Natural World (1983) s24e15 Episode Script

This is a story born in the wild west a land of adventure and danger Montana, on the edge of the Rocky Mountains They call this big sky country Deep in the pines a mother black bear hides away with her two litter cubs She's laying low because her cubs are still tiny and defenseless Being old and wise about the ways of the forest she knows there are others about Others that would kill the defenseless cubs Even with her skill and experience getting these cubs through their first year will be tough They'll need some luck Big sky county isn't an easy place to grow up The helpless cubs are completely dependent and suckle constantly They've just emerged from their hibernation den Born in winter, the tiny cubs are actually 3 months old the size of a loaf of bread Being a fulltime single parent is exhausting It's April a wolf pack is hunting the forest Mother's nervous she can smell them She keeps the cubs quiet and low The threat passed, she marks trees with scent smell is extremely important to bears Any bear passing will smell her unique odor and know she is a mother even tell her mood 90% of all bear communication is by scent While her cubs wrestle she repeatedly tests the air for danger Her nose is the best there is 7 times more acute than a bloodhound Though small, they can still pack a punch At this age, the cubs just want to play The black one, that's Archie and the brown one, Luke She isn't just watching she's listening too with ears twice the range of ours More than protector, she must feed the cubs and teach them to survive on their own The short mountain summer is a race against time With cubs so young she must keep them close Guided by her keen nose she chooses this valley as a safe place to hide the boisterous cubs while feeding She needs this lush grass to boost her milk supplies but even in this haven she can never let down her guard Coyotes and grizzlies have taken her cubs in the past Staying shy and secretive is the key to their survival She's not the only one with responsibilities In the trout pond, an otter is taking her cubs out for swimming lesson It's the height of spring and young are everywhere This woodpecker is known as a flicker it has two to attend as well Like Archie and Luke, they have their differences In the midday sun, the cubs need water and they get it from her mouth Tongue licking is common the cubs may be getting enzymes or even learning to taste new food No one is sure They'll be dependent for 13 more months her stamina and patience will be tested to the limit Female bears do all the parenting The cubs' father is miles away High in the mountains where snow still lingers The larger males are solitary reappearing only to court and mate Strange males are a threat they may kill cubs With so many out to harm her young there's no wonder mother can never rest In the aspen above, it's cicadas and hoppers for breakfast The bluebirds are working flat out Before the chicks leave the nest they will be served over 4000 meals And what goes in must come out The family will soon break cover leaving the safety of the valley The cubs are starting to outgrow their hide-out and mother needs new foraging grounds But they are not the only bears in the woods Grizzlies hunt here they eat meat And a hungry grizzly isn't particular elk or black bear This could easily have been a black bear With grizzly scent in the air mother is already shifting her cubs Though dangerous, their home is not without beauty You can see why it's called big sky country A black bear's territory runs for 15 square miles Spring is a magical time and the flowers have story-book names like fairy slipper a mountain orchid larkspur and shooting star Melting snow brings the flower meadows to life winter still lingers up high on the spine of the Rocky's As the meadows grow, the cubs start trying grass Black bears are very selective about their greens They have to be They can't digest old growth Their main stay is succulent young plants with nutrients are easy to absorb May, the little bears are growing fast Their mother can take them out a bit further every day These outings are a vital part of their education Luke's losing his baby hair and his new fur's blackening up Adults aren't always black Black bears can be chocolate, cinnamon or even white Their expanded diet gives the cubs just what they need more energy And the old saying is true: bears do relieve themselves in the woods Nothing goes to waste here These azure butterflies are gathering for a most unusual meal Their long thread-like tongues probe the soil for amino acids from the bear's urine Acting like vitamins, they help the females make more eggs and even live longer A great grey owl is hunting the glen Her chick is another hungry mouth to feed Like all owls, the great grey has wings fashioned for silent flight Stealth makes for successful hunting The more they play, the more they learn Black bears are extremely intelligent Scientific tests reveal that if food's the reward they learn even quicker then