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DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
The power of the sun drives the seasons,
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transforming our planet.
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Vast movements of ocean and air currents
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bring dramatic change
throughout the year.
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And in a few special places,
these seasonal changes
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create some of the greatest
wildlife spectacles on Earth.
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Here on the western coast
of North America
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in the spring of each year,
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one of the Earth's greatest travellers
comes home.
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Over half a billion salmon
in the Pacific Ocean
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start on a 3,000-mile journey,
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returning to spawn
in the rivers where they were born.
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Travelling deep into the continent,
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these fish will not only provide food
for millions of animals,
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they will also bring life
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to one of the richest habitats on Earth.
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The coast of British Columbia and Alaska
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is rimmed by spectacular mountains.
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Although it will be months
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before the salmon enter the rivers
below these frozen peaks,
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one species that has spent the winter
sleeping up here
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is already anticipating their return.
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In January, snug in their dens,
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the females have given birth
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and now the family is beginning to stir.
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Grizzly bears.
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Whether the cubs will live or die
depends largely on one key event,
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the salmon run.
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For the next five months,
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the bears will be focused
on making their appointment
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with the returning salmon.
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Surviving the first year is hard.
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Half of all grizzly cubs don't make it.
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Throughout Alaska and British Columbia,
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thousands of bear families are
emerging from their winter sleep.
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There is nothing to eat up here,
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but the conditions were ideal
for hibernation -
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lots of snow in which to dig a den.
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To find food, mothers must
lead their cubs down to the coast
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where the snow will already be melting.
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But getting down
can be a challenge for small cubs.
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These mountains are dangerous places.
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But ultimately,
the fate of these bear families
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and indeed that of all bears
around the North Pacific,
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depends on the salmon.
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Right now, those salmon
are more than 2,000 miles away.
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After four years at sea,
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half a billion Pacific salmon
are going home,
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back to fresh water
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to lay their eggs in the rivers
where they themselves were hatched.
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How the salmon manage
to find their way back home
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across the open ocean
is still largely a mystery.
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It has only recently been discovered
that a salmon's brain
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contains small particles of iron
that, like a compass,
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help it steer the magnetic lines
of the Earth,
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showing them exactly where to go.
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For many of these salmon,
that destination is here
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along the western coast
of North America in British Columbia.
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They are making their way back
to their birthplace
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in one of its many
freshwater rivers and streams.
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Here, amongst the network
of lakes and waterways,
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lies the largest expanse of temperate
rainforest left in the world.
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It stretches from
southern British Columbia to Alaska.
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It's one of the most fertile landscapes
on the planet.
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The temperate rainforest supports even
more life than its tropical counterpart.
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For thousands of years,
salmon have returned to this country
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because of the abundance of one element:
fresh water.
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This is some of the purest water
in the world,
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thanks to these forests.
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Where the forests are still undisturbed,
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the soil,
held by millions of tree roots,
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filters the water, keeping the rivers
flowing clean and pure.
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In May,
grizzly bears come down to the coast
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to find something to eat while
they await the arrival of the salmon.
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This is where spring arrives first.
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The cubs, still feeding on nothing
but their mother's milk,
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have grown considerably.
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But it has been six months
since their mother had anything to eat.
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Now they need other food
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and the search for it
can lead them into danger.
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Some males will try to kill cubs.
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The breeding season has begun,
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and big males are here
looking for females.
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(GROWLING)
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But at least there is
something to eat here,
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even if it's only grass and sedges.
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These greens, in fact,
can keep them going for months,
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but they will need
something more nutritious
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if they are to put on enough fat
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to enable them
to survive the next winter.
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In some places along the coast,
bears find much richer food.
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It's buried, but bears have
an extremely acute sense of smell
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and can sniff out a meal
even if it's beneath the wet sand.
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Clams.
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It's not only bears
that are drawn to the coast
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in search of food.
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There are more than 2,000 grey wolves
in the Great Forest.
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They leave their cubs in the tidal areas
while they hunt.
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This wolf is the pups' eldest brother.
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He's baby-sitting
while the adults are away hunting.
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He doesn't have any food for the cubs,
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so they eat whatever they can find,
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even chewing the barnacles
off the rocks.
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They, like the bears,
are awaiting the arrival of the salmon.
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(HOWLING)
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The adults return and find an intruder.
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A hungry bear
has wandered into their patch.
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(GROWLING)
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Coastal wolves will often kill
and eat small bears.
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But this bear is very big.
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Eventually, they decide
that this one is just too big.
