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[♪]
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[David Suzuki]:
Canada's heartland
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holds a wealth of landscapes.
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Vast forests...
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Rolling grasslands...
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Lakes beyond counting...
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And a remarkable cast
of animal characters.
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To the European explorers
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who arrived here in the 17th century,
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the Boreal forest and prairies
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appeared to be pristine wilderness.
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But the story of Canada's heartland
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is full of surprises.
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It is late march
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on the grasslands
of southern Saskatchewan,
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and one of the prairies'
most amazing displays
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is kicking off.
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Male sharp-tailed grouse
are strutting their stuff,
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sorting out their pecking order
before the females arrive.
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[♪]
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This is a dancing competition.
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The top-ranked dancer
will claim a central position
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and be best placed to catch
the females' attention.
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Grouse use the same
dancing grounds year after year,
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a fact well known
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to one of the residents
of this open landscape.
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[Drumming, bells ringing]
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For thousands of years,
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humans have shared
this landscape with wildlife.
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The blackfoot First Nations People
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still perform a traditional dance
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inspired by the springtime antics
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of the Prairie chicken.
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[Singing]
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Long before Europeans arrived
in Canada,
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its first peoples developed cultures
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based on an intimate knowledge
of the land and its wildlife.
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[Drumming, singing]
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[Bells ringing]
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They also developed practices
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that changed the landscape
in which they lived.
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In 1691, English explorer Henry Kelsey
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was one of the first Europeans
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to travel through southern Canada
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and get a glimpse
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of this amazing Prairie landscape.
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His Assiniboine companions told Kelsey
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about the rich hunting grounds
of the great grass plains.
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But nothing could have prepared him
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for the spectacle he was to witness...
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Bison herds numbering
up to four million animals.
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Bison are huge, powerful creatures
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with an aggressive nature.
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[♪]
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At the time of Kelsey's arrival,
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the grasslands stretched
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from Central Mexico
through the United States
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into southern Canada,
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from Lake Winnipeg in the east
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to the Rocky Mountains in the west.
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These grasslands supported
many different species...
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But there was one that appeared
purpose-built
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for this open country...
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The Pronghorn antelope.
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With a top speed of almost
100 kilometres an hour,
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Pronghorns are the fastest
hoofed animals on earth.
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During Kelsey's time,
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there were at least 20 million
antelopes living on the plains.
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Early European travellers
saw the open prairie
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as a wild, untouched landscape.
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They were wrong.
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The Prairie First Nations
were great hunters,
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and they had been changing
this landscape
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for thousands of years
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with a very powerful tool...
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[Blowing]
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Fire.
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Fire kills young trees
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while leaving grass roots unscathed.
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Deliberate fires kept the prairie open
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by preventing trees
from spreading across it...
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And these people preferred
grass to trees
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because the animals they hunted
were grazers.
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The fire cleared away
the dead and dried-out grass.
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The ash fertilized the soil,
so by the following year,
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a rich new crop of grass
would grow
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to attract the grazing animals.
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[Bison snorts]
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The bison herds themselves
also helped support the grass.
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Their dung returned nutrients to the soil,
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and their hooves disturbed the ground,
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allowing a diversity of plants to grow.
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The interaction of grass,
bison, and people
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sustained a rich, stable environment
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long before Europeans arrived
on the prairie.
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And there was
one other major element
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influencing the prairie landscape...
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Wolves.
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Wolves played a crucial role
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in maintaining the balance
between bison and prairie,
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keeping the herds on the move,
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preventing the grassland
from becoming over-grazed.
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Plains people lived alongside wolves
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and understood how they hunted.
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They knew that bison with new calves,
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instead of running,
would often stand their ground.
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As long as the adult bison
hold their nerve,
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wolves won't risk injury
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by approaching within range
of those horns and hooves.
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But not everything
in wolf's clothing
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is what it seems.
