The White Spirit Bears of British Columbia | Free Documentary Nature

fog it hides the northern pacific coast of canada for most of the year this is the great bear rainforest a forest full of mysteries and wild creatures a primeval forest unchanged since the last ice age [Music] and it's one of those wild creatures the rarest of them all that we are looking for much more the spirit bear [Music] [Music] there are no roads in the great bear rainforest in fact there are no roads anywhere along canada's northern pacific coast this labyrinth of islands is best accessible by boat these people scientists have to approach this rugged coastline from the water to reach the unique temperate rainforest and discover the secrets it holds [Music] few regions on our planet produce as much biomass as this rainforest it's the world's largest and most productive temperate rainforest and thrives along the west coast of canada a vast 300 mile long expanse of fjords and islands along the north pacific [Music] since time immemorial these islands and forests have been home to simsian nations of the gitgut community the gitgut believe that they are one with the land the forests and the ocean in their world the animals are their brothers and sisters and the time when the last ice age covered the west coast of canada is also a part of this legend raven the creator wanted to leave a memento of the ice age and so he decided that every tenth bear should have white fur this they say was when the spirit bear was created the white bear of the rainforest to this day these bears live deep in the forests on the islands and along the wild rivers of the northern british columbia coast only very few people have been lucky enough to catch sight of one [Music] like a gigantic wall of granite the coast mountains block the clouds that roll in from the pacific ocean causing them to rise up and drop their moisture this almost incessant precipitation is the motor that drives the rainforest a motor that never stops and never falls silent [Music] everything in the rainforest the rocks the living and dead trees are covered with a thick growth of mosses that have an important task they hold the moisture in in this way they keep the forest humid and cool and stabilize living conditions for all animals in the temperate rainforests of the north biomass doesn't decay as quickly as in tropical rainforests the destructive organisms here are slow and need a lot more time to do their work yet this rainforest is more productive than those in the tropics in this remote region it isn't easy to do research or even travel at all very few smaller boats venture this far north along the wild rainy coast the only chance to find the bears is when they come down to the streams for the one big event of the year the arrival of the salmon in late summer for now though all is quiet [Music] is this the quiet before the storm [Music] [Music] on the outer islands the group discovers a pack of coastal wolves these rather small wolves are a genetically distinct subspecies of the gray wolves that live further in land they've been isolated here on the islands since the last ice age and one aspect of their behavior is unique they're the only wolves that feed on fish in fact they live on fish and beached carcasses of marine mammals [Music] food that also attracts other hungry visitors but the pups have nothing to fear from the black bear during the spring and summer months the bears eat only berries and grass and they move slowly to save energy because there are not enough nutrients in the grass to help them gain weight the river otters living on these islands have also adapted to the salt water [Applause] the bear is no threat to them either they're quick and clever [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the intertidal zone is their buffet mussels small crabs and fish are their favorites and they're always inquisitive explorers [Applause] [Music] the ravens the heralds of the rainforest announce a visitor marvin robinson is ascension guide and a member of the gitguard first nation he's also looking for the salmon and the bears the secret spirit bears this forest means uh a lot for me like about 18 years ago this is the very spot that i've seen my first spirit bear so prior to that it was all hush hush about this bear the sacred bear really to us and we never we weren't even allowed to talk about it anytime we were told to keep quiet if we seen one don't tell nobody it was a special treat to whoever um got to see one you know there was very few that got to see one of these rare bears and ever since i started we found some really special places that we keep to ourselves [Music] and indeed the places here are special on the outer islands waves and winter storms have created magical beaches most of the islands in the great bear rainforest are rocky and precipitous wide estuaries and shallow coves are rare but the steep cliffs also offer food here with a little luck a visitor could get a first glimpse of the mystic animal the experts are looking for the famed spirit bear one of the rarest animals on earth [Music] the bear's prey is glued to the rocks in the intertidal zone barnacles grow in the cold waters of the north pacific and at high tide when they're covered with water they look almost like animals from another world [Music] their feathery arms filter plankton out of the water it's hard to believe that these little creatures are related to crabs this bear's barnacle hunting shows again how important the ocean is for the nourishment of the forest dwellers and there's enough nutrition to feed even the largest animals that roam the waters the whales at low tide barnacles and mussels are exposed along the rocky shores their shells are closed tight for the spirit bear detaching them from the rocks is no problem and the reward is a very tasty snack the group of scientists tries to find new ways to scout the bear this time it'll be from the water and luck is on their side there are only four hundred to a thousand spirit bears in existence which makes them even rarer than giant pandas another species that can be observed from the water isn't hard to find here the humpback whales seem inquisitive and sometimes even playful along the coast they show no fear of humans [Applause] the village of hartley bay that the group is heading for is marvin robinson's home it's one of the handful of settlements along the coast there are no roads here either