Original subtitles

For thousands of years,

people around the world looked into the sky

and saw the same thing dancing overhead,

"Ursa Major", the Great Bear.

Some believed the bear had special powers,

that it could move magically between sky and Earth.

Today, that magic is in danger of disappearing.

In the Andes Mountains, the Spectacled Bear,

once revered by the Incas, is now persecuted as a pest.

In parts of India and Sri Lanka lives the Sloth Bear.

Noone really knows how many still survive.

For thousands of years,

the Asiatic Black Bear has been hunted for its organs,

believed by some to hold magical healing powers.

The smallest of all the bears is the Sun Bear.

Its fate is tied to the vanishing jungles of Southeast Asia.

Despite efforts by organizations

like the San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian Institution,

the Giant Panda hovers on the brink of extinction.

Of the eight species of bears in the world,

three are found in North America.

Here, the magic of these creatures lives on.

Alaska has over 30,000 Brown Bears,

one of the highest populations in the world.

And that's exactly why Chris Day has made it her home.

Chris is a naturalist and wilderness guide

who's lived among wild bears for nearly 15 years.

Her approach to these creatures is unusual.

I worry about the bears all winter long.

I wonder how they're doing, how many cubs have been born.

In the spring, I just can't wait to get out to see them.

"Some folks say the bears go round smelling bad"

"Others say that a bear is honey sweet"

"Some folks say this bear's the best letterhad"

"And some folks got a bear beneath their feet"

"Some folks drive the bears out of the wilderness"

"Some to see a bear would pay a fee"

"Mel just bear up to my bewildered best"

"Some folks even see the bear in me"

"Some folks drive the bears out of the wilderness"

"Some to se a bear would pay a fee"

"Mel just bearup to my be wildered best"

"Some folks even see the bear in me"

"They just don't come no better than a bear"

Brown Bears are found across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

In North America, they"re often called "Grizzlies".

In this part of Southwestern Alaska,

thousands leave their dens every spring,

and Chris has become an expert at knowing where to find them.

The saddest thing for me is that every year,

some of the bears I've come to know

don't show up in the spring.

This bone can provide information on the size and condition of the bear,

but it won't tell me which one it was.

I just hope that it doesn't belong to one of my favorite bears.

Chris's extensive experience with the bears of this area

has allowed her to watch them safely at close range.

Over the years, they've become accustomed to her,

and Chris has given them names to help identify them.

Solstice is a 10 year old female

that I've known since she was just a cub.

I was afraid our relationship would change when she had her own cubs

but it hasn't.

From the very beginning, I've been lucky enough to watch them grow up, too.

In Alaska, cubs usually stay with their mother

for two to three years before they go out on their own.

Last spring, when they were only six months old,

I could already see the differences between them.

One cub was pretty timid and stayed close to Mom.

The other was much more adventurous,

a lot like Solstice when she was a cub.

In all the years I've spent with the bears,

watching them fight, play, raising their young,

I've felt a lot of emotions, but I've never felt afraid.

I've never once felt threatened by a bear.

Understanding the personalities of the individual bears

is crucial to Chris's success as a guide.

Before she can safely bring people out to see the bears,

she must be confident about how the animals will react.

Her approach is a combination

of caution, patience, and tremendous respect.

Chris's attitude may seem unusual today,

but in the past, many of North America's native peoples

had a close relationship with the bear.

The spirit of the bear

held the power to heal, the power to protect,

and the power to bring forth the seasons.

Everyfall, they watched the bears disappear, as if entering the grave,

and then miraculously return from the dead,

bringing with them the spring and new life.

In the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana,

this Black Bear has given birth, nursed her cubs,

and survived six months of winter without food or water.

Few creatures on Earth can match this miracle of physiology.

Hungry as she is, the mother's urge to find food

is overridden by her need to stay close to her helpless cubs.

At six weeks old, the cubs have only just opened their eyes,

but it won't be long before they'll get a closer look at their big backyard.

Black Bears are found in forests across North America.

Their number one defense is to climb a tree,

but it's not something you learn your first day at school.

The Black Bear is the smallest of the North American bears.

