Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:00,473 --> 00:00:03,610
(upbeat music)
2
00:00:03,610 --> 00:00:05,810
Even today, pristine landscapes
3
00:00:05,810 --> 00:00:09,610
and untamed wilderness can still be found in national parks
4
00:00:09,610 --> 00:00:12,570
which preserve and protect the beauty of nature.
5
00:00:12,570 --> 00:00:14,230
The world's first national park
6
00:00:14,230 --> 00:00:17,810
was established in 1872 at Yellowstone
7
00:00:17,810 --> 00:00:19,803
in the West of the United States.
8
00:00:21,350 --> 00:00:24,263
We'll meet people who gave up everything to live here.
9
00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,610
There is only one place in the world for me,
10
00:00:27,610 --> 00:00:29,600
Yellowstone Park, I love it.
11
00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:30,800
And that's why I'm here.
12
00:00:31,932 --> 00:00:33,020
(gentle music)
13
00:00:33,020 --> 00:00:35,150
And experience their everyday lives,
14
00:00:35,150 --> 00:00:36,763
which visitors never see.
15
00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,060
When you look at the diversity of habitats,
16
00:00:40,060 --> 00:00:42,780
the intactness of the ecosystem,
17
00:00:42,780 --> 00:00:47,260
it truly makes this place unique across the entire globe.
18
00:00:47,260 --> 00:00:48,930
One year spent in a place
19
00:00:48,930 --> 00:00:51,050
which imparts a totally new awareness
20
00:00:51,050 --> 00:00:56,050
{\an8}of life on our planet.
(inspirational music)
21
00:01:08,310 --> 00:01:10,880
The park is sleeping the locals say
22
00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,640
when in winter, by and large,
23
00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,600
Yellowstone closes its gates.
24
00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:16,670
At temperatures of up to 20 below
25
00:01:17,860 --> 00:01:20,760
for six months frost has the national park
26
00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,860
firmly in its grip.
(gentle music)
27
00:01:24,860 --> 00:01:26,340
The few people who are out and about
28
00:01:26,340 --> 00:01:28,660
at this time of year wear uniform.
29
00:01:28,660 --> 00:01:30,570
We're with a team of rangers who look
30
00:01:30,570 --> 00:01:33,993
after one of North America's very special inhabitants.
31
00:01:35,082 --> 00:01:35,915
Why is she by herself?
32
00:01:35,915 --> 00:01:38,498
(mumbles)
Yeah.
33
00:01:41,740 --> 00:01:45,310
A female bison, alone in this icy world,
34
00:01:45,310 --> 00:01:48,523
we could almost reach out and touch her thick warming coat.
35
00:01:49,750 --> 00:01:53,153
It's a unique encounter right at the start of our visit.
36
00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,860
Huge herds of bison characterized
37
00:01:59,860 --> 00:02:02,600
the West of North America for centuries.
38
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,300
The buffalo provided the Indians
39
00:02:04,300 --> 00:02:07,630
with everything they needed until white settlers arrived
40
00:02:07,630 --> 00:02:10,140
and all but wiped out the species.
41
00:02:10,140 --> 00:02:13,590
Yellowstone has managed to breed 5,000 buffalo
42
00:02:13,590 --> 00:02:16,323
from a mere 21 animals that survived.
43
00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,110
Rick Wallen, from Montana,
44
00:02:19,110 --> 00:02:21,123
heads the park's bison project.
45
00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:26,590
Experts have been studying
46
00:02:26,590 --> 00:02:28,800
the animal's behavior for many years.
47
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,050
To obtain data on their movements
48
00:02:31,050 --> 00:02:34,450
they have fitted some 40 bison with GPS collars.
49
00:02:34,450 --> 00:02:38,242
Today, a young buffalo will be given a new collar.
50
00:02:38,242 --> 00:02:41,490
I think what we're gonna do now is send those two in
51
00:02:41,490 --> 00:02:43,063
to see if we have a target.
52
00:02:44,010 --> 00:02:47,590
And then we'll go up in here and find some cover,
53
00:02:47,590 --> 00:02:49,283
watch from out back here.
54
00:02:50,779 --> 00:02:53,420
And that way we won't have too many people
55
00:02:53,420 --> 00:02:57,352
making it look like a wolfpack coming in to chase him.
56
00:02:57,352 --> 00:03:00,570
(tense music)
57
00:03:00,570 --> 00:03:03,230
Two of the rangers are looking for a suitable animal
58
00:03:03,230 --> 00:03:05,323
to sedate with a tranquilizer gum.
59
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,850
The calmer they are when we get to 35 meters,
60
00:03:10,850 --> 00:03:14,093
the better capture will go.
61
00:03:16,290 --> 00:03:18,590
The rangers want to dart a cow bison
62
00:03:18,590 --> 00:03:20,330
about two years old,
63
00:03:20,330 --> 00:03:22,773
and now they've only got one shot.
64
00:03:26,323 --> 00:03:28,990
(soft music)
A landscape of fire and ice
65
00:03:28,990 --> 00:03:31,530
and a unique fauna have made Yellowstone
66
00:03:31,530 --> 00:03:34,463
one of Earth's most famous natural wonders.
67
00:03:36,625 --> 00:03:38,691
(bear splooshes in water)
68
00:03:38,691 --> 00:03:41,274
(coyote howls)
69
00:03:44,850 --> 00:03:48,010
The park lies in the northwest of the United States
70
00:03:48,010 --> 00:03:50,090
in the middle of the Rocky mountains,
71
00:03:50,090 --> 00:03:52,520
the biggest range in North America.
72
00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,610
Covering an area of almost 9,000 square kilometers
73
00:03:56,610 --> 00:03:59,040
Yellowstone is the eighth largest
74
00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,303
of a total of 59 national parks in the US.
75
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,620
No other place on our planet
76
00:04:04,620 --> 00:04:08,263
has more hot springs, iridescent pools and geysers.
77
00:04:09,270 --> 00:04:11,510
The biggest mountain lake in North America
78
00:04:11,510 --> 00:04:14,520
lies in the heart of the national park.
79
00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,640
This 2,500 meter high plateau is surrounded
80
00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,003
by the soaring peaks of the Rockies.
81
00:04:30,948 --> 00:04:32,710
(light music)
In 1978,
82
00:04:32,710 --> 00:04:35,850
UNESCO declared the Yellowstone National Park
83
00:04:35,850 --> 00:04:38,680
to be part of the world's natural heritage.
84
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,330
It is one of the biggest natural ecosystems
85
00:04:41,330 --> 00:04:43,493
still found on our planet.
86
00:04:47,580 --> 00:04:49,770
Susanne Sinay from Hamburg
87
00:04:49,770 --> 00:04:52,173
has made this unique wilderness her home.
88
00:04:54,430 --> 00:04:57,670
The magic of the park is its wild nature.
89
00:04:57,670 --> 00:05:01,670
And there is no season in which it is wilder than in winter.
90
00:05:01,670 --> 00:05:04,490
You feel small and you feel part of the whole.
91
00:05:04,490 --> 00:05:08,690
You feel the soul of Yellowstone and you are part of it.
92
00:05:08,690 --> 00:05:10,320
Living in nature changes you
93
00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,480
and I think you assume a kind of protector role,
94
00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:15,190
because you see how nature
95
00:05:15,190 --> 00:05:18,370
is being suppressed all over the world,
96
00:05:18,370 --> 00:05:19,833
and how wrong that is.
97
00:05:25,570 --> 00:05:27,640
Susanne Sinay gave up everything
98
00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:29,510
to realize her dream.
99
00:05:29,510 --> 00:05:31,420
Together with her husband, Ken,
100
00:05:31,420 --> 00:05:33,893
she shows visitors the parks hinterland.
101
00:05:36,570 --> 00:05:39,330
The two enjoy the winter silence.
102
00:05:39,330 --> 00:05:43,690
Occasionally, even they find something that surprises them.
103
00:05:43,690 --> 00:05:45,963
Like this stash of antlers.
104
00:05:47,110 --> 00:05:49,400
Oh my God, look at that.
105
00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:50,500
That's quite the pile.
106
00:05:51,370 --> 00:05:54,250
Look around for more. There may be others.
107
00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:55,083
Oh, look at that.
Somebody's
108
00:05:55,083 --> 00:05:56,777
stashed these here.
