Original subtitles

There's lots of very comforting noises coming from next door.

Every year, around the world, thousands of grizzly bear cubs are orphaned.

Because of conflict with humans.

I was expecting you to be bigger.

But in one remarkable place, these baby bears are being given a second chance.

I'm Gordon Buchanan.

I've come to Russia to help a pioneering family of biologists...

rehabilitate six grizzly orphans back to the wild.

But now, the cubs are growing fast.

They've changed beyond all recognition.

And it's time for their first experience of the wilderness.

This is a huge step.

They need to learn how to be wild bears.

We've got just ten weeks to teach them.

All we can do is hope that they stand a chance of surviving.

Will these orphaned cubs...

ever be free again?

Everything's stacked against a cub that has lost its mother.

There you go, pal.

In February, I joined Katia and Sergei Pajitnov...

a husband and wife team of world-leading bear rehab experts.

Six orphaned cubs had just been rescued... each weighing less than a bag of sugar.

Pasha and Slava were dumped in a bin near Moscow.

It's suspected poachers killed their mother.

Tolya and Choma were found in a box outside a vet's.

Zhenya and Zhora were handed in by loggers...

who accidentally scared their mum away.

The Pajitnovs have created a unique three-stage rehab system...

to fast-track orphans to independence.

In the first stage, the cubs were kept indoors.

The biggest cub, Zhora, became the leader of the group.

But one cub had a problem.

Pasha, the smallest orphan, couldn't walk.

He'd just spit it out.

It's like a starfish.

Eventually, Pasha's legs healed... and they were moved to the second stage...

a two-acre fenced enclosure.

Here, they've been safely exploring the outdoors.

But now, we've got just ten weeks... to get them ready for the third stage.

When they'll be relocated... to different wilderness areas for their final release.

For that, they need to learn essential survival skills...

and put on enough weight to make it through the winter.

If they fail, they could face a life in captivity.

It's August.

Sixty degrees warmer than when the cubs were born.

The rescue centre now basts in sixteen hours of daylight.

For the last two months, the orphans have been given food in the enclosure.

But they've had limited human contact.

It's really exciting...

to know, or to hope, that all six bears are in this patch of forest somewhere.

I can hear the noise of bears.

I can hear the noise of bears.

I can't wait...

to see... how they've developed.

Today is one of the most important moments in the cubs' lives.

They're going to get their first taste of the wild...

outside the enclosure.

But first, we need to check they're OK.

I'm just going to tuck in here.

Sit out.

Wait.

Sergei's been rehabbing bears for two decades.

He wants us to whisper... so the cubs don't get used to human voices.

They're out there somewhere.

I can hear them... but I can't see them.

Here they come.

It just looks like a little... gang of

schoolboys walking to school in the morning.

It's great to see how...

healthy they look.

How big... and strong... they look.

When they were first moved into the enclosure... they were timid...

and reluctant to explore.

Now... they're completely at home.

Pasha, the lightest coloured cub... is still the weakest... and smallest.

We're worried he might not survive in the wild.

Zhora, the biggest and darkest...

remains the leader.

When Zhora was young... I could pick him up.

Now... I want him to be independent...

so there's no contact.

They're not...

clambering all over me... as they once would have done.

Given their size... I'm glad of that.

But this is...

This is too close to me.

Zhora's overconfident...

and likes testing boundaries.

He's got to develop... a fear of people... to survive in the wild.

I don't want them to get... I don't want them to be comfortable getting close to me.

I need to scare them off.

There's only so much these orphans can learn in this enclosure.

It's time to let them out.

At this age, they would travel up to 20 kilometres a day with their mothers.

So the Pajitnovs have a wilderness training zone bordering the enclosure.

The orphans will be able to come and go as they try to master key survival skills.

They need to learn how to swim, find a secret field of wild oats,

and forage for acorns buried beneath the trees.

They must pass these tests before they're finally released.

Today will be their first experience of the wild.

I'm going to set up a couple of cameras by the

door that they're hopefully going to exit by.

And it's going to give them an opportunity

to explore the forest beyond this enclosure.

For the cubs, this gate is really a doorway to the outside world.

Out here is absolute freedom.