just boardwalks between the houses but the people are very much part of today's world about 150 people live in hartley bay most of them belong to the gitgut nation they welcome the few visitors who make their way to this remote community and they're proud of their heritage their ancestors lived here and fished in these same fjords the longhouse is the spiritual center of the village the families come here to chant and dance and the elders recount the nation's legends legends that also relate to the white bears of the forest their ancient symbols reflect the world of nature around them the chiefs do what they can to protect and preserve their homeland for the younger generation they can enlist the help of the spirits some of the oldest and largest trees in canada grow here the giant sitka spruce the ancient yellow and red cedars and the hemlock trees that need the cool the fog and the rain they are the foundation of the temperate rainforest in august the sweet fragrance of ripening berries wafts through the forest bright red huckleberries elderberries salal and blueberries and many others grow in abundance for the bears the berries are a crucial staple to tide them over the leaner months of the summer before the salmon arrived [Music] the spirit or commodi bears are not albinos but white black bears a mutation that probably dates back to the last ice age and between the rocks and the trees white is a good camouflage the bear's sweet tooth also helps the bushes to spread they pass up to 400 000 seeds per day in their droppings thus the plants colonize new territory in the temperate rainforest fog can cover the land in a grey veil within minutes and it can plunge a sunny landscape into deep gloom along the mainland coast the islands of the great bear rainforest lie close together at high tide millions of gallons of nutrient-rich salt water rush inland through the narrow channels to flow back out at low tide thus linking the ocean and the land the currents sweep along everything in their path creating a rich broth full of life [Music] so [Music] in august huge schools of young fish migrate into the waters between the islands close behind the fish are the humpback whales they throw nets of air bubbles to trap their prey success thousands of fish are caught in their gigantic mouths their balloons filter krill and fish out of the water again and again the whales will feed for days but mother nature is prepared and sends a constant stream of fish north along the coast and into the archipelago of the great bear rainforest they all get their share large and small young and old this is the land of milk and honey the galapagos of the north the productive zone extends far below the water the species here are not as numerous and varied as in a tropical coral reef but the vibrant colours and the sheer size of the underwater organisms can easily measure up to the tropics deeper down among colorful mollusks and cold water corals the ocean harbors another secret of this region a life form from the age of the dinosaurs a glass sponge the intricate and beautiful structures of this 300 million year old organism are made of glass and very fragile the rivers and streams of the great bear rainforest wash sediment into the ocean constantly and the nutrients slowly sink down and feed the coral it's red branches that can thrive in this six degree cold water are the perfect hideout for small crabs and fish [Music] the silica from the rocks provides the building material for the sponges with a little help in the form of sand and water they can make glass there are even whole glass reefs on the continental shelf about 600 to a thousand feet below the surface glass sponges grow in many locations around the world but only along the west coast of canada to these ancient organisms build complete reefs powered by nutrients and runoff from the rainforest high above the reefs a female humpback is playing with her calf thanks to the rich feeding grounds the little one is growing fast in a few months when they leave the cold waters and head south they'll need all their strength the mother breaches to show her strength a behavior that can be seen quite often here nevertheless it's a spectacular show now it's the beginning of september and the fish run that all the animals here are anxiously waiting for is approaching [Music] the group steers the boat west to the edge of the open ocean where a colony of sea lions await the fish on windswept islands at a safe distance from bears and other predators the stellar sea lions are the largest of the eared seals they're an endangered species that lives only on the rugged outermost islands along the pacific coast the strong territorial males can grow to a length of more than 10 feet and weigh up to 2 500 pounds each of them has a dozen or more of the much smaller females in its part of the colony since the 1970s their numbers have plummeted by 80 percent and scientists have yet to find out why overfishing of the gulf of alaska could be one of the reasons the weather turns the first heavy rain of approaching autumn triggers the epic fish run after two years in the ocean the salmon are now returning to their birth streams [Music] are the fish here yet a mother bear and her two white cubs patrol the shores of princess royal island here one in ten black bears is white the white fur color is passed on through a double recessive gene white cubs will only be born if both parents carry that gene and bears with black fur can also carry the spirit bear gene [Applause] eagles and river otters are the first to discover the approaching salmon run which they are awaiting impatiently at the mouth of the river [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] further upriver a black bear mother checks the water level it's still too low for the salmon to come this little bear will see the salmon run for the first time in his life [Music] it won't be long now it's early september and the time has finally come for the big feast eagles and bears sea lions otters even the trees are waiting for the arrival of the year's biggest single source of nutrition and the big feast will also complete the yearly cycle shortly afterwards the bears will start looking for winter dens bear tracker marvin robinson is hopeful the rivers are rising he's checking for clues on the islands as well as on the mainland across the channel from princess royal island a grizzly mother and her two-year-old