:00:09. > :00:17.We are coming to the from the Alaskanp wilderness. 4,500 miles
:00:18. > :00:22.away from the UK. Brown bears, black bears, Eagles, orcas, they are all
:00:23. > :00:26.coming together for a spectacular summertime feast that's fuelled by
:00:27. > :00:29.300 million salmon. One of the greatest gatherings of wildlife on
:00:30. > :00:36.our planet is happening right here, right now. We're ready. They're hung
:00:37. > :00:59.ri, this is Wild Alaska Live. -- they're hungry.
:01:00. > :01:07.Hello to you all in the UK and welcome to Wild Alaska Live. Now
:01:08. > :01:14.these are live pictures of brown bears looking for a late breakfast
:01:15. > :01:19.here, as it is 10.00am in Alaska. He's already had his breakfast and
:01:20. > :01:24.just relaxing. These magnificent creatures, they are one of the many
:01:25. > :01:30.reasons why we are here and we'll be Keegan eye on them throughout the
:01:31. > :01:35.whole programme from our face here at a national forest. Now this is a
:01:36. > :01:39.rich landscape full of stunning trees. Some 1,000 years old and this
:01:40. > :01:44.is a place where wildlife, of course, can emerge at any moment. As
:01:45. > :01:50.you can see, I have found quite a nice place to hang out here at the
:01:51. > :01:55.foot of this enormous glacier. And, yeah, it's real. It looks like green
:01:56. > :02:02.screens, doesn't it? I can tell you we are here at a very, very special
:02:03. > :02:07.time. Summer is short here in Alaska and the native wildlife has to make
:02:08. > :02:09.the most of this very narrow window. Hopefully we'll witness some
:02:10. > :02:13.incredible sights over the next week. Where in the world are we?
:02:14. > :02:19.Alaska is at the top auto of the United States. We are in the
:02:20. > :02:24.south-east corner of the state near to Juno, which is the capital in
:02:25. > :02:27.order to bring you the best of what is here. We have live-cam radios
:02:28. > :02:30.across the wilderness. Our intrepid crews have been venturing out into
:02:31. > :02:36.the middle of nowhere. Camping out. We have a helicopter. We have a live
:02:37. > :02:42.crew up there as we speak, so we can say a very good morning from our
:02:43. > :02:47.perspective from Debbie and Dan. Let's see if we can get a wave.
:02:48. > :02:51.Well, first let's look at the shots that Dan in the back is getting.
:02:52. > :02:54.Debbie is flying all over the landscape an Daniel is in the back
:02:55. > :02:57.filming the bears fishing. Cheers, Dan, thank you so much. They are
:02:58. > :03:02.basically herding the salmon into the shallow so they can pounce, grab
:03:03. > :03:07.and pick off the best bits and enjoy that feast. Steve, surely, are you
:03:08. > :03:15.getting this? Can you see what we are seeing? Hi, I am totally getting
:03:16. > :03:20.it, Matt. A bunch of brown bears, nonchalantly wandering around in the
:03:21. > :03:23.shallows. An extraordinary sight. I can't believe how lucky we are to be
:03:24. > :03:28.watching this live, now, it is phenomenal. To have an eye in the
:03:29. > :03:36.sky is important here in Alaska. It is the only way you get any sense of
:03:37. > :03:41.the true scale of the place. When you are up in the air, flying, you
:03:42. > :03:43.can go for hours and see nothing below you, apart from rivers, lakes,
:03:44. > :03:46.mountains that have never been climbed and all relies on one
:03:47. > :03:49.particular animal, salmon. These ponds are absolutely filled with
:03:50. > :03:54.them. I'm going to be following their journey, learning some more
:03:55. > :04:03.about them but also getting a sevenths predators that rely on
:04:04. > :04:08.them. And we're 700 miles away from you, Steve, you are in that
:04:09. > :04:13.direction but we are in Katmai National Park, a remote, wild and
:04:14. > :04:18.stunning place and home to one of the highestentities of brown bears
:04:19. > :04:23.on the planet. The salon run has begun. The brown bears are
:04:24. > :04:28.everywhere. We have three behind me on the coastal flat. You saw the
:04:29. > :04:32.magnificent images from Daniel, our helicopter pilot flying overhead.
:04:33. > :04:36.The coast is covered with brown bears, we will bring you this
:04:37. > :04:39.incredible feast live. You can follow the action live around the
:04:40. > :04:51.clocks you can find us on Facebook and Twitter. Send in your questions
:04:52. > :04:56.and join the conversation with the hashtag Alaskalive. We have Pete
:04:57. > :05:02.snider who will be covering biology for us and Carla, native culture and
:05:03. > :05:06.John, who is our head ranger. We are not just looking at brown bears, we
:05:07. > :05:09.can look at footage of live salmon swimming up the rivers at the
:05:10. > :05:15.moment, just against the tide. Really this is the whole keystone
:05:16. > :05:19.species. The reason why we are seeing an abundance of wildlife at
:05:20. > :05:27.this time of year because the salmon are on the move, coming from the
:05:28. > :05:33.north, south, west into the esturaries here. So I'll give you an
:05:34. > :05:38.idea of where we are going. They are born at the top and then grow occupy
:05:39. > :05:43.in the Pacific. This is enormous this Y 2,700 miles, the Gulf of
:05:44. > :05:46.alasica. And after growing up the salmon have swim thousands of miles
:05:47. > :05:52.to try to get back it the place where they were born. There is an
:05:53. > :05:56.enormous culmination here and a huge number here. We are talking about
:05:57. > :06:01.12,000 different rivers that they are trying to get to the top of. As
:06:02. > :06:05.you can see, from where I'm standing, Alaska is enormous. It's
:06:06. > :06:10.the largest state. It is vast. You could fit seven UKs into Alaska but
:06:11. > :06:15.bizarrely it has a population the same size as Leeds. I'll leave you
:06:16. > :06:18.with that for a moment. Everybody knows their neighbours here, even
:06:19. > :06:30.the wild ones, who better to tell you more about it, than the people
:06:31. > :06:37.that live here. The magic of Alaska to me is the natural beauty. I think
:06:38. > :06:50.I've got one of the best offices in the world, to be honest. Salmon in
:06:51. > :06:55.summer go hand-in-hand. It's the highlight of everyone's summer. Here
:06:56. > :07:01.in Alaska there's always a surprise around the corner. We've got bears,
:07:02. > :07:14.eagles, whales. It's wonderful to share this with people from all over
:07:15. > :07:21.the world. When you are out here on the water, it is like nowhere else
:07:22. > :07:29.I've ever been. A chance to live freely. I think everybody who lives
:07:30. > :07:31.out here, and working together, it takes teamwork. I think that's what
:07:32. > :07:49.I love the most. I don't think there is a day that
:07:50. > :07:51.goes by that I don't feel like the luckiest person on the planet. It
:07:52. > :08:01.can't get better than this. So in a nutshell this is a pretty
:08:02. > :08:05.special place to live, you guys. Well Pete, talking of living and
:08:06. > :08:11.around the corner we have a beaver lodge. This little fellow who is
:08:12. > :08:15.inside has had a busy night. The water levels, Pete have risen here,
:08:16. > :08:19.so this beaver is just relaxing after a busy night of carpentry. We
:08:20. > :08:25.had quite a bit of rain. They probably worked all night trying to
:08:26. > :08:29.make sure everything was nice and stale and they're sleeping it off
:08:30. > :08:35.now. John we have to make noise as we walk around because in this spot
:08:36. > :08:38.where we are in, we know there are black bears, we have watched footage
:08:39. > :08:45.of brown bears this morning but black bears in particular and we saw
:08:46. > :08:49.this shot. You can talk us through who this wonderful cub is. This
:08:50. > :08:55.cheeky chap made an appearance a few days ago. That was a cub that was
:08:56. > :09:00.born this year. You can see its femalemom in front of it in the
:09:01. > :09:05.mid-yes, which is really just over next to us here. I'm not sure which
:09:06. > :09:08.one that is but they've been fishing just up the creek, because the
:09:09. > :09:14.salmon have arrived up there. The reason they have arrived up there is
:09:15. > :09:17.because of the water levels. We are talking about this enormous glacier
:09:18. > :09:21.behind us but a glacial melt happened in the last few weeks. We
:09:22. > :09:24.had a glaicer outburst flood which happens when we get enough rain and
:09:25. > :09:28.it pulls up and the Mendenhall rises. It floats the glaicer and
:09:29. > :09:34.rushes in the lake and lake levels come up high enough so the salmon
:09:35. > :09:39.can come over the dam and into the pond behind us. These are the salmon
:09:40. > :09:44.making the most of this and we see the mothers coming out to grab the
:09:45. > :09:49.salmon to feed their young. It is a really important time of year for
:09:50. > :09:54.the bears, they are putting on the fat they need to store for the
:09:55. > :09:57.winter. They have to get a year's worth of food in six months. It is
:09:58. > :10:00.an important time. And these wonderful cubs, born in
:10:01. > :10:03.the winter, they are coming out and experiencing this at the rate
:10:04. > :10:07.rainforest. It is a rainforest and so much for their senses to explore.