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By July, the bears are all
getting very hungry indeed.
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And still the salmon are not here.
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And then, after two months
of travelling across the open ocean,
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the salmon reach the coast.
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As they near the shore,
they begin to smell fresh water.
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There are thousands of rivers
flowing into the sea,
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and the salmon have to
find the particular one
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that will lead them to their birthplace.
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They have a truly extraordinary
sense of smell.
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They can distinguish a single drop
from their home river
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amongst eight million litres
of sea water.
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As they detect the waters of home,
they converge into the narrow fjords,
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which act as underwater corridors.
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But other creatures
also know these corridors.
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Killer whales. They eat a lot of salmon.
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And so do Steller sea lions.
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Salmon sharks are here, too,
specifically to feed on salmon.
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But there is one predator
that they can never see coming.
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The bald-headed eagle.
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Once past these coastal predators,
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there is little to prevent them
from reaching their home river.
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It's now late July
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and the salmon are poised
at the edge of their inland realm.
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In the estuaries of the larger rivers,
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all five species of Pacific salmon
mingle together.
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Pink, chum, coho, sockeye and Chinook.
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The drive to get into the rivers
is strong.
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Their eggs will only survive
in fresh water.
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In late July, however,
the water level is often too low
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for the first salmon
to enter the smaller rivers.
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That doesn't stop them trying.
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But the very water
that has drawn them back home
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will eventually kill them.
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As their kidneys and other organs
adjust to the sudden lack of salt water,
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they stop eating and even drinking.
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So the energy stored in their bodies
is all they have
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to power their swim upriver and spawn.
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However, the salmon
in the smaller streams
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have a more immediate problem.
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The low water has stopped them
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before their journey upstream
can even begin.
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But their coast, every year,
is swept by great storms.
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In the skies above the North Pacific,
a huge eddy is forming.
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It moves towards the coast
and the high coastal mountains.
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The clouds are driven up
and over this massive barrier,
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and they drop their load of water.
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The Great Forest gets up to
three metres of rainfall a year.
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Bears have thick coats
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and the heavy rain
doesn't seem to bother them at all.
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The steep Rocky Mountains
funnel the rainwater into the rivers
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and levels quickly rise.
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This is what the salmon
have been waiting for.
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The first wave of travellers
advance upstream.
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No sooner do they start
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than they are faced
with another challenge.
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But six million years of evolution
have prepared the salmon well.
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Their bodies are solid muscle
and perfectly streamlined.
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Clearing these falls for a salmon
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is like a human being jumping over
a four-storey building.
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In many of these falls, however,
the salmon face more than just water.
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The bears know that this is
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where they can get
the first proper meal of the season.
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But it's not easy.
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There is an art
to catching a leaping salmon.
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And this young bear
hasn't yet acquired it.
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This is what salmon were born to do.
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They are driven to get up these rivers
to their spawning grounds.
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Their parents made it up here,
and nothing short of death
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will stop them from
repeating that journey.
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They are trying to get to the exact
stretch of gravel where they hatched.
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Some lucky ones may only
have to go a few miles inland.
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But others are faced
with a truly daunting journey.
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The farthest that salmon have been
known to swim upriver
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is 2,000 miles.
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Summer rains can be short,
and when they stop
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the water levels in many of the rivers
along the coast drop quickly.
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The first salmon in the rivers
are once again trapped by shallow water.
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And worse, they're in bear country now.
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In early August, mother bears begin
to patrol the rivers looking for fish.
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Like this one,
they are usually skinny and starving.
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She and her cubs
have eaten nothing but plants
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since they emerged from their den.
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They are in desperate need
of a proper meal.
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Bears of all ages and experience
come to the rivers to look for salmon.
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The first fish of the season, however,
are hard to catch.
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This young bear
is still learning how to do it.
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Step number one is spotting a salmon.
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A higher perspective usually helps.
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In these early days,
fish are few and far between.
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And when they do appear,
they are moving very fast.
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The salmon also have
lots of places to hide.
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The rivers are only shallow
in short stretches
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and they can quickly shoot across them
and escape into the deep pools.
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This mother and her cubs
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are going to have to
wait a little longer
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for the conditions to change
before they can get the meals
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they so badly need.
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But for the salmon,
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these deep-water refuges
are becoming prisons.
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It may be weeks before it rains again
and they can move on.
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Their bodies are now
beginning to change.
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As their sex hormones stimulate
the production of eggs and sperm,
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their skin changes colour.
