All language subtitles for Arctic Wolf Pack PBS Nature A 720p HDTV EN Sub x264 AAC MVGroup org

♪♪

NARRATOR: The Arctic
is no place to be a lone wolf.

Prey is scarce...

and it's fierce
and well-armed.

Where food sometimes
is plentiful, it's fast.

There's often not enough
to go around.

Up here, what a wolf
needs most...

is family.

A family grows up to be a pack,

and a pack can hold a territory.

Now they have a real chance --

to hunt...

to raise pups...

to prosper in this
seemingly impossible place.

And it's for a family

that a wolf can rise
from determined killer...

to a tender and devoted
member of the pack...

[ Howling ]

...whose loyalty lasts
to the very end.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

NARRATOR:
The wolves of the high Arctic

live much of their lives
in darkness.

[ Howling ]

[ Howling continues ]

Here on Canada's
Ellesmere Island,

their dramatic story unfolds
far from human eyes...

a mere 500 miles
from the North Pole.

♪♪

Wolves here have little choice

but to brave
the brutal winter cold

that lasts
for 8 months of the year.

♪♪

To survive, they must
face formidable prey...

five times their size
and armed with lethal horns.

♪♪

But a wolf on its own

can't do much against
such intimidating beasts.

♪♪

The strength of muskox in a herd

tells the wolf that
without a pack alongside him,

he should just move on.

♪♪

It's late March,

and the Eureka pack
is finishing up

what's left of a bull muskox
they killed two weeks ago.

The pack has been
fortunate this year.

The winter snow
was unusually deep,

which left many muskox
weak and vulnerable.

The Eureka wolves are thriving,

thanks to the care and guidance
of Snow White and Alpha,

the breeding pair who now
return to their family.

For wolves,
family means everything.

It's the single most important
thing in their lives.

[ Wolves shrieking ]

The bonds of love and loyalty
run deep,

even if they do sometimes
squabble over leftovers.

[ Snarling ]

♪♪

♪♪

To live in this icy realm,
so far north,

animals need to be special.

Ellesmere Island
is a polar desert

that receives little more
than 3 inches of rain a year.

Food here is almost always
frozen and buried.

Adapted to life in a freezer,

muskox and Arctic hares

are masters
at conserving energy.

It's the only way
they can survive

on the sparse twigs
and dry grasses here.

But times are changing.

Warmer winters bring deeper
snow and freezing rain,

locking what little vegetation
there is under an icy crust.

♪♪

♪♪

Changes such as these
also threaten the wolves,

by disturbing
the delicate balance

of life in the north.

When the Eureka pack makes
a kill, they waste nothing.

At minus 40,
frozen bones can shatter teeth,

but the fatty marrow inside
is too precious to waste.

A lone female from outside
the pack approaches the carcass.

Snow White and Alpha are nearby,
so she's taking a risk.

♪♪

♪♪

Hunger makes her desperate.

But Snow White and Alpha
do not approve.

♪♪

♪♪

Membership in the pack
is exclusive,

and the breeding pair alone

decides who may stay
and who must go.

♪♪

These last scraps
are not for her.

There's not much left...

and not long before
they'll have to kill again.

♪♪

Forced to leave, this female

will have to strike out
on her own.

In this frozen land,
life is harsh for outcasts...

without a family
like the Eureka pack

to shelter and protect them.

♪♪

It's not that wolves
are cruel or kind.

It's the Arctic itself
that is so unforgiving.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Yet, as the weeks go by,
winter slowly retreats.

The snow cover
begins to melt away.

For all animals, it's a sprint

to make the most
of a short Arctic summer.

The race starts now.

[ Scratching ]

♪♪

An Arctic fox.

♪♪

This nimble hunter
stays light on his feet,

so as not to betray his presence
to what lays hidden below.

♪♪

A lemming.

Lemmings don't hibernate,

a crucially important fact
for the Arctic fox.

He's almost completely reliant
on these small creatures,

who ride out the worst
of the winter weather

in their labyrinth of tunnels
under the snow.

