Original subtitles

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Once there was a forest as old as time.

Our ancestors believed it was a miracle to behold.

This was a mysterious realm so vast,

no one knew where it began nor ended.

An everlasting sea of green, stretched up

to the highest mountains.

Crystal waters ran down to anoint the valleys below.

[music playing]

And where there is water, there is life.

Billions of creatures colonize this wild land--

rivers teemed with fish and the sky was full of birds.

[music playing]

It was honed to the most formidable beasts

to roam the Earth.

This was Europe millennia ago.

We were once part of this natural world, but over time,

the wilderness became our enemy--

to be conquered and exploited.

[music playing]

Today, like the miracle of old, life slowly

arises from the ashes in the lands

known as the Wolf Mountains.

[music playing]

This region, on the borders of Slovakia, Poland

and the Ukraine, is part of the mountain chain

of the Eastern Carpathians.

Its name dates back to medieval times

and is taken from one of its oldest inhabitants, the wolf.

Few humans dare venture here.

This is the kingdom of predator and prey,

home to a host of unique wildlife--

animals that control one of the most complex ecosystems

found in Europe.

The idea of a lost paradise in the heart of Europe

inspires three Slovakian filmmakers

to travel to the Wolf Mountains and discover how nature is

reverting to its former glory.

Their main challenge is to capture

shots of wildlife behavior in very difficult terrain.

They hope to film creatures that were

once on the brink of extinction, like the bison,

beaver and wolf--

sure signs of a return to wilderness.

These animals are elusive, but the team

is determined not to use artificial means

to attract them.

Over the next two years, it requires

patience and ingenuity.

The first task is to catch sight of the largest

surviving herbivore from the forests

of the ancient past, the bison.

To track them successfully, they need to wait

for the first snows of winter.

Five decades ago, a small herd of wisent bison

was reintroduced from captivity into the Polish part

of the Wolf Mountains.

Their descendants now freely wander through the forest.

It takes a trek of tens of kilometers trying to spot them.

Only deep traces left in the snow reveal their presence.

Although large, the bison are surprisingly timid

and evade every attempt to get close.

To see a bison in the wild is like traveling back in time.

And the dream of discovering an ancient wilderness

begins to become reality.

[music playing]

These huge beasts were once a part of our prehistoric lives,

alongside giant auroch rock cattle and wild horses.

[music playing]

Just like their ancient relatives,

these large herbivores live off all kinds of flora

and can radically alter the environment in which they live.

Living generations of the wild horse are the hucul horses--

one of the oldest breeds of native ponies in Europe.

In winter, they eat shoots beneath the snow.

They particularly relish bark.

This destructive action kills off the trees,

but creates an open landscape.

As a result, a variety of meadows and bushes

can begin to flourish, providing habitats

for thousands of other species.

It is forest management at its most natural.

After several days, the team manages to get

even closer to the bison.

This herd now totals almost 300 animals

and is the biggest population of bison

across the Carpathian region.

Numbers are still far lower than in centuries past,

but it's hoped these will increase

as the herd is left to colonize new territories further afield.

The team hopes to get the chance to meet

these primeval beasts elsewhere on their wilderness trail.

The most secretive and controversial creature

of this wild country is its top predator--

the wolf.

To film the natural behavior of these specters of the forest

requires a huge amount of luck.

At the end of winter, their presence

is tantalizingly visible.

It's clear evidence they're alive and well.

But to see them, let alone film them,

proves at first impossible.

Man's relationship with the wolf is

as old as with the bison and the wild horse,

but it was more intimate.

Our ancestors worshipped the wolf.

They had a lot in common.

They both lived in close knit groups.

Both chased the same prey for food.

And both needed similar skills for hunting.

They became valued companions.

In preparation for a hunt, the men would sing

in unison to ensure success.

The wolves would howl in chorus.

[wolves howling]

In medieval times, this relationship

dramatically changed.

And by the beginning of the 20th century,

wolves were hunted to near-extinction.

The few packs left retreated into the shadows of the forests

and learned how to avoid people.

It takes six months before these legendary animals

are spotted for real.

Two adults and a young wolf appear

in a small clearing in the forest

and mark their territory.

Seconds later, they vanish into thin air.

To increase the odds of capturing wolves at large,

the team sets up video traps of key points

where a pack might pass.

During playback, the team discovers that one wolf has

ventured into beaver terrain.

The trail is irresistible.

[music playing]

Like the bison and the wolf, the beaver

is another species that was virtually

eradicated across Europe.

Prehistoric hunters saw beavers as easily accessible food.

They were numerous and safe to hunt.

As a result, they were the protein most often consumed.

In the Middle Ages, people hunted

beaver for the alleged healing power of their scent glands.

Beaver was also believed to be part

fish because of its scaly tail and webbed feet.

So these parts of its body were very popular to eat on the days

when meat was forbidden.

As this amounted to over half the year

and as the human population grew,

the beavers soon became a very threatened animal.