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Dressed in wolf skins
and mimicking their movements,
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the human hunters could approach
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within a few metres of their target.
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Their trick then
was to stampede the herd
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in one specific direction.
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In full flight,
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it's hard for a herd
to suddenly slow down.
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These cliffs,
known as buffalo jumps,
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were used sparingly
by plains hunters
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over the millennia.
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A single buffalo jump
could decimate a herd.
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But it was the European hunters
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who brought about the end of the buffalo
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on these prairies.
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Nowadays,
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the prairie's wild inhabitants
are much smaller...
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Like these Black-tailed prairie dogs,
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which make their home underneath
the prairie grassland.
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Prairie dogs live
in vast colonies, or towns,
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with kilometres of burrows.
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Their entrances are surrounded
by carefully tended,
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volcano-shaped mounds of earth...
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Lookout points from which
the adults warn each other
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of approaching danger.
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[Calling]
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This year's pups are now
big enough to venture out,
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though they never stray far
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from the safety of their burrows.
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Towards midsummer,
a different bunch of babies
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is ready for its first public appearance.
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These burrowing owl chicks
were hatched underground.
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In a treeless landscape,
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a vacant Prairie dog burrow
is the perfect nesting option.
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The owls are not so much
"burrowing" as "borrowing."
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Whenever mom or dad appears,
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the chicks converge on them
like a pack of wolves.
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The chicks are growing fast,
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and their appetites seem insatiable.
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In the pancake-flat landscape,
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a prairie dog's earth mound
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gives the owls a panoramic view.
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Any height helps to spot trouble.
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[Chirps]
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The coyote knows he's been spotted,
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and continues on his way.
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The chick takes advantage
of the afternoon breeze
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to try out its wings.
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A couple of months from now,
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these chicks will be fully fledged,
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and the family will migrate south.
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While most of us
think of prairie as grassland,
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there's another element
to this landscape
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that is every bit as important
to wildlife.
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Canada's heartland is studded
with countless lakes,
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scoured out thousands of years ago
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by ice age glaciers.
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Some estimates put the figure
at over 10 million.
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That's far more lakes than people here...
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A crucial resource for water birds
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returning from nesting grounds
in the Arctic
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on their long migration south.
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Quill lakes, Saskatchewan
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draws in tens of thousands
of snow geese
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looking for a place to stop
and take on supplies.
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Once they have rested and fed,
the migrants must move on.
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Within a few weeks, these lakes
will begin to freeze,
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and the enormous flocks of ducks
and geese
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will be far to the south.
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00:18:01,736 --> 00:18:05,773
Winter comes early to Canada's heartland.
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By late october,
the first frosts have arrived.
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North of the Prairies,
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a belt of conifer trees,
the Boreal forest,
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stretches the entire width
of Canada.
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It is considered to be
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the largest intact forest
left in the world.
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Falling snow brings magic to the woodlands.
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The first snow brings beauty to the forest,
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but it also brings tough times
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for many of the forest creatures.
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In central Alberta,
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a moose and her calf
venture out into the snow,
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searching for food.
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When times are tough,
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these willow twigs
could make the difference
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between life and death for these moose.
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By mid-winter, the temperature
has dipped below -40.
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On a frozen lake,
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a deer has succumbed to the cold.
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00:20:33,888 --> 00:20:35,089
The tattered carcass
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looks as if it was savaged
by a large predator
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during the night.
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00:20:41,529 --> 00:20:45,533
Now, in the morning light,
hungry whiskey jacks give way
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to larger, more powerful scavengers.
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The squabbling ravens sort out
their pecking order
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over this winter feast.
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00:21:04,819 --> 00:21:08,623
Clearly, the ravens could not
have opened up the carcass,
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00:21:08,623 --> 00:21:11,493
so who did?
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A wolverine.
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With its muscular body,
frost-shedding fur coat,
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and big snowshoe paws,
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a wolverine can cover
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00:21:34,916 --> 00:21:37,485
large tracts of frozen wilderness
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in search of food.