♪♪

The lone female
is out on the tundra.

♪♪

She has wandered
the ridges and valleys

for the last several weeks,

searching for
a very special place...

...a place that
she can call home...

for herself...

and her new pups.

♪♪

Tucked down in
a small river valley,

her den is perfect
for keeping her pups

warm, dry, and out of sight.

She has started
a family of her own,

the foundations of a new pack.

♪♪

The transition into spring
is swift.

The sun now circles
24 hours a day.

[ Wolf howling ]

♪♪

But just because
the snow is melting

doesn't mean life is any easier.

[ Howling continues ]

[ Wolves howling in distance ]

[ Wolf howls ]

Her mate's been gone
for several days.

Hungry, she calls
for his return.

But howling announces
her presence,

which is a mistake.

♪♪

Strange wolves are approaching.

♪♪

♪♪

Alone, without
the protection of a pack,

she and her pups
are in grave danger.

♪♪

It's another breeding pair,

with their adult offspring,
out on patrol.

This is their territory,
their land.

♪♪

♪♪

Had she stayed silent,
they might not have found her.

♪♪

♪♪

The hair is raised on
the back of their necks.

They smell...something.

♪♪

She needs to act quickly
and draw them away.

♪♪

♪♪

She must not fail.

♪♪

♪♪

She's just as fast
as the Raiders.

But has she succeeded
in leading them away?

♪♪

The Raiders have given up
the chase...for now.

Perhaps the pups are safe.

The Raiders turn and head
back the way they came.

But something
catches their attention.

♪♪

♪♪

They've picked up
her scent again

and this time
head straight for the den.

♪♪

[ Wolf howls ]

[ Pups yelping ]

The breeding female
enters first.

The pups don't stand a chance.

♪♪

Raids like these between
rival packs are not uncommon.

But this is the first time
one has been filmed.

[ Wolf howls ]

There's nothing their mother
can do to stop the Raiders.

She can't go closer,
or they will kill her, too.

♪♪

♪♪

Though it may seem cruel,
the Raiders have no choice

but to push back against those
who threaten their territory.

They have their own pups
to care for and protect,

and this is the only way
to ensure their survival.

When rival packs clash,

the largest family
almost always wins,

even if there's
a difference of only one.

The lone female
had five pups in her den.

A year is all
it would have taken

for the balance of power
to shift.

Then she would have come
for them.

At least the pups
did not suffer,

and their bodies
will not go to waste.

♪♪

♪♪

The deed is done.

The Raiders begin the trek back
to their den, 20 miles west.

Though the tundra
may seem vast and empty,

less than a day's walk is all
that separates rival packs.

No wolf is completely safe
up here.

♪♪

Hours later, the female returns.

♪♪

She only dares approach
when the Raiders have gone.

♪♪

♪♪

She can smell the Raiders'
presence all around the den.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Her den is empty.

She can't stay here alone
in her rivals' territory.

But where will she go?

And will she find
her mate again?

For now, it's best
for her to move on.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

It's early June,
and the snow continues to melt.

Snow White and Alpha are
staying close to their den,

and for good reason.

Snow White has given birth
to three healthy pups.

The newest members
of the Eureka pack

don't even have
their eyes open yet.

It's unusual to see pups
so young out of the den.

Alpha is a proud father,

and the entire family
is excited.

♪♪

But raising pups here
is no easy task.

When food is scarce, less than
half of all Arctic wolf pups

will survive the summer.

Snow White and Alpha
will need everyone's help

if they are to succeed.

This includes last year's pups,

who must graduate into
full-fledged providers.

But there's another wolf
who's come to help.

A few days ago,
a lone female wandered in

from the distant ridges
to join the pack.

She has a distinctive black spot
at the base of her tail.

Who she is is unclear.

But the pack
not only accepts her,

she's the only other wolf

allowed down in the den
with the pups.

Perhaps she's
Snow White's sister

or a daughter from years past.

