Episode 3 Wild Alaska Live

We are going big in Alaska. Over the next hour we are going to be

watching as the biggest beasts stand shoulder to shoulder to make the

most of this feast. We'll be watching it all live. Shia in the

national park the largest land predators are coming together, vying

for top position as the salmon make headway upriver. Out here on the

ocean, the most massive marine predators have gathered to plunder

the season in style. This is Wild Alaska Live.

MUSIC: "Running With The Wolves" by Aurora.

# I'm running with the wolves tonight

# I'm running with the wolves tonight

# I'm running with the wolves tonight

# I'm running with the wolves tonight

Hello and welcome back to Wild Alaska Live. Let's have a look at

our live cameras if we can. There is no bear action at the moment but we

are watching from the Tongass National Forest. 4500 miles from

where you are watching at home. We've got crews all over the

wilderness. We also have our eye in the sky for the last time, as it is

our last programme. Debbie and Daniel are just off the coast near

Juneau and scanning the oceans. Steve is going in search of one of

the biggest wildlife spectacles that we know has arrived. How are things

looking at the moment? Absolutely unbelievable. We've had dramatic

spectacles in the seas around us. Just minutes ago we had an explosion

of life as about 11 humpback whales erupted up to the surface in

something known as bubble net feeding. It was quite an exceptional

thing to see. There are several thousand humpback whales coming to

this area of Alaska. When you see this coordinated, synchronised hunt,

it takes your breath away. Every single time they come to the

surface, huge shoals of herring and taking down tonnes with every single

hunt. It has, arguably, a call to be one of the grandest wildlife

spectacles on the planet and it's happening in the seas around us

right now. And welcome back, it is a beautiful, peaceful morning here.

The sun is out and the bears are taking it easy. There is no sign of

them quite yet. Last time you were with us we treated you to

magnificent images of the wolves scavenging. Now as the salmon are

travelling in one direction upriver, things are getting even more

interesting. Some of the biggest bears we've seen yet are arriving.

Just who is the king of this stretch of the river? Not only that but has

the biggest bears and bravest wolves come together will try and get you

some of that action, live. We'll be back with you shortly. Just the word

on the bubble netting, if it starts to happen we'll go to Steve live

straightaway so you can watch as the magic unfolds. Here in the Tonga

will part, the rivers and trees that surround us are ripe with food. That

is the case across a Alaska which is why we are here right now. Since we

last saw you, our teams haven't stopped filming. This is just some

of what they've captured. So, we're on bubble net stand-by and

brown bear stand-by, and black bear stand-by. Black bears are all around

us and could pop out at any time. Let's give you an idea of how many

of the species we have been observing over the last week. We'll

start down here at Katmai National Park where Liz is stationed. As far

as Brown bears are concerned, she's seen up to 30 of those. Things

looking very good indeed. We think the whales are up. If they start

bubble net feeding we'll go straight to Steve. While we are talking about

marine life, let's go to the Kenai Straits. We did a piece on orca.

Numbers orca at the moment 187. I'll deal with famine while I'm down

here. At the moment, 59 million salmon have been counted. I don't

know who was counting them but it's very impressive. 59 million. On

Wednesday it was at 50 million. There has been a real increase as

well there. Eagle numbers in the Chilcot Valley at the top of this

stretch of water here, we are talking 3000 eagles. Black bear

numbers, we are on the lookout for them. Nine have been spotted just in

this place here alone. This is the great time to bring our head range

at the Tongass National Forest. We wanted to bring black bears live to

the UK audience. We are on the lookout and actually we've noticed a

really interesting change in their behaviour in the past week. That's

right, the salmon are in and the bears are after them. We've noticed

especially in the case of 153, she's been taking her three cubs out into

the water to teach them how to fish. Exactly. We noticed yesterday and

the day before. This is mum in the stream. She's got three cubs, there

is one of them jumping in the stream. He's looking around,

pretending like he knows what he's doing but it's all an experiment

because he's in his first year in the stream. Some of the salmon are

as big as the clubs themselves! They are! This guy seems to be more

worried about the salmon and interested in catching them. A

bird's eye view for this one. Checking out the salmon from above.