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00:21:45,526 --> 00:21:47,261
Just over a metre long,
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00:21:47,261 --> 00:21:50,631
the wolverine looks like
a small bear,
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00:21:50,631 --> 00:21:54,702
but is actually a member
of the weasel family.
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Rarely seen,
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this is some of the first footage
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of wild wolverines
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ever recorded in North America.
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[Owl hoots]
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We still know very little
about wolverines.
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A hunter in its own right,
it is also an expert scavenger.
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00:22:28,703 --> 00:22:31,773
Its immensely powerful jaws
can dismember
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00:22:31,773 --> 00:22:35,744
even the most hard-frozen carcass.
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00:22:55,196 --> 00:22:59,133
Wolverines cache meat
from carcasses they find
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00:22:59,133 --> 00:23:02,870
and come back to feed later.
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00:23:06,874 --> 00:23:10,177
Carcasses like this are a rare bonanza
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00:23:10,177 --> 00:23:15,249
for the scavengers in these forests.
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00:23:15,249 --> 00:23:17,785
When the weather takes a turn
for the worse,
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00:23:17,785 --> 00:23:20,721
the hungry ravens
make a last-ditch attempt
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00:23:20,721 --> 00:23:23,924
to fill their bellies.
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00:23:28,362 --> 00:23:30,164
But in a matter of hours,
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00:23:30,164 --> 00:23:32,900
the dead deer is entirely buried.
236
00:23:40,641 --> 00:23:45,045
Later, a young male wolverine
arrives on the scene.
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00:23:45,046 --> 00:23:46,314
He has no way of knowing
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00:23:46,314 --> 00:23:50,818
there is a carcass
hidden beneath the snow...
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00:23:50,818 --> 00:23:54,689
But his senses are extraordinary.
240
00:24:21,015 --> 00:24:23,451
Somehow, he is able to sniff out
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00:24:23,451 --> 00:24:30,257
the faint odour of frozen flesh,
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00:24:30,257 --> 00:24:34,695
even through a metre of fresh snow.
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00:24:34,695 --> 00:24:36,897
In the race to survive,
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the wolverine wins by a nose.
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Other creatures of the Boreal forest
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have different ways of surviving
the cold winter months.
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In Northern Québec, beneath
the blanket of insulating snow
248
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is a beaver lodge.
249
00:25:07,862 --> 00:25:11,332
The steam plume comes
from the cozy interior,
250
00:25:11,332 --> 00:25:16,070
currently occupied by muskrats.
251
00:25:19,173 --> 00:25:22,443
Muskrats resemble beavers, but are smaller,
252
00:25:22,443 --> 00:25:25,746
with slender tails.
253
00:25:29,884 --> 00:25:32,286
The muskrats are squatters here,
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enjoying the warmth
255
00:25:33,921 --> 00:25:37,792
while the owners are busy
foraging outside.
256
00:25:51,906 --> 00:25:53,908
Beavers are vegetarians.
257
00:25:53,908 --> 00:25:57,211
They eat mostly leaves, twigs,
and bark.
258
00:25:57,211 --> 00:25:58,879
If times are tough, though,
259
00:25:58,879 --> 00:25:59,913
beavers can draw
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00:25:59,914 --> 00:26:03,451
on the fat reserves
stored in their tails.
261
00:26:09,423 --> 00:26:12,026
Muskrats have a similar diet.
262
00:26:24,338 --> 00:26:26,473
The beavers keep a submerged larder
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of willow and aspen in their pond
264
00:26:29,343 --> 00:26:32,146
so they don't have
to venture out above the ice
265
00:26:32,146 --> 00:26:35,216
to forage in the cold winter months.
266
00:26:42,556 --> 00:26:45,359
Until this unique new footage
was filmed
267
00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,095
inside a wild beavers' lodge,
268
00:26:48,095 --> 00:26:52,533
muskrats had always been
thought of as freeloaders.