109
00:05:56,777 --> 00:05:58,126
This is-
What a pile.
110
00:05:58,126 --> 00:06:00,588
Somebody's-
Yeah, this is somebody's
111
00:06:00,588 --> 00:06:02,610
Somebody's gonna come back for this.
112
00:06:02,610 --> 00:06:03,860
This is definitely somebody
113
00:06:03,860 --> 00:06:06,253
stashing them to steal them.
I know, yes.
114
00:06:06,253 --> 00:06:07,400
Down at the bottom
115
00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,090
there's some big ones.
Wow.
116
00:06:09,090 --> 00:06:10,070
There's some big ones.
117
00:06:10,070 --> 00:06:11,680
I don't know-
It's a moose.
118
00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,975
Yeah. Yeah, that's unusual.
119
00:06:14,975 --> 00:06:16,700
(soft music)
120
00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:19,500
Deer shed their antlers every year.
121
00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:22,220
With a herd of around 4,000 animals
122
00:06:22,220 --> 00:06:24,360
that amounts to quite a pile
123
00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:26,673
and good business for trophy hunters.
124
00:06:28,885 --> 00:06:29,880
(tense music)
Rick Wallen's team
125
00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:31,430
has been successful.
126
00:06:31,430 --> 00:06:34,870
The tranquilizing dart has sedated a young cow bison.
127
00:06:34,870 --> 00:06:36,610
The rangers have half an hour
128
00:06:36,610 --> 00:06:38,883
in which to carry out numerous tests.
129
00:06:46,530 --> 00:06:49,100
Blood samples and ultrasound measurements
130
00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:51,660
of the animal's fat layer will tell them more
131
00:06:51,660 --> 00:06:53,483
about the young buffalo's health.
132
00:06:54,870 --> 00:06:57,810
How are we doing on all of the things we need to get done?
133
00:06:57,810 --> 00:06:59,520
We've got a-
I've got all the
134
00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,320
collar information written down,
135
00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,548
and we're working on ultrasound for body condition.
136
00:07:04,548 --> 00:07:05,381
All right.
137
00:07:05,381 --> 00:07:09,610
So the only thing we have left is the body condition score,
138
00:07:09,610 --> 00:07:12,200
And the collar.
Deploy the radio collar,
139
00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:13,840
and reverse?
Yep.
140
00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,750
This is a GPS collar we're about to put on this bison.
141
00:07:16,750 --> 00:07:20,190
{\an8}It's a takes a point about every two hours
142
00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:26,300
{\an8}gives you UTMs, lat-long position, and temperature.
143
00:07:26,300 --> 00:07:27,430
and some other information,
144
00:07:27,430 --> 00:07:29,573
and all logs it in this box here.
145
00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,760
And that's where it will be until we catch her again.
146
00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,250
(gentle music)
147
00:07:35,250 --> 00:07:36,320
The high-tech collar
148
00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,630
the young buffalo will soon wake up with
149
00:07:38,630 --> 00:07:41,030
weighs around two kilograms.
150
00:07:41,030 --> 00:07:44,900
Officially the buffalo will now be known L2,
151
00:07:44,900 --> 00:07:46,780
the number on her collar.
152
00:07:46,780 --> 00:07:49,140
Not exactly a nice name for a lady
153
00:07:49,140 --> 00:07:52,223
so we're gonna call her Bonnie, Bonnie the Bison.
154
00:07:57,940 --> 00:08:00,970
Still groggy, Bonnie sets off again.
155
00:08:00,970 --> 00:08:03,180
Later, data from the collar
156
00:08:03,180 --> 00:08:05,580
will enable the rangers to follow her movements.
157
00:08:07,970 --> 00:08:09,700
It's not only conservationists
158
00:08:09,700 --> 00:08:12,580
who focus on deer, bears and elk.
159
00:08:12,580 --> 00:08:14,370
So do hunters.
160
00:08:14,370 --> 00:08:18,330
More people own a handgun or a rifle in the United States
161
00:08:18,330 --> 00:08:20,780
than in any other country in the world.
162
00:08:20,780 --> 00:08:22,940
This firearm, (slides back bolt)
163
00:08:22,940 --> 00:08:26,320
is used for small varmints.
164
00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,300
Anything from ground squirrels, rabbits,
165
00:08:29,300 --> 00:08:31,663
all the way up through coyotes and wolves.
166
00:08:34,270 --> 00:08:36,180
This is a Ruger American.
167
00:08:36,180 --> 00:08:39,680
This is a very good deer and antelope cartridge,
168
00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:42,280
they're big enough they could knock down an elk.
169
00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:43,270
Here is a Remington.
170
00:08:43,270 --> 00:08:45,500
These are centerfire rifles.
171
00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:48,140
This would be used for anything from
172
00:08:48,140 --> 00:08:52,483
deer, elk as I said, moose or bison.
173
00:08:53,930 --> 00:08:55,180
The hunting season runs
174
00:08:55,180 --> 00:08:57,020
from October through to March,
175
00:08:57,020 --> 00:08:58,810
then hunters can shoot anything
176
00:08:58,810 --> 00:09:00,913
that leaves the confines of the park.
177
00:09:01,863 --> 00:09:02,696
(gentle music)
Had a group in yesterday
178
00:09:02,696 --> 00:09:03,600
from Texas, you know.
179
00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:05,210
They came up to this area,
180
00:09:05,210 --> 00:09:07,130
{\an8}they were hunting just outside of Yellowstone Park
181
00:09:07,130 --> 00:09:10,290
{\an8}and got three nice big bulls, they said.
182
00:09:10,290 --> 00:09:11,480
{\an8}So we get a lot of people
183
00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:12,930
from different parts of the country
184
00:09:12,930 --> 00:09:14,930
that come here in this area for hunting.
185
00:09:16,470 --> 00:09:18,090
The founders of the park
186
00:09:18,090 --> 00:09:21,000
along with geologist, Ferdinand Hayden,
187
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,140
undoubtedly had something different in mind.
188
00:09:24,140 --> 00:09:26,110
The story of the Yellowstone National Park
189
00:09:26,110 --> 00:09:29,060
began in 1871 with an expedition
190
00:09:29,060 --> 00:09:31,400
commissioned by the government.
191
00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,700
Washington was being assailed by conservationists
192
00:09:34,700 --> 00:09:37,200
and railway magnates who wanted travelers
193
00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,413
to be able to enjoy the magnificent scenery in the West.
194
00:09:41,260 --> 00:09:44,670
In the end, the president himself was also impressed
195
00:09:44,670 --> 00:09:48,780
by the landscape photographs taken by William Henry Jackson.
196
00:09:48,780 --> 00:09:52,930
On March the 1st, 1872, Ulysses S Grant
197
00:09:52,930 --> 00:09:55,370
signed a law making the Yellowstone area
198
00:09:55,370 --> 00:09:58,057
the world's first national park.
199
00:09:58,057 --> 00:10:00,700
"For the benefit and enjoyment of the people,"
200
00:10:00,700 --> 00:10:02,920
as the inscription on the Roosevelt arch
201
00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,803
of the North Entrance to the park still says.
202
00:10:06,790 --> 00:10:10,290
(gentle orchestral music)
203
00:10:14,340 --> 00:10:16,880
When the snows finally melt in the park
204
00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,770
the waters of the Yellowstone River swell 10 times over
205
00:10:20,770 --> 00:10:23,180
within the space of a few days.
206
00:10:23,180 --> 00:10:24,860
And for the park's animals
207
00:10:24,860 --> 00:10:27,433
the supply of food is again more plentiful.
208
00:10:34,590 --> 00:10:37,340
(car hums along)
209
00:10:38,470 --> 00:10:39,843
Go ahead, 44.
210
00:10:41,087 --> 00:10:42,343
This is a radio check.
211
00:10:43,220 --> 00:10:45,820
You are coming in loud and crisp.
212
00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:49,860
What we're doing here now
213
00:10:49,860 --> 00:10:53,370
is going out on patrol on the highways in the early morning
214
00:10:53,370 --> 00:10:56,331
to see whether there are any bison on them.
215
00:10:56,331 --> 00:11:00,890
{\an8}(speaks in foreign language)
216
00:11:00,890 --> 00:11:04,650
{\an8}We put up signs to protect the animals as well as people
217
00:11:04,650 --> 00:11:07,323
because road accidents occur time and again.