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00:26:54,718 --> 00:26:58,552
Some develop a humped back
and a hooked nose.
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All these changes
use up precious energy.
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00:27:04,718 --> 00:27:07,073
The longer the fish wait in these pools,
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the less likely they will be able
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00:27:08,958 --> 00:27:12,268
to complete the journey
to their spawning grounds.
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00:27:17,078 --> 00:27:20,275
The mother bear and her cubs,
finding little in the shallows,
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now try their luck
in the deeper salmon-filled pools.
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The salmon are easy enough to see.
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With so many fish here,
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this young bear should surely
be able to catch something.
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But finding the salmon
is only part of the problem.
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Bears must pin a salmon
to the stream bed
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in order to catch it.
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Not easy in deep water.
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Older bears know that
it's almost impossible
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to get a meal this way.
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But while the salmon here may be
relatively safe from the bears,
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they are not out of danger.
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The late summer sun is warming the water
so that levels are dropping
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and the amount of dissolved oxygen
is decreasing.
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The time spent in these worsening
conditions is beginning to show.
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The experienced bears
show the youngsters what to do.
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Catching live salmon in these pools
may be difficult,
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but there are dead ones for the taking,
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if only the bears can reach them.
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The problem is that most bears
don't like to get their ears wet.
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However, the old bears
know a trick or two.
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It just needs a little fancy footwork.
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This year, the water levels
are particularly low
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and by September,
the salmon are in real trouble.
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In the confined oxygen-poor water,
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there is an increased risk
of parasites and infections.
247
00:30:23,678 --> 00:30:26,750
In some years,
these conditions can get so bad
248
00:30:26,838 --> 00:30:31,354
that most of the salmon die before
they even reach the spawning grounds.
249
00:30:37,038 --> 00:30:41,554
What they need is more rain. And soon.
250
00:30:45,358 --> 00:30:50,113
Luckily, this year
the autumn rains arrive on time.
251
00:31:16,038 --> 00:31:19,235
The salmon can set off once again.
252
00:31:21,918 --> 00:31:26,230
However, so much rain
brings different challenges.
253
00:31:31,718 --> 00:31:35,870
The fish now have to battle
against powerful torrents.
254
00:31:47,758 --> 00:31:52,036
But the salmon know how to
turn this swift, turbulent water
255
00:31:52,118 --> 00:31:54,154
to their own advantage.
256
00:32:07,078 --> 00:32:11,674
Scarcely beating their tails,
they manage to propel themselves forward
257
00:32:11,758 --> 00:32:13,828
by using the energy of the water,
258
00:32:13,918 --> 00:32:17,706
much as a sailboat does
when tacking into the wind.
259
00:32:43,838 --> 00:32:46,591
But that doesn't mean
there will be no further problem
260
00:32:46,678 --> 00:32:49,238
in reaching the spawning grounds.
261
00:33:10,558 --> 00:33:15,029
This is going to be the end of the road
for a lot of salmon.
262
00:33:16,798 --> 00:33:19,073
These bears are really hungry.
263
00:33:19,158 --> 00:33:21,626
They haven't tasted salmon for 1 0 months
264
00:33:21,718 --> 00:33:25,393
and the big males battle
for the best fishing spots.
265
00:33:25,598 --> 00:33:27,077
(GROWLING)
266
00:33:31,998 --> 00:33:35,308
The longer the salmon take
over their journey upstream,
267
00:33:35,398 --> 00:33:37,468
the weaker they become.
268
00:33:40,798 --> 00:33:44,347
And these falls present them
with their biggest challenge yet.
269
00:33:46,118 --> 00:33:50,430
Although the falls aren't very tall,
the bears hold the high ground.
270
00:33:53,158 --> 00:33:57,913
The salmon make short exploratory leaps
to see where the bears are.
271
00:34:12,798 --> 00:34:15,266
But they don't always get it right.
272
00:34:20,558 --> 00:34:24,676
This mother bear has been waiting months
for this moment.
273
00:34:26,878 --> 00:34:29,915
Competition is fierce
for these first salmon,
274
00:34:29,998 --> 00:34:32,751
even between a mother and her own cubs.
275
00:34:38,438 --> 00:34:41,987
More and more fish arrive
at the foot of the falls.
276
00:34:52,598 --> 00:34:57,308
Eventually they have to go for it,
regardless of the danger.
277
00:35:35,478 --> 00:35:38,436
But numbers are on their side.
278
00:35:38,518 --> 00:35:43,228
For every salmon that gets caught,
hundreds make it past the bears.
