Majestic Bears of Alaska & British Columbia | Free Documentary Nature

the Katmai National Park in Alaska a cold and forbidding landscape but of unimaginable beauty nevertheless and it's often cloudy the brown bears have left the forests during the few summer months to share the best spots to catch salmon along the rivers they are the unchallenged kings here but there is another bear in this area that's very seldom seen the glacier bear we will follow them and continue further south to British Columbia for another phenomenon the white ghost bear the Katmai National Park is located in southwestern Alaska and comprises seven thousand 259 square miles of protected area it's a virtual powder keg with 15 active volcanoes there are daily earthquakes Alaska is still the last frontier for many shrouded in freedom and adventure the only way to the Bears is by plane there are no roads or tracks so far away from a civilization hello Bay is one of the top ten areas to view bear's landing on the beach is difficult and dangerous Derek Broder Minh our pilot and guide is one of the best but even for him it takes a lot of concentration to safely land between the salmon rivers most often it's sea fog that appears out of the blue that makes landing impossible which is exactly what's happening right now this is not a problem for Derrick he just tries another location here it should be possible there's obviously no airstrip and he is only able to land on the beach during low tide spring and summer in Alaska are very short this is the time that the bears roam through the area from the Arctic coastline all the way to the Pacific they're here to hunt salmon at least they're trying to every summer salmon migrate into the rivers where they were born in order to spawn nobody really wants to share their spot along the beach there's great competition the sea otters are pretty flexible with their menu they like clams sea urchins and fish their daily program is always the same hunt feed and sleep otters will meticulously search every part of the kelp forest in case they find a hidden oyster the otters are masters of using tools with their front paws in order to feed there are few other animals that are so creative the table is set but salmon is their favorite we are watching them in slow motion the animal kingdom in Alaska is quite spectacular the bald eagle has a strong presence here it's the heraldic animal of northern America a female brown bear has shown up in the Delta with her cub she has to be careful because the male bears will kill the young of their competitors in order to mate with the female and further their own genes all of a sudden another female starts to hunt successfully he hasn't even realized what's happening around him this is the first time the two Cubs are confronted with live prey they're only six months old and very playful and clumsy they have to learn to handle live prey the salmon swimming into the rivers have been migrating for quite a while some have come from as far away as the Pacific and have been traveling for 2,500 miles in order to swim back up the river to where they were born the Bears can only fish during low tide the water has to be low enough for them to see the salmon swimming by not as easy as it sounds it takes finesse and not all of them have it yet they have to learn to fish and some bears will never be great at it nobody knows how exactly the salmon know how to find their River the fishes will not feed during their journey of the river too bad right time but wrong place it's very unusual that mothers with Cubs hunt for salmon the danger to their young is too great but nevertheless they are here regardless blue mussels are hidden deep inside the sand which are very high in protein as well right now there are too many males around so she can't dig for mussels although this mail seems to have no interest in her and her cub he's more interested in a little siesta the little bear baby demands the mother's full attention bear cubs love to snuggle just like human babies sadly the female used to have another cub but it was killed by a large male the mosquitoes are quite a plague here they also torture the Bears not just us this is not very hygienic bears are obviously not much concerned with their decorum Austrian scientists found out that a female bear mates with several males to avoid having the males come near her cubs later this way several males will think that they father the Cubs 54% of females will old their mate in order to secure the cubs survival finally this herring will do fine to bears begrudge each other's food so it's advisable to run away if the hunt is successful scientists estimate the brown bear population in the Katmai to consist of around 2,000 animals hunting brown bears for sport is not welcome in Alaska anymore fairs are generally loners but during the summer months they're forced to become a bit more social at the salmon rivers youthful cockiness can become dangerous but this male bear is only interested in the salmon unfortunately not a very successful hunter there's lots going on underwater the salmon males continue chasing away their competition it's aggravating his daily ration should be twenty salmon but this is not his day this bear is more successful the female bear has made a capital catch a halibut she has to bring the fish to safety quickly both males let her get away with it and look a bit frustrated because of their own meager success again no fish for him we will leave hallo Bay for now but will later return to the playful Cubs the teddy bears we all grew up with were modeled on these bears more than a hundred years ago high above the low-hanging clouds in the ice regions is the best habitat to find the blue-gray phantom the glacier bear a study by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game states that there are probably fewer than a hundred of these bears left Glacia bears are a subspecies of the black bears and biologists assume that they developed during the Ice Age in areas that were free of ice Alaska's wide and very isolated mountain ranges are a paradise for these animals but a nightmare for us because it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack would they live around this