Though their diet is largely vegetarian,

they are omnivores,

and like humans, they will eat just about anything.

High in protein,

ants provide a perfect snack for a nursing mother

with two high energy cubs.

A Black Bear's backyard is as big as its appetite.

The mother will follow her nose and her memory

in a nendless search for food.

These cubs have never set foot in water.

However, they have no choice but to keep up.

The first summer is the biggest test a cub will face.

Their chances of surviving are only about 50/50.

Every obstacle they overcome

is a testament to the spirit of the bear.

To the Inuit people of the Arctic,

the most powerful animal in their world was the Polar Bear.

It was believed their spirits were interchangeable,

that human and beast were one.

Like them, the bear stood up right to face its foes.

Like them, it roamed the frozen ocean in search of seals.

A solitary giant at the top of the world.

In the northern parts of their range,

some bears never set foot on land.

Further south, it's a different story.

In the spring,

as the ice disappears along Hudson Bay in Northern Canada,

the bears are forced ashore.

This year, the melt has come early

during the peak of the seal hunt.

The Polar Bear is the largest land predator in the world.

The true giants weigh nearly a ton.

while spring is a time of plenty for many species of bear,

for these bears, it's the start off amine.

with time on their hands, cubs find ways of amusing them selves.

when hunting and breeding, males are savage foes.

But marooned together on land, they become tolerant playmates,

engaged in rolling ballets of teeth and claw,

strange tangos on the tundra.

The Inuit believed that the Polar Bear

roamed the entire world during the dark of winter

and magically returned to the Arctic with the spring sun.

Their name for the bear was "Nanuk".

Native peoples knew the bear by many names.

The Black feet Indians called the black bear "Kyaio",

meaning "bear".

They called the grizzly "Nita Kyaio",

which meant "real bear".

The scientific name for the grizzly is "Ursus Arctos Horribilis".

This part of Alaska

is one of the best and safest bear view in areas in the world.

Guided by experts like Chris Day,

every summer, a lucky few get the experience of a life time.

I bring people out to see the bears because,

I feel it's the best way to change how we look at these animals.

when we first start out, people are apprehensive,

and some are really afraid.

But when they see their first bear,

they begin to relax and even enjoy themselves.

There are two of them. Oh... there's another one.

Just to the right, coming out of the grass, can you see that one?

Yeah, beautiful. can we get any closer?

No, let's just be still here, if they're comfortable with us,

they'll come closer to us on their own.

Grizzly bears are often portrayed only as fierce predators and hunters,

but the truth is much less exciting.

when they first come out of their dens,

they feed mostly on a grass like vegetation called "sedge".

In some ways, they are more cowlike than killer.

Males are nearly twice the size of females.

For most of the year, females avoid the close company

of their potentially dangerous mates,

but as summer approaches, the attraction becomes irresistible.

It's the only friendly contact they'll have.

After fertilization, the male plays no role in parenting.

All grizzlies are opportunistic feeders.

clams may not provide much in the way of nourishment,

but they're a delicacy.

A welcome break from a diet of sedge salad.

The bear's six inch claws combine the brute force

of a shovel with the fine precision of a scalpel.

As summer approaches in Alaska,

along awaited signal goes out across the land,

like a special invitation to a dinner party.

The river begins to swell with salmon

returning to their ancestral spawning grounds.

For the bears, it's an event not to be missed.

For Chris Day, it's a chance to introduce new friends to old.

Sometimes we just really get lucky.

The right people, the right situation, and the right bear.

Scrappy's 5 year old.

I've been watching him at this stream since he was a cub.

And he still hasn't quite figured out the best fishing technique.

In some ways, juvenile bears are a lot like teenage kids.

They're really impatient and don't always get what they want.

Aren't they great?

Scrappy's one of the most easy going bears I've ever known.

Most of the time, he's more tolerant of us than he is of the other bears.

The grizzly has had a rough ride in many parts of North America.

South of Canada,

they've been eliminated from over 98% of their former range.

Chris has been promoting the protection

of the remaining bears and their habitats.