279
00:36:16,038 --> 00:36:17,596
By early September,
280
00:36:17,678 --> 00:36:21,307
the salmon have almost reached
their spawning grounds,
281
00:36:21,398 --> 00:36:26,313
that one particular patch of gravel
where they hatched four years ago.
282
00:36:31,238 --> 00:36:34,275
The salmon have now travelled far inland
283
00:36:34,358 --> 00:36:37,748
and can be found from California
to the Arctic Ocean,
284
00:36:37,838 --> 00:36:42,389
across a fifth of the entire
continent of North America.
285
00:36:59,518 --> 00:37:02,669
But the journey has taken a heavy toll.
286
00:37:03,958 --> 00:37:08,952
For every thousand that hatched,
only four manage to return.
287
00:37:12,838 --> 00:37:16,035
And even for those salmon
that have made it back,
288
00:37:16,118 --> 00:37:17,870
there are still more dangers.
289
00:37:17,958 --> 00:37:20,677
They have finally reached
the end of their road
290
00:37:20,758 --> 00:37:24,307
and are so tired and battered
that they are easy prey.
291
00:37:24,798 --> 00:37:27,949
The advantage is fully to the bears now.
292
00:38:35,958 --> 00:38:39,030
The bears are spoiled for choice.
293
00:38:43,278 --> 00:38:44,950
In the best spawning areas,
294
00:38:45,038 --> 00:38:48,394
there are thousands of salmon
in every mile of river.
295
00:38:52,278 --> 00:38:56,032
The bears here will gorge themselves
for the next two months
296
00:38:56,158 --> 00:38:59,753
and the mothers with their cubs
can now gain the weight they will need
297
00:38:59,838 --> 00:39:03,035
if they are to make it
through the coming winter.
298
00:39:14,998 --> 00:39:19,992
The salmon are so abundant
that even the little cub is having a go.
299
00:39:29,798 --> 00:39:34,349
He has caught a female pink,
the smallest of the salmon species.
300
00:39:36,998 --> 00:39:41,310
He is already learning the skills
he will need to survive as an adult.
301
00:39:47,478 --> 00:39:50,117
But he's got a little way to go yet.
302
00:39:54,118 --> 00:39:57,428
Although the salmon are now
at the mercy of the bears,
303
00:39:57,518 --> 00:39:59,634
they will not leave this place.
304
00:39:59,718 --> 00:40:02,357
Their nature impels them
to lay their eggs
305
00:40:02,438 --> 00:40:04,793
where they themselves were born.
306
00:40:12,638 --> 00:40:14,868
Even though the bears eat their fill,
307
00:40:14,958 --> 00:40:18,837
there are so many salmon
that most will survive to spawn.
308
00:40:24,998 --> 00:40:29,867
The sockeye salmon's brilliant colour
signals that they are ready to breed.
309
00:40:31,318 --> 00:40:35,675
Males battle with each other
for position behind the females.
310
00:40:44,078 --> 00:40:48,276
The female digs out a shallow scoop
as a nest.
311
00:40:58,798 --> 00:41:03,997
The male nestles up against the female,
stimulating her to release her eggs.
312
00:41:07,158 --> 00:41:10,468
When she's ready,
she lowers herself over the nest.
313
00:41:10,558 --> 00:41:12,788
She begins to turn out her eggs
314
00:41:12,878 --> 00:41:16,507
and the male releases a cloud of sperm
into the water.
315
00:41:34,838 --> 00:41:37,432
These salmon are the lottery winners,
316
00:41:38,278 --> 00:41:42,237
the lucky ones that have succeeded
in returning here to spawn.
317
00:41:43,198 --> 00:41:47,157
But there are enough of them
to seed the next generation.
318
00:41:54,118 --> 00:41:57,747
The spawning season
is a time of extreme abundance,
319
00:41:57,838 --> 00:42:00,716
for in the course of
ensuring their own survival,
320
00:42:00,798 --> 00:42:04,996
the salmon provide food
for a horde of other creatures.
321
00:42:12,198 --> 00:42:17,033
These Bonaparte gulls are collecting
one of the season's great delicacies...
322
00:42:17,518 --> 00:42:19,429
salmon eggs.
323
00:42:38,918 --> 00:42:43,867
For the bears, the salmon spawning
season is the pinnacle of the year.
324
00:42:50,478 --> 00:42:52,434
But for the salmon,
325
00:42:52,518 --> 00:42:56,033
it's the pinnacle of their entire lives.