are also checking the waters grizzly bears live only on the mainland leaving the islands to the black bears grizzlies usually live higher up in the mountains but for the salmon even they descend to the estuaries along the coast marvin is concerned the rains came late he hopes the salmon run won't be affected now at last the water levels are rising the grizzlies use the waiting time to stock up on sugar trying to pull the last crab apples off the trees along the riverbanks for the mother bear and her young this will be their last winter together [Applause] if she can fatten up enough for the winter she'll have a new cub next spring but if the salmon run isn't good enough she'll reabsorb the already incubated egg in her womb during hibernation still no salmon but now the autumn rains have really picked up this region gets an incredible 4500 millimeters of precipitation per year that's four times the rainfall of a wet city like vancouver further south along the coast this is a true rainforest the spectacular waterfalls along the coast are finally running at full capacity a chance for the crew to get a sample of the freshest water [Music] autumn has arrived and the first geese are migrating finally the water level in the rivers is high enough for the salmon to migrate too they'll return to the self-same waters where they were born among the gravel banks upstream at 12-hour intervals at high tide new waves of hundreds of thousands of fish will rise in the river deltas on the coast and make their way up the streams [Music] the clear waters of the wild streams along the northern coast of british columbia are the habitat the salmon need to reproduce in this fish run humpback and silver salmon are returning swimming up the rivers until they taste their birth waters [Music] [Music] they're here the ravens the heralds of the forests spread the news it takes stamina and blind determination for the fish to get to where they have to go it's now or never this is their only chance to reproduce but the predators are already lining up from the seagulls to the otters they all want their share for the animals of the great bear rainforest the waiting is finally over now it's time for fish and caviar the fish that don't make it are swept away by the raging current ending up on the rocks and in the kelp of the inter-tidal zone right at the feet of the waiting bald eagle its sharp beach is perfect for tearing up fish [Music] the gulls will get their fair share but here on the rain coast the bald eagle is the true king of the skies on the verge of extinction only a few decades ago these magnificent birds have made an amazing comeback [Applause] [Music] on a bank in the stream the raven patiently waits for the black bear to finish his breakfast without the bear he wouldn't be able to get to the food the skin of the fish is simply too thick come on haven't you had enough yet one salmon that never fulfilled his reproductive destiny he died on the home straight the coastal wolves are also joining in the feast the estuaries are now full of fish the youngsters are still learning the tricks of the salmon trade they follow their mother and she tries to teach them but for them catching fish is still a game in the shallow tide pools it's easy to see and grab the salmon which are tired in fact almost exhausted from their long journey the death of this fish seems futile there are so many of them easy prey for the hunters but it's not the individual fate that counts here with their sheer numbers the salmon feed the whole ecosystem further back in the forest marvin often finds leftovers sometimes the wolves carry the fish deep into the woods the wolves don't consume the whole salmon they only eat the the brain so they carry the salmon off and maybe a little bit further up the sides of the valleys and stuff because there's a parasite in salmon that if the wolves get it it could kill them so basically what happens with the woes is they've taught each other that it's only safe to eat the brain the gushing waterfall further upstream seems insurmountable but the fish keep trying again and again for them it's quite literally do or die and for the strongest stamina eventually pays off [Music] this salmon was born here three years ago now it has returned to its birthplace to spawn in perfect sink with all the others of its generation [Music] in the first few months after hatching the fry will stay in their birth streams then during the following summer they'll drift down river towards the sea where they'll feed and mature they'll stay in the pacific ocean for two years then they'll return to the great bear rainforest to spawn and died [Music] [Music] in a rush of hormones and wild abandon the fish become oblivious to their surroundings and their predators but even now on their deathbeds the males fight each other hooking their deformed jaws together expending their last ounce of energy for a better position to pass on their genes the unique cycle of life in the temperate rainforest will be completed once again as it has been every year since time immemorial the gulls and all the other animals of the coast are the lucky beneficiaries [Music] foraging has become an easy task for the bear as well the fish are in a daze without much perception of their surroundings they'll only react when the poor almost touches them and jump is not an option anyway [Music] the fish look battered the journey has taken its toll [Music] now the bears can afford to pick and choose this spirit bear even leaves a half-dead male salmon discolored by fungi that have developed on its return to fresh water the females that are still carrying their eggs taste much better during the 10 days of this salmon run every bear and every wolf will each carry about 1600 fish off into the woods [Music] but it still isn't easy to find the spirit bears even for experienced trackers like marvin who take researchers and visitors to these streams it's a special treat to watch the white bears during the salmon run so far they've only seen black bears and squirrels but they can watch various other animals and their behavior during the run a black mother and her cubs feeding for example there are also gourmets in the woods the steller's jay is looking for salmon caviar the eggs are pure protein and clearly very tasty to the agile birds the black head of stella's j distinguishes it from the common blue jay found elsewhere in north america the dipper loves the fish