LAUGHTER Really, they only have this summer to learn how to fish from

their mum. In that very first programme, we are talking about the

fact these cubs were born in the den, coming out and experiencing

this environment for the very first time. You'd the smells and the sense

of smell that aids bear has anyway -- a bear has anyway. During this

programme we are going to be finding out more about these heroic fish

that make their way here. They are the winners. They've dodged all of

the obstacles. They are going to be the key to us potentially spotting

black bears live. I've got a great question. How competitive do the

Cubs get with their food? They are always battling each other to try

and get those scraps. You can hear sometimes the bawling after the mum

brings the fish and they are going at it with each other. They will

continue to compete but also cooperate. As usual we've got our

experts here so if you have any questions please get in contact.

We'll also be popping up live on Facebook with our remote cameras and

updating you with any animal sightings. One animal that really

did take us by surprise on that first programme was the Wolf down

here in Katmai. Liz has spotted nine wolves in that area. All this week

as well as living with brown bears, Liz has been following on the trail

of this Alaskan icon. Wolves. The ultimate wilderness icons.

Masters of stealth, these strategic predators thrive in the harshest

environments. Altered thick coat shield them from temperatures as low

as -50 degrees. And when food is scarce, they can go

for 14 days without a meal. Super packs patrol together to increase

chances of a kill. Stalking caribou and elk for days on end. At speeds

of 40 mph, they will drive their targets into deep snow to overwhelm

prey much bigger than themselves. But there are two sides to these

elusive animals. With complex social structures, they live in large

family groups, working together to raise litters of up to seven pups.

With the youngsters to feed and no snow to help them bring down large

prey, this is the wolves' toughest time of the year. HOWLS. So, we are

moving down river to a key fishing spot for the bears and wolves. We've

got no bears and wolves right now but we have wonderful live images of

humpback whales moving along the coastline. When they come together

like that, normally solitary creatures, that means they've come

together to feed. Fingers crossed we'll get you bubble netting live.

They are just breathtaking. Ever since we've arrived, we've spotted

wolves near the camp and we've also got to those really great images of

the wolves amongst the bears on the coast. Now we're getting to know

that one particular pack. They keep coming over towards this patch of

the river. Our head guide is still with us, thank goodness! You know

them pretty well. How well are they doing? How many are in the pack?

We've known for about five years. They started with four and are up to

seven. Why are we seeing them as solitary animals right now? Right

now they are fishing at the Creek and the other ones have gone to

other areas to see if they can find anything else to eat. Is that

because there aren't enough salmon quite yet? It is. Once the salmon

start surging up the creeks, the pack will start fishing together.

Why are they always spotted coming over this stretch of river in

particular? They are coming from upriver where the rendezvous sites

are. This section is a lot easier for them to catch fish because the

fish get caught on the sand bars and it makes life easier. We know

they've preyed on moose, elk and caribou, why would they target

salmon? It is easier to catch. The risk reward ratio is better and the

fat content is great. If I was a wolf I know I would. Just like the

bears, the walls are seeking out this highly nutritious food source.

The salmon get caught and there are footprints of the wolves all along

the river bank. Beside them, the huge paw of bears. They've got scent

glands on the pads of their feet signalling what their age is, how

dominant or subordinate they might be to the other bears. It's a great

way of communicating who you are. But I really, really wanted to show

you one of these. These are littered across the river bank us well. This

is an bear daybed. These are dug out by bears pretty much whenever and

wherever they please. They can dig these out with a view swipes of

their massive paws that act as huge shovels. There are two functions.

The first is actually to help them to cool down. Bears have two layers

of fur. They have a softer highly insulating fur underneath and at

this time of year it might be a bit cool for us, but it's really warm

for the bears. They are revealing deep underneath, waterlogged sand

is what they like and then they lie in it to cool down. Look at the size

of this cavity. This is to make space for their big fat bellies as

they lie down full of salmon, so they can buy just easily. It's only

when you get into one that you realise how big they are. This is

only the space for their bellies. Incredible stuff. The tide is still

going out in Katmai and that means the fish are most likely going to

start getting caught in the sand bars. There are still no bears

around. Hopefully now as there are more salmon getting caught we might

see some bears and wolves. We are going to keep our cameras focused on

the River we'll see you soon. So, the images that Liz has been

bringing us of bears and wolves out in broad daylight and totally

oblivious to Liz and the crew are very much due to the vast expanse of

wilderness that we have in Alaska. We are looking at some of that from

an eagle eye view up in our helicopter. This is our group of

humpback whales travelling. There are several thousand in this area at

this time of year. Most of them are hunting individually, perhaps two or

three at a time. When you get them coming together in large groups,

that's when the magic really happens. At present there is a group

of 11 animals and they are travelling in quite a dispersed

group. They haven't yet focused together in the sense that shows me

they are likely to begin bubble net feeding yet. When that happens you

will see them died simultaneously and that's when we will know

everything will kick-off. From the air what you see, which is hard to

see at sea-level, is the site of the white fins coming to the surface

almost like wings as they travel along. That is the largest limb in

nature, as much as five metres in length, driving them through the

water almost like wings. It's something you really only see from

this wonderful... You can see at the top of your screen. That is part of

the scientific name of these humpback whales.