Somehow it survived and is now slowly returning

to its old wilderness habitat.

Here in the Polish part of the Wolf Mountains,

there are signs of its extraordinary activities.

Beavers dramatically change the structure of the small

streams they inhabit.

Thanks to their voracious feeding habits,

they clear small pockets of forest

to create open spaces that attract many plant

species that love the light.

[music playing]

And by building dams, they create a sophisticated chain

of lakes and wetlands that within a short time

are brimming with life.

[music playing]

These wetlands also provide rich feeding

grounds for hunters, like black storks and numerous birds.

[music playing]

Many other animals reap the benefit of the beaver's

unique architecture.

Some use their dams as bridges to cross the water.

Unfortunately for the beaver, these

act as platforms for a hungry predator to pounce.

[music playing]

It's clear that wolves are attracted to this watery area

for food, but only at night.

One evening, the howls are heard in the distance.

[wolves howling]

As the pack approaches, the sounds of their cubs

become all too apparent.

[wolves howling]

From the noises, it's certain they've killed a beaver nearby

for a midnight supper.

Despite hearing a whole wolf pack during a kill,

the team is no closer to filming them in action

in this area of forest wetland.

They move up to open mountain terrain

where the wolves can't hide.

[music playing]

Higher up, the fresh grass of the Alpine Meadows

attracts a lot of red and roe deer to feed.

[music playing]

The most vulnerable are the young

and they must remain hidden from the wolves.

But here over the summer months, the deer seem to enjoy

an almost carefree existence.

One roe deer tries to overcome the lack of action

by picking a fight with an imaginary enemy.

Even with temptations of ready meals like these,

there is neither sight nor sound of the elusive predators.

But there are sounds of a different kind.

[deer roaring]

It is now late summer and the start

of the deer rutting season.

The forests resound with the roars of the stags

and a cacophony of primeval passion.

[deer roaring]

The stags have to compete against one another

for the attention of the hinds.

The older, more experienced males

round up their conquests into harems

and must defend them at all costs.

[music playing]

A year has passed since filming began.

And still, the wolves remain firmly out of sight.

[music playing]

The team decides to try their luck

by the banks of a major river that

runs through the Polish side of the Wolf Mountains.

Riverine environments are usually very fertile

and an ideal place for animals to gather,

but most European rivers are heavily populated and bordered

by roads.

The very presence of humans pushes the wildlife away

and the animals are forced to survive

in less favorable areas.

But there are no humans on this stretch of the San River.

Only wilderness and wildlife thrive.

[music playing]

It is a favorite crossing point for animals

in unusually large numbers.

As so many different species are attracted

to cross the river in search of food

and to cool down in warm weather,

it's possible to film them all day from sunrise to sunset.

[music playing]

The animals have no place to hide.

And in only a few days, more are seen

than over all of last year.

[music playing]

Then, out of nowhere, a huge brown bear

comes down to the river for an afternoon bathe.

It is rare to have such an encounter with one of Europe's

greatest mammals in the wild.

Then some days later, the team strikes further gold.

A lone wolf appears on the opposite bank of the river.

[music playing]

Its full belly suggests it has recently eaten,

and its prey lies nearby.

But it's not long before the wolf returns to the shadows

of its forest domain.

The largest and most powerful animals

to frequent this river crossing make up one of the biggest

bison herds of the region.

They spend most of the time feeding

in the compact vegetation of the riverbank.

And they regularly cross the river in search

of other food to snack on.

They will sometimes stay in the middle of the river

where they feel safe for hours at a time.

When the herd ventures up river, their incredible strength

is tangible.

It seems as if the Earth trembles beneath their hooves.

[music playing]

Bison herds are composed mainly of females and their young

and by a few young bulls.

But during mating season, the older bulls, which can weigh up

to one ton, will join the herd.

The bull follows his prospective mate everywhere.

He can be surprisingly gentle in his persuasions.

These older bulls behave differently to the others

and can't wait to start a fight.

They choose to do this in dense vegetation out of sight.

One bull comes down to the river after a violent bout.

It's lucky to escape with few injuries.

These fights not only expel weaker opponents,

they can result in death.

Amid all the drama, another lone wolf is spotted taking

a drink on the opposite bank.

[suspenseful music playing]

Over the next day or so, there are no further sightings

of any wolves.

But the huge bear returns to the river for a bathe.

[suspenseful music playing]

After a while, the bear returns, but it's now almost night.

The river is again full of animals.

One wild boar is bold enough to confront the bear.

The bear is wise enough to beat a hasty retreat.

These brown bears go to the river to browse for apples

on the old fruit trees.

Normally, bears in Europe are almost totally vegetarian,

but the biggest bears take every opportunity to scavenge off

the remains of any wolf kill.

In times past, when there were many more

herbivores in the forest and significantly more

fish in the rivers, the bears mostly ate meat.

As a result, they were even bigger than they are today.

Salmon and sea trout once migrated

up and down the San River.