218
00:11:11,430 --> 00:11:14,920
The start of a day's work for Andreas Hofer.
219
00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:16,480
The young Austrian has joined
220
00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,253
the buffalo field campaign as a volunteer.
221
00:11:20,140 --> 00:11:23,620
So has Stephanie Seay from Montana.
222
00:11:23,620 --> 00:11:25,330
The park is now open so there's a lot of
223
00:11:25,330 --> 00:11:26,780
tourists coming through.
224
00:11:26,780 --> 00:11:29,000
There's a lot of semi, 18-Wheeler,
225
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,240
{\an8}big truck traffic moving through here constantly.
226
00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:34,220
{\an8}This road connects to Idaho
227
00:11:34,220 --> 00:11:36,730
{\an8}so there's a lot of interstate traffic that comes through
228
00:11:36,730 --> 00:11:38,610
and some people aren't used to seeing
229
00:11:38,610 --> 00:11:40,460
wild bison along the highways.
230
00:11:40,460 --> 00:11:42,890
So it's really important that we warn people.
231
00:11:42,890 --> 00:11:44,560
We're doing the best that we can but
232
00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:47,110
sometimes bison's get killed on the road.
233
00:11:47,110 --> 00:11:48,560
We're trying to prevent that.
234
00:11:50,777 --> 00:11:55,777
(gentle music)
(truck brakes squeal)
235
00:11:56,030 --> 00:11:56,880
Time and again,
236
00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,994
animals come out of the nearby park,
237
00:11:59,994 --> 00:12:03,930
and time and again, where humans and bison cross paths,
238
00:12:03,930 --> 00:12:05,433
dangerous situations arise.
239
00:12:23,025 --> 00:12:25,810
A tent to sleep in and wild animals as neighbors,
240
00:12:25,810 --> 00:12:29,320
ideal study conditions for Karsten Heuer and Harvey Locke.
241
00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,810
Heuer is a wildlife biologist and filmmaker,
242
00:12:32,810 --> 00:12:35,530
Locke is a lawyer and an internationally respected
243
00:12:35,530 --> 00:12:37,730
expert on national parks.
244
00:12:37,730 --> 00:12:40,950
Both men come from Canada.
(soft music)
245
00:12:40,950 --> 00:12:43,160
The really exciting thing for me about wild nature
246
00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,400
and particularly places where all the pieces
247
00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,660
{\an8}of wild nature in the landscape
248
00:12:48,660 --> 00:12:51,240
{\an8}is that it has a powerful feeling.
249
00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:52,930
{\an8}And it also makes me realize
250
00:12:52,930 --> 00:12:55,720
that I'm one species among many on planet Earth,
251
00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:57,720
as opposed to the dominant one.
252
00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:59,113
I'm one of many.
253
00:13:00,736 --> 00:13:01,711
Heuer and Locke launched
254
00:13:01,711 --> 00:13:05,140
the Y2Y initiative, as it's known.
255
00:13:05,140 --> 00:13:09,150
Y2Y is a concept for interlinking protected areas
256
00:13:09,150 --> 00:13:12,894
and national parks in the United States and Canada.
257
00:13:12,894 --> 00:13:15,477
(gentle music)
258
00:13:20,330 --> 00:13:23,080
The plan is to create a huge corridor
259
00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,960
from Yellowstone Park in the South
260
00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,780
to the Yukon in Canada, in the North.
261
00:13:27,780 --> 00:13:30,500
With the help of eco bridges and underpasses
262
00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:34,060
the Y2Y visionaries want to enable wild animals
263
00:13:34,060 --> 00:13:36,103
to roam unimpeded.
264
00:13:37,660 --> 00:13:41,480
A network of reserves is all born out of the realization
265
00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:42,730
{\an8}that if we don't do that,
266
00:13:42,730 --> 00:13:45,040
{\an8}if we just think about parks alone,
267
00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:46,260
{\an8}things are gonna go extinct.
268
00:13:46,260 --> 00:13:47,880
{\an8}These wild animals that we're
269
00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:49,700
so lucky to have in Yellowstone,
270
00:13:49,700 --> 00:13:51,880
lucky to have in places like Banff,
271
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,760
they actually need to remain connected one to another.
272
00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:57,810
Every spring, Heuer and Locke
273
00:13:57,810 --> 00:14:00,060
wander through the region and study the behavior
274
00:14:00,060 --> 00:14:02,320
of animals outside the park.
275
00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,770
It's now in particular that elk, deer and pronghorn antelope
276
00:14:06,770 --> 00:14:09,650
leave the protection of Yellowstone time and again,
277
00:14:09,650 --> 00:14:12,200
to look for food in low-lying areas
278
00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,480
where the snow has already thawed.
279
00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,280
The juicy grassland also attracts bison
280
00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,840
much to the dismay of farmers who are worried
281
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:21,520
that the buffalo will transmit
282
00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,380
the brucellosis virus to their livestock.
283
00:14:24,380 --> 00:14:27,933
The disease can result in miscarriages and stillbirths.
284
00:14:28,898 --> 00:14:30,180
(gentle music)
Hey guys, how are ya?
285
00:14:30,180 --> 00:14:31,470
Good. What's going on here?
286
00:14:31,470 --> 00:14:33,210
We're in a piece of private property
287
00:14:33,210 --> 00:14:36,020
just outside the boundary of Yellowstone National Park.
288
00:14:36,020 --> 00:14:37,800
And some of these animals are allowed
289
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,440
to naturally migrate out of the park
290
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,040
{\an8}into winter wildlife range which is this area,
291
00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,460
{\an8}lower elevation, less snow, more availability for grass.
292
00:14:47,460 --> 00:14:50,500
{\an8}However, some of society is not particularly happy
293
00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:53,770
about these animals being on their private property.
294
00:14:53,770 --> 00:14:55,600
Therefore, the state of Montana
295
00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,290
will assist private landowners
296
00:14:57,290 --> 00:14:59,480
with moving the animals off of their property
297
00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:01,280
and back towards the park boundary,
298
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,519
as you can see is happening right now.
299
00:15:03,519 --> 00:15:04,470
(gentle music)
300
00:15:04,470 --> 00:15:06,840
The wilderness needs protection,
301
00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:08,670
but it knows no limits.
302
00:15:08,670 --> 00:15:11,090
It would be wonderful if nature could be left
303
00:15:11,090 --> 00:15:12,860
to control herself
304
00:15:12,860 --> 00:15:16,350
but bison roaming wherever they like are too threatened.
305
00:15:16,350 --> 00:15:17,400
They need to go home.
306
00:15:20,296 --> 00:15:23,963
(stirring orchestral music)
307
00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,930
For 20 years now, the forests of Yellowstone
308
00:15:29,930 --> 00:15:32,540
have again been the habitat for an animal
309
00:15:32,540 --> 00:15:34,900
which stirs emotions more than any other
310
00:15:34,900 --> 00:15:36,293
inhabitant in the park.
311
00:15:39,780 --> 00:15:43,790
70 years ago, the wolf had been wiped out here.
312
00:15:43,790 --> 00:15:48,220
It was not until 1995 that scientists managed to introduce
313
00:15:48,220 --> 00:15:51,010
a small pack of wolves from Canada.
314
00:15:51,010 --> 00:15:54,020
The animals thrived and reproduced quickly.
315
00:15:54,020 --> 00:15:55,380
And not only that,
316
00:15:55,380 --> 00:15:58,630
they changed the entire ecosystem of the park.
317
00:15:58,630 --> 00:16:03,630
A phenomenon known to scientists as a trophic cascade.
318
00:16:04,344 --> 00:16:06,290
(elk calls out)
Before the wolves came
319
00:16:06,290 --> 00:16:09,500
the park was overpopulated with deer and elk.
320
00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:10,970
They had no enemies
321
00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:13,853
and were destroying stocks of young trees.
322
00:16:16,260 --> 00:16:17,660
When the wolves were introduced
323
00:16:17,660 --> 00:16:20,010
and began to prey on deer and elk,
324
00:16:20,010 --> 00:16:22,513
the parks vegetation was able to recover.