glacier lake we don't know a native Ranger told us that we needed to start searching up there where the winter makes room for the summer most of Alaska's glaciers are retreating between one to three and a half miles have melted away since 1945 owing to climate change whatever refreezes at night will melt again during the day the only glaciers that are still growing are much further north like all bears the glacier bears are also omnivores they leave the icy regions in the summer and search for fresh greens and berries in the cloudy rainforests bald eagles have plundered a chicken farm here everybody is out for themselves the young are busy play fighting in the air they have fed quite well but nevertheless there's always room for more the competition is great this bird doesn't bother with the feathers that go straight for the chicken legs the young will only watch which means more playtime they're masters of flight but caution is necessary on this overcrowded runway this incredible find also draws in others to feed their mostly crows but they can be particularly nasty crows are masters of theft and very clever but the king of the air is a tad too powerful for them it's easy to distinguish the old bald eagles from the young the birds won't develop their typical white head and tail feathers until their fourth year despite being the heraldic bird of the United States Bald Eagles were hunted almost to extinction until 1950 they're protected now and their numbers have come back quite well the largest population lives in Alaska Hunter's weren't the only ones who severely decimated the bald eagle population the insecticide DDT also killed a large number of the birds all of a sudden the glacier bear appears out of nowhere it's fur is almost silver with a blue sheen the perfect adaptation to its environment the glacier bears creation was a fluke of nature because they're really black bears in the cold world that they call home the glacier bears will not find berries to feed on therefore they're searching for them down here another surprise a regular black bear is hiding in the bushes do both of these bears prefer this territory or is this a regular detour for the black bear into higher regions then they go their separate ways was this a surprise meeting we will never know scientists have not been able to find out much about the lives of these mysterious and very secretive bears could he give us the answers to our questions about the blue bears unfortunately he can't talk this is what we know about these rare bears they're predators that also search for berries roots and fresh greens in the underbrush and on occasion also feed on grass we have to tread lightly while filming the bears can hear noises over 800 feet away the smallest movement and it will run away and then it happens we make too much noise and the bear takes off back to its own territory we're back at sea-level the summer is especially beautiful this year fireweed is blooming and completely covers numerous fields with its exquisite colors we're back in hallo Bay to observe the bear mothers with their cubs this little guy is about five to six months old and will be with his mother for another two years she will take care of him during this time and raise him until he is a young adult she lets us get incredibly close typically bear mothers are very aggressive when they have young she keeps on feeding without showing any aggression now in July it's about time for the young bears to start feeding on solid food and this one looks like he has been feeding on greens brown bears are very quiet unless they're attacked the mother always knows where her young is a sense of smell is incredible but she only leaves the cub alone for short periods of time it seems that she does not sense danger from us this male bear is marking his territory quite necessary in this popular area along the Salmon River another female has come out followed by two playful cubs playing also means learning the siblings often communicate by the way they hold their bodies they show dominance towards each other by standing upright and submission is shown by lowering their head and turning away one of the two will be the dominant one in this game after all they are siblings and like each other the mother only gets between the two when the play turns to serious the female is the only one responsible for raising the Cubs by the way there are no known sounds the mother makes to call her young the Cubs stay with the mother for about three years after that the Cubs often stay together for up to another four years they're fully grown at ten years old for about a third of the day the twins are constantly honing their innate skills these pictures are very reminiscent of the teddy bears of our childhood which were named after Theodore Roosevelt because the former American president refused to shoot a bear cub on a hunting trip there's and joy cult status they're part of Greek mythology the Celts had bear gods and they're often found in crests the beautiful intimacy between mother and cub it's easy to understand why Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot such a sweet creature back to reality there's nothing worse for a young bear than to mess with this particular prey a North American porcupine thousands of spines equipped with Bob's cover the body of these rodents this is a female with it's prickly brood bears that have contact with porcupines are often marked for life some observations state that bears have starved to death because they were unable to feed themselves due to the pain of such an encounter it's unclear what the porcupines are doing in this Sitka spruce they typically feed on the fresh young leaves of birch trees the Spruce doesn't seem to be the right spot after all maybe this female black bear was the reason for a quick escape into the Sitka spruce the bear mother chases her young up another spruce tree their world champion climbers even at such a young age only the young can climb up trees the black bear mother is too heavy black bears are a lot smaller than brown bears apart from that they're not that much different in their habits the Cubs are incredible climbers they will climb up to the treetops in case of danger and