With the birth of the pups,

the need to find food
takes on a new urgency.

As the matriarch, Snow White
is usually first to be fed.

But this is a big pack
of 14 wolves,

and their appetites
are insatiable.

Any wolf returning home
gets mobbed from all sides,

and the begging doesn't stop
until they bring up some meat.

The challenge for the pack

is that not everyone
can go out on a hunt.

There always need to be a few,
like Blackspot,

who stay behind
and help protect the den.

They need to be fed, as well.

♪♪

♪♪

And at last,
Blackspot gets a morsel.

It's only a small bite,
but it will have to last her

for the next couple of days.

Most of the year,
the wolves roam their territory

like nomads.

But during the denning season,

they're forced to
always return to this spot.

They can travel 25 miles a day
in search of food

and be gone for over a week,

constantly crisscrossing
their barren territory

in an endless game
of seek and find.

♪♪

Sometimes, though,
food finds you.

Arctic hares have wandered
close to the den.

A young female tries her luck.

♪♪

♪♪

Sprinting at 40 miles an hour,

hares and wolves
are an even match.

Whoever stumbles first, loses.

♪♪

Panicked and confused, the hare
runs right up onto the den.

A fatal mistake.

[ Snarling ]

Others aren't having
as much luck.

For Snow White, a single
hare is only small meal.

The burden of producing milk
puts huge demands on her body.

She needs 2 or 3 times
as much food as the others.

Blackspot, despite spending

almost all her time
with the pups,

gets nothing but fur.

If only the pack realized
just how special she is,

she might get more food.

In the spring sunshine,

the pups make
another appearance.

♪♪

Less than two weeks old,
and with their eyes barely open,

the pups are a reminder
of how fragile new life is.

♪♪

♪♪

With more than one burrow
at the den,

Snow White seems unsure
of where to put them.

Is she sensing something?

Most of the pack is away
with Alpha on a hunt,

so those remaining
must be on constant alert.

Then something
strange appears --

a bedraggled intruder
heading straight for them.

[ Snarling ]

♪♪

Snow White mounts a defense.

Outnumbered and surrounded,

the stranger's assault
is pure madness.

Who is she?

♪♪

♪♪

The attacker turns
and makes a dash for the den.

Diving in front,
Blackspot gets there first.

She blocks the entrance
with her body.

♪♪

The attacker tries
to squeeze past Blackspot.

They must pull her out,
or she will kill the pups.

♪♪

Maybe they know her,

or else they would have
killed her by now.

Remarkably, Snow White
and Blackspot let her go.

The pups are safe...this time.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

It's late June, and the pups
are growing bigger and stronger.

They're starting to spend more
and more of their day outside.

Blackspot barely leaves

and remains faithfully
by their side.

♪♪

And she's even nursing the pups.

♪♪

She could only do this
if she'd had pups of her own...

somewhere out on the tundra...

before she joined the pack.

But where are her pups now?

And where is her mate?

It's clear that a deep
and meaningful bond

runs between Snow White
and Blackspot.

Why else would they share
life's special gift?

♪♪

Whatever is in their past,
something powerful

compels Blackspot
to care for Snow White's pups

and treat them as her own.

Having two females nurse the
same litter is exceedingly rare.

It's a behavior that's
never been filmed before.

It's no wonder
the pups are thriving.

♪♪

But this happy arrangement
of the pups having two mothers

will prove to be
even more significant

as the Arctic summer wears on.

♪♪

[ Birds calling ]

The wolves aren't the only ones
tending to their young.

The Arctic foxes have
a full house of their own,

with plenty of kits
to keep them busy.

♪♪

Everyone is trying to make the
most of the short arctic summer.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

With so many young,
there's no time for a break.

♪♪

[ Jaeger squawking ]

The life of the male fox
is hard enough

without being dive-bombed
by jaegers.

The food hand-off
to his mate is quick,

and there's no time
for him to rest.

He needs to catch
30 more lemmings today.