eggs as well its plumage repels water so it can actually dive for the treats and swim underwater now all the animals of the rainforest seem to be gathering along the salmon streams [Music] but the smaller ones need skill and good eyes as well and a measure of luck [Applause] [Music] for the black bear cubs this is their first time at the big feast so far all they've known are their mother's milk grass and berries now there are new flavors salmon and caviar but do you really have to dive for them let's see how to get to the fish in the crystal clear water they're easy to see and they seem tired enough so they should be easy prey [Music] hmm that wasn't too successful the cub might need to practice a bit to become an expert in salmon hunting marvin the tracker has been walking the creeks for days now then suddenly there it is much more the prodigious spirit bear one of the rarest animals on earth and one of mother nature's miracles right in front of his eyes according to a scientific study their white fur could give the commodi bears a slight advantage in catching fish to examine the fur might look similar to a white cloud a black shape would be more threatening marvin prefers to believe the legends that the fur is a memento of the ice age and the cloud hypothesis isn't proven anyway in lean years the white fur might make a difference but at the peak of a good salmon run no bear whatever its color has any difficulty catching fish the bears almost work themselves into a feeding frenzy during the rest of the year the white and black commodity bears rarely mingle but now they all converge at the prime spots on the streams [Music] overall the black bears seem more aggressive and wilder than their white cousins but they're also more wary could it be because unlike the white bears they've been hunted before but wary or not all the bears have to come to the streams they have to store fat for hibernation [Music] for centuries the abundant salmon have also been a main staple food for the local first nations in the great bear rainforest elders like helen clifton in hartley bay keep the traditions alive and the ancient knowledge about preserving the fish how to dry and smoke them for the winter here's you could have a look at this one see if it's good enough no you can see it the skin isn't brown enough yet so it needs some more some more smoke these are what we call strips but these are the bellies so this is a mixture of coho and sokkai and spring salmon then we have the alder the alder burns slow and it's what smokes that seasoned alderwood it's it produces the smoke that smokes the the salmon so we use that alder for all our smoking in our smokehouses the ocean has provided well well for us a deep gratitude and reverence for the ocean and the forests around them is ever present in the talk of the elders now helen is passing on her knowledge to marvin her son-in-law teaching him how to smoke the fish [Music] there has been enough fish here for man and beast for thousands of years for the great bear rainforest it's a matter of survival let's hope for these young bears at their first salmon run that the future will hold the same life for them as the present [Music] according to native law the black bears discriminate against their white siblings when they meet it's usually the white bear that backs off even if it's larger [Music] [Music] well one last fish for the road should be all right there are so many of them but the envious competitor is watching and so the spirit bear withdraws [Music] [Music] the bears often prefer to eat their fish in the quiet of the forest they use day beds in hollow tree trunks or small caves under roots where they rest and digest maggots bugs and many microorganisms help the process of decay and decomposition mosses can macerate the organic nitrogen and make it available to the trees the salmon are actually feeding the rainforest the thickness of the tree rings alone can show which years were good salmon years [Music] just a few weeks later autumn sets in the salmon run is over but the forest and its animals have gathered crucial reserves and strength for the winter now it's time for some of the smaller ones to stash away seeds and other winter provisions [Music] now that the stomachs are full silence returns to the great bear rainforest herons and ravens take care of the leftovers of the feast the remainder decays in or along the streams and is scavenged by the ever-present ravens whatever's left is swept into the ocean and becomes fertilizer feeding the krill there nature almost seems wasteful but this brief over abundance has a deeper purpose the carcasses pass nutrients on into the water this is their last gift to a new generation of salmon thus the end of one fish run lays the foundation for the next the parents make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of their offspring this cycle already many thousands of years old is the motor that drives the entire ecosystem of the temperate rainforest along canada's northern pacific coast [Music] but it's not just the motor that makes a system function only if all the individual parts are in place and in the right place will the rare and special life forms along this coast survive this is the insight the experts have come to on their way back from the expedition [Applause] [Music] it's a lesson the people of the rainforest learned a long time ago their songs and icons tell of all the creatures of the forest and the ocean but the spirit bear is the one special animal the iconic species that symbolizes the spirit of the rainforest [Music] the freshwater streams and the mountains the forest and the ocean the winds the plants and the animals they all had to play their parts just right so that this temperate rainforest of canada's northern pacific coast could develop over thousands of years it's a system that needs to stay intact because only then will much more the spirit bear have a home for the future [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Nature, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife, Animals, Animals Documentary, Bears, Bears Documentary, Kermode Bear, Spirit Bear, Moksgm'ol, Quest for the Spirit Bear, Great Bear Rainforest, Great Bear Rainforest Documentar, British Columbia, Canada, Canada Wildlife, Canadian Wildlife Documentary, Kermode Bear Documentary

Id: ySqL2WUYyqY

Length: 51min 45sec (3105 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 25 2023