But in the 1950s, all that came to a halt

with the building of a dam for human needs.

If these fish return to these waters,

perhaps the bears could again be free to catch salmon,

just like their wild cousins in Alaska.

[music playing]

The abundance of all these creatures by the San River

is extraordinary, but life here represents

only a tiny fraction of what the natural world can sustain.

Without human intervention, populations of animals

would be far higher, and the sightings of wolves and bears

far more common.

This small pocket of pristine wilderness

is a true reflection of what the natural world could

look like if left to itself.

The only part of the Wolf Mountains

that is strictly protected is the Bieszczady National Park,

on the Polish side, but the areas below the park

have no protection.

This is where all the animals go in wintertime

and it is open to human exploitation

for hunting and logging.

There are now no pristine forests

left on the lower slopes.

The only example of such an ancient forest

is one very old oak tree found in the Ukraine.

It's around 1,200 years old.

In those times, bison, giant auroch boars and wild horses,

now both extinct, would have grazed

beneath its majestic branches.

But in the higher altitudes, some of these forests

still remain.

This is one of the most biodiverse regions in Europe.

One of the most preserved forests

lies in the Slovak part of the Wolf Mountains,

the Stuzica nature reserve.

Some trees are as high as 56 meters and as thick as two.

This ecosystem of primeval fir beech forest support hundreds

of various species, from birds and insects

to fungi and amphibians, like the curious salamander.

Dozens of different birds live here.

There are even eight kinds of woodpeckers--

almost unheard of in other European forests.

[birds chirping]

A treecreeper builds a nest under the peeling

bark of a beech tree.

It's the perfect place to hide a brood of chicks.

Similarly, a Eurasian pygmy owl uses

the holes created by a woodpecker to make its nest.

It's a fearsome predator.

Besides other smaller birds, it catches rodents as well.

Rare species of owls can also be found in this primeval forest,

such as the enigmatic Ural owl.

But the forest is the choice home of the wolf population.

They use the shadows of the trees

to give them every advantage to stalk and capture

their prey, usually deer.

[music playing]

The video traps set up over the summer

eventually reveals some of the movements

of these rarely seen predators in their daily search for food.

[music playing]

Winter arrives in the Wolf Mountains with a vengeance.

Conditions for all the animals are harsh.

The herbivores, like the bison and deer,

must go to the valleys where there is less snow

and food is easier to locate.

Temperatures at night can drop to below minus 20 degrees.

[music playing]

Animals cross the San River in their perpetual quest

to find things to eat.

During winter, they must devise different strategies

to survive.

Some find food underwater, others from the bark

of snow covered trees.

And for those choosing the easy option,

there is always something hopefully

to retrieve beneath the snow.

A family of boars filmed in the summer returns to the river.

The young have clearly grown.

Only the strongest will survive.

It not only rests on the ability to find food,

it depends on the physical condition of all the animals

at the end of autumn.

If they are fit, they will have a better chance

of surviving another year.

Some will fail to make it.

But the winter has its advantages.

A carcass provides a rich meal for other animals

in this wild country.

In the eternal circle of life and death,

it pays to eat anything that can be found.

Martens, for example, usually eat small mammals and birds,

but they also enjoy fruit in the winter.

[music playing]

This winter is colder than normal.

Temperatures drop even further to minus 30 degrees.

The river is frozen solid and the only place not covered

by a thick layer of snow.

This provides the wolves with a high way

to capture prey more easily.

Again, there is no sign of a pack at work,

only the sight of a solitary wolf disappearing

back into its forest kingdom.

After a few days, the weather warms and the thaw begins.

The team has spent 500 days in the wild.

And now it's time for them to return

from the wilderness of their dreams

and to reflect on their discoveries.

[music playing]

Here in the Wolf Mountains, there

are few opportunities to glimpse the animal that gives

this wild region its name.

Yet this top, but secretive predator,

reigns supreme over the rivers, mountains

and forests that make up this unique and diverse ecosystem.

[music playing]

As animal after animal is seen emerging

from the mist of the San River, a vision

of a new European wilderness begins to take shape.

This is a beautiful realm, full of life,

and filled with all manner of creatures,

both great and small.

Giant herbivores migrate over the land.

Rare mammals stalk its rivers.

Strange beasts change water flows

and forge a new habitat, just like they

did in the ancient past.

Generations today have rarely seen

a real wilderness like this.

Such places belong in Africa and North America,

but there is little in Europe to compare.

Now Europeans are beginning to value the first glimmers

of wildernesses reborn and to recognize the possibilities

of the future.

But even in the Wolf Mountains, nature

is not yet free to evolve.

The areas that are well-protected

are still too small.

If better protection is given to bigger spaces where nature

can take care of itself, much more of wilderness life

will thrive.

After centuries of exploiting nature for gain,

it is time for us to pay back the debt owed

to the wilderness of our past.

And we might, once again, be able to look

with respect into the eyes of our ancient friends.

[music playing]