The hyper abundance of food is drawing them together. They are

feeding on herring. Herring are brought here by the same forces that

drive the aggregations of salmon. You have all the freshwater running

down from the glaciers to the sea, causing up welling of nutrients,

feeding plankton, which feeds herring. It can lead to hundreds of

millions of animals strong, and can be seen from space. They are the

things drawing in these marvellous, enormous whales.

The mighty humpback whale, these 15 metre giants are longer than a

double-decker bus. One flipper alone can be five metres

long. And massive tail foods can propel their 40 tonnes up into the

air. Some travel 10,000 miles to reach

some of feeding grounds, barely eating along the way.

For those that arrive in Alaskan waters, they will show off

extraordinary hunting skills. Working in teams, they form rings of

bubbles, trapping fish and forcing them to the surface.

Their colossal mouse will suck in 1.5 tonnes of herring, even small

salmon every day, to make up for four months of farming on their epic

migration. Now they are here, has it been worth the trip?

That is very much what we are hoping to find out, after all the summer

months here in Alaska are just as important to our whales as they are

to the bears. They feast on the salmon to build up fat reserves to

take them through winter. The whales are doing the same thing, because

through their winter, they won't feed either. They will travel to

Hawaii and back. In enormous migrations, they live off their fat

reserves. Here and now is critical. Let me show you a bit of my boat

because it is the perfect whale watching platform. Most of the time,

it is used for taking tourists out to view whales. We have a captain

and crew that no disease intimately. Even though the individual whales as

well. We have made if you alterations to turn it into a

filming platform, so we ripped out a bunch of seats, we asked if we could

first, and put in transmitting equipment. We have an editing desk,

scientists on board to help us identify exact whales. And this

fabulous space age camera, which is stabilised, and can look out as far

as a mile on rough seas to allow us to get shots of whales. Daniel, you

are up in the helicopter looking down. He is in the same area as ask,

is there anything you can see right now?

We are up in the helicopter, and below us there are nine whales. A

few minutes ago, they were bubble net feeding, and we will follow them

to see if they bubble net feed again. As soon as we see it, we will

bring it to you live. We are so, so lucky to have those

guys up in the helicopter. They have brought us superb views. We have

seen whales around us all the time, but they have managed to find a

group we have been following for the last four days or so. We have 11

animals, Daniel says not, perhaps two have disbursed. As many as 11,

one is a cough that was borne no more than six months ago, enjoying

its first Alaskan summer. They have been bubble net feeding over and

over, and over again. Truly, if we could capture that live on camera,

you are going to have a very, very excited crew here. We believe it

would be a first, not seen before on live television, and we have all the

tools at our disposal. Everyone back at base camp, keep your fingers

crossed for us. We will! Debbie and Daniel are only

ten miles away from where we are. It is the most magical and incredible

place. Thinking of the ocean out there, you know well that the salmon

that have arrived here, winning fish that are going to be spawning in the

next few days have through an incredible amount of thanks to and

obstacles. I mean, we are talking salmon sharks, orcas. These are the

best of the best. Less than 1% make it back to a successful spot. They

have made it here. The timing is absolute perfection. The timing is

perfect, the temperatures warms up, the spring flows have calmed down,

allowing fish to come in. This gives the egg is plenty of time to start

hatching and developing in the gravel, and hat in the winter time.

