Original subtitles

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WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL. YOU KNOW YOU ARE WATCHING TELEVISION

THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

JOIN ME ON A JOURNEY TO AMERICA'S LAST FRONTIER,

THE RUGGED WILDERNESS OF ALASKA.

WE'LL DISCOVER ALASKAN WILDLIFE LIKE NEVER BEFORE

AND WITNESS THE EPIC STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL

THROUGH COLD WINTERS AND LIFE-GIVING SUMMERS.

WE'LL FISH FOR SALMON WITH A FAMILY OF GRIZZLY BEARS,

FLY HIGH ABOVE THE CLOUDS WITH BALD EAGLES, JOIN A

PACK OF WOLVES HUNTING FOR FOOD, AND MEET PEOPLE

WHOSE ANCESTORS HAVE LIVED IN THIS WILD PLACE SINCE

THE DAWN OF HISTORY.

OUR ALASKAN JOURNEY ACTUALLY BEGINS 18

THOUSAND YEARS AGO.

BACK THEN, THE EARTH LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT.

OUR PLANET WAS LOCKED IN ICE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE

LAST GREAT ICE AGE.

FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS, ICE AND SNOW

COMPACTED INTO MASSIVE GLACIERS THAT CARVED

MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, RIVERS, AND EVENTUALLY

CREATED THE WORLD WE KNOW TODAY.

WITH EARTH'S WATER COLLECTED IN ICE AROUND

THE POLES, OCEAN LEVELS PLUMMETED MORE THAN THREE

HUNDRED FEET.

THE EXPOSED SEA FLOOR NEARLY JOINED AUSTRALIA TO

SOUTHEAST ASIA.

THE ISLANDS OF JAPAN BECAME PART OF MAINLAND

ASIA, AND ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, ICE FIELDS AND

GLACIERS ENVELOPED ALL OF CANADA AND THE

NORTHERNMOST UNITED STATES.

AS THE ICE AGE SPREAD, ALASKA EMERGED AS A

CROSSROADS BETWEEN TWO CONTINENTS.

OFF ITS BERING SEA COASTLINE, THE RETREATING

OCEAN EXPOSED A GREAT LAND BRIDGE A THOUSAND MILES

WIDE, CONNECTING ALASKA AND ASIA.

ALONG THIS CORRIDOR A RIVER OF LIVING CREATURES

WOULD FLOW, AND THE AMERICAS AS WE KNOW THEM

WERE BORN.

TODAY THE SOLITUDE OF THE PAST IS BROKEN ONLY

OCCASIONALLY BY THE SOUND OF THE PRESENT.

[AIRPLANE ENGINES RUMBLING]

MOST OF ITS RUGGED TERRAIN CAN BE CROSSED

ONLY BY AIRPLANE.

SHEER WALLS A MILE DEEP LOOM AS MONUMENTS TO THE

POWER OF THE GLACIERS THAT CARVED THEM.

WHERE THE FROZEN RIVERS END, ICEBERGS ARE BORN.

IN A SPECTACLE SO MIGHTY, NATIVE TRIBES CALL IT

WHITE THUNDER.

SOME BLOCKS ARE THE SIZE OF 30-STORY BUILDINGS.

ALASKA MIGHT SEEM LIKE A PLACE TOO HOSTILE FOR

LIVING THINGS, BUT EACH YEAR AFTER THE LONG

WINTER, ALASKA ERUPTS WITH LIFE.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BIRDS FLOCK HERE FROM AS

FAR AWAY AS ANTARCTICA TO BREED ON ALASKA'S

PROTECTED CLIFFS AND COVES.

AND TO FEED ON ITS RICH SEAS.

FOR ONE BRIEF SEASON OF SUMMER, LIFE FLOURISHES.

GRASSES EMERGE FUELED BY UP TO 24 HOURS OF

SUNLIGHT.

ANIMALS HURRY TO STORE UP NUTRIENTS BEFORE WINTER

RETURNS.

FAMISHED FROM A YEAR OF HIBERNATION, THE MIGHTY

BROWN BEAR IS CONTENT TO GRAZE IN SPRING AND SHARES

THE MEADOW WITH CARIBOU TOO FAST TO BE CAUGHT.

[BEARS GRUNTING]

AS BELLIES FILL, PLAY AND MATING BEGIN.