325
00:16:24,940 --> 00:16:26,490
Birds returned,
(wings beat loudly)
326
00:16:26,490 --> 00:16:28,700
and since there were no trees to be felled
327
00:16:28,700 --> 00:16:30,070
so did the beaver.
328
00:16:30,070 --> 00:16:34,130
Biospheres were formed for otters and fish.
329
00:16:34,130 --> 00:16:36,890
The wolves also killed coyotes.
330
00:16:36,890 --> 00:16:40,170
As a result the number of hares and mice increased.
331
00:16:40,170 --> 00:16:44,623
This in turn attracted hawks, martens and raccoons.
332
00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:47,550
Most astonishingly of all though,
333
00:16:47,550 --> 00:16:50,570
the wolves also changed the course of the parks rivers
334
00:16:50,570 --> 00:16:53,730
because the trees along their banks stabilize the earth.
335
00:16:53,730 --> 00:16:55,320
So there was less erosion.
336
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,410
Thus, the wolves not only changed the parks ecosystem,
337
00:16:58,410 --> 00:17:00,813
they even changed its face.
338
00:17:02,447 --> 00:17:03,780
(gentle guitar music)
Post Office is the name
339
00:17:03,780 --> 00:17:04,680
of the camp where the
340
00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,780
buffalo field campaign's volunteers live.
341
00:17:07,780 --> 00:17:10,600
Young people who come from all over the world,
342
00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:13,430
working round the clock on a fixed shift system,
343
00:17:13,430 --> 00:17:15,950
they look after the bison every day.
344
00:17:15,950 --> 00:17:18,400
Since it was launched in 1997,
345
00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,440
the conservation campaign has attracted some 30,000 helpers
346
00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,979
who support it either actively or in the form of donations.
347
00:17:26,979 --> 00:17:29,729
(low chattering)
348
00:17:34,460 --> 00:17:36,080
They document on film,
349
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,600
how bison are driven off time and again.
350
00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:41,540
The material is put on the internet
351
00:17:41,540 --> 00:17:43,343
to publicize what is happening.
352
00:17:49,260 --> 00:17:50,920
We have seen terrible things.
353
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,270
I mean, a lot of days on hazing operations,
354
00:17:53,270 --> 00:17:54,700
we come home in tears.
355
00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:57,010
We've seen bison run into barbed wire fence,
356
00:17:57,010 --> 00:17:58,850
caught up in barbed wire fence.
357
00:17:58,850 --> 00:18:02,040
We've seen bison run through swollen rivers,
358
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,430
little tiny calves, trying to keep up with their moms,
359
00:18:04,430 --> 00:18:06,710
that can't sustain themselves in that current
360
00:18:06,710 --> 00:18:08,160
but they're not strong enough.
361
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,470
And you know, we've seen them being run
362
00:18:10,470 --> 00:18:12,380
for hours and hours, and miles and miles,
363
00:18:12,380 --> 00:18:13,952
up to 20 miles in one day.
364
00:18:13,952 --> 00:18:17,619
(helicopter rotor clatters)
365
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,920
So there's a lot of really bad stuff that goes on
366
00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:23,560
and it's all federally funded.
367
00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:28,440
US taxpayers are paying for this iconic animal to be abused
368
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,190
and people don't want it.
369
00:18:30,190 --> 00:18:32,190
But the livestock industry is very powerful
370
00:18:32,190 --> 00:18:33,590
and they're still in charge.
371
00:18:34,757 --> 00:18:37,410
(gentle guitar music)
After all in 2019
372
00:18:37,410 --> 00:18:42,263
the US meat industry had a turnover of around $140 billion.
373
00:18:43,744 --> 00:18:47,161
(foreign language radio)
374
00:18:49,410 --> 00:18:51,630
News from home on the radio
375
00:18:51,630 --> 00:18:53,730
and the Yellowstone River on the doorstep.
376
00:18:56,525 --> 00:18:57,800
(country guitar music)
Patrick Ondrus
377
00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,510
lives in Gardiner, a small town of 800 inhabitants
378
00:19:01,510 --> 00:19:04,110
close to the North Entrance to the park.
379
00:19:04,110 --> 00:19:06,250
A qualified industrial mechanic
380
00:19:06,250 --> 00:19:08,400
he earns a living by taking visitors
381
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,710
on rafting tours on the Yellowstone.
382
00:19:10,710 --> 00:19:13,100
In springtime he gets his boats ready
383
00:19:13,100 --> 00:19:15,813
with an enthusiasm that is infectious.
384
00:19:16,790 --> 00:19:18,680
The Yellowstone is the longest
385
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,820
undammed river outside Alaska.
386
00:19:21,820 --> 00:19:24,130
For the first five miles of its length
387
00:19:24,130 --> 00:19:26,490
the river flows next to the park.
388
00:19:26,490 --> 00:19:28,270
So when you travel down it,
389
00:19:28,270 --> 00:19:31,210
you can look across into the park and see animals,
390
00:19:31,210 --> 00:19:35,661
buffalo, deer and antelope right next to the water.
391
00:19:35,661 --> 00:19:38,510
(speaks in foreign language)
392
00:19:38,510 --> 00:19:39,900
when we sail down the river,
393
00:19:39,900 --> 00:19:42,410
we see Bald Eagles soaring above us.
394
00:19:42,410 --> 00:19:44,160
It's just spectacular.
395
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:45,003
Fantastic.
396
00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,393
In spring, Gardiner too, slowly comes to life.
397
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:55,900
Many of its inhabitants earn a living
398
00:19:55,900 --> 00:19:57,970
from the three million or so tourists
399
00:19:57,970 --> 00:19:59,984
who visit the park every year.
400
00:19:59,984 --> 00:20:03,110
(gentle music)
401
00:20:03,110 --> 00:20:05,050
Harvey and Karsten have come to Gardiner
402
00:20:05,050 --> 00:20:06,980
to meet Austin Stonall,
403
00:20:06,980 --> 00:20:10,260
a student who posted a short film on YouTube,
404
00:20:10,260 --> 00:20:13,163
which has already registered several million hits.
405
00:20:18,340 --> 00:20:20,778
What's going on? Did you travel this road again?
406
00:20:20,778 --> 00:20:25,778
Yeah, I come this way every day, coming from work,
407
00:20:26,230 --> 00:20:28,000
and I saw this big herd of elk
408
00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:30,270
and I always have my camera
409
00:20:30,270 --> 00:20:33,603
so I went to grab it, started filming.
410
00:20:34,454 --> 00:20:35,910
(tense music)
411
00:20:35,910 --> 00:20:37,380
A huge herd of deer
412
00:20:37,380 --> 00:20:39,583
crosses the highway and moves on,
413
00:20:41,950 --> 00:20:44,020
but one young animal gets stuck
414
00:20:48,660 --> 00:20:52,190
And this is barbed wire. It's just so painful to watch.
415
00:20:52,190 --> 00:20:53,580
Yeah, she's not (indistinct)
416
00:20:53,580 --> 00:20:55,131
just crashing into it.
417
00:20:55,131 --> 00:20:55,964
This is really compelling to us
418
00:20:55,964 --> 00:20:58,080
because it shows both the fact that
419
00:20:58,080 --> 00:20:59,980
the animals need to cross the road
420
00:20:59,980 --> 00:21:02,020
and it also shows how a fence can be a barrier
421
00:21:02,020 --> 00:21:03,300
to them crossing the road.
422
00:21:03,300 --> 00:21:06,520
And there are areas in the region already where
423
00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:08,560
there are wildlife overpasses or underpasses,
424
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,260
essentially these eco bridges, if you will,
425
00:21:11,260 --> 00:21:15,083
and fencing that actually funnels the animals to them.
426
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:16,860
Wherever they've been built
427
00:21:16,860 --> 00:21:18,810
they've been highly, highly successful.
428
00:21:27,170 --> 00:21:29,870
It's a happy end to a sticky situation.
429
00:21:29,870 --> 00:21:33,013
And the entire herd has actually waited for the youngster.
430
00:21:40,510 --> 00:21:42,200
(upbeat music)
431
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,510
As long as no obstacles present themselves
432
00:21:45,510 --> 00:21:48,500
the animals settle where they feel most at ease.
433
00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:51,490
In this case, in the garden of a family of four
434
00:21:51,490 --> 00:21:53,283
who've moved here from Chicago.