:10:08. > :10:10.This is their first time out in April, when we first saw them down
:10:11. > :10:13.here eating cotton and other vegetation. I think he is going to
:10:14. > :10:19.come and have a little... There you go, he is adorable. It is difficult
:10:20. > :10:25.to compare brown bear and black bear cubs but these, Carla, are very
:10:26. > :10:31.cute. They are. We haven't got live footage of black bears yet but we
:10:32. > :10:35.know we have footage of the brown bears, we have seen them since the
:10:36. > :10:39.start of the programme. Magnificent. Wonderful auras and Liz has been
:10:40. > :10:43.living amongst them for the last five days. Days. The brown bear, one
:10:44. > :10:53.of the largest land predators on the planet. At ten feet tall on its hi
:10:54. > :10:58.in, d legs, 700 kilos of explosive muscle. Formidable hunters, they can
:10:59. > :11:03.sniff out food from more than six miles away. Reaching top speeds of
:11:04. > :11:11.30 miles per hour as they chase down their prey. They're found all over
:11:12. > :11:15.the northern hemisphere but by far the biggest are here in Alaska.
:11:16. > :11:20.Hibernating for significance months of the bitter winter they lose
:11:21. > :11:29.one-quarter of their body weight and emerge starving. Right now, as
:11:30. > :11:37.millions of salmon invade the rivers, the bears cash in. -- six
:11:38. > :11:43.months of the winter. Winter. They eat the salmon and it returns them
:11:44. > :11:47.to their breath-taking best. And that's why we have come to Katmai.
:11:48. > :11:51.To this very coastline. Take a look at this. Brown bears are everywhere.
:11:52. > :11:56.They have been fishing this mornings they are taking a rest in between
:11:57. > :12:00.bouts. What a sight. Look at him. Having a stretch. They are
:12:01. > :12:04.mesmerising, we are on the south-east coast of Katmai, one of
:12:05. > :12:09.the most protected and pristine places on Earth. It is rugged bear
:12:10. > :12:17.country that stretches for over 6,000 square miles. Now I am flanked
:12:18. > :12:23.to my left by a strait a treacherous part of water and over there at
:12:24. > :12:31.least 14 active volcanos, you can only get here in a plane that lands
:12:32. > :12:37.on the beach. Anyone following us online knows we almost didn't yet
:12:38. > :12:43.here. It is as isolated as it gets but it is why we have come here to
:12:44. > :12:48.witness this and brung you this magnificent wildlife. We're sharing
:12:49. > :12:52.this coastline with, as you have already seen, one of the largest
:12:53. > :12:57.land predators on the planet, the brown bear. When you decide to share
:12:58. > :13:02.your home with the brown bear for a couple of days, you have to take
:13:03. > :13:07.precautions. Look at our camp, we have about 20 tents a satellite dish
:13:08. > :13:10.and it is surrounded by 300m of electric fencing. Now sport hunting
:13:11. > :13:13.of brown bears here hasn't been allowed since 1917 which means if
:13:14. > :13:16.you behave correctly the brown bears here will consider you part of the
:13:17. > :13:20.furniture, you are another animal in their home which means sometimes
:13:21. > :13:26.they can get a bit close. A couple of days ago as we were hanging out
:13:27. > :13:31.in camp, getting our gear ready, a bear was walking down the beach,
:13:32. > :13:35.close to the fence and then another one strolled along, took a look in.
:13:36. > :13:39.Unfazed by us. But we were completely mesmerised by them. Now
:13:40. > :13:43.that's just two bears but Katmai is home to 2,200 of them. So, with so
:13:44. > :13:48.many bears around, obviously we couldn't go it alone. But don't
:13:49. > :13:55.worry, we are in the very capable hands of one of the best guides in
:13:56. > :14:01.the business. Thank you so much for taking such good care of us already.