We have wonderful shots of the red salmon jumping. We find to stand in

this area, because they are making nests a bit further away from where

we are. That is correct. The females look for places that have good

oxygenation for the eggs. Right here is a good spot. As far as the nests

are concerned, they are quite sizeable. They end up being a good

size. The female selects a spot, and turns on its side, moving some of

the gravel out of the way. It makes a bit of a pit, and they put their

eggs in the gravel to make a nest. How much water does she need above

that nest am and what are the ideal conditions? It can be surprisingly

thin water at times. As long as it stays covered most of the year,

through the winter time, it will be fine for the eggs. They are just

like patches, really, on the gravel bottom. We can see the males

circling, and they become very territorial, and quite aggressive

towards each other. Exactly. Once she selects a spot, she will start

digging, and it attracts the attention of the males, they will

vie for her attention. We have some fighting and wrestling here as well.

You can see the red colouring, and the huge jaw that develops. Exactly.

Their teeth become more prominent. The males use that to fight for the

rights to make on the spawning ground. They are not afraid to bite

each other. They hook up and the spawning process starts. This is

quite incredible in itself. The fish start opening their mouths. The

female wants as many eggs as she releases to get into the nest as

possible. Anywhere there is current, it sweeps the eggs away. By opening

their mouths, it allows their bodies to get more drag, sinking them down

closer to the gravel. If they don't make it into the nest, the eggs are

gone. At the other end, what is the success rate of the eggs? How many

fish do you expect to leave here and return? I think about 100,000 leave

this system in spring, and we get 1000 or 2000 adults escape to make

it back to successfully spawn, usually less than 1%. As far as the

returning ones are concerned, you call them the escapement. Anything

that makes it back, these are the best. It is a beautiful process. I'm

sure. With over 5000 rivers and streams here in Tongass, there are

salmon everywhere. The key for them getting into the breeding sites is

safety in numbers, especially when there are walls like this. We have a

wolf here jumping around in the shallows to find his dinner. Rightly

so. Liz is in the area, have you seen wolves this morning?

Matt, we saw two wolves this morning strolling down the river bank, but

they have disappeared. However, the bears have reappeared. Three we had

early on. It was quiet and peaceful, and beautiful, but thankfully, now,

they are on the river bank. Salmon are getting caught in the shallows,

and this bear is having a go. So far, there are no salmon in his

mouth, but we will keep an eye on him. As you mentioned, yes, there

are wolves all around here in Katmai. They focus on the salmon,

but they are also known to take cubs. We introduced you to a mother

on Sunday, and she has to be wary of it. We filmed her in a meadow a

couple of days ago, and here is what happened. A solitary wolf appeared.

With her stance and behaviour, you can see he is hunting for voles and

mice. The cubs are wary because, even though the cubs are two and a

half, a single wolf might not be able to take a two and a half year

old on its own, but it can summon other members of the pack to take

down a cub. You can see Anna has taught her cubs well. They get up on

their hind legs, and they can call the alarm for their mum as well.

Great page. The wolf on this occasion has no interest. He is

looking at the cubs and the mother, and it is not worth the effort and

risk of injury. But a few seconds later, and had to be on her guard

against. A male bear appeared out of the trees. Mail bears are a constant

threat, they get up on their hindlegs and the cubs and her move

away, bolting to the other side of the meadow. It goes to show how well

she has taught the cubs. They stick to her side. They are doing the job

of being on sentry duty for their mum. That is really important. Even

just in those two moments, and seeing her teaching her cubs to fish

on our last programme, as they were learning to snorkel, it shows Anna

is a terrific mum. The cubs are doing really well, it is her second

litter. Gives the signs she will rear these successfully as well. As

you can see, the bears are behind us. Bears appear all the time. This

is when the hierarchy begins to take shape. You have one male on every

stretch of river like this one, who assumes a top position. All the

other bears in the area assume a rank beneath him. Because we have

been here for a little bits now, we have spotted who the king of this

river might be, and it is this magnificent chap, he is 12 years

old. Whenever he is around, all the other bears no matter what age or

sex, they move away, they don't try to challenge him at this river.

Usually, body language will be effective enough. If you are going

to be the top bear, inevitably, you have do have some battles. This is

one of the bears that looks at him and walks away into the bushes. But

look at him, he is bearing the scars of battle. He earned his position on

the river. He has the run of the river now. The only potential threat

that can come to him now is if another bear from another part of

the river or another river has lost his Brown and wants a position

somewhere else, and might come down here and try it out with this

12-year-old. Look at him, he has the run of the river. He was joyfully

hunting for salmon the day we filmed him. It was a beautiful thing to

see. Let's take a look at the cameras before we leave you for a

moment. We have bears on the river fishing this morning. He is quite

quiet still. But we will keep an eye on who else appears. Certainly, we

will look out for the king himself, and whether there are any wolves

around. It is fascinating to look at the

size of the brown bears now. At the start of the week, they were a

different shape. It is incredible, the speed they fatten up once the

salmon comes in, the 59 million that I was talking about earlier, that is

just around the corner from where these bears are feasting, so proof

that this feast is at a high point at the moment.