435
00:21:55,987 --> 00:21:58,940
(bison growl)
436
00:21:58,940 --> 00:22:02,643
So this kind of peaceful coexistence really is possible.
437
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,713
The man of the house explains the rules to us.
438
00:22:07,610 --> 00:22:12,360
Well, they're wild animals, so, we try to be careful.
439
00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:14,910
That's about as close as I'm comfortable, you know?
440
00:22:17,220 --> 00:22:19,100
It's a constant dance, you know?
441
00:22:19,100 --> 00:22:20,860
If they're close we go inside
442
00:22:20,860 --> 00:22:22,940
and maybe we wait for them to pass
443
00:22:22,940 --> 00:22:25,230
or open and close the garage door
444
00:22:25,230 --> 00:22:27,497
and let them run away a little bit.
445
00:22:27,497 --> 00:22:29,800
But you have to treat them with respect.
446
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:31,730
You know, there's grizzly bears in the trees here
447
00:22:31,730 --> 00:22:33,530
and bison in your yard,
448
00:22:33,530 --> 00:22:34,880
that's part of living here.
449
00:22:35,866 --> 00:22:38,449
(bright music)
450
00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:45,270
At the park's headquarters.
451
00:22:45,270 --> 00:22:47,610
Rick Wallen is evaluating the data
452
00:22:47,610 --> 00:22:49,170
on the small herd of bison,
453
00:22:49,170 --> 00:22:51,520
which he has collected since the winter.
454
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:52,910
The results of the blood tests
455
00:22:52,910 --> 00:22:54,970
have come back from the laboratory.
456
00:22:54,970 --> 00:22:58,130
Bonnie the Bison's blood sample was also analyzed
457
00:22:58,130 --> 00:23:01,420
and Rick is surprised by what he reads.
458
00:23:01,420 --> 00:23:03,310
We just got the results back
459
00:23:03,310 --> 00:23:06,900
and it turns out that this young female
460
00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:11,090
that we put the collar on was a three-year-old
461
00:23:11,090 --> 00:23:15,040
and she's pregnant, likely for the first time,
462
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,360
and so if all goes well
463
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:21,607
she will have her first calf in late April or early May.
464
00:23:21,607 --> 00:23:23,610
(uplifting orchestral music)
465
00:23:23,610 --> 00:23:27,140
Summer is a long time in coming in Yellowstone.
466
00:23:27,140 --> 00:23:29,490
It doesn't get warm until June.
467
00:23:29,490 --> 00:23:31,320
On average, the maximum temperature
468
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:33,840
is no more than 27 degrees,
469
00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,360
but the sun shines so permanently
470
00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:38,743
that the Yellowstone River loses its power.
471
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,230
Incidentally, the park is named after the river
472
00:23:46,230 --> 00:23:49,380
which the Hidatsa Indians called Yellow Stone
473
00:23:49,380 --> 00:23:51,903
because of the color of the rock it cuts through.
474
00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:57,430
(lighthearted music)
475
00:23:57,430 --> 00:23:59,510
There have been tracking tours in Yellowstone
476
00:23:59,510 --> 00:24:01,220
ever since it was founded.
477
00:24:01,220 --> 00:24:04,370
Susanne Sinay organizes sustainable hikes.
478
00:24:04,370 --> 00:24:07,840
Together with her colleague Linda, she looks for new routes.
479
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,490
Susanne uses llamas as pack animals for provisions and tents
480
00:24:11,490 --> 00:24:14,970
because their toes have no negative impact on the trails.
481
00:24:14,970 --> 00:24:17,950
On her tours this German conservationist
482
00:24:17,950 --> 00:24:20,680
passes through one of the few remaining wildernesses
483
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:21,720
on our planet,
484
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,420
and she must expect at any moment
485
00:24:23,420 --> 00:24:26,913
to come face to face with an animal that might be dangerous.
486
00:24:28,060 --> 00:24:30,070
Here we have a good example.
487
00:24:30,070 --> 00:24:33,950
A bear came down this way and rolled this rock to one side
488
00:24:33,950 --> 00:24:37,800
to get at the ants and the other insects living under it.
489
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,970
As you can see, it is quite a hefty rock.
490
00:24:40,970 --> 00:24:44,302
So I reckon that it was a fairly big bear.
491
00:24:44,302 --> 00:24:47,237
(speaks in foreign language)
492
00:24:47,237 --> 00:24:50,070
(llama calls out)
493
00:24:52,870 --> 00:24:55,923
Something seems to be bothering Domingo the llama.
494
00:25:02,780 --> 00:25:03,780
It was a black bear.
495
00:25:03,780 --> 00:25:06,420
Not very big, but not very small either.
496
00:25:06,420 --> 00:25:09,533
Like any good bear he did the right thing and moved off.
497
00:25:11,110 --> 00:25:12,070
Scared?
498
00:25:12,070 --> 00:25:14,460
Me, no, maybe Domingo was a bit.
499
00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:15,560
No, everything's fine.
500
00:25:17,660 --> 00:25:19,010
Summertime is ideal
501
00:25:19,010 --> 00:25:23,000
for experiencing the park from a very special perspective.
502
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,740
Jack Hart is a keen amateur pilot.
503
00:25:25,740 --> 00:25:28,110
Now and again, he takes on transport jobs,
504
00:25:28,110 --> 00:25:30,830
which see him flying his Cessna over the Yellowstone.
505
00:25:30,830 --> 00:25:32,700
Traffic, Cessna 2873 Charlie
506
00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:34,500
on the 45, runway one nine.
507
00:25:34,500 --> 00:25:35,670
Full-stop Yellowstone.
508
00:25:35,670 --> 00:25:39,520
Okay Charlie, 2422 on the 45 then-
509
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:40,730
Jack is flying over
510
00:25:40,730 --> 00:25:43,600
the biggest time bomb on our planet.
511
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,020
A super-volcano which has erupted three times
512
00:25:47,020 --> 00:25:49,330
over the last two million years.
513
00:25:49,330 --> 00:25:54,170
The last eruption occurred 630,000 years ago.
514
00:25:54,170 --> 00:25:57,110
When this volcano blew in this area
515
00:25:57,110 --> 00:26:00,340
it left a hole, which became the park.
516
00:26:00,340 --> 00:26:03,660
And it is surrounded by mountains on 2/3 of it
517
00:26:03,660 --> 00:26:05,700
and that is called the caldera.
518
00:26:05,700 --> 00:26:10,670
The winds come into this area and then go down
519
00:26:10,670 --> 00:26:12,180
{\an8}and then it affects flying, it makes,
520
00:26:12,180 --> 00:26:13,960
{\an8}it can make it very dangerous.
521
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,200
{\an8}But with the heat of the earth,
522
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,630
the crust is about two to five miles thick here,
523
00:26:19,630 --> 00:26:20,940
we have a lot of heat rising
524
00:26:20,940 --> 00:26:23,140
which causes the air to be turbulent
525
00:26:23,140 --> 00:26:24,310
and that affects our flying,
526
00:26:24,310 --> 00:26:26,070
it also affects our weather.
527
00:26:26,070 --> 00:26:28,330
And you have to take that into consideration
528
00:26:28,330 --> 00:26:29,563
every time that you fly.
529
00:26:32,050 --> 00:26:34,120
(gentle music)
The gigantic magma chamber
530
00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:37,550
provides the energy for more than 300 geysers
531
00:26:37,550 --> 00:26:40,390
and 10,000 hot springs.
532
00:26:40,390 --> 00:26:41,650
They are the research field
533
00:26:41,650 --> 00:26:44,350
of renowned geologist Kenneth Sims,
534
00:26:44,350 --> 00:26:47,290
from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.
535
00:26:47,290 --> 00:26:48,783
He regularly takes samples.
536
00:26:50,598 --> 00:26:52,630
There's a lot of work that's done in this area
537
00:26:52,630 --> 00:26:56,160
to understand how life can live
538
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,200
{\an8}in extreme environments like this.
539
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,060
{\an8}Real hot temperatures, real acidic conditions,
540
00:27:01,060 --> 00:27:04,050
lots of acid in the pools and such.
541
00:27:04,050 --> 00:27:06,840
So we use these, this understanding,
542
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,253
to understand life here on Earth.
543
00:27:10,900 --> 00:27:15,050
Some people call Yellowstone the Earth's hot heart.