hang on to the smallest of branches black bears live in both the north of the American continent and the Sierra Madre in Mexico the mother constantly checks on her youngsters in the tree we're saying goodbye to the black bears and we'll try to find one of their cousins a bear that is white our search for the white bears leads us to the Princess Royal island an island off British Columbia the only modes of transportation to the island are either by sea plane or by boat it's nearly 500 acres large but uninhabited Princess Royal island and its coastal rainforests are always shrouded in clouds scientists claim that the island is the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest and they should know the rivers are full of salmon wolves black bears and Grizzlies live in these rainforests and also the mysterious ghost bear squirrels are everywhere we go the isolation of this island with its dense forests may be the main reason why these white bears stayed undetected for so long countless rivers also shaped this natural landscape here we find raccoons this female raccoon has nothing to worry about but she's not alone at this river these are her young and they're out on an adventure she knows exactly where this little one is hiding but she's certainly not excited about the territorial adventure excursions that the youngster is engaging in it's not always easy to survey one's territory the mother has had enough of the baby's escapades and calls it back everybody is at peace again the seclusion of this island is certainly the reason for the diversity of life here this rainforest is one of the most rainy regions in the world up to 120 inches of rain accumulate here every year we didn't expect to see a Lynx but they don't seem to be very rare here on the island five different types of salmon live in the rivers here the sockeye salmon also called the red salmon is the most common one they're on their way to the spawning grounds just like the salmon in the rivers in Oscar many thousands of fish migrate up the stream scientists also call it the red flood before the salmon swim up the rivers they have to feed and gain weight in order to withstand this strenuous migration we can't see the incredible struggle going on underwater the animals have to fight their way upstream against currents near the river to moose cows have shown up they like to feed on the fresh green of the trees rather than the grass because the tree leaves have a higher nutrient content it's important that they're near the water moose are able to feed underwater and like any sort of aquatic plants probably because of a high content in nutrients their nourishment requirements are very high this dipper also likes to be near the water to feed dipper's are some of the few songbirds that search for food on the bottom of a body of water they love to feed on the larvae of caddisflies the lobbyists finally constructed containers do not protect them against the sharp beaks of the birds dippers can swim or walk across the bottom of any body of water so they disappear only to come up somewhere else along this fascinating River there's no lack of dippers here because this river offers a lot of food for everybody during their strenuous migration the salmon also find resting places in between the currents and Rapids here in between the branches of old trees they can rest and summon new strengths a bottleneck the salmon have to fight their way through here with every mile the river changes its face here at shallow and therefore higher up in the trees keen hunters with precision eyes wait for their chance except if someone else's faster again the riverbed changes shape roaring masses of water shoot through a channel between rocks filmed with a slow-motion camera water rushes towards the salmon in Cascades they can't escape from here they have to climb up in order to continue on their journey underwater it looks like a true maelstrom this is where it becomes tough for the fishes they shoot up out of the deep contort and try to jump as high as possible but miss their target these jumps are not very precise and more often than not the salmon fall back into the water or under rocks and injure themselves but they will try over and over again and there's somebody else in the river whose only interest is to gain as much weight as possible for the upcoming winter this brown bear is not a very experienced fisherman yet but then success the competition is also struggling this is not a salmon but master Bruin trying to fish underwater his competition has more luck or probably more skill large bears like these feed on 30 salmon a day the Bears come here year after year right on time for the salmon run driven by an inner clock they feed along the river according to a very specific hierarchy the salmon run is an incredible natural spectacle after they spawn the salmon will die vigorous fishes shoot out of the water and land right in the Bears mouth hundreds of red salmon crowd the rapids a delectable buffet ready to be snapped up by the Bears the furry gourmets feed as much as they can and their cubs also get their fair share Princess Royal island was once inhabited by the chimp Chien Indians the coastal rainforests were holy lands to them the Indians were at one with nature in these mysterious spruce forests with their incredible diversity this landscape would be nothing without its animal inhabitants the wild geese have started to breed in the riparian zones wild geese come here only for a short period of time as soon as it starts freezing at night they'll continue on towards warmer climates these lodges were built by furry architects beavers a long eared owl is watching what the beaver is doing Arum is a botanical rarity in Europe for grows in great abundance here is this woodpecker thinking about building another home who knows around 350 different kinds of animals live in the coastal rainforests some of them are only visitors for the summer we are leaving the adil ik riparian zones we follow the river further up into higher fog zones where the ghost bear hunts all of a sudden a confrontation that nobody expected this black bear is in distress wolves more specifically Timberwolves have entered the Bears territory a