We will turn our attention to the humans that live here. Everyone you

talk to is connected in some way to fishing. 96% of Alaskans say salmon

is essential to their way of life. This time of year is critical for

fishermen like Joe Trotter. I have been fishing for salmon for

the last 21 years. Picking the fish with your hands, out on the water

every day. It is such a condensed part of the year, the salmon are

only here for a month, a diesel which more. OK. I have had big

seasons and small seasons. This year looks a decent one, there is quite a

bit of fish out. They let us know if we can or can't

fish. It is a tool to slow down the run or the amount of fish going up

the river, or they close us down to let more fish up the river and

ensure we have jobs and there is salmon up the river for generations

to come. Sometimes all these boats are in one

little section, and we are all fighting for that same spot with the

fish coming across the line into the district. The nets are all tangled

up. The guy has his web in that other guide's wheel. Some people

don't really care about getting too close, there is a bit of etiquette

but some people are still learning that one! LAUGHTER Drop it! We've

been fishing the last three days straight, two opening today with a

couple of hours sleep in between. We can start picking, guys. Can you

imagine doing this eight hours a day, twice a day? Maybe get a couple

of hours of sleep, then get up and do it again. We aren't here for a

good time, we are here for a short time! We only have a month and a

half to make a living. If we have a bad year it hits directly to the

pocket. When you're out on the water, like nowhere else ever been.

This is what I'm going to be, I'm going to be a fisher man. We are out

there, bringing salmon to the world. We fished 41 hours straight before.

It eat, sleep and fish. I'm now here with Carla who has told us so much

about native Alaskan culture over the last week. As far as fishing is

concerned how many of your family and friends are connected? Is easier

to count how many are not connected the fishing. Whether they are

fishing for personal consumption or commercial fishing. When do you

decide to take fish from the waters and leave them to protect them for

the next generation to come through? We watch the animals and learn from

them. We make sure the first run of salmon are up into the stream to

propagate so we know they'll return the next year. After the first run

has happened then we will harvest our salmon. The interesting thing

is, there are no farms around here. But you are harvesting from the

land. At this time as far as other native cultures are concerned, what

is happening right now? Everybody is getting their share of the land,

whether it's from the beaches or from the ocean or from the bushes.

We all make sure we utilise this time very well to stock up our

pantries. You've kindly brought the contents of some of your cupboards

so everybody can see the kind of things you are eating. Let's have a

look, this is dried salmon. This is actually the main staple of the diet

and what has sustained our people over 10,000 years and helped us

survive the long winters. Smoked salmon. Fish eggs and black seaweed.

When you come in of an evening you are preparing... A busy day at the

office means nothing because we know we have to get back to work to put

our food up. We heard earlier on about your connection to brown bears

but it's not just Liz who has been out in the middle of nowhere looking

for brown bears. Last week I took to the skies to find out what the

Kodiak brown bear means to the people that live on the island. That

is beautiful. This lush landscape is home to thousands of Kodiak bears.

Unique subspecies of brown bear. They're awesome size has made them

the stuff of legend across Alaska and the United States. No more so

than right here on Kodiak island. The Kodiak brown bears hold Kodiak

together. They literally be soul of the island. You can feel their

spirit, you can sense them. With 3500 bears living here, the

population has to be carefully managed but hunting permitted and

tightly controlled, meaning these treasured animals are here for all

to enjoy. I feel my kinship with them. I would do everything I could

to protect them. To experience for myself what sets them apart, I'm

heading to their heartland with another resident who holds them

dear. Are you ready? I think so. My heart is pumping slightly. It's the

strangest feeling, walking through here, knowing there are no other

humans around. Just you and the bears. Not just any bears. The

biggest bears in the world! A milder climate here creates lots of

vegetation for the bears to eat, and with salmon and shellfish in

abundance, it's their diet that allows them to grow bigger than

brown bears on the mainland. You can see how they've been tracking down

through here. Bear hair. After a long trek, we've reached a bear

feeding hotspot. Oh my word, look at this! He's coming out of the corner.