544
00:27:15,050 --> 00:27:16,240
It's a giant cauldron,
545
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,810
which emits steam in a thousand places
546
00:27:18,810 --> 00:27:20,910
and seismologists register between
547
00:27:20,910 --> 00:27:24,223
one and 3,000 minor earthquakes every year.
548
00:27:28,470 --> 00:27:31,530
The Earth's crust in the park is particularly thin.
549
00:27:31,530 --> 00:27:35,080
Lying a mere five to 15 kilometers beneath the surface
550
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:38,700
is a massive magma chamber with an estimated volume
551
00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:41,730
of 4,000 cubic kilometers.
552
00:27:41,730 --> 00:27:43,040
Bubbling in it are up to
553
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,420
400 cubic kilometers of molten rock.
554
00:27:46,420 --> 00:27:47,780
This makes the reservoir
555
00:27:47,780 --> 00:27:51,530
the biggest magma chamber ever discovered.
556
00:27:51,530 --> 00:27:54,060
The Grand Prismatic Spring is probably the most
557
00:27:54,060 --> 00:27:56,830
scintillating sign of volcanic activity.
558
00:27:56,830 --> 00:27:58,530
Scientists believe that life
559
00:27:58,530 --> 00:28:01,150
once originated in springs like this.
560
00:28:01,150 --> 00:28:04,240
Different types of microorganism and bacterium
561
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,660
make themselves visible in bands of various colors.
562
00:28:07,660 --> 00:28:09,400
It's such a large volcano
563
00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,986
and it hosts this diverse variety
564
00:28:11,986 --> 00:28:15,850
of geology and life that you just don't see
565
00:28:15,850 --> 00:28:18,480
in any place in the world a collection like this.
566
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,790
50% of the world's geysers are here
567
00:28:20,790 --> 00:28:22,760
because of all the water that comes
568
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,070
from the Gallatin Mountains.
569
00:28:24,070 --> 00:28:24,903
When you look back in there
570
00:28:24,903 --> 00:28:27,200
you see these fantastic mountains all around
571
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,170
and they provide a lot of the water
572
00:28:29,170 --> 00:28:31,830
that ends up here in the Yellowstone system.
573
00:28:31,830 --> 00:28:34,260
And then on top of it, you get to look at life
574
00:28:34,260 --> 00:28:37,450
in the most, one of the most, extreme environments,
575
00:28:37,450 --> 00:28:40,683
and understand how life has evolved.
576
00:28:40,683 --> 00:28:43,350
(bright guitar music)
577
00:28:43,350 --> 00:28:45,270
It's late August and Rick Wallen
578
00:28:45,270 --> 00:28:47,260
is on his way to Lamar Valley
579
00:28:47,260 --> 00:28:49,660
where the herds of bison like to congregate,
580
00:28:49,660 --> 00:28:51,513
especially in the mating season.
581
00:28:57,580 --> 00:28:59,470
You can see many of these young calves
582
00:28:59,470 --> 00:29:02,540
are no longer that reddish color.
583
00:29:02,540 --> 00:29:05,210
At about four months of age
584
00:29:05,210 --> 00:29:10,190
they begin to have their hair turn to a darker brown
585
00:29:10,190 --> 00:29:11,973
much like all of the adults.
586
00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:15,250
They blend in more and they're less vulnerable
587
00:29:15,250 --> 00:29:16,853
to the predators that way.
588
00:29:21,180 --> 00:29:22,940
Using a special antenna
589
00:29:22,940 --> 00:29:25,420
Rick is searching for Bonnie the Bison.
590
00:29:25,420 --> 00:29:27,900
If she's within a radius of one kilometer
591
00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:29,573
he can locate her easily.
592
00:29:36,210 --> 00:29:39,543
(traffic whooshes past)
593
00:29:43,030 --> 00:29:44,800
Data collected so far
594
00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,130
shows that the young mother has roamed a great deal
595
00:29:47,130 --> 00:29:48,880
over the last eight months,
596
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,000
but she has never left her territory,
597
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,060
the northeast of the park,
598
00:29:53,060 --> 00:29:56,080
and has usually stayed around Lamar Valley.
599
00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:57,220
In the summer months,
600
00:29:57,220 --> 00:30:00,010
the bison find ideal conditions here.
601
00:30:00,010 --> 00:30:01,180
There's plenty to eat,
602
00:30:01,180 --> 00:30:03,533
and lots of prospective mating partners.
603
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,293
Bison like to find a new partner every year.
604
00:30:09,660 --> 00:30:11,343
I think I've spotted her.
605
00:30:12,660 --> 00:30:14,923
She's over across the river,
606
00:30:16,460 --> 00:30:18,670
but it looks like there's an adult male
607
00:30:19,730 --> 00:30:21,040
following her around,
608
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:26,040
so she must be getting close to breeding time.
609
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:29,560
At the same time, however,
610
00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:32,660
Bonnie the Bison is caring for her firstborn.
611
00:30:32,660 --> 00:30:34,660
She will wean the calf for a year
612
00:30:34,660 --> 00:30:38,090
and defend it ferociously against all enemies.
613
00:30:38,090 --> 00:30:39,900
At the age of two or three
614
00:30:39,900 --> 00:30:42,000
the youngster will reach maturity
615
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,373
and be able to become a mother herself.
616
00:30:46,630 --> 00:30:49,360
Bonnie is going around trying to put on fat reserves
617
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:51,270
eating as much as possible,
618
00:30:51,270 --> 00:30:54,510
{\an8}taking care of the young calf that she just produced,
619
00:30:54,510 --> 00:30:57,080
{\an8}you know, and had a couple of months ago.
620
00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,980
{\an8}So she's got to watch out for that calf
621
00:30:59,980 --> 00:31:03,360
and now find a mate for the summer,
622
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:05,410
for this breeding season,
623
00:31:05,410 --> 00:31:07,240
and get pregnant once again
624
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,331
so that she can produce another calf.
625
00:31:10,331 --> 00:31:11,980
(country guitar)
626
00:31:11,980 --> 00:31:13,140
Patrick Ondrus too,
627
00:31:13,140 --> 00:31:14,800
has to provide for the winter.
628
00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,600
It's in the summer that he earns most of his income.
629
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:22,200
I'm gonna have two leaders sitting up front in a boat
630
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:24,830
and you guys can be sitting up front
631
00:31:24,830 --> 00:31:26,130
and you kind of be in sync.
632
00:31:26,130 --> 00:31:28,310
So the whole key is to be in sync.
633
00:31:28,310 --> 00:31:30,843
One dinghy can take up to eight passengers.
634
00:31:33,140 --> 00:31:34,730
It all happens at once.
635
00:31:34,730 --> 00:31:36,730
People want to be taken on the river
636
00:31:36,730 --> 00:31:38,370
so I'm working every day.
637
00:31:38,370 --> 00:31:41,789
{\an8}The summer is so short it's like living in a trance.
638
00:31:41,789 --> 00:31:44,940
{\an8}(speaks in foreign language)
639
00:31:44,940 --> 00:31:46,810
Summer comes, and then it's gone again.
640
00:31:46,810 --> 00:31:49,000
I don't get a day's rest.
641
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:50,793
It's a really intensive time.
642
00:31:52,238 --> 00:31:54,821
(upbeat music)
643
00:31:57,360 --> 00:31:59,660
All right now dig in guys
644
00:31:59,660 --> 00:32:01,460
otherwise we're gonna miss our turn.
645
00:32:03,209 --> 00:32:06,042
(people cheering)
646
00:32:35,752 --> 00:32:36,919
Turn hard now.
647
00:32:37,965 --> 00:32:42,965
Hold on up there, little girl. Let's go!
648
00:32:44,090 --> 00:32:45,120
The sun's setting.
649
00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,500
It's warm. The water is nice and it's fun.
650
00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:49,503
This is the life!
651
00:32:50,567 --> 00:32:53,655
(speaks in foreign language)
652
00:32:53,655 --> 00:32:56,238
(gentle music)
653
00:33:01,260 --> 00:33:02,700
The Yellowstone National Park
654
00:33:02,700 --> 00:33:05,230
extends over three US states.
655
00:33:05,230 --> 00:33:07,640
Most of the park lies in Wyoming.