326
00:43:02,158 --> 00:43:03,477
All that have reached it
327
00:43:03,558 --> 00:43:07,392
will end their days in the very place
where they began them.
328
00:43:18,998 --> 00:43:22,593
The wear and tear of their long journey
is now showing.
329
00:43:28,278 --> 00:43:31,395
Their bodies have been
deteriorating for weeks
330
00:43:31,478 --> 00:43:35,596
and with this last act of reproduction,
they are finally spent.
331
00:43:56,998 --> 00:43:58,989
But even in death,
332
00:43:59,078 --> 00:44:03,071
the salmon continue to benefit
the animals of the forest.
333
00:44:08,478 --> 00:44:13,347
The mother and her cubs will continue to
fatten themselves on the carcasses
334
00:44:13,438 --> 00:44:16,077
until they are ready
to head back up the mountain
335
00:44:16,158 --> 00:44:18,069
to den in November.
336
00:44:23,238 --> 00:44:27,231
Why Pacific salmon have to die
after they reproduce
337
00:44:27,318 --> 00:44:29,434
is not clearly understood.
338
00:44:30,158 --> 00:44:35,186
Atlantic salmon don't.
They return year after year to spawn.
339
00:44:35,278 --> 00:44:38,907
But the Pacific salmons' decaying bodies
nourish the rivers,
340
00:44:38,998 --> 00:44:42,434
providing abundant food
for their growing eggs.
341
00:44:44,358 --> 00:44:48,397
And that is what it has been all about
for the salmon.
342
00:44:49,318 --> 00:44:53,516
All their trials and tribulations
have ensured that the baby salmon,
343
00:44:53,598 --> 00:44:57,034
when they emerge from
these beautiful orange globes,
344
00:44:57,118 --> 00:45:01,157
will have everything they need
to begin this incredible journey
345
00:45:01,238 --> 00:45:03,308
all over again.
346
00:45:12,198 --> 00:45:17,067
But the legacy of the salmon extends
far beyond the rivers and streams.
347
00:45:20,238 --> 00:45:23,947
They are at the heart of
a massive network of life.
348
00:45:26,398 --> 00:45:30,357
There are more than 200 species
in the Great Forest alone,
349
00:45:30,518 --> 00:45:35,194
plants and insects, birds and mammals,
that depend on the salmon.
350
00:45:41,038 --> 00:45:43,154
It's possible that Pacific salmon,
351
00:45:43,238 --> 00:45:46,355
between their time out at sea
and their time inland,
352
00:45:46,438 --> 00:45:50,750
feed more life than any other
animal species on the planet.
353
00:45:55,358 --> 00:45:59,795
And there is one more beneficiary
of the salmon's legacy.
354
00:46:05,638 --> 00:46:09,756
The fish are a unique link
between the ocean and the forest.
355
00:46:16,038 --> 00:46:19,951
Born in fresh water,
they live their life in the sea
356
00:46:20,038 --> 00:46:23,951
and there gather nutrients with
which they build their bodies.
357
00:46:30,598 --> 00:46:34,477
Now, scattered
by feeding bears and wolves,
358
00:46:34,558 --> 00:46:38,471
the last bequest of these salmon
is to the forest.
359
00:46:48,558 --> 00:46:52,995
Nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus
that was gathered in the ocean
360
00:46:53,078 --> 00:46:56,150
is now released
from their decaying bodies,
361
00:47:01,398 --> 00:47:06,188
providing the nutrients
that enable these trees,
362
00:47:06,278 --> 00:47:10,157
Sitka spruce, red cedar,
363
00:47:11,598 --> 00:47:13,554
and western hemlock,
364
00:47:14,758 --> 00:47:17,909
to grow to such prodigious heights.
365
00:47:21,678 --> 00:47:26,035
It is now known that 80%
of the nitrogen in these coastal forests
366
00:47:26,118 --> 00:47:29,906
where the salmon spawn,
comes from the sea,
367
00:47:29,998 --> 00:47:33,115
carried in the bodies
of the returning fish.
368
00:47:38,478 --> 00:47:41,993
The trees may be growing
hundreds of miles from the ocean,
369
00:47:42,078 --> 00:47:45,195
but they are still nourished
by its richness.
370
00:47:49,438 --> 00:47:51,349
The rivers of the Great Forest,
371
00:47:51,438 --> 00:47:55,750
like the veins and arteries
of an animal, carry its lifeblood,
372
00:47:55,838 --> 00:47:58,671
the Pacific salmon, throughout.