THESE BEARS WILL REMAIN A COUPLE FOR ONLY A DAY OR

TWO, SHARING A ROUGH AFFECTION.

BEAR HUGS WILL LEAD TO A NEW CUB BORN IN A

HIBERNATION DEN DURING WINTER.

AS SUMMER'S WARMTH DEEPENS, ALASKA'S THREE

MILLION LAKES TURN TO GATHERING PLACES.

BEAVERS PREPARE FOR THE RAVAGES OF COLD WEATHER

AHEAD BY REPAIRING THEIR LODGES.

MOOSE FEAST ON TENDER AQUATIC PLANTS HIDDEN AT

THE BOTTOM OF A LAKE.

WOLF PUPS GORGE ON MOTHER'S MILK TO REACH

NEAR ADULT SIZE BEFORE WINTER ARRIVES,

BUT THE SERENITY OF SUMMER CAN BE SHATTERED BY THE APPROACH

OF AN INTRUDER.

[BEAR GRUNTING]

THE BLACK BEAR HAS A FEARSOME REPUTATION...

...BUT IT IS AMONG THE MOST PLAYFUL OF BEAR

SPECIES, AND WITH THE COAST CLEAR AND THE WATER

COOL, EVEN A BEAR MAY SUCCUMB TO THE IMPULSE

MERELY TO HAVE FUN.

COULDN'T YOU JUST WATCH THAT VIDEO ALL DAY?

THIS BEAR IS AN AMAZING REMINDER OF HOW ALASKA CAN

BE BEAUTIFUL AND EVEN PLAYFUL, BUT ALSO

TERRIFYING AND DEADLY ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL EXPLORE ALASKA'S COASTLINE

AND MEET A GROUP OF SUMMER VACATIONERS THAT ARRIVED

HERE ALL THE WAY FROM THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW.

.

WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY."

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

WATER TEMPERATURES AROUND THE ALASKAN COASTLINE DROP

TO FREEZING DURING THE LONG WINTER MONTHS.

WHEN SUMMER FINALLY ARRIVES, THE OCEAN SPRINGS

TO LIFE WITH SALMON, WHALES, AND MY FAVORITE

ALASKAN MAMMAL, THE SEA LION.

AFTER A WINTER BATTERED BY STORMS, SEA LION COLONIES

HAUL OUT OF THE WATER TO SUN THEMSELVES ON THE

ROCKY SHORE.

LIKE VACATIONERS ENJOYING A DAY AT THE BEACH,

IN THE WORLD OF SEA LIONS, THE PRIME SPOTS GO TO THE

BIGGER ANIMAL,

BUT AS ALWAYS, PATIENCE SUCCEEDS.

UNGAINLY ON SHORE, THE SEA LION MOVES IN THE SEA WITH

THE EASE OF A CIRCUS PERFORMER, BOTH ACROBAT

AND CLOWN.

HUMPBACK WHALES SWIM NEARLY FOUR THOUSAND MILES

ALL THE WAY FROM HAWAII TO ENJOY ALASKA'S ABUNDANCE.

HUMPBACKS FAST FOR EIGHT MONTHS IN THE RELATIVELY

SPARSE WATERS OF THE TROPICS AROUND HAWAII,

WHERE THEY BREED AND GIVE BIRTH.

TO CAPTURE THE IMMENSE QUANTITIES OF THE FOOD

THEY NEED, SOME HUMPBACKS HAVE DEVISED AN

EXTRAORDINARY TECHNIQUE.

DIVING IN UNISON, THEY SURROUND A SCHOOL OF

HERRING WHILE ONE OR MORE SINGS A RITUAL FEEDING

SONG.

SIMULTANEOUSLY, A WHALE BLOWS A CIRCULAR NET OF

BUBBLES AROUND THE FISH.

THEN, AS THE TRAP IS COMPLETED, THE ENTIRE

GROUP ROCKETS UPWARD THROUGH THE BUBBLE NET...

...SWALLOWING FISH AND KRILL IN THEIR GAPING

MOUTHS.

EACH SPECIES FINDS A WAY TO SURVIVE.

HUMPBACKS HAVE LEARNED TO INVENT, AND MORE

IMPORTANTLY, TO COOPERATE.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ALASKAN SPECIES IS SALMON.