269
00:26:54,201 --> 00:26:56,403
But this muskrat
can clearly be seen
270
00:26:56,403 --> 00:26:59,539
plastering mud
onto the lodge wall,
271
00:26:59,540 --> 00:27:04,478
making a direct contribution
to its weatherproofing.
272
00:27:04,478 --> 00:27:07,481
Maybe it's time to give
the "Busy Muskrat"
273
00:27:07,481 --> 00:27:10,084
some recognition.
274
00:27:11,585 --> 00:27:15,089
This is the first time
muskrats have been recorded
275
00:27:15,089 --> 00:27:18,092
helping beavers maintain a lodge.
276
00:27:21,262 --> 00:27:23,064
[Chewing sounds]
277
00:27:29,537 --> 00:27:30,538
Meanwhile,
278
00:27:30,538 --> 00:27:34,008
in the frozen winter world
outside the lodge,
279
00:27:34,008 --> 00:27:36,511
change is coming.
280
00:27:43,083 --> 00:27:47,087
Canada's Boreal forest contains
the highest concentration
281
00:27:47,087 --> 00:27:51,291
of lakes, wetlands,
and undammed rivers on earth.
282
00:28:04,138 --> 00:28:05,940
And as winter ends,
283
00:28:05,940 --> 00:28:09,944
the vast Boreal wetland
come to life.
284
00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,383
A pair of western grebes.
285
00:28:22,189 --> 00:28:24,725
This spectacular water-walking dance
286
00:28:24,725 --> 00:28:26,660
is their courtship display.
287
00:28:49,516 --> 00:28:54,988
Spring is a busy season
for many wetland creatures,
288
00:28:54,989 --> 00:28:59,026
and the beavers are no exception.
289
00:29:01,528 --> 00:29:07,534
Their lodge is now an island,
surrounded by a shallow pond.
290
00:29:10,170 --> 00:29:15,642
The beavers created it
by damming up a small creek.
291
00:29:15,643 --> 00:29:18,379
They must regularly patrol
their dam,
292
00:29:18,379 --> 00:29:21,649
making sure it stays watertight.
293
00:29:28,689 --> 00:29:30,524
If they find a leak,
294
00:29:30,524 --> 00:29:33,394
they quickly set to work to fix it.
295
00:29:46,173 --> 00:29:49,343
Beavers are one of the largest
rodents in the world,
296
00:29:49,343 --> 00:29:52,746
and they use their strength
to great advantage.
297
00:30:27,748 --> 00:30:32,219
All this fetching and carrying
uses up a lot of energy.
298
00:30:41,128 --> 00:30:44,531
A beaver's diet
is relatively low in calories,
299
00:30:44,531 --> 00:30:48,635
so they need to spend
a lot of time feeding.
300
00:30:52,573 --> 00:30:54,608
The dam mending is completed
301
00:30:54,608 --> 00:30:59,179
by jamming mud and weed
in the chinks between the logs.
302
00:31:07,588 --> 00:31:11,859
Beaver dams may span
over a hundred metres.
303
00:31:11,859 --> 00:31:16,297
That's a lot of maintenance work
for the adult pair.
304
00:31:24,638 --> 00:31:29,443
The beavers' pond provides
a habitat for waterfowl.
305
00:31:29,443 --> 00:31:32,680
A pair of ring-necked ducks.
306
00:31:36,717 --> 00:31:38,719
Pumped up with spring hormones,
307
00:31:38,719 --> 00:31:42,890
male red-winged blackbirds
stake out their territory
308
00:31:42,890 --> 00:31:44,158
in song.
309
00:31:44,158 --> 00:31:46,661
[Sings]
310
00:31:50,264 --> 00:31:55,369
A Canada goose has made her nest
on top of the lodge.