656
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,720
Small areas of it are located in Montana and Idaho.
657
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:15,020
That's where Jack Hart has to pick up a consignment.
658
00:33:15,020 --> 00:33:17,950
Because the weather conditions are constantly changing
659
00:33:17,950 --> 00:33:22,292
pilots like Jack fly either in the morning or the evening.
660
00:33:22,292 --> 00:33:25,125
(plane roars off)
661
00:33:35,810 --> 00:33:37,370
In all the years that I've done this
662
00:33:37,370 --> 00:33:42,370
to see hundreds of buffalo or thousands of elk
663
00:33:42,910 --> 00:33:46,476
move through a meadow is a pretty unique experience.
664
00:33:46,476 --> 00:33:48,080
(thundering hooves)
665
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:49,740
You can see a grizzly bear
666
00:33:49,740 --> 00:33:52,620
or you could see a lot of animals
667
00:33:52,620 --> 00:33:54,430
moving in their own environment.
668
00:33:54,430 --> 00:33:55,970
It's a beautiful experience
669
00:33:55,970 --> 00:33:58,673
to see that in its original form.
670
00:34:00,230 --> 00:34:01,580
Yellowstone Lake
671
00:34:01,580 --> 00:34:05,410
lies 2,357 meters above sea level.
672
00:34:05,410 --> 00:34:06,880
Fed by five rivers,
673
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,893
it's the park's most important water reservoir.
674
00:34:11,801 --> 00:34:13,630
(motor hums)
(gentle music)
675
00:34:13,630 --> 00:34:17,170
The lake is the scene of a dramatic fight for survival.
676
00:34:17,170 --> 00:34:19,990
David Hallac, the park's Head Ranger
677
00:34:19,990 --> 00:34:21,400
has to make regular checks
678
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:24,473
on the progress of an arduous rescue operation.
679
00:34:29,994 --> 00:34:30,984
Good morning guys.
680
00:34:30,984 --> 00:34:32,490
Good morning.
Morning.
681
00:34:32,490 --> 00:34:34,483
How's the fishing?
Doing well.
682
00:34:36,450 --> 00:34:38,130
For some 30 years now
683
00:34:38,130 --> 00:34:40,720
lake trout have been a problem in the park.
684
00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:42,880
Probably introduced by tourists,
685
00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:44,800
lake trout breed rapidly
686
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,540
and feed on the young of the indigenous cutthroat trout.
687
00:34:48,540 --> 00:34:51,060
So fishermen now catch lake trout
688
00:34:51,060 --> 00:34:53,313
to protect the stocks of the local breed.
689
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:56,700
This is a Yellowstone cutthroat trout,
690
00:34:56,700 --> 00:34:59,420
one that was accidentally captured in the net,
691
00:34:59,420 --> 00:35:02,853
and you can see it looks very different
692
00:35:02,853 --> 00:35:04,970
than the lake trout.
693
00:35:04,970 --> 00:35:06,830
These lake trout can become huge.
694
00:35:06,830 --> 00:35:09,630
They can be 30 pounds or more.
695
00:35:09,630 --> 00:35:12,433
And this is a pretty big Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
696
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:15,300
The alien trout is killed
697
00:35:15,300 --> 00:35:18,490
and the local species thrown back into the water.
698
00:35:18,490 --> 00:35:20,800
In this way, the rangers want to ensure
699
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,253
that a delicate balance is re-established.
700
00:35:27,330 --> 00:35:30,480
We had a large number of bears that were feeding
701
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:31,900
on the Yellowstone cutthroat trout
702
00:35:31,900 --> 00:35:35,320
{\an8}as they swim upstream to spawn, just like a salmon does.
703
00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:37,070
{\an8}And now we see very few,
704
00:35:37,070 --> 00:35:40,570
{\an8}we see almost no grizzly bears feeding in those streams.
705
00:35:40,570 --> 00:35:44,610
As the grizzly bears have fewer fish to capture and eat
706
00:35:44,610 --> 00:35:47,200
in the streams surrounding the lake
707
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,410
they have switched their prey items
708
00:35:49,410 --> 00:35:52,293
to elk calves around the area.
709
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,670
The dead trout are thrown back into the lake
710
00:35:55,670 --> 00:35:58,335
as food for its other inhabitants.
711
00:35:58,335 --> 00:36:01,252
(gulls screeching)
712
00:36:06,616 --> 00:36:08,740
(uplifting orchestral music)
713
00:36:08,740 --> 00:36:10,290
It's mid-September
714
00:36:10,290 --> 00:36:13,120
and the days are getting noticeably shorter.
715
00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:17,530
Aspens, maples and poplars are preparing for the winter,
716
00:36:17,530 --> 00:36:19,620
transporting precious chlorophyll
717
00:36:19,620 --> 00:36:23,493
into their trunks and branches where it is safe from frost.
718
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,193
The Indian summer has arrived.
719
00:36:32,500 --> 00:36:35,660
In the park, Susanne Sinay and a friend
720
00:36:35,660 --> 00:36:38,413
are trying to focus their telescopes on some wolves.
721
00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:43,410
{\an8}At this time of year,
722
00:36:43,410 --> 00:36:46,010
{\an8}we keep a particularly close eye out for the wolves.
723
00:36:46,010 --> 00:36:48,560
{\an8}Outside of the park the hunting season has begun,
724
00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:50,610
and we wanna make sure that the wolves we know
725
00:36:50,610 --> 00:36:52,670
here in the north of the Yellowstone Park
726
00:36:52,670 --> 00:36:55,190
are still present and haven't been shot.
727
00:36:55,190 --> 00:36:56,390
That's really important.
728
00:36:57,884 --> 00:36:59,223
23 to 17?
729
00:36:59,223 --> 00:37:01,073
Come to Nature Trail, there's a wolf.
730
00:37:03,540 --> 00:37:04,733
Copy. Thank you.
731
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,430
Susanne nd her companion
732
00:37:07,430 --> 00:37:10,200
know only too well what they are fighting for
733
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,110
because just two years ago
734
00:37:12,110 --> 00:37:16,250
one wolf, 06 Female, was shot by a hunter
735
00:37:16,250 --> 00:37:18,060
the moment she left the park.
736
00:37:18,060 --> 00:37:20,510
Tragically, she was an alpha animal.
737
00:37:20,510 --> 00:37:22,803
After her death the pack fell apart.
738
00:37:24,273 --> 00:37:25,190
(gentle music)
For wolves,
739
00:37:25,190 --> 00:37:27,930
animals which always live and hunt as a community,
740
00:37:27,930 --> 00:37:31,813
this was a disaster, one which must not be repeated.
741
00:37:32,710 --> 00:37:33,830
After a few minutes,
742
00:37:33,830 --> 00:37:35,710
the two women reach the location
743
00:37:35,710 --> 00:37:38,483
where other wolf spotters have seen an animal.
744
00:37:41,010 --> 00:37:42,370
A lovely big bear
745
00:37:42,370 --> 00:37:44,640
sitting right on some carrion
746
00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:47,250
making sure no one steals it.
747
00:37:47,250 --> 00:37:51,270
Now and again it looks up to see if anything's approaching.
748
00:37:51,270 --> 00:37:54,230
Then it lies on the carcass again.
749
00:37:54,230 --> 00:37:57,360
Bears slightly bury carrion they have found
750
00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:00,390
and then lie on it and go to sleep.
751
00:38:00,390 --> 00:38:02,193
The wolf nearby is waiting.
752
00:38:03,220 --> 00:38:05,820
On its own it stands no chance.
753
00:38:05,820 --> 00:38:09,270
It's a she-wolf and the pack has left.
754
00:38:09,270 --> 00:38:13,490
They don't see any way they can get at the bear's food,
755
00:38:13,490 --> 00:38:16,320
but she's sitting there and waiting,
756
00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:20,260
and thinking that maybe she will get a chance after all.
757
00:38:20,260 --> 00:38:21,953
But I think the bear will win.
758
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,480
He's sleeping this one through.
759
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:26,673
Great, very nice.
760
00:38:37,962 --> 00:38:38,820
(gentle music)
Right on the border
761
00:38:38,820 --> 00:38:41,140
of the park, we meet one of the hunters.
762
00:38:41,140 --> 00:38:43,470
Bill Hoppe's family have lived on this site
763
00:38:43,470 --> 00:38:45,083
for seven generations.