As the kits get older and
start eating more solid food,

the pair will have to supply
upwards of 100 lemmings a day

to feed so many hungry mouths.

For now, the kits
are more interested in play.

♪♪

But if they won't eat
their dinner, someone else will.

[ Jaeger squawking ]

Summer has not been kind
to the Eureka pack.

They haven't made a muskox
kill in over a month.

The pack has scattered.

All the wolves are out
on their own, looking for food.

Snow White has caught
a few smaller prey.

But Blackspot
never leaves the den

and has only old bones
to gnaw on.

♪♪

It's not enough.

She goes hungry. Again.

♪♪

[ Jaeger squawking ]

The jaegers have had more luck
finding food than the wolves.

Their chick needs
to grow quickly

if it's to fledge
by the beginning of August.

Insects and lemmings
are all on the menu.

[ Chick chirping ]

The Arctic hares
have also had their young.

Unlike their parents,

the leverets
are well-camouflaged.

And by staying perfectly still,
they might not be spotted.

[ Jaeger squawking ]

The jaegers, however,
have a different strategy

for dealing with predators.

Jaegers spend most of the year
out at sea far from land.

Their wings are made
for riding over the waves

on the open ocean.

♪♪

♪♪

Dive-bombing a wolf
is barely a challenge.

And while the birds
run interference,

the leveret escapes.

It's mealtime again
at the fox den.

[ Chittering ]

The pair has eleven kits.

With so many mouths to feed,

dinner is first come,
first served.

[ Wolf howls in distance ]

♪♪

[ Wolf howls in distance ]

♪♪

♪♪

At the Eurekas' den,
something is wrong.

♪♪

Blackspot is so weak,
she's barely able to walk.

♪♪

She's fallen gravely ill.

♪♪

After spending all day,
every day, with the pups,

she simply hasn't been eating.

♪♪

♪♪

Snow White hasn't been
getting enough food, either.

But Blackspot's
pushed herself too far.

♪♪

[ Howls ]

Alpha senses something's wrong.

[ Howling ]

Even though
she can barely stand,

Blackspot lets the pups nurse.

Her instinct to care for them
has overridden her own needs.

The rest of the pack
doesn't seem to realize

the gravity of the situation.

♪♪

They're all hungry,
but Blackspot is starving.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

The next day,
Blackspot is dead.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Her death is a reminder
that in the Arctic

there are no easy seasons.

Even in summer, the line
between success and failure

is a narrow one.

♪♪

[ Wolf howling ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[ Wolf howling ]

♪♪

Snow White faces
a dire situation.

Blackspot's body is
blocking the den entrance,

and the pups
won't leave her side.

♪♪

[ Pups yelping ]

There's no food, and Snow White
is all on her own.

The others are gone
and won't be back for days.

What should she do?

♪♪

Snow White chooses
to take her pups

and abandon the den.

♪♪

It's a dangerous decision.

Her pups are still
so vulnerable.

They're only 4 weeks old.

Their legs are too short
to go very far.

Normally, Snow White wouldn't
move them for another month.

But staying here alone
is also risky.

♪♪

♪♪

In the high Arctic, the threat
of a mid-July storm

is never far away.

Snow White and the pups
will need to be careful.

The Raiders patrol their border
a few miles away.

♪♪

♪♪

As quickly as it comes,
the snow disappears.

♪♪

♪♪

Guided by experience,

Snow White knows that 20 miles
to the west, there's food.

Lots of it.

On Ellesmere Island,
Arctic hares run in herds.

♪♪

♪♪

If only she can bring
her pups here safely.

♪♪

But her rivals' territory
is not far away.

[ Muskox grunts ]

♪♪

The Raiders take no interest
in the muskox...

because they've spotted
something else.

One of the Eureka pack.

♪♪

He needs to run
while he still can.

♪♪

Alone and out in the open,
he's in trouble.

[ Snarling, yelping ]

♪♪

The most dangerous thing
to wolves here...

is other wolves,

and conflicts between packs

are the greatest cause
of wolf deaths.