confrontation between the wolves and the bear can end terribly for the bear the bear is stronger but the wolves have the benefit of the pack this is the alpha female an alpha animal can be either a male or a female the experienced female checks the situation and decides not to attack the bear low-hanging clouds in the ravine this is where the chimp chien Indians used to live the totem pole tells the story of people whose ancestors continued living on as animals the most dangerous of the animals and the most similar to people is the bear this depiction shows that it's the responsibility of the living to protect the bears in return the chimp chien Indians are under the protection of the bears should they be in trouble they will call on the Bears for help the Indian chief white eagle is the best of the bear dancers and he tells a legendary story with his dance it's about the most dangerous of all bears the grizzly and also the mysterious ghost bear the legend tells the Indians that only they have the right to face a ghost bear and also tells a tale of the brutal slaughter of bears by man and just as if Manny too had heard our prayers he sends us a ghost bear the animal calmly walks out of the underbrush without any fear the white bear is being observed danger is lurking and this one is an exceptionally gifted climber the black bear less so an encounter without consequences according to Jim Sheehan mythology one out of ten bears was created white said that the people were always reminded of a time where the entire land was covered by glaciers modern science sees this quite differently of course according to science one of the genes is missing and therefore some of the black bears will have white fur the ghost bears are also known as Kermode bears named after the zoologist Francis Kermode who began studying these white bears around 1900 Kermode bears are no different in behavior or lifestyle from black bears the Kermode has only one goal to feed on salmon the enchanted underwater forest is like a hub with many detours and one-way streets in flowing creeks and rivers in which the salmon will spawn these peaceful travel companions have now turned into bitter enemies several salmon males are courting the same female it takes 14 days for the salmon to mate the female will lay up to 20,000 eggs in several batches and into several different shallow gravel depressions called Redd's the male rubs against the flanks of the female and fertilizes her eggs the male's mate with several females to ensure that their genetic code will continue on several times many of the salmon mate with the last of their strength there's no alternative this is their one shot to procreate the table is set but it's not as easy as it seems to clear out the rich buffet at the end of a long and strenuous journey the salmon die of exhaustion in their death they become a feast for others such as these bar balls that eat just about anything a macabre picture the death ridden animal activates its last strength to fight a forlorn battle dead salmon cadavers everywhere what seems to be an incredible waste at first sight is in fact an important supply of nourishment in a nutrient poor ecosystem near the spawning grounds the trees grow three times better and more lush than in other areas the dead salmon act as a fertilizer and the Bears also add to that with their excrement white bears can also dive but what good does it do if you can't catch anything a second try it seems that the prey is within reach third try and again nothing this clever bear again tries to get to the salmon by diving which is quite difficult in these Rapids right underneath the rapids a competitor is a more successful fisherman this black bear leaves no doubt who is more experienced which means retreat it doesn't seem too easy to retreat both bears claim the same territories will one have to withdraw no chance the Kermode has again started to hunt for salmon he's not quite as inexperienced after all as it first seemed the surprise is great the white bear has withdrawn into the forest to enjoy the salmon too bad for the black bear the black bear is not much larger than the white bear but much stronger nevertheless he's not interested in a confrontation they check each other out instead and try to gauge the competitors reactions both bears seem to tolerate each other or maybe the more clever one gives in the Kermode bear withdraws in the end the black bear also leaves the scene this confrontation clearly shows that both bears keep an eye on each other whenever they meet in the same territory but in the end they both avoid a fight about 500 white bears live in the rainforests of British Columbia this means that one in ten black bears is white a very interesting study by Canadian scientists suggests that the white bears have an advantage over the black bears while fishing for salmon because the fishes don't see the white color of their fur maybe there's something to this study because another study shows that Kermode bears tend to catch more salmon than their black family members six weeks later pea-sized transparent eggs are visible on the riverbed the salmon larvae need the oxygen rich gravel bed of the headwaters in order to hatch a few of them will survive many will drift away with the white water of the river and others will become food for predators under water and on the surface and they have a tendency towards cannibalism the stronger feeds on the weaker the young salmon will stay in their river for three years until they start their long journey into the ocean it's time for us to leave British Columbia but we will certainly return to the mysterious ghost bears

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

Views: 782,488

Rating: 4.698947 out of 5

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Bears, Bear Documentary, kermode, kermode bear Documentary, Ghost Bear, Spirit Bear, glacier bear, grizzly bear, Grizzly, Canada, British Columbia, Alaska, Kodiak Bear, Kodiak Documentary, Brown Bear Documentary, American Black Bear, Black Bear Documentary, Wildlife Documentary, Best Wildlife Documentary, Best Documentary

Id: aj76L7k8H5U

Length: 51min 38sec (3098 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 31 2020