:14:02. > :14:06.You have been studying bears here for almost 20 years. You know them
:14:07. > :14:10.well. How do you behave when you enter a bear's world. What do I need
:14:11. > :14:13.to learn? Respect. Respect the bears, respect their environment and
:14:14. > :14:17.read body language. If it is about body language, how difficult is it
:14:18. > :14:21.to understand bear body language? That's how they communicate with
:14:22. > :14:25.each other, so that's how we communicate with them. Years of
:14:26. > :14:29.research and watching them. So basically you have to act like a
:14:30. > :14:33.bear around them? We do. We have footage of a bear that came
:14:34. > :14:41.incredibly close to one of our team members. How close can they get and
:14:42. > :14:45.what do you do, if they get really, really superbly close like that? It
:14:46. > :14:49.is all body language. We let them get to a certain distance, depending
:14:50. > :14:55.on the bear and with our body language we deter the bear. So, they
:14:56. > :15:01.can come to us, but we don't come to them. Correct that's how you behave
:15:02. > :15:03.in bear country. So do bears have individual personalities to add an
:15:04. > :15:07.extra layer of confusion, with understand what he or she is going
:15:08. > :15:11.to do next? Yes the cubs and juveniles and males will act
:15:12. > :15:14.differently. Every day they will be different. It is a big dynamic every
:15:15. > :15:23.day is different. I'm looking forward to learning
:15:24. > :15:27.more. This landscape is perfect to view all the natural, unhindered
:15:28. > :15:31.behaviours of bears so we have got this place covered with cameras. As
:15:32. > :15:35.you saw earlier, Daniel is in the helicopter as well, capturing all of
:15:36. > :15:39.this beautiful action on the coast of Katmai. I'm going to be heading
:15:40. > :15:43.up the coast over theirs because those three brown bears are still
:15:44. > :15:47.there, hanging out waiting for some salmon but Brown bears are not the
:15:48. > :15:51.only animals that rely on the salmon run. In fact, this entire ecosystem
:15:52. > :15:58.would not exist without it. This is one hugely important and fascinating
:15:59. > :16:05.fish. Salmon. These extraordinary fish are
:16:06. > :16:09.the lifeblood of Alaska. From 1000 miles out at sea, there are
:16:10. > :16:15.unstoppable need to breed is calling them home. Right now, 300 million
:16:16. > :16:20.are sprinting back to the exact spot they were born. 12,000 Alaskan
:16:21. > :16:29.rivers to choose from, yet every single salmon knows exactly which
:16:30. > :16:34.one it came from. By Midsummer, the waterways will be choked with
:16:35. > :16:40.salmon. One group of fish underpinning the whole Alaskan
:16:41. > :16:45.ecosystem. Everything from bears, Eagles, and even humans owe their
:16:46. > :16:56.very existence here did this phenomenal fish. -- to this
:16:57. > :17:00.phenomenal fish. When you are actually sat here in amongst this
:17:01. > :17:04.torrent, you really get a sense of what it is these fish have to take
:17:05. > :17:09.on, spectacles like this are playing out all over Alaska in the rivers
:17:10. > :17:13.with fish just like this going upstream to where they were bored or
:17:14. > :17:20.as part of a local management plan, were released. I have the added
:17:21. > :17:27.benefit here of a pole camera, a camera on a stick in the best
:17:28. > :17:31.possible traditions of live TV, it is 95% high technology and 5% sticky
:17:32. > :17:36.tape but you can see the fish thrashing against the camera lens.
:17:37. > :17:39.They are here in phenomenal numbers. It almost feels like you could walk
:17:40. > :17:44.across these ponds on the back of the salmon. You can probably make
:17:45. > :17:48.out in amongst the bubbles and the thrashing tales and fins, one coming
:17:49. > :17:54.right up alongside me, leaping up through the waterfall, the calico
:17:55. > :17:59.markings, the dark purple bars that mark these out as charmed salmon,
:18:00. > :18:02.also known as dog salmon because they have very prominent teeth,
:18:03. > :18:07.which you can probably see flashing on the camera. They are
:18:08. > :18:11.predominantly on the mails and they are used for fighting, we have seen
:18:12. > :18:15.quite a lot of dog salmon fighting with each other, obviously overlook
:18:16. > :18:20.the males. They are undergoing an incredible transformation, out at
:18:21. > :18:24.sea, they would be silver in colour but as they start coming up to land,
:18:25. > :18:29.they have a metamorphose is which is probably as stunning as that of any
:18:30. > :18:33.butterfly. Even more dramatic perhaps are the salmon we see right
:18:34. > :18:38.up close to base camp, in the beaver ponds beyond where Matt is right
:18:39. > :18:43.now, we have these sockeye salmon and look at the colours they take
:18:44. > :18:48.on. They are incredible, one of those is a male in the centre with a
:18:49. > :18:52.hump back and a curved snout, and the jaw, that they also use for
:18:53. > :18:56.battling. The reason for the colour is that they are absorbing the
:18:57. > :19:01.scales. You can see the skin and flesh beneath. This is all about
:19:02. > :19:07.this animal transforming into a seaborne predator, into a freshwater
:19:08. > :19:11.fish that is a biting, swimming, breeding machine. They are battling
:19:12. > :19:15.up into the rivers where they were born and the way they find them is
:19:16. > :19:20.incredible. They navigate using the sun and stars but also by smelling
:19:21. > :19:24.the river that they were born in. One single drop of water from their
:19:25. > :19:29.home river is enough for them to find their way. And obviously, when
:19:30. > :19:33.you have this amount of fish, this incredible amount of protein,
:19:34. > :19:37.thundering against my legs right now, swimming right through them,
:19:38. > :19:40.practically landing in my lap, it is obviously a way of attracting an
:19:41. > :19:46.enormous amount of predators and that is why I'm going to head
:19:47. > :19:50.downstream, to try to find them. Doing incredibly well, there, Steve,
:19:51. > :19:54.trying to hold off against the power of the water, a testament to show
:19:55. > :19:58.what the salmon swimming against and lovely to see the brown bears as
:19:59. > :20:03.well, the mother suckling her cubs but we are now on our way down on a
:20:04. > :20:07.kind of bear hunt on our own, John. A bit earlier, we know that black
:20:08. > :20:11.bears have been in this area because we have got cameras all over the
:20:12. > :20:17.shop. We have a camera underneath a bridge and this happened about six
:20:18. > :20:22.hours ago. O come you. The mother bear. Looks like she's looking for a
:20:23. > :20:27.sockeye salmon in the creek. Excellent. And those are the Cubs!
:20:28. > :20:32.The Cubs come along and they reposition their cameras for us.
:20:33. > :20:38.Needless to say, we did not get much would it after that. Thanks, Cubs!
:20:39. > :20:43.Let's work our way deep into this temperate rainforest. John, you are
:20:44. > :20:47.basically giving us an explanation of how black bears live here and how
:20:48. > :20:51.much vegetation they eat in relation to salmon because they are
:20:52. > :20:56.omnivores. They are and we are on a bare trail, this is not a people
:20:57. > :21:00.trail and the reason it is here is because this meadow right behind us
:21:01. > :21:05.as all this great vegetation, Cal parsnip and horsetails. I saw them
:21:06. > :21:09.eating lots of horsetails earlier, in fact, most of their diet is
:21:10. > :21:14.vegetarian until the salmon arrived. We saw that mother fishing but how
:21:15. > :21:20.active are they in the day and how does the 24 hours pan out? They are
:21:21. > :21:22.out all day long. In fact, we have seen because the salmon are in the
:21:23. > :21:26.upper creek, that is where they are focusing right now. That bear was
:21:27. > :21:30.out last night doing the same thing. She's got three cubs and only six
:21:31. > :21:35.months to put on the weight she needs for a whole year worth of
:21:36. > :21:38.nursing them so the pressure is on. You have brought us to this
:21:39. > :21:42.particular area just to give us an idea of what happens during the day
:21:43. > :21:48.when they want to rest. This is what we call a day bed. It is great to
:21:49. > :21:51.see this. A day bed, I love that concept! It is great to see this
:21:52. > :21:54.because when the bears are feeding in the meadow or even fishing in the
:21:55. > :21:59.creek for another week or so, they use a trail like this to go out and
:22:00. > :22:03.rest. You can see it, looked down here, markings. Ryder if I were the
:22:04. > :22:08.bear, I would be walking in just like this up the trail, as I'm going
:22:09. > :22:14.in, I'm twisting in my pores, leaving my scent on the trail from
:22:15. > :22:23.my pads and getting up and maybe having... If the question is does a
:22:24. > :22:29.bear... In the woods, the answer is, it does. Seeds, vegetative bits,
:22:30. > :22:32.horsetail, cow passbook, all of that food and there's multiple other ones
:22:33. > :22:37.around this depression in the woods, the day bed. That is the day bed you
:22:38. > :22:40.are talking about? Reg Walker yeah, she has a big old belly down, the
:22:41. > :22:45.cubs beside her, or maybe just taking a rest. It looks pretty
:22:46. > :22:52.comfortable over there. Do you want to try it out? Yes, she disappears
:22:53. > :22:57.to go over the creek over there. We have seen some remarkable footage,
:22:58. > :23:01.John, of all of the brown bears off by the coast where Liz is. Let's
:23:02. > :23:05.talk a bit about the differences between black bears and brown bears.
