during the annual salmon spawn.
24:51Ten times more than from eating berries.
25:00But this mother is a little too early and the pickings are slim.
25:09She faces a lot of pressure to feed herself and the impatient cubs.
25:24As soon as she lands one, they pounce.
25:31The salmon run will provide the bears with four months of hearty meals.
25:45Experienced mothers head to the lower tributaries.
25:52They always keep one eye on their cubs because adult males easily kill the young ones.
26:11Today, they're all on their best behavior.
26:31Throughout summer, cold and warm air currents embrace Kamchatka's coastline, cloaking the cliffs and mountains in deep mist and warm
26:39air.
26:39By the way they're in the desert as a wild wild there.
26:42Seasonal rains sweep inland.
26:52land.
26:53Away from the coast, a red fox's thin summer coat gets drenched.
26:59But this male has to find food for his growing family.
27:14With the rains, the hopeful bears gather at the rising waters of the river.
27:34But again, it seems their timing is wrong.
27:39Another missed meal, and one less day to fatten up for winter.
27:49A female fox also feels the pressure.
27:56Her underground den conceals five three-week-old kits, each weighing around 100 grams.
28:08They grow stronger by the day on a diet of fresh milk.
28:17They'll spend the first five weeks here before facing the outside world.
28:27Even then, the kits will only stay with the mother until autumn.
28:36For now, just suckling is tiring enough.
28:47Finally, in July, waves of salmon begin to make their way upriver to spawn at Lake Kurel.
28:57And along the volcanic banks, bears await their arrival.
29:08As fish slowly drift in, the bears grow eager to feed.
29:20But only the first few have made it up to the shallows, and no matter how tempting they look, they're
29:26tough to catch.
29:31In this area of the lake, it's too easy for the salmon to escape.
29:36Chasing these first few would only waste precious energy.
29:44The salmon will provide the bears best chance of putting on enough fat for the winter.
29:51They'll gain around two kilograms a day, growing a fat layer up to 15 centimeters thick to get them through
29:58hibernation.
30:06They have to time it just right, denying their hunger a little longer.
30:17They'll wait until the waters teem with fish before diving in.
30:34As day breaks, everything seems normal.
30:42But the bears wake to good news.
30:52Salmon numbers in the lake have reached a critical level as the fish pass into shallow side rivers to spawn.
31:06It's time.
31:28When you are deaf and deer?
31:34When people are sitting in a little stranger shelters and right lamest
31:42It's time.
31:48We have tried to roam.
31:49Why we're trying to get into the train,
32:46Nothing tastes as good as the first catch of the season.
32:56Through July, the bears will have to stock up quickly. Kamchatka's countdown to winter has begun.
33:06Fifty kilometers away in the hills above the sea, the last brief flowering is underway.
33:15Perched 2,000 meters up, groups of snow sheep experience life on the edge.
33:24This herd is mostly mothers with newborns and some adolescents.
33:30Each spring, the females leave the larger herd to give birth and then return in June.
33:42Once they are old enough, the males will leave to form bachelor herds.
33:51The young ones are born climbers.
33:53They'll spend their whole lives scrambling over the rocky cliff faces.
34:01At this height, the sheep live beyond the reach of most predators.
34:07But they keep alert, fearing an aerial assault from Estella's sea eagle.
34:23But this one hunts only for nesting material.
34:29Stellas reuse their nests year after year, and for good reason.
34:34At 2.5 meters in diameter, the nests are a serious construction project.
34:43They'll take five years to mature, but the nine-week-old chicks grow eager to soar.
34:51Beating their wings, they build flight muscles.
34:57In just a week, they'll take to the sky.
35:07Far below, at the fox den, the kids take their first steps outside the entrance.
35:18For now, it's all fun and games.
35:27Already, they beg for her to regurgitate food.
35:32But there's only milk on offer today.
35:36Time is running out.
35:39With the arrival of the short autumn, they'll be on their own, and then winter will come.
35:50Around Kurel Lake, large male bears fish for salmon.
35:57It's the only time these aggressive animals have such close contact.
36:03To keep the peace, they signal submission with heads down.
36:12As long as the fish keep running, tempers stay cool.
36:23The salmon run will continue until the end of winter, but the bears will need to hibernate long before then.
36:35During their six months out of hibernation, adult males must gain about 35% more weight.