Oh my word, look at this! It's a young male between 3-5 years old.

We have bubble netting live. What you can see on the surface, those

ripples of bubbles and the thrashing fins, that is our group of humpback

whales, they are back in action! You can still see them disappearing,

it's incredible how little information is created on the

surface, considering there are 10-11 whales. Each one can weigh 40 tonnes

and they've just come lunging out of the water. Already it is, again. The

fact they are back in action is great. We are going back to that

film but hopefully we stand a chance of showing you the spectacle life.

It's a young male, between 3-5 years old. It's just incredible. And not

quite a giant yet. When you look at him now, what would you say the

condition of him is like at this stage of the season? I'm not seeing

any ribs, he's got a nice layer on him. He's just lanky looking. When

things get even better. An adult female Kodiak bear, resting on the

river bank. You can absolutely understand why they are so special

to the people around here and why for generations, people have talked

about the spiritual connection. The aura that they have and the energy

that they give off is like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

This is much more what we've been hoping to see. It seems the humpback

whales had gone into lazy mode and were wandering about, possibly

searching for food. Now it seems they are back on target so they

probably found a dense shoal of herring. Everything about their

movements is more what we were hoping to see, moving in a

coordinated fashion, each of them like a squadron of fighter planes

travelling in one single direction, absolutely intent on their food.

We've just had a dive right behind me and we are hoping to see some

more action. This is what we saw mere seconds ago. A bubble net

happening right below our camera. It's just one of the most explosive

forces on the planet. These are one of the largest creatures ever to

have lived on earth. Coming together in these numbers to feed

simultaneously, it has called to be one of the biggest feeding

spectacles that's ever been seen. We are also seeing an awful lot of very

dramatic visual action from individual whales, particularly from

our calf which has been breaching over and over again. It's tempting

to put this down to youthful exuberance but it's more than that.

Young whales will breach for an hour on end, never stopping. It seems

they are essentially training, building up their muscles and

building up their ability to hold their breath for longer and to join

into the bubble netting feeding. To interpret the behaviour and

introduce you to some of the individual animals we are joined by

Doctor Heidi Pearson. You know some of these whales like old friends.

I've been working with them for six years and it's always a treat to

identify them. One of the coolest things we've been hearing is some of

the sounds. If we listen to what we've been getting from your

hydrophone... WHALE SOUNDS. To begin with it sounds like a traditional

humpback whale song but this is just as they are about to dive. This is a

feeding call they used during bubble net feeding. It is a single whale

making this call and then it'll get louder and louder. The call gets

really loud and then you'll see the whales break the surface and feed.

They've all dived down together in unison, and then one individual

whale is taking on the role of blowing the bubble net? Usually one

takes the lead but others can join in as well. Then you have all of

them erupting to the surface with their mouths open, following those

fish. Yes. Usually around this time of year it will be 1-2 -year-old

herring they are feeding on. Why is it that right here right now is so

important to humpback whales? It is the height of Alaskan summer, we

have long days, the sunlight causes the plankton to grow which feeds the

fish which the whales feed on. The other marine mammal we have in this

area are orca. We've got some truly spectacular shots of orca feeding on

salmon. Not only that but in this group here, you can see two adult

orca passing on a king salmon which could have been the length of my leg

from one animal to the next. As much as 95% of the diets of this

particular kind of orca right now is going to be made up of these Chinook

or king Salman. We will be doing our best to keep an eye on these whales.

You can see this the whales are in coordinated squadron position. They

are coming to the surface like giant wings. I think any second they are

going to dive. I'm deep in the forest with John and we still on a

black bear mission. Look at John you could never tire of that. Those

whales are beautiful. Let's talk a bit about our surroundings. And the

magic that is within the soil in this forest. Although the salmon

.com here, it's a one-way trip and suddenly they are going to end their

lives but what they offer displays quite something. Yes. It all comes

down to nitrogen 15. The dye judging is a heavy nitrogen found in marine

species like plankton, fish and crustaceans. The salmon eat that

when they are in the ocean. They bring the nutrients through the lake

up into the stream just 25 metres behind us. When they die, the eagle

catch them and bring them on the bank, they get what they need. Then

the rest is left to rot into the ground and fertilise the big trees.

Their roots are grabbing the nitrogen and bringing it up into the

tree. You can track the salmon from the marine environment into the

trees. Is it right that roughly 70% of the nitrogen that is found here

in this forest, ten miles from the coast, comes from the ocean floor?