So it's a big moment for any of the cubs

the moment they walk through this threshold.

This is... this is the wild.

The wilderness training zone holds many dangers.

The cubs could be attacked by adult bears defending their territories.

Hunted by wolf packs.

Or get lost and not find their way back to the safety of the enclosure.

I'm setting up remote cameras to see who's brave

enough to take the first step into the wild.

OK, I think I saw a little bit of movement up there on the fence line.

Oh, here comes one.

OK, let's see what they're going to do.

Without a mother to guide them, the cubs

need to stick together by following a leader.

If they split up, they're less likely to survive.

Yeah, that looks like that could be...

Azura, really confidently walking down.

Yeah, you can see that it's open.

He's getting closer and closer.

He's literally a metre away from it.

Just run straight through the gate.

You can see they're all quite nervous.

But the fact that one of the cubs has gone

through should mean that others will follow.

OK, here we have someone else just on the left.

OK, two cubs kind of doing it almost together.

Next through is Azura's brother, Zhenya.

One through, another one through.

There's a little procession of them.

See how cautious they are.

The rest follow, with little Pasha bringing up the rear.

As soon as the first one ran, everyone ran straight after.

For the first time since they were born, the cubs are

on their own, away from the safety of the enclosure.

The door is left open for them.

We want them to return, but there's no guarantee.

The Pashutnov family, Kacha, Sergei and Vasily, have

rescued over 200 orphans in the last two decades.

They know this is a dangerous but necessary step for the cubs.

And in past years, has there been any bears that, as soon as they leave,

they run away or they don't come back?

There is a chance that they will disappear.

They can be frightened by something.

For example, by wild bear, big bear, or maybe

even some sounds, unusual sounds for them.

They could frighten them and they can run away and not come back.

It is possible.

So they could get lost?

It is possible and we have some experience of it.

They ran away and didn't come back.

Of course, we are worrying too much.

But that's difficult.

It's difficult not to worry.

Yeah, for me especially.

It's difficult to follow the cubs in the forest.

But there may be a way I can keep a discreet eye on them.

Where are those cubs?

Where are the cubs?

The cubs have left the enclosure and we don't

know exactly where they are at the moment.

They're not going to be too far away, but what I'm going to do is send up the

drone and it's going to give me the first oversight of this area and maybe help me

identify likely places that the cubs might be.

Almost immediately you get a completely different view of this area.

And if I just rotate around, I reckon our

bears are going to be off in this direction.

It just shows you what's really great to see is how much forest there is out there.

Mile after mile of what is really great bear territory.

It's a vast area.

And it must be scary for the cubs.

Even from up here, it'll be hard to find them.

There's so many places that these cubs could be.

All we can do is wait and hope that they come back to the enclosure.

We haven't seen the cubs for over 24 hours.

They've spent their first night in the forest alone.

Sergei's son Vasily has a plan to try and find them.

Good morning Vasily.

Good morning.

How are you?

Nice, and you?

Good, good, good.

Instead of searching the forest for our cubs, Vasily

hopes wild apples will attract them back to the enclosure.

Each one of these must be about 40 kilos.

When you think of the grizzly bear, we think of them eating salmon,

think of them eating meat.

But the truth is, in this part of Russia, their diet

is almost entirely made up of vegetation, of fruits.

Meat just forms a very small part of their diet.

All loaded and ready to go.

A bear's sense of smell is 7,000 times better than ours.

They can detect ripe apples from more than 30 kilometres away.

The bears are here.

All six of them.

The smell from the apples is really sweet and pungent.

It's actually quite intoxicating.

They're waiting for me.

So for a bear, it must be going out of their mind.

It's a huge relief they're together and safe.

They launch into the apples.

But little Pasha's still timid.

The last cub to the food grows more slowly.

We need to keep an eye on him.

An underweight cub won't survive.

At this time of year, bears enter a state called hyperphasia.

They're driven to eat as much as possible.

It helps them fatten up for hibernation.

Better get some more.

Hibernation lasts for the five months of winter

when bears are in dens without access to food.

It's so cold that even sleeping, they can burn 1,000 calories a day.

The orphans might not survive winter unless they reach a weight of 40 kilos.