311
00:31:55,369 --> 00:31:58,539
Her eggs were safe here,
but now that they have hatched,
312
00:31:58,601 --> 00:31:59,836
she needs to move them
313
00:31:59,873 --> 00:32:04,211
so she can teach her young
to find food.
314
00:32:04,211 --> 00:32:05,913
But something along the water's edge
315
00:32:05,913 --> 00:32:08,249
has caught her eye...
316
00:32:10,250 --> 00:32:12,753
[Honking]
317
00:32:15,355 --> 00:32:17,791
Reacting to the goose's alarm call,
318
00:32:17,791 --> 00:32:19,393
the beaver's tail-slap
319
00:32:19,393 --> 00:32:22,529
warns every other resident
of the pond.
320
00:32:25,799 --> 00:32:27,367
At the pond's edge,
321
00:32:27,367 --> 00:32:30,537
a Red-necked grebe hops off
her nest.
322
00:32:30,537 --> 00:32:34,541
She can always lay
another clutch if needs be.
323
00:32:40,614 --> 00:32:43,450
Though their cover
has been blown,
324
00:32:43,450 --> 00:32:45,886
the wolves seem reluctant
to give up entirely
325
00:32:45,886 --> 00:32:48,288
on their duck-hunting ambitions.
326
00:32:53,527 --> 00:32:55,562
When large prey is scarce,
327
00:32:55,562 --> 00:32:58,498
wolves will often hunt
smaller animals.
328
00:33:02,536 --> 00:33:07,007
But in this deep water,
it's a losing game,
329
00:33:07,007 --> 00:33:10,310
and the wolf soon
gives up the chase.
330
00:33:21,555 --> 00:33:23,557
Once the wolves have gone,
331
00:33:23,557 --> 00:33:26,727
life on the pond returns to normal.
332
00:33:35,502 --> 00:33:40,374
The grebe settles back down to
incubate her clutch of eggs...
333
00:33:48,482 --> 00:33:52,586
While her mate brings
an offering of water-weeds.
334
00:33:57,457 --> 00:34:00,727
Now the goose can take
her goslings to find food.
335
00:34:09,069 --> 00:34:11,338
Thanks in part to beavers,
336
00:34:11,338 --> 00:34:15,042
Canada's Boreal forest
is as much a forest of blue
337
00:34:15,042 --> 00:34:18,345
as it is of green.
338
00:34:27,087 --> 00:34:31,458
Beaver-dammed waterways
regulate the flow of rainwater,
339
00:34:31,458 --> 00:34:34,861
reducing flooding and allowing
silt to settle out
340
00:34:34,861 --> 00:34:37,997
and clear water to flow.
341
00:34:41,835 --> 00:34:45,472
The beavers' effect
on the landscape is so profound,
342
00:34:45,472 --> 00:34:47,574
the Blackfoot People had a saying
343
00:34:47,574 --> 00:34:52,446
that "Beavers constructed
the world in which we live."
344
00:34:54,715 --> 00:34:57,451
The early European explorers, however,
345
00:34:57,451 --> 00:34:59,920
saw beavers in a very different light.
346
00:35:05,826 --> 00:35:09,429
In 1659, two French adventurers
347
00:35:09,429 --> 00:35:11,765
mounted an ambitious trading journey
348
00:35:11,765 --> 00:35:13,767
from the St. Lawrence river
349
00:35:13,767 --> 00:35:18,505
deep into the wilderness
of Canada's heartland.
350
00:35:34,154 --> 00:35:35,722
The following summer,
351
00:35:35,722 --> 00:35:40,026
the explorers suddenly reappeared...
352
00:35:40,027 --> 00:35:44,164
This time with company.
353
00:35:46,967 --> 00:35:53,674
The trading journey had amassed
a remarkable 55 tonnes of furs,
354
00:35:53,674 --> 00:35:56,576
requiring a flotilla of 100 canoes
355
00:35:56,576 --> 00:35:59,546
to carry them all.