:23:06. > :23:09.Brown bears are bigger, that is a key part, they are not always just
:23:10. > :23:15.Brown, I have seen black ones, too, so be careful but the black bear on
:23:16. > :23:19.the right, 153, from this Greek and the size of her ears, her style is
:23:20. > :23:23.different to the brown bear, she has more of a Labrador retriever than a
:23:24. > :23:29.colleague skull that you see on the brown bear. We can see what you are
:23:30. > :23:32.talking about. From the forehead to the tip of the nose, there's a
:23:33. > :23:36.distinct break in the brown bear skull where is the black bear's is
:23:37. > :23:40.more continuous. Look at the years and the clause, on the black bear,
:23:41. > :23:44.they are shorter and curved because they are tree climbers. Would they
:23:45. > :23:49.spend much time in water, black bears because brown bears swim a
:23:50. > :23:52.lot? We have some swing black bears but for the most part, they prefer
:23:53. > :23:56.to be in the water just when the salmon are there. Some swimming
:23:57. > :24:02.black bears. You have great stories about how mothers have used you to
:24:03. > :24:05.protect their cubs. It is a bit of a nursery in the sense we have
:24:06. > :24:08.elevated platforms around the meadow and people come onto them and the
:24:09. > :24:13.bears get used to them after a while and then the big bears, like the
:24:14. > :24:18.scary bears, males especially, tend to shy away unless it is breeding
:24:19. > :24:21.system -- breeding season. Otherwise, they another female to
:24:22. > :24:27.have protection for her cubs when she hangs around people. Quite
:24:28. > :24:29.amazing, let's have a look at the live salmon again because it is
:24:30. > :24:34.swimming up from the Pacific Ocean and a few weeks ago, marine
:24:35. > :24:37.biologist Dan Olson went in search of killer whales and the first sign
:24:38. > :24:47.that these very fish were on their way.
:24:48. > :24:52.Orca, the Wolves of the sea, have a fearsome reputation, sleek pack
:24:53. > :25:02.hunters, up to eight metres long, with a top speed of 30 mph. They are
:25:03. > :25:06.perfectly designed for hunting. But there are formal to these pods than
:25:07. > :25:16.meets the eye. Each one is a unique family unit. And right now, the
:25:17. > :25:20.salmon have arrived to the coastline, bringing dozens of Orca
:25:21. > :25:23.families here to enjoy the feast. And giving researchers a chance to
:25:24. > :25:32.document their numbers and behaviours close-up. Here we go, two
:25:33. > :25:33.o'clock, looks like a dorsal fin. Scientist Dan Olsen is studying
:25:34. > :25:37.communication within these incredible family unit. It is late
:25:38. > :25:44.May and the first day of the research year. Dan's priority is to
:25:45. > :25:50.establish who is here. Let's come to port a bit. Here we go. Oh, that
:25:51. > :25:56.might have been what we are looking for. Come on, one more breath. Each
:25:57. > :26:01.orca has a unique fin shape and pattern and for each sighting, Dan
:26:02. > :26:06.needs photographic records. They just -- can't they just surface five
:26:07. > :26:11.times in the same spot? I can see them underwater, coming up now. Yes.
:26:12. > :26:14.Recording this family's behaviour and the indications are only useful
:26:15. > :26:19.to down if he can work out who they are but this sport has him stumped.
:26:20. > :26:24.I'm getting the sense these individuals are not going to be easy
:26:25. > :26:28.to identify. It is possible these are brand-new to all of us which is
:26:29. > :26:32.super exciting and it is an awesome way to start off the research year.
:26:33. > :26:38.With a possible new family added to the archives, Dan drops a hydrophone
:26:39. > :26:44.below the surface and soon recognises voices of a different
:26:45. > :26:49.pod. That is the call. One that he already knows well. That was
:26:50. > :26:53.awesome. That is the 88 pod. I've been listening to these calls for
:26:54. > :27:00.probably 15 years and it is kind of like your favourite rock group. You
:27:01. > :27:04.just kind of know the voices of it. Dan's researches revealing how much
:27:05. > :27:08.of orca communication is unique to each family. The calls get passed
:27:09. > :27:11.down from mother to offspring and stay within the family so they have
:27:12. > :27:16.a repertoire of ten or 15 calls which belong only to that family.
:27:17. > :27:23.Hearing one right now. They do a lot that goes... It would be great to
:27:24. > :27:27.get photographs of this pod this year. We had one that was missing
:27:28. > :27:31.during two encounters last year and we are fearful it is passed on. It
:27:32. > :27:38.is a little bit like detective work which is an Golubic... Oh, right
:27:39. > :27:45.here! That is a 13-year-old offspring of the grandmother in this
:27:46. > :27:53.group. I can see from a notch down low, I know who this is. That is a
:27:54. > :27:59.cap that we thought was missing. We are excited to see this calf still
:28:00. > :28:04.alive. That is awesome. And more good news for this group. Oh, wow.
:28:05. > :28:08.Over the winter, there's been another addition to the pod, a new
:28:09. > :28:14.calf enjoying its first-ever Alaskan summer feast. And Dan will be
:28:15. > :28:19.studying it for years to come. It is always exciting to see a new calf,
:28:20. > :28:25.it gives us the idea that this pod is healthy and vibrant and gives us
:28:26. > :28:30.good Hope for the future. Thanks to Dan for allowing us to join a
:28:31. > :28:35.research. We have got very special access and permission to film the
:28:36. > :28:42.orca the US a big thank you to the organisation that look after the
:28:43. > :28:47.fees, NOAA. That was down in this area and later in the week, Steve
:28:48. > :28:51.has his own mission to try to get orca for us alive and that is
:28:52. > :28:54.because they have been spotted in this area down here. We will see
:28:55. > :28:57.what happens later in the week, fingers crossed for a living. Let's
:28:58. > :29:03.give you an idea of what we have seen where. Liz is in Katmai here,
:29:04. > :29:07.so we will put brown bears there, we have seen the lovely stuff with the
:29:08. > :29:11.mother suckling her cubs. It is remarkable how they manage to feed
:29:12. > :29:16.them through the winter hibernation without even feeding. A remarkable
:29:17. > :29:20.species from that perspective. Also, bald eagles, hundreds of them flying
:29:21. > :29:25.above our heads so we will put them here. And as we were seeing, the
:29:26. > :29:30.wonderful daybed of the black bears, and we will pop them on there. Let's
:29:31. > :29:34.check in with what else is going on, actually, let's go to the helicopter
:29:35. > :29:39.and Debbie and Dan who are scanning the seas as well so any marine life
:29:40. > :29:43.that turns up, we will bring it to you, looking for blowholes or any
:29:44. > :29:47.signs of whales, we might even be able to put humpbacks on the map
:29:48. > :29:52.later in the week. But if we just pan around because Liz is down there
:29:53. > :29:56.somewhere on the coast at the Katmai national park.