373
00:48:06,478 --> 00:48:11,233
And no animal relies on them
more than the grizzly bear.
374
00:48:16,198 --> 00:48:20,271
Thanks in large part to the abundance
of the salmon run,
375
00:48:20,358 --> 00:48:24,829
these cubs have survived their first
and most difficult year.
376
00:48:26,318 --> 00:48:29,037
The bears will sleep easy each winter
377
00:48:29,438 --> 00:48:34,466
as long as the Pacific salmon
are able to continue their epic run.
378
00:48:35,438 --> 00:48:38,589
One of nature's great events.
379
00:49:04,398 --> 00:49:06,389
In making The Great Salmon Run,
380
00:49:06,478 --> 00:49:11,108
filmmaker Jeff Turner wanted
to discover exactly how grizzly bears
381
00:49:11,198 --> 00:49:13,189
caught salmon underwater.
382
00:49:22,798 --> 00:49:26,711
But his quest was to take him
deeper into the world of the grizzly
383
00:49:26,798 --> 00:49:28,914
than he had ever imagined.
384
00:49:37,438 --> 00:49:40,077
The first challenge
that Jeff and the team faced
385
00:49:40,158 --> 00:49:43,389
was to get their latest
high-definition camera systems
386
00:49:43,478 --> 00:49:45,434
into the wilds of British Columbia.
387
00:49:45,518 --> 00:49:47,429
This is modern-day
wildlife filmmaking.
388
00:49:47,518 --> 00:49:51,227
You can't go anywhere
without about half a ton of gear.
389
00:49:51,318 --> 00:49:54,310
It's very discreet.
Animals don't notice us at all.
390
00:49:55,638 --> 00:49:59,392
Jeff has more than 20 years'
experience of filming grizzlies
391
00:49:59,478 --> 00:50:03,710
and knows how to work with them
in the wild better than anyone.
392
00:50:04,598 --> 00:50:06,236
I was just talking to Justin.
393
00:50:06,318 --> 00:50:11,108
He was telling me he just came back
from a shoot in Indonesia.
394
00:50:11,798 --> 00:50:14,028
He said he had 1 5 porters.
395
00:50:14,278 --> 00:50:17,429
I think we must be
doing something wrong.
396
00:50:19,078 --> 00:50:22,514
ATTENBOROUGH: Jeff knows
that the only way to film wild grizzlies
397
00:50:22,598 --> 00:50:26,386
is with a small crew
and a very sensitive approach.
398
00:50:28,158 --> 00:50:32,117
In order to get the shots he wanted,
he used a new digital camera
399
00:50:32,198 --> 00:50:34,507
in a specially built underwater housing
400
00:50:34,598 --> 00:50:37,271
that he could set up
close to the fishing bears
401
00:50:37,358 --> 00:50:39,314
without disturbing them.
402
00:50:40,038 --> 00:50:43,030
Getting the camera in place
can be tricky, however.
403
00:50:43,118 --> 00:50:46,190
Experience has taught him
how to put them at their ease
404
00:50:46,278 --> 00:50:47,950
with just the right tone of voice.
405
00:50:48,038 --> 00:50:50,472
Hey, bear, how ya doin', hey?
406
00:50:50,558 --> 00:50:53,391
I'm gonna scare some fish up there
for ya.
407
00:50:53,678 --> 00:50:56,556
That's a good bear. I won't bother you.
I won't be long.
408
00:51:03,838 --> 00:51:05,510
This is when you need six hands.
409
00:51:05,598 --> 00:51:07,748
ATTENBOROUGH:
The wild bears seemed intrigued
410
00:51:07,838 --> 00:51:09,510
by this visitor to their river.
411
00:51:09,598 --> 00:51:12,476
You guys are as excited about this
as I am.
412
00:51:12,558 --> 00:51:14,435
MAN: Okay, and now to the left.
413
00:51:14,518 --> 00:51:16,509
ATTENBOROUGH: What Jeff
was hoping to capture
414
00:51:16,598 --> 00:51:21,513
was a shot of bears catching salmon
from both above and below water.
415
00:51:22,758 --> 00:51:25,192
He needed to operate the camera
from a distance
416
00:51:25,278 --> 00:51:29,476
so that the bears would be so relaxed
they would continue fishing.
417
00:51:31,238 --> 00:51:34,036
But that meant connecting
the camera to his computer,
418
00:51:34,118 --> 00:51:35,836
using fibre-optic cable.
419
00:51:35,918 --> 00:51:38,990
..or if they come through here,
you know, catching it.