356
00:36:01,915 --> 00:36:06,186
The fur industry decimated
the beaver population.
357
00:36:10,057 --> 00:36:12,159
Prior to the arrival of Europeans,
358
00:36:12,159 --> 00:36:14,995
there were at least 400 million beavers
359
00:36:14,995 --> 00:36:16,963
on the continent.
360
00:36:16,963 --> 00:36:20,467
Today, there are just twelve million.
361
00:36:25,806 --> 00:36:30,544
Beavers vanished from many areas,
362
00:36:30,544 --> 00:36:31,745
profoundly changing
363
00:36:31,745 --> 00:36:34,815
the character of the forest landscape.
364
00:36:37,217 --> 00:36:41,688
But here, change isn't always gradual.
365
00:36:41,688 --> 00:36:43,723
Sometimes it can arrive
366
00:36:43,724 --> 00:36:49,563
with instant and terrifying force.
367
00:36:49,563 --> 00:36:53,267
In the vast evergreen forests
of Western Ontario,
368
00:36:53,267 --> 00:36:56,470
summer lightning has sparked a huge fire.
369
00:37:07,214 --> 00:37:10,551
With flames shooting
over a hundred metres high,
370
00:37:10,551 --> 00:37:15,089
the fire front is threatening
a valuable timber reserve,
371
00:37:15,089 --> 00:37:20,027
and there are human settlements
in the area too.
372
00:37:34,908 --> 00:37:36,910
For most of the last century,
373
00:37:36,910 --> 00:37:40,547
modern forestry viewed fire
as a destructive force.
374
00:38:09,543 --> 00:38:12,146
Today, fire is recognized
375
00:38:12,147 --> 00:38:15,617
as an essential part
of the forest's life cycle,
376
00:38:15,618 --> 00:38:19,622
and now wildfires
are allowed to burn unchecked
377
00:38:19,622 --> 00:38:24,293
unless they threaten human life
or property.
378
00:38:24,293 --> 00:38:25,361
Fire has always been
379
00:38:25,362 --> 00:38:28,232
a natural part of this landscape,
380
00:38:28,233 --> 00:38:30,495
and the trees of the Boreal
381
00:38:30,497 --> 00:38:33,467
have had thousands of years to adapt.
382
00:38:37,037 --> 00:38:38,939
In the wake of the flames,
383
00:38:38,939 --> 00:38:43,310
the cones of the jack pine unfurl,
384
00:38:43,310 --> 00:38:45,646
releasing their seeds.
385
00:38:52,586 --> 00:38:55,656
Over time, new trees grow up,
386
00:38:55,656 --> 00:38:59,660
and the forest gradually recovers.
387
00:39:04,164 --> 00:39:06,399
But some changes to the heartland
388
00:39:06,399 --> 00:39:10,270
are not so readily reversed.
389
00:39:10,270 --> 00:39:14,040
Over three centuries
of European settlement,
390
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:18,478
the prairie landscape
has radically changed.
391
00:39:20,447 --> 00:39:24,184
Neatly plowed farms
and fenced-in cattle ranches
392
00:39:24,184 --> 00:39:30,424
now occupy 80%
of the original wild grassland.
393
00:39:32,225 --> 00:39:35,095
All that remains
of the vast bison herds
394
00:39:35,095 --> 00:39:37,230
that once roamed the prairie
395
00:39:37,230 --> 00:39:40,500
are a few small, closely managed herds
396
00:39:40,500 --> 00:39:44,337
in wildlife preserves and game ranches.
397
00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:49,576
On a game ranch in Manitoba,
398
00:39:49,576 --> 00:39:54,314
a female bison has just given birth.
399
00:39:54,314 --> 00:39:56,716
This calf is entering a world
400
00:39:56,716 --> 00:39:59,652
where she will be protected
from predators,
401
00:39:59,653 --> 00:40:02,289
given extra feed in winter,
402
00:40:02,289 --> 00:40:05,792
and generally cosseted
by her human owners.