:29:57. > :30:05.Different. Whack back to the coast of Katmai
:30:06. > :30:11.National Park. Take a look at this, we are moving closer to the bears
:30:12. > :30:16.every time. We are going to try to get a little bit closer later on.
:30:17. > :30:18.Keeping a settled distance of course.
:30:19. > :30:23.The tide has gone quite far out. It is about to turn shortly. They are
:30:24. > :30:27.biding their time, really. They were fishing earlier on this morning. Now
:30:28. > :30:31.they look like, if a salmon showed up, they wouldn't notice but that's
:30:32. > :30:36.not the case. They are conserving energy but any movement in the water
:30:37. > :30:41.and they'll be on it. They'll hear the noise and that's it and they'll
:30:42. > :30:44.bound through the tidal flat. Hopefully we'll capture that for you
:30:45. > :30:58.live later. Mark, our live-cam Rahman is close to the bears now, --
:30:59. > :31:04.our live camera man is close to the bears now. How important is it for
:31:05. > :31:08.them after six months in hibernation? It is really important
:31:09. > :31:14.for them. What state are the males in? Thief last weight. They have the
:31:15. > :31:19.meadows to graze on but they want meat, they want the fish. The fat.
:31:20. > :31:23.Howedes separate are they for the salmon Well, they'll condition
:31:24. > :31:27.superthe entire lot. No leftovers. How much does this huge tidal range
:31:28. > :31:33.dictate their behaviour on any one day? They can't fish on high tides,
:31:34. > :31:38.they have to come out on the low tides. There are huge tidal floods,
:31:39. > :31:44.from minus-5 to plus-26. A wonderful sight it see. They'll try to get as
:31:45. > :31:50.close to the bears as possible over the next day and of course over the
:31:51. > :31:53.next week or so. Something else I wanted to show you. This has
:31:54. > :31:58.fascinated our team. A six-year-old male we come across a couple of days
:31:59. > :32:03.ago. We called him Scrawny. At first glance, he looked skinny. We saw him
:32:04. > :32:08.on the tidal flats, walking around, not fishing for salmon. A big male
:32:09. > :32:14.there, whose posture is telling the six-year-old - no, this is my patch,
:32:15. > :32:18.you have to move on but this is key, the way the six-year-old walks away,
:32:19. > :32:21.is showing the male - I'm respectedful but not scared of you.
:32:22. > :32:26.That's important because other bears his age might run away. This shows
:32:27. > :32:32.it might serve him well to be that confident and help him move up the
:32:33. > :32:37.hierarchy as he gets older. We lost him for a bit but that afternoon we
:32:38. > :32:41.found him at the river. Again, there is a male bear here, a bigger one
:32:42. > :32:44.and the way the six-year-old walks away from this guy is more
:32:45. > :32:48.interesting. Look at the posture, it tells the guys here they've had a
:32:49. > :32:52.serious encounter before but the way he walks up the bank and behind the
:32:53. > :32:58.dominant male is signalling to him -- I'm as much of a pushover as
:32:59. > :33:05.other guys my age. We lost him for a couple of days and then we found him
:33:06. > :33:07.on the meadows, there he is looking at first glance, Scrawny and eating
:33:08. > :33:14.glance but everyone is convinced here this is the type of male that
:33:15. > :33:19.will end up being dominant T goes to show, you need look carefully at the
:33:20. > :33:22.subtle body language of bears to understand what happened is going
:33:23. > :33:26.on. -- it goes to show. He was feeding on nutritious grass but
:33:27. > :33:32.ultimately this guy and all the bears have one thing on their minds
:33:33. > :33:35.- the salmon. They need to feed up on it as quickly as possible,
:33:36. > :33:40.especially considering what they have been through this winter. Brown
:33:41. > :33:44.bears in North America spend six months of the year deep underground
:33:45. > :33:51.sheltering from the bitter cold. Cold. And they don't emerge until
:33:52. > :33:56.late spring. They've been living off the fat reserves they built up over
:33:57. > :34:01.the previous summer and autumn and mothers have given birth to new cubs
:34:02. > :34:06.inside their winter dens. They'll have lost at least one-quarter of
:34:07. > :34:13.their body weight. A mother who's feeding young cubs, even more. Their
:34:14. > :34:18.priority is food. In Katmai National Park, there is a lot of new
:34:19. > :34:27.vegetation around. An adult brown bear will eat over 40 kilos of young
:34:28. > :34:32.grass shoots a day. For this female, the challenge to eat enough is
:34:33. > :34:38.tripled. Her two-and-a-half-year-old cubs are still demanding milk and
:34:39. > :34:44.will do so for another six months or more. It's a huge investment for her
:34:45. > :34:53.and she must keep them safe. So while they play, she's on the
:34:54. > :35:00.lookout for danger. This adult male losing his winter coat, could kill
:35:01. > :35:06.and eat a cub. To avoid any conflict, the mother instinctively
:35:07. > :35:12.moves her family on. But he's not interested in them. He's with a
:35:13. > :35:17.female he has claimed already and they're courting. Males can trail
:35:18. > :35:20.females for up to two weeks. Guarding against rivals who might
:35:21. > :35:26.approach, until she is finally ready to mate. It's one of the few times
:35:27. > :35:31.brown bears choose to be sociable. Safely back on the beach away from
:35:32. > :35:37.danger, the mother and her cubs can relax but with more and more bears
:35:38. > :35:40.gathering for the feast, she's going to have her work cut out keeping
:35:41. > :35:48.these little ones safe until the salmon finally arrive. Arrive.