764
00:38:49,090 --> 00:38:52,883
Bill earns a living as a farmer and as a hunting guide.
765
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:00,700
Now in his 60s, Bill Hoppe doesn't like wolves.
766
00:39:00,700 --> 00:39:02,440
He makes short work of them
767
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,460
especially when they attack his animals.
768
00:39:04,460 --> 00:39:07,044
(bells jangling)
769
00:39:07,044 --> 00:39:09,900
The wolf just came in the middle of the night.
770
00:39:09,900 --> 00:39:12,000
I went down that morning at daylight to feed the sheep
771
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,260
and there was 18 of them dead.
772
00:39:14,260 --> 00:39:17,080
They'd grab 'em right here.
773
00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:19,360
They'd grab 'em right there under the throat
774
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,102
and they just rip their throat out.
775
00:39:22,102 --> 00:39:23,330
And the baby lambs, they bite 'em
776
00:39:23,330 --> 00:39:24,830
right over the back right there
777
00:39:24,830 --> 00:39:27,230
and crush their ribs and their lungs.
778
00:39:27,230 --> 00:39:29,630
The state Fish and Game Department
779
00:39:29,630 --> 00:39:32,670
issued me some kill on sight permits
780
00:39:32,670 --> 00:39:34,980
and they gave me the right to kill two wolves
781
00:39:34,980 --> 00:39:36,900
on that piece of property.
782
00:39:36,900 --> 00:39:39,620
{\an8}But it took about a month to get one of 'em
783
00:39:39,620 --> 00:39:41,780
{\an8}'cause they just, you don't see 'em.
784
00:39:41,780 --> 00:39:44,020
{\an8}They come in in the nights, you know,
785
00:39:44,020 --> 00:39:45,500
{\an8}and I just happened to catch him down there
786
00:39:45,500 --> 00:39:48,250
right at daylight one morning and I killed one of 'em.
787
00:39:48,250 --> 00:39:50,190
And the other one got on the other side of our fence,
788
00:39:50,190 --> 00:39:52,553
out of our property, so I couldn't shoot it.
789
00:39:55,349 --> 00:39:56,370
In the park,
790
00:39:56,370 --> 00:39:59,250
The she-wolf has given up and moved on.
791
00:39:59,250 --> 00:40:02,020
A natural spectacle view to close range
792
00:40:02,020 --> 00:40:04,230
a moment which brings to mind the question
793
00:40:04,230 --> 00:40:07,570
of whether we experience and treat animals, and plants,
794
00:40:07,570 --> 00:40:09,063
as fellow creatures?
795
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:13,710
The grizzly, it seems feel safe again
796
00:40:13,710 --> 00:40:16,030
and reckons he can move away for a bit
797
00:40:16,030 --> 00:40:17,990
but he didn't expect two other robbers
798
00:40:17,990 --> 00:40:21,363
to be lurking nearby just waiting for a chance like this.
799
00:40:22,991 --> 00:40:25,574
(light music)
800
00:40:38,210 --> 00:40:41,600
Susanne Sinay has decided that she needs to have a word
801
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:44,707
with Bill Hoppe who is a dyed-in-the-wool hunter.
802
00:40:44,707 --> 00:40:47,374
(both chatting)
803
00:40:50,940 --> 00:40:54,010
Is there any chance of the two coming to an understanding?
804
00:40:54,010 --> 00:40:57,230
My question is how is that right
805
00:40:57,230 --> 00:41:00,210
that they can come in and have no control
806
00:41:00,210 --> 00:41:01,520
on the number of a predator
807
00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:03,930
that depleted, that ruined my business?
808
00:41:03,930 --> 00:41:06,300
I mean, I still outfit, I still take hunters,
809
00:41:06,300 --> 00:41:08,670
but I had to move 150 miles north of here
810
00:41:08,670 --> 00:41:10,370
and rent a place to hunt.
811
00:41:10,370 --> 00:41:11,620
Isn't there something that's more
812
00:41:11,620 --> 00:41:14,290
non-lethal maybe to live with them?
813
00:41:14,290 --> 00:41:17,460
Is it, do we have to shoot them in order to control them?
814
00:41:17,460 --> 00:41:19,170
Is there, isn't there another way?
815
00:41:19,170 --> 00:41:20,490
What is the other way?
816
00:41:20,490 --> 00:41:22,030
Well, there are other ways, you know,
817
00:41:22,030 --> 00:41:24,350
there are people who,
818
00:41:24,350 --> 00:41:26,960
a lot of ranchers have adopted other ways
819
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:28,966
to patrol their cattle, you know,
820
00:41:28,966 --> 00:41:30,990
to just, to just try.
I've done this, done that.
821
00:41:30,990 --> 00:41:33,420
I've done that, we've tried that. I've done that.
822
00:41:33,420 --> 00:41:36,860
I think that Yellowstone is a natural place
823
00:41:36,860 --> 00:41:40,260
where predator has its place, where prey has its place
824
00:41:40,260 --> 00:41:43,280
and the wolves and the elk and the other prey animals
825
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:45,860
are in the process right now to find a balance.
826
00:41:45,860 --> 00:41:48,650
I think nature will balance its way out,
827
00:41:48,650 --> 00:41:51,240
but I believe man has just as big a part of nature
828
00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:54,230
as the wolves or the elk or the buffalo or anything else.
829
00:41:54,230 --> 00:41:57,040
Man is just as big a...
830
00:41:57,040 --> 00:42:02,040
And as long as man can keep the thought that...
831
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:04,630
That we're not here to eliminate wolves
832
00:42:05,610 --> 00:42:07,000
we can live with wolves,
833
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,805
but it has to be a reasonable number.
834
00:42:09,805 --> 00:42:10,802
Mm-hmm.
835
00:42:10,802 --> 00:42:12,746
It has to be a reasonable number.
836
00:42:12,746 --> 00:42:13,920
And in your view that number
837
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:15,623
has to be controlled by killing?
838
00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:19,890
You know, I guess I, if there's any other way
839
00:42:19,890 --> 00:42:21,960
I'd like to hear it and I'm gonna continue to do
840
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:23,610
what I wanna do on my property.
841
00:42:23,610 --> 00:42:25,600
Mm-hmm.
842
00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,623
And that's just, that's the way it is.
843
00:42:28,780 --> 00:42:31,060
The wilderness needs protecting
844
00:42:31,060 --> 00:42:32,830
and it knows no limits.
845
00:42:32,830 --> 00:42:35,530
It's not about demonizing its opponents,
846
00:42:35,530 --> 00:42:37,890
but of revealing how the wilderness enables us
847
00:42:37,890 --> 00:42:40,703
to experience our own existence anew.
848
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,040
Yellowstone, the world's national parks,
849
00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:47,270
and visions like Y2Y show time and again
850
00:42:47,270 --> 00:42:50,140
how the balance in nature can be attained
851
00:42:50,140 --> 00:42:52,200
for all creatures that live in it,
852
00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:54,133
despite the challenges to be met.
853
00:42:55,291 --> 00:42:56,683
(stirring orchestral music)
One of, I feel one of
854
00:42:56,683 --> 00:42:59,020
the more serious threats to our park
855
00:42:59,020 --> 00:43:01,990
is coming into the park and taking away
856
00:43:01,990 --> 00:43:04,510
the natural resources, whether it be a mineral,
857
00:43:04,510 --> 00:43:07,923
or whether it be actual energy in geothermic heat.
858
00:43:12,090 --> 00:43:14,040
We've had a dramatic increase
859
00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:16,130
in the number of days in the park
860
00:43:16,130 --> 00:43:18,000
that the temperatures are hotter.
861
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,470
We see far few days where the temperatures
862
00:43:20,470 --> 00:43:22,670
are very cold during the winter time.
863
00:43:22,670 --> 00:43:25,820
And I have no doubt that this change in the climate
864
00:43:25,820 --> 00:43:28,533
will dramatically affect the resources of the park.
865
00:43:32,170 --> 00:43:33,930
My wish is for Yellowstone
866
00:43:33,930 --> 00:43:37,180
to be protected forever because we need the park.
867
00:43:37,180 --> 00:43:38,163
We all need it.
868
00:43:41,300 --> 00:43:44,883
(intense orchestral music)
66531
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.