403
00:40:05,792 --> 00:40:07,560
The formidable animal
404
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,463
that once helped shape
the prairie landscape
405
00:40:10,463 --> 00:40:14,200
has become a profitable commodity.
406
00:40:25,312 --> 00:40:30,684
Shaped over thousands of years
in the open prairie landscape,
407
00:40:30,684 --> 00:40:34,587
faced with the ever-present
threat of marauding wolves,
408
00:40:34,587 --> 00:40:38,091
the calf instinctively struggles
to its feet
409
00:40:38,091 --> 00:40:40,627
within minutes of birth.
410
00:41:00,814 --> 00:41:05,352
Domestication may have changed
its circumstances,
411
00:41:05,352 --> 00:41:09,857
but this little bison
remains wild at heart.
412
00:41:16,329 --> 00:41:19,199
In Southwestern Alberta,
near the Rocky Mountains,
413
00:41:19,199 --> 00:41:24,137
farms and fences now dominate
The Prairie landscape,
414
00:41:24,137 --> 00:41:25,672
but it doesn't mean
415
00:41:25,672 --> 00:41:30,377
that all wildlife has disappeared.
416
00:41:30,377 --> 00:41:33,179
In recent years,
some surprising animals
417
00:41:33,179 --> 00:41:35,348
have started to reappear
418
00:41:35,348 --> 00:41:37,483
amongst the cattle fields and pastures
419
00:41:37,484 --> 00:41:39,219
in what was once
420
00:41:39,219 --> 00:41:40,787
their traditional prairie habitat...
421
00:41:44,357 --> 00:41:46,793
Grizzly bears.
422
00:41:52,799 --> 00:41:54,301
And she isn't alone.
423
00:41:56,669 --> 00:42:00,806
She has three half-grown cubs
with her.
424
00:42:03,276 --> 00:42:07,347
These days, grizzlies
are a rare sight on the prairie,
425
00:42:07,347 --> 00:42:11,484
but it was not always so.
426
00:42:11,484 --> 00:42:14,821
When Europeans came here
300 years ago,
427
00:42:14,821 --> 00:42:15,822
they were common
428
00:42:15,822 --> 00:42:19,426
across the prairies of Southern Canada.
429
00:42:22,195 --> 00:42:25,398
But the people that settled here
thought them dangerous,
430
00:42:25,398 --> 00:42:28,601
and often shot them on sight.
431
00:42:31,438 --> 00:42:33,506
By the middle of the last century,
432
00:42:33,506 --> 00:42:35,975
grizzlies had been driven to extinction
433
00:42:35,975 --> 00:42:38,911
right across the prairies.
434
00:42:40,513 --> 00:42:44,617
However, some bears survived
in the mountains to the west,
435
00:42:44,617 --> 00:42:48,287
occasionally wandering down
to the plains.
436
00:42:50,757 --> 00:42:54,227
Although much of their diet
is plant based,
437
00:42:54,227 --> 00:42:56,229
at certain times of the year,
438
00:42:56,229 --> 00:43:00,567
some grizzly bears
do kill and eat livestock...
439
00:43:02,936 --> 00:43:06,406
So it's a testament
to our changing attitudes
440
00:43:06,406 --> 00:43:07,640
that people are willing
441
00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:12,512
to explore a new relationship
with these amazing animals.
442
00:43:17,750 --> 00:43:19,418
For thousands of years,
443
00:43:19,419 --> 00:43:21,788
humans have lived alongside wildlife
444
00:43:21,788 --> 00:43:24,958
in Canada's heartland,
445
00:43:24,958 --> 00:43:29,462
and so long as we afford nature
the space it needs,
446
00:43:29,462 --> 00:43:32,398
it will continue to flourish...
447
00:43:32,398 --> 00:43:34,567
And surprise us.
33779
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