:35:49. > :35:53.We've been on the lookout for Anna and her cubs since we arrived and
:35:54. > :35:58.look at the shots from Daniel in our helicopter. We are not sure yet
:35:59. > :36:02.whether that is Anna and her three cubs, we'll keep a close eye on
:36:03. > :36:08.that. Can we spot a collar on that bear? Difficult to see from that
:36:09. > :36:12.height. Well done Daniel what magnificent images of the bears on
:36:13. > :36:18.the coastline. Anna is part of a project called the Changing Tides
:36:19. > :36:25.project. That that is why she has a collar. I'm trying it see if this
:36:26. > :36:29.one does? I don't think she does. It is another bear doing fantastically
:36:30. > :36:36.well with her three cubs. It goes to show how much food is here and how
:36:37. > :36:39.special this place is. Anna is helping conservationists to amass
:36:40. > :36:42.data about bear behaviour and movement in order to help to
:36:43. > :36:48.understand them better and protect them better. Simirya, you are
:36:49. > :36:56.familiar with Anna, how wellers haved is she in motherhood s this
:36:57. > :37:01.her first litter? -- how well versed is she is motherhood? Her second
:37:02. > :37:07.litter. How difficult is it for a mum bear to rear cubs past the age
:37:08. > :37:13.of one? In most areas it is a little difficult but Katmai is a great
:37:14. > :37:17.environment to raise cubs in, a healthy environment. Lot of food, so
:37:18. > :37:21.they have a fighting chance. They are two-and-a-half, not out of the
:37:22. > :37:25.woods yet. What threats do they face? Large male bears, predating on
:37:26. > :37:29.them. Illness, falling off a cliff, Wolves can get them. Where do adult
:37:30. > :37:34.bears predate on clubs? They are hungry, if they are desperate and
:37:35. > :37:40.hungry, a spring cub is fair game. We know the salmon are arriving but
:37:41. > :37:45.before the salmon run reaches its peak here, they have a taste for
:37:46. > :37:50.clams? They do a lot of clamming. They can get anywhere from two tow
:37:51. > :37:57.three a minute. A good intake race. How does a bear with huge paws get a
:37:58. > :38:02.little clam burrowing into the sand? They move quick. They walk along the
:38:03. > :38:09.sand. The clam feels the vibration of the bears walking and it tries to
:38:10. > :38:13.get awane the bears see that squirt of water and start digging. It maybe
:38:14. > :38:18.only takes two or three attempts and they get T Not a great escape
:38:19. > :38:23.mechanism for the clams. Here I am. How important is that food source
:38:24. > :38:27.before the salmon arrive in earnest? Well the bears are hungry, they need
:38:28. > :38:34.something to eat so. They are trying to add a bit more into their diet.
:38:35. > :38:40.Do all bears make use of clams here on the tidal flats? Most do but we
:38:41. > :38:55.find that the adult male bears no longer clam. It is a work ratio.
:38:56. > :39:04.That would help the mums and cubs, if the big bears aren't here while
:39:05. > :39:10.they are clamming? Yes, and they can see what is coming towards them,
:39:11. > :39:16.quickly, if a male is coming towards them on a tidal flat. Daniel, doing
:39:17. > :39:18.a great job for us on our fist episode. He is finding bears
:39:19. > :39:19.clamming. quickly, if a male is coming towards
:39:20. > :39:20.them episode. He is finding bears
:39:21. > :39:26.clamming. The bears are performing. - let me show you how I clam, they
:39:27. > :39:30.are saying, head down, waiting to see the squirt of water and two or
:39:31. > :39:37.three paws and they get them. Look at that mother teaching her cubs to
:39:38. > :39:40.do that. How important is that? How quickly can they learn? Within the
:39:41. > :39:42.first year. The mother when they have a spring cub, they'll learn
:39:43. > :39:43.everything they need to survive have a spring cub, they'll learn
:39:44. > :39:46.everything they need to survive within the first year. Amazing.
:39:47. > :39:49.We'll stick with these cubs, move closer. Come back to us soon, but
:39:50. > :39:54.for now, back to you, Matt. If off stressful week ahead, you
:39:55. > :39:59.want to pick up on the aura of those bears, follow that vibe if you can,
:40:00. > :40:04.it is quite something. From the beaches of Alaska to the lakes.
:40:05. > :40:06.Let's talk about when this place starts to melt. We have incredible
:40:07. > :40:12.footage just from springtime. So only a few months ago when this was
:40:13. > :40:20.frozen solid. When does it start to melt? By April usually, it melts up,
:40:21. > :40:23.people don't go out on the ice until after that. You spend time out
:40:24. > :40:25.there, before that? Great recreational spot, cross-country
:40:26. > :40:29.season, fantastic. Then the animals appear about a month or so ago Yes,
:40:30. > :40:32.once the break-up, the fist thing that happens is the gulls. The
:40:33. > :40:36.birdlife come in and then when the salmon comes in everything turns on.
:40:37. > :40:43.We talked about your resident beaver earlier on. He is such a great
:40:44. > :40:46.little character. And he has to be so hardy, because through the winter
:40:47. > :40:51.they don't necessarily hibernate and we can see a shot of his little
:40:52. > :40:59.lodge covered in snow They have to work real hard in the fall to get
:41:00. > :41:07.every pressing taken care of. They have to have the food for the winter
:41:08. > :41:10.and the dam has to be set, it inslates their lodge, they don't
:41:11. > :41:15.hibernate. They are a busy. We have icebergs floating around behind us
:41:16. > :41:19.and look at the make-up of this ice. It is almost like crystals, very
:41:20. > :41:22.different to the kind of ice we get. Let's wander around, Pete, we have
:41:23. > :41:27.evidence of the beaver around here. You can see this dam. And the
:41:28. > :41:32.geography. They create all of these pools and ponds and when the water
:41:33. > :41:35.level rises, they have to be incredibly busy. Yes, incredibly
:41:36. > :41:38.busy. They create the dam and it gives them a protected area. When
:41:39. > :41:43.they are in their water they are protected and it helps flood some of
:41:44. > :41:47.the areas and encourages plant growth which is their food base. You
:41:48. > :41:52.see the willow, that's what they eat. We'll talk more about them as
:41:53. > :41:59.the week goes on but let's look at them relaxing at the moment. Nice
:42:00. > :42:02.and relaxed. Can we go inside? Taking a well-earned rest as we
:42:03. > :42:05.said. This little creature has a lot of respect for you, being knee-deep
:42:06. > :42:23.in this icy water. Kind of looking snug there. Here in
:42:24. > :42:31.the estuary you get a sense of how much this feast is kicking off. It
:42:32. > :42:35.is more than anything from the sound. You know the sound of the
:42:36. > :42:41.fish thrashing away around you. The sound of the gulls who are here
:42:42. > :42:44.feasting on the dead and dying fish, the ones that have already spawned.
:42:45. > :42:48.Some are beautiful. The black-headed gulls that are too small it pick
:42:49. > :42:52.apart the adult fish. Right now they are snatching the eggs pretty much
:42:53. > :42:57.as soon as they are being released by the females. Honestly, who would
:42:58. > :43:03.be a salmon? Absolutely everything wants to feed on you or your young.
:43:04. > :43:08.But I sound I like the most is the sound of the most majestic bird
:43:09. > :43:14.here, the bald eagle. It is call that is quite serious. Not like a
:43:15. > :43:18.bird of this size t sounds more like the braying of a donkey. They are
:43:19. > :43:21.here in incredible numbers. Towards the shoreline, you can see several.
:43:22. > :43:24.These ones are youngsters, they have not acquired the full adult
:43:25. > :43:29.colouration with the Whitehead and black body. But as impressive.