That means they've got to put on two kilos of fat per week.

It's September.

Daytime temperatures are beginning to cool.

Hovering around 20 degrees.

The cubs are now seven months old.

They're coming and going from the safety of the enclosure.

Walking up to 15 kilometres a day.

It's only five weeks until their final release.

But they've still got a lot to learn.

And Pasha remains at the back of the class.

Always the weakest cub.

He had problems with his legs at birth.

He's now starting to keep up with the others.

To find enough food in the wild, these cubs

need to learn an important new way to travel.

It's time to teach them how to swim.

So Sergei's going to lead the bear cubs to places that

they have to become comfortable with and familiar with.

So places where they can find different types of food.

So rivers that they can cross and lakes that they can swim in.

And we're rigging Sergei with a camera in the hope that we can film what goes on.

Good luck.

Sergei will act like mother bear.

By mimicking bear tongue clicks, Sergei is able to guide them.

.

.

In the wild, bear cubs would learn how to swim from their mothers.

So we need to find a way to teach these orphans ourselves.

This is going to be good.

Wild cubs would already be competent swimmers.

For a bear cub, as soon as it comes out of its winter den with its mother,

as soon as the snow melts and the ice has gone from the

lakes and rivers, crossing waterways is just part of life.

And when the cubs are really small, they'll cross

watercourses and lakes on their mother's back.

So they're not having to swim necessarily.

They've got the safety and security of being with their

mum, riding on her back as she does all the swimming.

So these cubs have obviously missed out on a big part of their learning.

I'm going to try to encourage the cubs to swim by enticing them in.

This.

This fine vessel, once there's a camera fitted to the front of it, is going to be

able to get hopefully quite close to the bears.

At the moment, they're reluctant to take the plunge.

Right.

I want to see if the boat will tempt them out.

Jorah, normally the boldest cub, seems nervous of the water.

Against all our expectations, Pasha is first to dive in.

A lot of sliding about in the mud, but not much swimming yet.

It might actually act as an enticement and get them out into the deeper water,

and then that way we can see how good they are at swimming.

All of the cubs are going to be able to swim.

It's just really to find out how confident and how proficient they are at it.

Unfortunately, my plan to get them swimming isn't going well.

As soon as I move into reverse, so does Pasha.

Yay!

Obviously, at the moment we've got a lot of very, very

confident paddling, but that's not what we're interested in.

We want them to go out of their depth.

Paddling's for babies.

Eventually, Jorah takes a dip.

I think I'm going to fall.

I think I'm going to fall.

But it's Pasha who wades the deepest.

An encouraging sign of his growing confidence.

There's only four weeks to go before the cubs'

final release, away from the training zone.

In the wild, you would never find six cubs together like this.

They've bonded as a family.

Being together keeps the orphans safe, and they continue to learn from each other.

At eight months old, the cubs are starting to look like adult bears.

Their noses are getting longer.

And the distinctive hump on their backs is growing.

It's unique to grizzlies.

A sign they're developing powerful digging muscles in their shoulders.

It's a sign they're growing faster.

My next job is to show them what to dig for.

In my pocket, I have some delicious acorns.

And I want to give them to the bears.

But I don't want to make it too easy for them.

When they are out in the wild, they'll have to do a lot of digging.

And that's something that I haven't seen them do.

I've seen them climbing.

I've seen them foraging for food.

But I haven't seen them actually breaking ground

and getting down into the food that's there.

I just want to find out how good they are at that.

And just to put their sense of smell to the test,

I'm going to put them two feet down if I can get it.

I want to see it with my own eyes.

Can they detect something that kind of doesn't really have... much of an odour?

They don't really smell of anything.

I

Don't think they're going to be able to find them.

Acorns are an important source of fat in the early autumn.

A few scattered on top should give them a fighting chance.

Just toss a bit of leaf litter over the dig site.

And see what they can do.

Pasha is first on the scene.

He's found the acorns on the surface.

But the real test is whether he can dig up the rest.

I think they've smelt them.

Just two acorns have as many calories as one whole apple.

They're really getting stuck in now.

As they get older, their claws grow straighter, giving

them the perfect tools for scraping and shovelling.