DURING THE SUMMER, WAVE AFTER WAVE OF THESE

AMAZING FISH SWEEP INTO ALASKA'S RIVERS BY THE

MILLIONS IN A VAST FLOOD OF LIFE.

THEY FACE A MARATHON JOURNEY UPSTREAM,

SOMETIMES HUNDREDS OF MILES LONG, YET THEY

PERSIST, EVEN IN THE FACE OF IMPOSSIBLE OBSTACLES.

FOR BROWN BEARS, THE ARRIVAL OF SALMON IS THE

MOST IMPORTANT FEEDING EVENT OF THE YEAR.

IT IS THE LAST OPPORTUNITY TO ADD THE BULK THEY NEED

FOR THE MONTHS OF WINTER HIBERNATION AHEAD.

BEARS ARE NOT BORN WITH FISHING SKILLS.

EACH DEVELOPS A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED STYLE OF

FISHING.

SOME BEARS WAIT PATIENTLY BY SMALL WATERFALLS FOR

THE SALMON TO SWIM NEARBY.

SOME CHASE THE SALMON DOWN AND POUNCE ON THEM WITH

CLAWS.

SOME ARE LIKE A SUBMARINE, NOT VERY GRACEFUL, BUT

PERSISTENT.

MOST BEARS ARE VERY SELFISH WITH THEIR CATCH.

ONLY A MOTHER SHARES HER FOOD.

SOME BEARS MAY FISH 20 HOURS A DAY.

LARGE MALES CAN PUT ON THREE HUNDRED POUNDS.

THEY ONLY QUIT WHEN THEY PUT ON ENOUGH WEIGHT TO

SLEEP THROUGH THE WINTER.

COMING UP NEXT, SUMMER IS ENDING, AND WINTER WILL

ARRIVE SOON.

WHILE SOME ANIMALS FLY SOUTH TO ESCAPE THE

FREEZE, OTHERS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CHANCE TO

COOL OFF.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW.

.

WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW.

DYLAN: IN ALASKA, AFTER ONLY SIX WEEKS OF WARMTH,

THE AIR STARTS TO GROW CHILLY.

SUMMER VISITORS LIKE BIRDS AND WHALES BEGIN HEADING

SOUTH TO ESCAPE THE BITTER COLD AHEAD.

NEW SNOWFALL CAN ARRIVE IN LATE AUGUST, AND FOR THE

ANIMALS THAT REMAIN IN ALASKA THROUGH THE WINTER,

EVERY INSTINCT AND ADAPTATION IS NEEDED TO

ENSURE SURVIVAL.

BALD EAGLES ARE THE SYMBOL OF AMERICAN FREEDOM, AND

ALASKA IS ONE OF THE PREMIER PLACES IN THE

UNITED STATES TO SEE THEM.

AS MANY AS FOUR THOUSAND EAGLES GATHER IN TREES

ALONG THE CHILKAT RIVER IN THE SOUTHEAST, THE LARGEST

KNOWN CONGREGATION OF BALD EAGLES IN THE WORLD.

THOUGH MOST ALASKAN RIVERS FREEZE DURING THE WINTER,

HOT SPRINGS KEEPS THE CHILKAT RIVER RUNNING AND

ENABLES THE EAGLES TO FEED ON THE RIVER'S UNUSUALLY

LATE SALMON RUN.

ONE ALASKAN ANIMAL ACTUALLY YEARNS FOR THE

ONSET OF WINTER.

WHERE MOST CREATURES WOULD PERISH FROM EXPOSURE,

POLAR BEARS THRIVE.

THEIR BODY HEAT IS PRESERVED BY THICK FAT AND

AN INSULATING FUR OF TRANSLUCENT HOLLOW HAIRS.

THEIR FAVORITE PREY IS THE RINGED SEAL, BUT IN ORDER

TO HUNT SEALS EFFECTIVELY, THEY MUST WAIT FOR COLDER

WEATHER AND THE SEA TO FREEZE OVER.

SOME MALES WHILE AWAY THE TIME IN FRIENDLY PLAY

FIGHTING.

[POLAR BEARS GRUNTING]

FEW MOTHERS IN ALL OF NATURE ARE AS DEVOTED AS A

POLAR BEAR MOM.

CUBS LEARN EARLY TO OBEY MOTHER'S COMMANDS.

FINALLY, THE SEA FREEZES OVER.