:43:30. > :43:35.Difficult to tell the females and males apart. Girls are bigger than
:43:36. > :43:41.the boys. Hang on a second I'm just hearing something remarkable - we
:43:42. > :43:44.have a live wolf. This is incredible. This could well be the
:43:45. > :43:46.first time this have a live wolf. This is
:43:47. > :43:51.incredible. This could well be the first time this has ever been seen,
:43:52. > :43:57.live on our cameras. It is a wolf strolling down, up there at Katmai
:43:58. > :44:00.seen from the air. A lot of people expect Wolves will be always in
:44:01. > :44:04.packs but like the predators around me they are brought in by the fish
:44:05. > :44:07.and males like this have probably been driven out from their pack T
:44:08. > :44:13.could've been an alpha male driven away by a younger male and it is
:44:14. > :44:20.here now, looking out for salmon. The fact it has such a surface of
:44:21. > :44:26.prey allow it is to live on its own without the need of a pack, to hunt
:44:27. > :44:29.for larger prey. This one is sitting here in the sand looking around it,
:44:30. > :44:32.Saab salutely content. Probably with a very full belly having fed really
:44:33. > :44:38.well on salmon. What a wonderful sight. We were hoping we would get a
:44:39. > :44:43.chance to show you this over the course of Will of Wild Alaska Live
:44:44. > :44:47.but to see it there in the sunshine looking happy, what a wonderful
:44:48. > :44:48.sight. It is not just the animals like Wolves and bear
:44:49. > :44:51.sight. It is not just the animals like Wolves and bear and bald Eagles
:44:52. > :44:57.that are reliant on the fish. The management of the fish is so
:44:58. > :45:01.important to make sure they are here in numbers like that and we had the
:45:02. > :45:04.privilege of meeting the wonderful local people who from 10,000 years
:45:05. > :45:09.have been stewards of these lands and we met up with a group living on
:45:10. > :45:11.the brink of the largest salmon migration in the world, the Salmon
:45:12. > :45:20.Centres. We live on the greatest sockeye
:45:21. > :45:27.salmon run in the world, where we see up to three 4 million salmon out
:45:28. > :45:36.of our front doors every summer. -- three or 4 million. Just beautiful.
:45:37. > :45:46.You nowhere in the salmon are coming because you can smell it in the air.
:45:47. > :45:50.-- you know when. I know it sounds goofy but the others used it as, the
:45:51. > :45:54.wind changes, it smells rainy and the wind picks up and you know the
:45:55. > :46:00.salmon are coming. You can, like, the smell of fish is in the air.
:46:01. > :46:04.Salmon and some go hand in hand. It is the highlight of everyone's
:46:05. > :46:15.summer, I believe. How many have we got today? I guess 45. 47. 44. 43.
:46:16. > :46:19.It brings out new excitement in all of us. You know you are putting away
:46:20. > :46:25.food that is going to sustain your family for the whole winter and that
:46:26. > :46:30.is a good feeling. Seven, eight, nine, ten. In our language, the word
:46:31. > :46:37.for food is the same as for fish. It is just a general term for fish but
:46:38. > :46:53.it is also the word for food. 39, 14. Oh, no. 41, 42 and I am the
:46:54. > :46:57.winner! Big wins today. I think everyone living out here, it all
:46:58. > :47:01.takes teamwork. We are all independent but we depend on each
:47:02. > :47:04.other for survival out here. I think that is what I love the most,
:47:05. > :47:11.really, that we are like one big family. We are teaching the younger
:47:12. > :47:19.generations to carry on the way we have forever. We use traditional
:47:20. > :47:22.knives and we practise our traditional ways of storing and
:47:23. > :47:24.hanging salmon which is very important to keep our culture alive,
:47:25. > :47:33.especially in our younger generations. We do rely heavily on
:47:34. > :47:37.what nature provides us and from childhood, you are taught to treat
:47:38. > :47:42.the land with respect and in return, it will take care of you. All fish
:47:43. > :47:47.and animals are well respected. There is no waste. You have too,
:47:48. > :47:48.otherwise the Earth won't take care of you and your family would not
:47:49. > :48:01.survive. It means everything to us. Carlo, together, we are just
:48:02. > :48:06.enjoying the pictures of the live wolf and this is quite emotional for
:48:07. > :48:11.you because as far as your tribe is concerned, they are a very special
:48:12. > :48:16.animal. Yes and particularly to my family, my clan crest is the wolf.
:48:17. > :48:21.It is very rare, especially where I live in Juneau, I don't often get
:48:22. > :48:26.treated to seeing a live wolf so it is a special treat. When you say
:48:27. > :48:31.they are the icon of your tribe, what does that mean? They are the
:48:32. > :48:40.clan crest which is where I derive my identity from, where I can say I
:48:41. > :48:44.belong to the Wolf plan. I belong to the Wolf plan. For you to be seeing
:48:45. > :48:48.the footage that Debbie and Daniel have. It is very exciting. And the
:48:49. > :48:53.brown bear which is a creature rooted in your community? The brown
:48:54. > :48:57.bear is definitely rooted in my culture primarily because we revere
:48:58. > :49:00.them as our grandparents. They are the ones who taught us how to live
:49:01. > :49:04.on the land over 10,000 years ago. By watching them and observing them,
:49:05. > :49:09.we learned what kind of food to eat and what medicines to use. How do
:49:10. > :49:14.you pass those messages onto your children? Like I did to you now,
:49:15. > :49:17.talking about it on a consistent and regular basis with the children, any
:49:18. > :49:20.time we are out in nature or even just sitting around, we will talk
:49:21. > :49:25.and share stories about what I learned from parents my
:49:26. > :49:28.grandparents. I passed that down to my children and grandchildren. You
:49:29. > :49:32.obviously have a special relationship with your surroundings
:49:33. > :49:35.in Alaska but do you worry for your children when you are sending them
:49:36. > :49:41.out to play? How do you cope with it as a mother? Very early on, we teach
:49:42. > :49:45.them do have a healthy respect for the landscape and knowing their
:49:46. > :49:48.surroundings so they are not lost in their own little world but paying
:49:49. > :49:52.attention to what is around them so that if an animal comes across their
:49:53. > :49:57.path, they back off and give the animal the respect it deserves. I
:49:58. > :50:02.can imagine having pets is a slight issue. Definitely! I have seen with
:50:03. > :50:08.my own eyes and American bald eagle swooped down and picked up a house
:50:09. > :50:14.cat. Really? Rhodes for its meal, yes. So no one has cats all small
:50:15. > :50:18.dogs out here! No, another case of a small dog being taken off by an
:50:19. > :50:22.eagle. We will let you enjoy the pictures like the rest of us and
:50:23. > :50:25.talk about a unique gathering that happens out to the west and a couple
:50:26. > :50:32.of weeks ago, Steve went camping to find out a bit more.