They're realising the deeper they dig, the more food there is down there.

Pasha has hit the jackpot.

But there might not be enough to go around.

Zhora defends his precious acorns from his brother Zhenya.

In the confusion, little Pasha's been left behind.

It isn't long before the orphans make up.

This is how bear cubs bond.

Eventually, everyone's nose leads them back to the acorns.

So a lot of it is instinctive.

A bear can smell something and it can figure out whether it's good to eat.

But so much of that, they learn by example.

They see their mother doing certain things and they know that that's safe to eat.

But for the cubs, they are at a disadvantage.

Because they're having to completely rely on their instincts.

So it's important, I think, that we give them the

opportunities where their instincts can kick in.

To be released, the cubs will need to weigh at least 40 kilos.

To reach that, they need to find high-fat food.

Rotting logs are full of juicy grubs.

If they can learn how to get them...

they'll be able to eat.

A delightful cocktail of pureed fish guts will put them to the test.

This wood's quite soft, so as I pour this bear elixir in...

it's going to soak right into the middle of the log.

OK, that'll do us.

Hopefully, the terrible smell will encourage them.

Here they come.

Jeez.

It's like a homing beacon.

You can see when they put their claws to use how effective they are.

Literally just ripping the log apart without any problems whatsoever.

So you're combining the sharpness of their claws with the power of their paws.

And a lot of the logs become obliterated.

Grubs feed on the rotting wood at the heart of these logs.

But I'm beginning to think I may have overdone it on the fish guts.

That's incredible.

What the hell are they doing?

Quite

as much ripped into the logs... as dived inside them.

That

is a bear cub in sheer ecstasy.

They've been lost to that scent.

Grizzly bears scavenge when they can.

And the promise of rotting fish seems to drive the cubs wild.

And the bear cub is now a bear cub.

When you watch them in a situation like this...

you realise it's quite a lot of fun being a bear.

If you can just wander about the forest...

and find an entire banquet without really having to wait.

I can't work that hard for it.

At times it can be an easy life.

And it's lovely to see all of our cubs just enjoying themselves.

And it's not all about hardship and danger.

Sometimes it's just about chilling out and enjoying being a bear.

It's October.

Nighttime temperatures are now below freezing.

The cubs are nearly nine months old.

We're planning for their final release.

But only if they're heavy enough.

The cubs' permanent home can't be the training area.

There isn't enough food to support them all.

So we need to find safe release sites for them elsewhere.

For each pair of brothers, we've got our eyes on a different wilderness area.

Each within a few hours' drive of the rescue centre.

Where, hopefully, they'll live for the rest of their lives.

Today, Sergei is taking the cubs out on what

will be their last guided tour together.

During October, the fruit, nuts and insects that bears eat in the forest are dwindling.

But they still need to fatten up for hibernation.

Sergei's leading them to the best high-calorie autumn food.

Wild oats are packed with carbs for piling on the pounds.

It's a last chance for little Pasha to fatten up.

If he's not heavy enough, he can't be released this year.

These meadows are important for bears.

But they need to remain cautious out in the wild.

And they open.

Zhora leads them to the cover of the trees.

It's great to see the cubs' survival instincts

and skills develop over the last ten weeks.

Tomorrow will be the ultimate test for these orphans.

Today is the biggest day of the cubs' lives.

If they don't weigh at least 40 kilos, they may not

survive the winter and can't be returned to the wild.

Pasha has always been the smallest.

I'm worried about him.

Only if they make the weight can they be moved to their final release sites.

To minimise stress, Sergei prepares a tranquiliser dart.

A vet is on hand to oversee proceedings.

Through the whole time that I've been here, there's been a series of small steps.

This, today, is a huge step.

A tranquiliser dart is the only way to catch and weigh the cubs.

It looks harsh.

But it has the benefit of making them distrustful.

It makes them feel like people.

Essential for a wild bear to survive.

Nice one.

Zhora is the first cub to be darted.

Okay.

Dart went in.

After a few minutes, the drug takes effect.

Zhora will be out for about half an hour.

My God, he's heavy.

I can help you.

It's been five months since I last picked him up.

There's a huge change.

But has he made the 40 kilo release weight?