If I can give people the opportunity to see bears

the way that I have, I know the bears will do the rest.

They'll dispel the myths,

and I hope that everyone of those people leaves as

an ambassador for the bears.

He's a young bear there.

He's afraid another bear will take his fish away from him.

Bear attacks on humans, although rare,

usually happen through carelessness

or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Any creature that intrudes on a grizzly feast

puts itself in peril.

This applies to both man and beast.

Though bears have stayed true to their nature,

we have painted them in all sorts of different lights.

They were persecuted for centuries

and driven out of many parts of the world.

It was a chance encounter that helped turn the tide of feeling.

A hunting trip brought Teddy Roosevelt

muzzle to muzzle with a cub.

In a moment of compassion,

the American President chose not to shoot the defenseless animal.

The story spread

and led to the creation of a new toy in his honor

the Teddy Bear.

lt was a spark of hope for bears everywhere.

Today, many organizations,

including the National wildlife Federation,

are supporting plans to reintroduce the grizzly to the Bitterroot Mountains,

now the exclusive domain of the Black Bear.

Against the odds,

both Black Bear cubs have made it through their first season.

Across North America, the Black Bear's biggest threat

is habit at loss as forests give way to development.

The bears have done all they can to prepare for the coming winter.

It's up to us to ensure that they always have a place to return to in the spring.

The Polar Bear faces threats of a very different nature.

As winter begins to take hold along Hudson Bay,

the hungry bears are restless,

waiting for the ice to form and the seal hunt to begin.

The famine is almost over.

The long fast has been especially hard

on nursing mothers, who have been sustaining

the entire family on their reserves of fat.

A cub's greatest danger at this time of year

is from other bears.

For the Polar Bear, most dangers are easily outrun,

but some are beyond their control.

Global warming is starting to take its toll on Arctic ice conditions,

reducing the amount of time these bears are able to hunt on the frozen ocean.

Over the past decade, their seal hunting season

has been getting shorter and shorter,

and their average weight and rate of reproduction

have begun to drop.

The Inuit believe that Polar Bears have the power to see the future.

If so, what future do the bears see for themselves?

I think the future of the grizzly really depends on us.

I was so lucky that my first bear experience was at McNeil River.

It's a place where the bears are in charge,

and we have the privilege of being observers.

Tome, it's one of the great wonders of the world.

It's a place that gives me hope.

For over 40 years,

McNeil River has been a sanctuary for Alaskan bears.

Each summer, nearly 100 grizzlies gather here to fish for salmon.

Somehow, the bears know when to show up.

These males are some of the biggest grizzlies on the planet.

They're loners as a rule,

but they overcome their natural dislike of each other

for a place at the table.

The biggest and most dominant bears get the best spots,

and they return year after year to reclaim their seats.

There's a lot riding on the success of this banquet.

It must sustain them through the coming winter.

As long as the salmon run,

these great beasts will continue to return

a constellation of giants,

helping to keep alive the magic of the bear on Earth.

It's my hope that 1,000 years from now,

some one will still be able to stand in this place

and see what I've seen and even feel what I've felt.

And I hope that we'll have learned to live in harmony with the bears

and that we'll have left them the space they need to survive.

Bears are more than just mythical beasts.

They are a sign of the health and balance of the wild places they inhabit.

They are the spirit of the wilderness.

The Blackfeet Indians believe that the bear

is a guardian spirit that can heal and protect you.

Perhaps it's our turn to be the guardian spirits of the bear.

"Some folks drive the bears out of the wilderness"

"Some to see a bear would pay a fee"

"Mel just bear up to my bewildered best"

"Some folks even see the bear in me"

"So meet a bear and take him on out to lunch with you"

"Even though your friends may stop and stare"

"Just remember that's a bear there in the bunch with you"

"And they just don't come no better than a bear"

"So meet a bear and take him on out to lunch with you"

"Even though your friends may stop and stare"

"Just remember that's a bear there in the bunch with you"

"And they just don't come no better than a bear"

"No they just don't come no better than a bear"

"No they just don't come no better than"

"No they just don't come no better than"

"They just don't come no better than a bear"