:50:33. > :50:36.Weighing up to 2000 kg and with two giant front teeth forming metre long
:50:37. > :50:46.tusks, there's nothing on earth quite like the walrus. Bristol Bay,
:50:47. > :50:48.over 900 miles to the west of this national forest, is home to
:50:49. > :50:54.thousands of these blubbering beasts. At this kind of year, round
:50:55. > :50:59.Ireland is the place to see what could be Alaska's most unusual
:51:00. > :51:03.spectacle. 35 miles out to sea, exactly the kind of place you would
:51:04. > :51:07.expect to see some kind of weird monster. The sea ice in this bay
:51:08. > :51:14.melted a few months ago, giving thousands of walrus axis to the
:51:15. > :51:18.bounty of food under the waves. -- walrus access to the bounty. I've
:51:19. > :51:24.come to see how vital they are to the ecology of Alaska. That is
:51:25. > :51:27.insane. These animals are essentially bottom feeders. What
:51:28. > :51:31.they are doing is heading down to the silty, marquee bottom and then
:51:32. > :51:37.feeling around using their whiskers, that cover their lips, to try to
:51:38. > :51:42.find prey like these clams. Once they have found them, they use their
:51:43. > :51:46.big, blubbery lips to create suction power and literally suck the clams
:51:47. > :51:52.out of their own shells. Each one of these two tonne tasked animals can
:51:53. > :51:57.eat up to 4000 clams in a feeding trip and there are searching has a
:51:58. > :52:00.surprising benefit. Disturbing the sea bed releases tiny invertebrates
:52:01. > :52:07.into the water, food for other animals. It contributes to the whole
:52:08. > :52:11.food chain here which even salmon benefit from. When you see how many
:52:12. > :52:14.walrus there are common here, you can imagine there has to be an
:52:15. > :52:19.enormous amount of food in these seas. I have come ashore to get a
:52:20. > :52:25.closer look at these curious animals, where they are hauled out
:52:26. > :52:30.in their hundreds. That is really something special.
:52:31. > :52:36.First of all, the smell of it hits you immediately, not surprisingly,
:52:37. > :52:44.really, when you have that many big animals together, letting rip with
:52:45. > :52:50.some really eye watering smells! As if it wasn't weird enough seeing
:52:51. > :52:55.this mass of blubber and tasks, there's an extra added element to it
:52:56. > :52:59.all. This is a big bachelor party. Every single one of these is male.
:53:00. > :53:04.The females have pups at this time of year and are far north on the
:53:05. > :53:08.edge of the Arctic sea ice, giving mates space to raise their young,
:53:09. > :53:11.the males come south where the warmer air helps them moult,
:53:12. > :53:16.renewing their hair and skin after winter. Look at this one rubbing
:53:17. > :53:22.down the bottom, there. Look at that. It looks like a bear against a
:53:23. > :53:26.tree, scratching itself. This time up here on these beaches is really
:53:27. > :53:30.important as they get rid of excess skin, rubbing it off and leaving it
:53:31. > :53:36.behind on the beaches and that in turn will become food. And as. So
:53:37. > :53:42.not only are the walrus integral to the food chain in the water but they
:53:43. > :53:47.also play an important role online. When you look at this amount of
:53:48. > :53:51.animals, at the count, there were 14,000 walrus on this island and
:53:52. > :53:58.they are absolutely vital to the ecology of Alaska.
:53:59. > :54:03.What magnificent, almost improbable animals, testament to the beauty,
:54:04. > :54:07.the success story of conservation in Alaska. We don't have walrus on this
:54:08. > :54:12.coastline but as you have seen, there are wolves up the coast on the
:54:13. > :54:16.bay and just behind me, there is a male bear, another one further back,
:54:17. > :54:21.waiting for the salmon, the tide is about to turn so they are biding
:54:22. > :54:24.their time. This guy was rolling over, there was steam coming out of
:54:25. > :54:28.his mouth a moment ago, he is hot but he is not going to move because
:54:29. > :54:32.he knows the salmon will enter the shallows shortly. Such a beautiful
:54:33. > :54:36.sight. I can't quite believe what I'm looking at, it is almost surreal
:54:37. > :54:40.to see these magnificent creatures so close up. We are still on the
:54:41. > :54:44.lookout for Anna and her cubs but earlier we saw another mother with
:54:45. > :54:49.three cubs which is testament to the success of this place, the wealth
:54:50. > :54:55.and abundance of food here but the day I arrived, we set out from camp
:54:56. > :54:56.about a mile down the road into a meadow looking for Anna and guess
:54:57. > :55:07.who we found? I can't believe on my first day, I'm
:55:08. > :55:12.seeing a mother and three cubs but not only that, it is Anna. She is
:55:13. > :55:19.magnificent. She is looking at us now. She is letting us take it all
:55:20. > :55:26.in, incredible. We are just another form of wildlife to her. You can't
:55:27. > :55:28.help but care for the individuals, can you? You become attached when
:55:29. > :55:32.you see them year after year, growing up and having their own cubs
:55:33. > :55:35.which then grow up and continue on. It is such a treat to see them in
:55:36. > :55:39.the spring and know they made it through hibernation and everything
:55:40. > :55:48.was fine. I've only been here a couple of hours and that's it, I
:55:49. > :55:53.care too much already. Such a thrill to see the bears and
:55:54. > :55:58.the cubs doing so well. Take a look at the helicopter shot from Daniel,
:55:59. > :56:03.the mother bear teaching her cubs to fish for salmon but this is where it
:56:04. > :56:07.gets treacherous as the tides turn, the cubs are in a precarious
:56:08. > :56:12.position. Bears often lose one of their cubs when the tide changes so
:56:13. > :56:15.we are hoping this mother is old and experienced enough to make sure she
:56:16. > :56:20.keeps track of those three very special Bears. We are thinking it
:56:21. > :56:25.might be an but it is hard to tell whether she has a collar around her
:56:26. > :56:31.big, very next. We're not 100% sure but we will keep an eye on that. --
:56:32. > :56:34.Herbig, fairy neck. We have got word that more male bears, the big,
:56:35. > :56:37.dominant ones are coming down from the mountains which is when
:56:38. > :56:40.everything changes. They will be vying for top position and we will
:56:41. > :56:44.try to get you that and understand what happens when they battle it out
:56:45. > :56:49.for the top position at the river. Not only that, you have seen them
:56:50. > :56:52.before, it is a world first, we got you live wolves but just outside
:56:53. > :56:57.camp yesterday and the day before, we had a couple of sightings of
:56:58. > :57:01.wolves, very close to camp. There was one on the shoreline and one in
:57:02. > :57:06.the meadows and we are going to try very hard to get you more wolves
:57:07. > :57:09.live on Wednesday. We will be looking out for Anna, we will keep
:57:10. > :57:14.and I on this very happy, full bear, and we will see one Wednesday.
:57:15. > :57:18.I can't believe the shots of those three cubs in the surf, it was
:57:19. > :57:21.wonderful. But stick around because after the show we will do a live
:57:22. > :57:27.Facebook question and answer session and here is what else you can look
:57:28. > :57:32.forward to next time. There is the glacier that Steve, believe it or
:57:33. > :57:36.not, will be abseiling into, live on the programme. We will take you even
:57:37. > :57:43.closer to the biggest predators and show you what will be turning up.
:57:44. > :57:48.You could never get tired of watching these pictures. We have
:57:49. > :57:52.seen some incredible live footage this evening. We will be back on
:57:53. > :57:58.Wednesday but before that, you can watch Wildie UK, a brand new series
:57:59. > :58:02.starting tomorrow at 915 M, Lucy Cooke and Colin Stafford doesn't
:58:03. > :58:04.looking at the wild Wilderness in the UK with exclusive
:58:05. > :58:08.behind-the-scenes from Alaska. We will see what Wednesday but from all
:58:09. > :58:36.of us and all of the crews across Alaska, goodbye.
:58:37. > :58:46.We've got a wild week of adventure planned, UK-style...
:58:47. > :58:51.Join us to celebrate our own home-grown wilderness.