36:41As much as 200 kilograms before returning to their dens in October.
36:46To achieve this, the four months of salmon are vital.
37:09They can catch a salmon every 20 minutes.
37:12During one day, they may eat 30 fish.
37:29Mothers can be so intent on food that they neglect their cubs.
38:01Females must work any way.
38:03Extra hard to feed their young enough to survive their first winter.
38:14Cubs spend their first two or three years following their mothers' footsteps, learning how to fish the salmon run.
38:20Their most important survival skill.
38:43For now, the bear population appears stable and enough salmon still come upriver to sustain them.
38:50But illegal fishing takes an estimated 100,000 tons of salmon from the river each year.
38:59This level of predation could make the future unsustainable.
39:10The salmon lucky enough to escape the bears and poachers have reached the end of their journey and start breeding.
39:21In the spawning ground, the females build a series of nests.
39:26They'll lay up to 5,000 eggs during the season, fertilized by different males.
39:41With their mission accomplished, they die.
39:52The brief Kamchatka summer ends, giving way to an even briefer autumn.
39:59It lasts just six weeks.
40:07While the ground bubbles and steams, the peninsula moves through a palette of golden colors.
40:20Across the rolling landscape, the temperature falls, eventually reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius.
40:33The merciless winter returns.
40:39Snow will blanket Kamchatka for another seven months.
40:46Reindeer have spent the warmer months grazing on the open tundra.
40:52Now they must seek out the last of the autumn berries frozen under the snow.
41:02As the winter grows colder, they'll head to the base of volcanoes where volcanic ash allows improved plant growth.
41:18As the snow piles up, life shuts down.
41:24Wind fuses the snow into a thick, icy crust, creating one of the most barren places on Earth.
41:32At the coast, even the sea slowly turns solid.
41:42Along its edges, the male fox hunts by himself.
41:48But he's not alone in the big freeze.
41:56A wolverine can travel over 60 kilometers a day in search of food.
42:04This one's keen sense of smell picks up a bear carcass in the fox's territory.
42:18Wolverines were once thought to be solitary scavengers.
42:21But they are now known to have strong family bonds.
42:29They'll seldom attack anything larger than themselves, unless it comes between them and a meal.
42:36Then, even a pack of wolves may surrender their kill.
42:46The fox seems to know this.
42:49As he watches and waits, four wolverines come and go.
42:56Their strong teeth tear off frozen meat.
43:04Vice-like jaws can crush bones to release nutritious marrow.
43:20Only after the wolverines have had their fill does the fox dare to move in for what's left.
43:33Wolverines emit a foul, musk-like smell, but it's not strong enough to repel a hungry fox.
43:44They didn't leave much, but the fox takes what he can get.
43:52In the thick of winter, the heavy snow even conquers Kamchatka's biggest volcanoes.
43:58In some areas, piling up as deep as three meters.
44:08Now the sea eagles return to take refuge at Lake Kurel.
44:16This year's youngsters must learn the rules of the salmon lake if they are to survive their first winter.
44:27Their parents, who fed them devotedly just weeks ago, now squabble with them over the pecking order.
44:37The young must learn the ritualised postures that determine who's in charge.
44:46Spread wings indicates the intention to feed on a particular fish, but that won't always settle it.
44:57As the weeks pass, the young birds must find their rank at the lake.
45:05And the adults, which have a two-metre wingspan and can weigh up to nine kilograms, don't hold back.
45:17Young upstarts constantly challenge authority, and each other.
45:40A bunch ofricting their notes.
45:42... tangible can cuent how they move their lives.
45:42Old-driven bugs remains good at handpap pole.
45:42Some people that know the digestive骤 walker can't expect their sidewalksori to tie that adrenaline pulse熟 in warm air.
45:42Ms. Harper will help.
45:42Just keep doing your walker.
45:42I will help them out to try and keep focusing and when they are charged with GM.
45:44They will help them as many people at home to reach dearheart.
46:10These contests of talon and beak look violent, but the birds rarely get injured.
46:17In five years, they'll be old enough to raise their own families.
46:22The cycle of the year begins and ends with fighting.
46:26Not just each other, but also with the harsh landscape.
46:31For all Kamchatka's beauty, it shows no mercy.
46:37Here is nature, undiluted.
46:41A frozen, distant peninsula perched on the edge of the world, that is Kamchatka.
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