420
00:51:39,078 --> 00:51:40,989
ATTENBOROUGH:
And all that cable in the river
421
00:51:41,078 --> 00:51:45,754
proved too much of a temptation for one
particularly mischievous young bear.
422
00:51:45,918 --> 00:51:48,796
A situation that called for
some firm bear-talk from Jeff.
423
00:51:48,878 --> 00:51:52,951
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Drop it. Drop that!
424
00:51:53,798 --> 00:51:55,356
Yah! Yah! Yah!
425
00:52:00,998 --> 00:52:03,273
You guys can't bite the cable.
426
00:52:03,958 --> 00:52:05,186
Jeez!
427
00:52:06,478 --> 00:52:07,957
(JEFF SIGHS)
428
00:52:08,038 --> 00:52:11,428
ATTENBOROUGH:
Luckily, the camera was still working.
429
00:52:12,558 --> 00:52:16,073
But Jeff soon realised that the salmon
were avoiding the shallow waters
430
00:52:16,158 --> 00:52:19,116
and he wasn't getting
the shots he wanted.
431
00:52:20,038 --> 00:52:22,791
The bears were being drawn
to the deep pools
432
00:52:22,878 --> 00:52:25,267
where the salmon were hiding out.
433
00:52:26,758 --> 00:52:29,113
He had to try a new approach.
434
00:52:29,918 --> 00:52:33,308
The water levels in the creek are low
and dropping.
435
00:52:33,918 --> 00:52:36,307
It means that the salmon
that are in the system now,
436
00:52:36,398 --> 00:52:37,433
they're not moving.
437
00:52:37,518 --> 00:52:40,669
They're just sort of staying
in the deeper pools.
438
00:52:40,878 --> 00:52:44,393
So it means that
if the fish won't come to me,
439
00:52:44,478 --> 00:52:46,912
I'm gonna have to go to the fish.
440
00:52:47,838 --> 00:52:50,272
ATTENBOROUGH: Since he didn't have
a shaggy fur coat,
441
00:52:50,358 --> 00:52:55,034
Jeff squeezed into a dry suit to
protect himself against the icy water.
442
00:52:57,318 --> 00:52:59,752
The camera needed to be
on the bottom of the pool,
443
00:52:59,838 --> 00:53:01,430
some three metres deep.
444
00:53:01,518 --> 00:53:05,875
But getting down there in an
air-filled dry suit was no easy matter.
445
00:53:12,238 --> 00:53:13,557
(CHUCKLES)
446
00:53:14,958 --> 00:53:16,391
I'm bobbing.
447
00:53:17,358 --> 00:53:20,987
ATTENBOROUGH: Jeff clearly needed
to put on some weight.
448
00:53:22,998 --> 00:53:25,956
I feel like I'm in some sort of
old medieval movie or something.
449
00:53:26,038 --> 00:53:27,676
-MAN: Yeah?
-Yeah.
450
00:53:28,638 --> 00:53:32,950
Mel Brookes or something.
Young Frankenstein.
451
00:53:33,838 --> 00:53:35,032
Okay.
452
00:53:41,998 --> 00:53:44,558
ATTENBOROUGH:
With his improvised diving belt,
453
00:53:44,638 --> 00:53:48,233
he could now get down deep enough
to position the camera.
454
00:53:53,358 --> 00:53:55,110
The bears were learning very quickly
455
00:53:55,198 --> 00:53:58,110
that Jeff and his crew
were not a threat.
456
00:53:58,398 --> 00:54:02,676
They watched him curiously as
he retreated to a respectful distance
457
00:54:02,758 --> 00:54:05,556
and controlled his camera
from his laptop.
458
00:54:08,678 --> 00:54:10,873
What would the bears do next?
459
00:54:17,038 --> 00:54:21,395
He didn't have to wait long before
the first bear waded into the pool.
460
00:54:22,478 --> 00:54:26,187
But this youngster seemed
totally out of his depth.
461
00:54:26,798 --> 00:54:30,234
This is really funny. This little guy,
he doesn't know how to get down there
462
00:54:30,318 --> 00:54:32,786
so he can't quite reach the bottom.
463
00:54:33,758 --> 00:54:37,467
So he is just hanging,
bobbing along here.
464
00:54:44,838 --> 00:54:49,275
He's got his paw on it. Aw, damn it,
he knocked it over,
465
00:54:51,318 --> 00:54:54,628
I think he used it to stand on
to kick himself off.