Let's get to work.

47 kilos is perfect.

The vet checks that Zhora is as healthy as he looks.

My God.

Just giving him a full health check.

And taking all of his weight, his length, size of his paws.

He gets a rabies jab.

So it's a full MOT and health check.

But he's very, very, very good condition.

Big, fat, healthy and ready.

Yeah.

Ready to go.

Zhora is given an ear tag.

Bears with tags will typically live three times

longer because hunters are less likely to shoot them.

Zhora will travel to his new home in a crate after the tranquilizer wears off.

Releasing them now, a few weeks before winter arrives,

marks the final stage of their rehabilitation.

The plan is to let them go as three pairs of brothers, exactly as they were rescued.

That way each pair can hibernate together.

Zhora will be let go with his brother Zhenya.

He's been fitted with a satellite tracker.

The collar will expand as he grows.

We've got a satellite collar and that will allow us to follow his movements from

today onwards for the next year and a half.

And for an animal like a bear, that collar is an insignificant amount of weight.

When he comes to, he'll realize that he's got

something on, but very, very quickly he'll ignore it.

He'll get a daily fix on his location.

This will show where they both den and will let us know when they emerge in spring.

After a year, the collar will automatically drop off.

I'll get the door.

Yeah.

This is little Pasha's big moment.

He's always been the smallest.

Will he be the cub who's left behind once again?

There you go.

Well done.

If he doesn't make the crucial 40-kilo

weight, he can't be released with the others.

You're a heavy boy.

Hold him in the palm of your hand anymore.

47.

Yeah, it's 47.

Pasha has done it.

He's gone from being the smallest cub to weighing exactly the same as Jorah.

Thank God.

It's a huge relief.

This little bear has surprised us all.

Yes, yes.

All six bears are heavy enough to be released.

Each pair of brothers will be taken to a different wilderness area.

Jorah and his brother Zhenya are going to a remote

location 100 kilometres from the rescue centre.

OK.

OK.

Nine months ago, Jorah was so weak, he couldn't even support his own weight.

Are you worried about him?

Yes.

You know, he's very heavy.

And his paws are not very strong.

He went hungry when he was orphaned, affecting his muscle development.

Kacha's giving him a massage, putting his legs and

his paws into the position that they should be in.

But thanks to Kacha, he pulled through.

He's held the whole group together, inspiring confidence in the others.

Confidence they need to become wild bears.

Three, two...

Out you come.

OK.

Jorah's head's out.

Surveying what they can see in front of them.

It's quite a scary prospect.

And somewhere new after a long journey.

Jorah is braver than his brother and makes the first move.

Come on guys, out you come.

Always a leader.

He won't leave Zhenya behind.

Well done.

That was good.

It's funny when you knock the camera over.

It's maybe the last time it'll ever be photographed.

Really look like proper bears.

Yeah, you can hear them.

They're climbing.

Climbing in the trees.

After nine months in rehab, Jorah and his brother are finally free.

Next to be released were Tolya and Choma, 50 kilometres to the north.

And finally, it's the turn of Pasha and his brother Slava.

Right from the start, Pasha was the smallest and weakest orphan.

He just split out.

He's like a starfish.

He was the slowest developer and struggled to keep up with the others.

We worried that he wouldn't survive.

But thanks to the Pashutnovs... OK.

You good?

One, two, three.

He's ready for release.

Slava is first out.

Pasha needs a helping hand.

It's nice to think that he stopped to look round and

give us one last glance because he's so grateful.

How did you feel?

Yeah, it's very uplifting.

I think to be part of this amazing process, to see your amazing work,

and then to give these bears a chance at life is wonderful.

So there's no reason to be sad.

I can.

Really?

For you?

I am a little a bit sad, of course.

Don't worry.

Next year, you'll have a whole lot more bears and you

can go through the process again and again and again.

This year's orphans mark the 230th successful

rehabilitation for Sergei, Katya and the family.

The Pashutnovs have shown that anything can happen.

Hand-raised grizzlies can survive in the wild.

Signals from the cubs' collars tell us that they

are now all safely sleeping in their winter dens.

Against the odds, our orphans have the same chance of survival as any wild bear.