[ Yelping ]

Between rival packs,
territorial boundaries overlap

and constantly shift
without warning.

For wolves, limiting competition
for food and space

is sometimes just as important
as finding prey.

♪♪

The Eurekas, the Raiders,

and every other pack here
on Ellesmere

are all driven by the same basic
and fundamental desire --

to find food and territory
and defend it with their lives.

♪♪

♪♪

The Eureka pack
is one wolf down.

It's a terrible loss.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

It's been two long weeks

since Snow White
was forced to leave the den,

and though she's on her own,

remarkably, she has managed
to keep her pups safe.

♪♪

♪♪

At last, some of her family
finds her.

They've followed her trail,

and now she'll have the help
that she desperately needs.

The pups can only travel
2 or 3 miles

before they need
a few days to rest.

But with babysitters
now on hand,

Snow White is free to go hunting
in the distant hills,

where leverets are plentiful.

But for every hare
that she catches,

Snow White has to make
a round trip of up to 15 miles.

Now that the pups
are eating solid food,

they can gain
half a pound in a day.

It's taking
all her time and effort

just to keep up with the demand.

[ Pups yipping ]

This new abundance
comes as a relief,

but its timing is bittersweet.

A week or two earlier
could have made

all the difference
to Blackspot...

and might have seen her
through the lean times.

At least everyone in the pack
will be well-fed

for the first time this summer.

[ Pups growling ]

Of course, last year's pup
still wants a handout,

but he's old enough now
to hunt for himself.

A sense of urgency still drives
Snow White westward,

to where vast fields
of cotton grass

mean the grazing is good
for both hares...

and muskox.

♪♪

This is a good time of year
for everyone.

A time to build up reserves
before winter...

and kick back in the summer sun.

But these easy times
are fleeting.

It's the end of July,
and by early September,

temperatures will drift back
far below freezing.

Soon, the dust of summer

will once again
be locked in snow and ice...

for another 8 long months.

♪♪

After an arduous journey,
Snow White and the pups

have finally reached
their destination.

Nestled below the western hills,

there will be enough food
for them here into the autumn.

At last, Alpha joins her again.

The rest of the Eurekas
finally arrive,

and the whole family
is reunited.

The pack can relax

and enjoy what remains
of the summer warmth together.

♪♪

Then...something startles them.

♪♪

A large bull muskox...

wandering right into the middle
of their resting site.

Weighing over 700 pounds,

a bull in his prime
is a force to be reckoned with.

Male muskox are renowned
for being ill-tempered.

[ Muskox grunts ]

But in early August, the start
of the rutting season,

their aggression begins to peak.

During the rut, as they vie for
supremacy and breeding rights,

bulls are often
in a violent mood.

♪♪

And because he weighs
over 5 times as much as a wolf,

this bull could easily
trample the pups

or collapse the tunnels
where they're hiding.

♪♪

It's almost as if
he's spoiling for a fight.

♪♪

♪♪

The wolves need to be cautious.

One false move, and the bull
could gore them with his horns.

♪♪

♪♪

But Snow White remains calm.

This isn't the first time she's
encountered a charged-up bull.

♪♪

Tangling with him
isn't worth the risk,

not when there's lots
of other food around.

They might meet again later,
in winter,

once the bitter cold leaves him
in a weakened state.

♪♪

For now, Snow White returns
to more pressing needs.

Her single most important
mission

is to ensure that all her pups
survive and thrive...

...including this little one,

with a small black spot
at the base of her tail.

♪♪

These pups are the lifeblood
of the pack,

the ones who will ensure
their continued survival.

Each one is so very precious.

[ Wolf howling ]

[ Wolves howling ]

[ Howling continues ]

Until they become the Eureka's
protectors and providers,

the pups can rely on the support
of their extended family.

Frigid temperatures and months
of total darkness lie ahead.

[ Howling continues ]

But the Eurekas
are Arctic wolves.

And their fortunes will follow
the strength of the pack.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,

visit pbs.org.

♪♪