466
00:54:56,438 --> 00:54:57,473
(CHUCKLES)
467
00:54:57,558 --> 00:55:00,311
The fish
are going straight downhill.
468
00:55:01,038 --> 00:55:03,188
It's a really steep river.
469
00:55:03,598 --> 00:55:05,429
ATTENBOROUGH: It was back into
the chilly water
470
00:55:05,518 --> 00:55:08,191
for Jeff to realign his camera.
471
00:55:19,398 --> 00:55:23,914
Soon it was up and running again
and getting some intimate shots.
472
00:55:24,838 --> 00:55:27,716
JEFF: Got a good shot
of his privates there.
473
00:55:31,358 --> 00:55:33,792
ATTENBOROUGH: Although the salmon
were still just out of the reach
474
00:55:33,878 --> 00:55:37,348
of this persistent young bear,
the camera wasn't.
475
00:55:37,918 --> 00:55:41,035
JEFF: Oh no, he's getting close
to the camera.
476
00:55:41,238 --> 00:55:43,877
Be careful, bear. Ah, shoot!
477
00:55:46,638 --> 00:55:48,708
He totally knocked it over.
478
00:55:48,798 --> 00:55:51,870
I'm going to have to go
reposition that camera.
479
00:55:53,158 --> 00:55:55,991
ATTENBOROUGH: The youngster
continued to cause problems.
480
00:55:56,078 --> 00:55:58,751
He kept on knocking over the camera.
481
00:56:04,678 --> 00:56:08,796
Then two bigger, more experienced bears
appeared on the scene,
482
00:56:08,878 --> 00:56:10,789
right in front of Jeff.
483
00:56:17,278 --> 00:56:21,430
But the remote camera was having trouble
keeping up with the action.
484
00:56:26,038 --> 00:56:30,748
To discover exactly what was going on,
Jeff needed a new perspective.
485
00:56:30,838 --> 00:56:33,796
These bears were so unfazed
by his presence
486
00:56:33,878 --> 00:56:36,108
that he decided to stay in the water
487
00:56:36,198 --> 00:56:39,986
and hand-hold the camera
on the end of a long pole.
488
00:56:48,118 --> 00:56:52,873
The bears were learning to trust Jeff,
allowing him to get even closer.
489
00:56:57,158 --> 00:56:59,911
To get as intimate as this
with wild grizzlies
490
00:56:59,998 --> 00:57:02,193
is potentially extremely dangerous
491
00:57:02,278 --> 00:57:05,509
and required all of Jeff's
many years of experience.
492
00:57:05,598 --> 00:57:07,077
That was good.
493
00:57:09,318 --> 00:57:12,754
Okay, we've got this other guy
coming out too now.
494
00:57:18,398 --> 00:57:21,549
He's gonna check it out.
Okay, you can have a look at it.
495
00:57:21,638 --> 00:57:25,233
ATTENBOROUGH: He was now close enough
to observe their technique in detail.
496
00:57:25,318 --> 00:57:28,435
This was something
that Jeff had never seen before.
497
00:57:28,518 --> 00:57:30,952
By kicking the salmon into the shallows,
498
00:57:31,038 --> 00:57:35,236
the more experienced bears were able
to grab themselves an easy meal.
499
00:57:35,318 --> 00:57:39,277
And by hand-holding the camera,
Jeff could follow the action.
500
00:57:45,638 --> 00:57:48,027
Okay, we're getting close here.
501
00:57:49,038 --> 00:57:51,757
He's coming up to you right now. Roll.
502
00:57:52,718 --> 00:57:56,233
ATTENBOROUGH: To get as close as this
to an adult grizzly bear
503
00:57:56,318 --> 00:57:58,593
is truly remarkable.
504
00:57:58,678 --> 00:58:00,350
Jeff makes it look easy,
505
00:58:00,438 --> 00:58:03,908
but it takes years of experience
and understanding.
506
00:58:08,398 --> 00:58:12,755
Okay, good show, guys. Thank you.
That's it. We're done.
507
00:58:13,118 --> 00:58:15,348
Yep, time to go, that's it.
508
00:58:16,998 --> 00:58:20,468
ATTENBOROUGH: Jeff had managed
to enter the bears' world, giving him
509
00:58:20,558 --> 00:58:25,234
the most intimate shots of grizzlies
fishing underwater ever filmed.
510
00:58:25,318 --> 00:58:29,231
He had achieved this
not just by using new technology,
511
00:58:29,318 --> 00:58:31,627
but through his own
special understanding
512
00:58:31,718 --> 00:58:33,868
of these incredible animals.