chimps Climbing trees is in their blood and their sharp claws are perfect for the job And these are annual trees they've been specially selected by mother for their easy to grip bark Archie, of course, is always pushing the limit Now only the biggest trees will do which fits in nicely with mother's plans Once her cubs can scoot up the tallest trees they'll be far safer This morning's task is their biggest challenge yet Archie and Luke must put their lessons into practice and tackle the giants of the forest This pine is over 100 feet tall The cubs are reluctant at first but mother persists She's teaching them how to stay alive The forest is full of cub killers but none can climb trees Even though the cubs' claws are sharp these trees are high, bark can be loose It's easy to slip The young cubs are fearless Today over confidence could be their worst enemy This pine is far bigger than any tree they've been practicing on From 60 feet up, a fall could be fatal The descent is even more perilous As with all climbing, most falls happen on the way down Slow and steady bring them to safety Going down head first could get Archie killed mother can only watch The cubs are naturals Once down, they relax with the game of big bowl The cubs' adventures are only just beginning Bears need a mixed diet and they'll find it if they leave the forest and venture out into the sagebrush flats Today the cubs are experiencing a very different world But this makes it a specially worrying for their mother She'll keep her cubs close Out on the flats they're exposed far from the safety of trees Threats can come from anywhere The coyotes picked up their scent One, mom can handle But if it's a pack, she's in trouble She's lost cubs to coyotes before The climbing lessons have paid off The cubs are exhausted but with coyotes around, they'll sleep up high Montana's mighty rivers cut deep canyons Avoiding the coyotes, mom takes the cubs down to the water The river is teeming with mayflies Newly hatched, they glide downstream drying their wings For each mayfly, take off is a matter of life or death These are crucial seconds Those that struggle get noticed by cutthroat trout Trout, that's enough to interest any bear But the spring current is too swift she'll have to bide her time Black bears are truly forest bears this is their ideal habitat with good undergrowth, small clearings and plenty of tree cover For young black bears, topple pines create an adventure playground June, their mother's done well to get the cubs this far They are not so little any more leaner meaner and always up for wrestling These days the cubs are like gangly teenagers They are more independent too but mom is never far away They don't just learn from her the siblings push each other on Soon enough they'll be rivals, competing for territory, mates and food Overhead house wrens are nesting They've done up an old woodpeck's hole with sticks Only they can squeeze through the tiny opening Summer is short in the Rocky mountains not long to gain the weight needed to survive hibernation A bear's answer is supersized portions Mother can munch over 5 pounds of tender clover in one meal While she's on lookout, the cubs can nap Wild flowers like the Indian paintbrusher signal high summer ideal day for a picnic and this is the perfect spot complete with ants Black bears love ants especially Archie he can't get enough of them But it's not the biting stinging adult they're after Bears rip apart nests, searching for grubs and eggs This animal protein is a vital part of their diet Mon and Luke are keen to move on but Archie's not budging he just wants more ants Head down, Archie doesn't see mom and Luke moving off Out here, getting split up from your family isn't a good idea There's a killer about a stalking grizzly Grizzlies can kill adult black bears The cub would be an easy meal Archie hasn't got a clue what's coming his way The grizzly is downwind hidden by tall grass Over the hill, mom and Luke are unaware The grizzly catches a whiff of cub The grizzly's claws could smash Archie to ribbons but they're no good for climbing trees The frustrated grizzly gives up and decides to look elsewhere Alone and terrified Archie just wants to see his family Mom and Luke never look so good From now on, Archie's going to stay close Back at the trout pond butterflies reveal a bear has recently passed Mother has been keeping an eye on the pond It's easy to see why trout They've been waiting for the right temperature to spawn gathering at the mouth of the spring creek ready to dash upstream Running up the creek the trout start to pair up The spring creek offers clear pure water that's perfect for the trout's eggs but in the shallows there's no place to hide All this activity attracts Montana's trout fishing experts the otter family Mother is taking her young pups out for a master class Otters can find fish in darkness using sensitive whiskers The pups cling tight picking up the technique Like mother bear, she's a skilled teacher and will look after her pups until next year then they