It can be that much. This is nitrogen porous soil. They need that

nitrogen and the salmon are what provide it. That's why these trees

are so big. And actually that's why it along the water's edge you get

the biggest trees. That's right, between the well-drained soil along

the stream bank and that nitrogen and phosphorus put in there by the

salmon, that's the best condition for a tree growth. Let's talk more

about landscape and wilderness because the area that Liz is located

in is true wilderness. As far as that landscape is concerned, why is

it so special and what does wilderness mean to you guys here?

Wilderness is a huge expanse of land in Katmai. Same with Tongass

National Forest. We have designated wilderness. This is the highest form

of Converse and macro conservation protection. Look what's happening

here! Oh my goodness. Her cubs are in the tree. It's great that she's

down in the stream for us to see now! I'm so pleased it's her because

she is such a wonderful character. She is 11 years old, she is the bear

with the three cubs that we've been monitoring. You see all of the

salmon in the foreground and this really is proof that the feast is at

its height and that all of these bears are making the most of this

short time. She's lying in wait, she wants to pounds. That, I guess, is

the message of how important protecting this land is.

The key message with that is, and the whole idea was... It is a

glimpse of the way the world was in the beginning. It is a chance for us

to recreate, leave the boundaries open. And you get to see sites like

this. There she is fishing! There is a cub behind her. Mum is trying to

get some salmon. And we are cutting to feeding out in the ocean as well,

Steve, over to you, my friend! As if it wasn't enough to get our

first black bear, we have live bubble netting happening right now.

It is an exposure of life. It harks back to Everything happening. The

bubbles at the surface is our huge pod of whales. They have dropped

back below the surface. But seriously, we have to go back to

Matt and those bears. We are moving our way across the

forest here to get back to a monitor, but we know she is their

Mac or she is there with her young cubs

-- we know that she is there. You can see her prowling in and the

young cubs coming through. John, look at this. We have run to a place

where we have some technology and can see what is happening. This bear

discovering this environment, as we were saying, John, for the first

time. Look at that. This cub was born in January, and is testing the

waters, literally, looking for salmon, looking at mum to get

direction on what to do here. Not really quite knowing what exactly to

do, but very dependent on 153 to get fish for it. Talking about salmon

spawning in the shallows earlier, but you can see the numbers

gathering right now. Yes, the numbers are increasing each day, and

there is 153 reuniting with her cub. It is great, so exciting to have

this live. How many cubs has she had? She had four originally when

she showed up in this brain, now down to three. One got sick and died

as we said earlier, but these three are doing pretty well. But

throughout her life as a mother? She had another little four years ago,

it was 2013. That letter did well. She stayed around. She is a dominant

there now -- there now. We really wanted to try and bring

these shots to you watching in the UK. Since their aura. I got to see

the Kodiak brown bears, but there is something very special about these

black bears, they are smaller in size, but full of character. Yes,

and the other thing about them that I love, they can move right amongst

us. They have figured this out, being in our backyard. I am so

pleased, 153, that you showed up and brought the family for everyone to

witness. Let's go to Katmai National Park and Liz.

How just wonderful it is to see black bears and cubs fishing on the

rivers where you guys are. 700 miles away from you, we have been watching

a brown bear along this river, but it has gone around the bend I am sad

to say. But wow, that is a sight for sore eyes, well done, guys. Can I

give you an update on the six-year old you have all become very fond

of. We have kept an eye on him, and caught up with him on the coast. It

is to let you know that his fishing techniques have improved. The way he

is behaving with all the other bears is telling everyone that he is the

dominant bear in his age group, meaning he has every chance of

staying dominant as he gets older. And eventually, one day, becoming

king of this stretch of the river. It is a lovely way to leave our

six-year-old. This place really has truly blown me

away, thanks in no small part to everything I have been taught about

the subtleties and complexities of bear behaviour. To watch wolves and

bears together, apex predators, it has been the most incredible

experience for me. How is it possible in Katmai? What makes

Katmai special in that regard? There is an abundance of food source.

I have to stop you because we have bubble netting live with Steve, over

to you, my dear. Yes, yet again! It is incredible to

see it happening over, and over, and over again. Quite often, bubble

netting might have times of maybe 15 minutes. There is a whale behind me

right now his head below the surface. But the fact it is

happening with such intensity and frequency means there must be a vast

shoal of herring here at the surface. You can see the remnants of

the bubble there, which has been blown by one single whale, circling

around the shoal, trapping it in a corral so the whales can focus on

it. Making the most of the small fish that have been passed on.