THE SEASON OF WAITING AND FASTING ENDS.

WITH THEIR EXTRAORDINARY SENSE OF SMELL, POLAR

BEARS VENTURE OUT ONTO THE ICE, AWAY FROM THE SHORE

TO LOCATE SEALS OVER 20 MILES AWAY.

THE WINTER FEAST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

ELSEWHERE IN ALASKA, A TIME OF DARKNESS AND

SCARCITY ARRIVES.

CARIBOU MIGRATING TO WINTERING GROUNDS SCRAPE

BENEATH THE SNOW DAY OR NIGHT FOR MOSS AND SEDGE

GRASS.

SEARCHING FOR FOOD, THEY ARE VULNERABLE TO HUNGRY

PREDATORS.

FOR A PACK OF WOLVES, PREY ARE EASIER TO TRACK IN

SNOW.

[CARIBOU GRUNTING]

WITH JAWS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CRUSH THE CARIBOUS'

LARGEST BONES, THEY WILL LEAVE LITTLE BEHIND.

[WOLVES GROWLING]

FOR A SPECIES THAT MUST COOPERATE TO SURVIVE,

RIVALRIES ARE BRIEF.

THE PACK LEADER CALLS THEM ONWARD.

[WOLF HOWLING]

THE HUNT IS NEVER OVER.

[HOWLING CONTINUES]

COMING UP NEXT, HUMANS HAVE SURVIVED IN THIS

FROZEN LAND FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

ALL THEY NEED IS A REALLY BIG CATCH.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW.

.

WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW.

DYLAN: MAYBE WHERE YOU LIVE IT GETS A LITTLE

CHILLY AT NIGHT.

MAYBE IN THE WINTER MONTHS TEMPERATURES DROP BELOW

THE FREEZING POINT OF 32 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

WELL, JUST IMAGINE LIVING IN NORTHERN ALASKA AND

FACING A NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURE OF 50 DEGREES

BELOW ZERO.

IT TAKES A STRONG PERSON TO SURVIVE SUCH COLD AND

AN EVEN STRONGER COMMUNITY.

THESE BRAVE SOULS DESCENDED FROM TRIBES WHO

CROSSED THE ICE AGE LAND BRIDGE THOUSANDS OF YEARS

AGO.

IN THAT TIME, THE INUPIAT LEARNED TO USE EVERY

RESOURCE IN THEIR FROZEN DESERT.

FOR FOOD, THEY TURN TO THE SEA.

STILL TODAY, THEY WATCH FOR ARRIVING BOWHEAD

WHALES.

THE HUNT IS SANCTIONED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW, AND

IT'S A SACRED RITUAL TO THE INUPIATS.

HAULING IN ITS BODY, THEY THANK THE WHALE FOR THE

GIFT OF LIFE-SUSTAINING NOURISHMENT.

THE INUPIAT PEOPLE HAVE FORMED A SYMBIOTIC

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LAND AND ANIMALS AROUND THEM.

FOR OTHER ALASKANS, THAT RELATIONSHIP TAKES A

DIFFERENT FORM.

GIRL:...ONE, GO!

DYLAN: BEFORE A LARGE CROWD, DOGSLED TEAMS SET

OUT FROM ANCHORAGE EACH YEAR ON A THOUSAND-MILE

RACE KNOWN WORLDWIDE AS THE IDITAROD.

IN THE DEFIANT SPIRIT OF ALASKA, WINTER'S HARSH

CHALLENGES ARE TURNED TO RUGGED SPORT.

THE CURRENT RECORD WAS SET IN 2016 WITH A TIME OF

EIGHT DAYS, 11 HOURS, 20 MINUTES, AND 16 SECONDS.

EACH YEAR, AS THE WARM SEASON APPROACHES, THE

VAST SPECTACLE OF LIFE'S RESILIENCY UNFOLDS AGAIN

IN ALASKA, AND ALONG STREAM BOTTOMS, THE

PROMISE OF THE FUTURE IS RENEWED.

THESE SALMON HATCHLINGS WILL SOON DEPART ON A LONG

JOURNEY DOWNSTREAM TO THE OCEAN.

IN THE YEARS TO COME, THEY WILL RETURN, AS THE GREAT

CYCLE OF LIFE CONTINUES.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY THROUGH AMERICA'S

LAST FRONTIER.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.