can make it on their own It's that slash of red beneath her gills that gives cutthroat trout their name As she dines, her pups tuck into the nutritious orange eggs gobbling them up like sweets The smell of fresh fish is in the air The bears quickly pick up the scent of the otter's meal In shallow water like this it should be easy But trout are slippery customers Success Following mother's lead, Archie jumps right in but just like climbing trees, it takes practice Mother knows this annual feast won't hang around At last, Archie's got the hang of it so has Luke And the cubs' first trout dinner is a rare high-protein meal They also learn to gobble food down quickly Their feast hang thick in the air The scent might attract grizzlies Their mother doesn't take chances and leads them back to the canyon Most of the trout escape leaving the stream seeded with eggs Both trout and bears depend on a small invertebrate hidden underwater Back in the river, one of nature's most incredible journeies is about to start It's a trip this stonefly nymph has waited 3 years to make The nymph, climbs a rock to launch itself into the current Once adrift, he'll take the ride of his life He will join thousands of other stoneflies At night, they'll crawl out of the water shed their skins and transform into adults The morning light finds them drying their wings gathering by the thousand to mate The 3-inch females are soon ripe with eggs ready for a marathon flight over 4 miles upriver Taking to the air, there resemble squadrons of miniture helicopters Once they reach the rapids the stoneflies release their egg clusters dropping them like bombs Underwater, the egg clusters disperse peppering the riverbed with a new generation Here in the rapids, they'll hatch growing quickly in the oxygenated water In 3 years, another stonefly nymph will climb up a rock launch into the current and complete the cycle one that's been going for millions of years The female's work is done this journey is over They fall from the sky, littering the water But for the hungry trout who've just finished spawning These giant mouthfuls couldn't come at a better time This food chain starts with a stonefly and ends with a bear Late August, the hottest days of the year In the midday sun the cold spring creek is the only place to be But while she's been cooling down her cubs have wandered off She smells trouble first a wild fire burning out of control The cubs smell it too but don't understand They've never smelt smoke before Instinct takes over, they run for the trees But in a wild fire that's the worst thing to do The wind pushes the fire closer Trapped up the trees the cubs could be burned alive Mother calls them down She leads them around the blaze upwind away from the heat and smoke Of all the forest's dangers fire is the biggest killer September in the mountains when summer heat turns to autumn chill For mother bear, it's a time of reckoning The cubs have survived so far But have they eaten enough to get them through the winter? They've certainly filled out and look like miniture versions of their mother But there're still room for more food and mother continues to teach them how to find pine nuts, acorns and berries The bears consume thousands The cubs' father is back on the scene and leaves his calling card For now, he's no threat to the cubs Berries are his consuming passion He's a non-stop eating machine putting on over 30 pounds a week As the valleys start to flood swimming is the quickest way to search for a fresh berry patch Fattening up is the only thing on his mind He won't be interested in mating until early next summer a cold autumn rain hangs on the rose hips the last harvest of the year The days of succulent young plants are long gone soon there will be nothing left to eat This is why bears hibernate With no more food to be found the bears slow down their bodies to sleep until spring Mother has led them to the canyon The shorter days trigger hormones acting like sleeping pills making them drowsy While hibernating, their heart rate will drop from 90 to 8 beats per minute They'll go without eating, drinking or passing waste for 7 months The time for suckling is almost over The first snow on the mountain tops signals the changing seasons but true to form mom is well-prepared With grizzlies and coyotes about she's already found a secure den site deep in the canyon But the slope is loose and treacherous She's been digging this den, concealed by a fallen tree, for weeks Bears slumber lightly while hibernating keeping their brains at a higher temperature than the rest of their bodies If trouble comes, they can still respond With good reason, grizzlies have been known to dig up dens and eat black bears alive This winter, the family will hibernate together Thanks to their mother, the cubs have made it through their first summer at times they've been lucky to survive Next summer, she'll abandon them Their lessons over, the cubs will have to make it on their own But by then, they'll be ready to go their separate ways in big sky country