Anyway, back to you, Liz. Thanks very much, Steve. To get back

to your experience of Katmai and what makes it so special, tell me

why this place keeps you coming back year after year. I just love it

here. Bears, they envelope you in their world. They have catalogued my

sense over the years, and use it with them at the Meadows with the

mums and cubs, and you feel like you are part of their world and

experience what they experience every day, the heartbreaking stuff,

the joy. ... It is amazing. Can we get complacent about a place like

this? We talk about millions of salmon, but can we rest easy with

places that this? It is a dear Nick very fragile. -- Gillett.

All of us, no matter where you live, you have a stake in these type of

environment to keep it pristine. Teach children how to act, leave no

traceable in the wilderness and keep the stuff after generations and

generations. Amongst these magnificent predators

is an experience I will never forget. We have only begun to

scratch the surface on how intelligent and complex these

animals are. I hope it has given you a sense of how amazing the animals

that we share the planet with R. All of this is ours to protect. The

brown bear and its home is in our hands. I will leave you with another

scene of Katmai that has well and truly stolen our hearts here.

We have, coming in behind us now, a big pod of Dole's paupers. We have

focused on the humpbacks, and instead we have a large pod of

probably the fastest of also to Asians. They have ducked beneath the

surface now. I don't know where to look right now. Our group of whales

has been hunting right in close to the shore. Unusually close for

animals of this size, but it seems they are operable be using their

proximity to the shore as an additional way to herd herring, that

is what bubble netting is all about. It is about focusing a large

disparate shoal into a concentrated ball so that the whales can feed in

unison. If they hunted one by one, that would probably result in lots

of herring dispersing off in different directions, and it not

being anything as effective and efficient. Heidi, what you can see

if our porpoise popping up over our shoulder. Is this what you expect

here right now? It is. But the unique thing about the footage is

the whales are diving down repeatedly with short dive times,

two minutes or so, indicating a big ball of herring they are attacking

over and over again. And what we have seen here just over the space

of while we have been on air has been, I have counted six different

bubble net hunts, having one after another. What does that tell us

about the abundance of Alaska's sees right now? It tells us there is an

abundance of fish that they are attracted to this summer. Let's try

one more time to see if we can see the whole thing in sequence, back up

from helicopter. Right now, because the sea is flat calm, they are below

the surface right now. They are coordinating their actions using

sound. All of these whales are just trying to focus on the shoal of

herring, really tricky for Daniel to figure out where they will come up

to the surface, it could be hundreds of metres away from where they dive.

But as it happens, he is so good at picking up the very first bit of

movement as the bubbles hit the surface, and zooming in on it. Then

we should see the whole thing in full form. I will have to go to

match soon, but when we do, we will leave this in a box so you have a

chance to see the whole thing. The only way this can happen, the only

way we we can have this exposure of life is maintaining the wilderness.

We have to learn to treasure them because they are extraordinarily

important. We will keep looking at the pictures

because we are almost out of time. In a nutshell, what will be

happening with this place? It will close down for winter... We have

three weeks of salmon run left, then the silvers will come in in October

and we have another few weeks of that before we slowly start to get

cooler and the days shorten, arriving on the upper peaks,

creeping down the mountains, then it is done. Then you batten down the

hatches? There you go. We have been blown away by what we have seen

here. We hope you have enjoyed discovering Wild Alaska Live whilst

we have been exploring it. Welcome to Wild Alaska Live. I don't

even know what to say. This incredible bear has been fishing so

close to me, I lost my breath. Goodness me, these pictures, we

never thought we would get these. I can't quite believe what I am

looking at, it is almost surreal to see these magnificent creatures so

close up. We've seen this huge female fishing

just around the corner from where we are. So they are not camera shy,

look at that for a shot, John! Wow! They were so close and they are

totally oblivious to us. This place is just a magical,

magical experience. Well, a very big thank you to

Tongass National Park and the people of Alaska for sharing their homes

with us. Thank you for showing us live in this very, very special

place. From all of the team here, goodbye.

# I'm running with the wolves tonight

# I'm running with the wolves tonight

# I'm running with the wolves tonight

# I'm running with the wolves tonight