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- My first teddy bear’s name was Bärri.

His fur was shaggy, his arms and legs stiff.

But falling asleep without him was simply impossible.

Bärri's growling was more of a bleating,

but I loved him more than anything else.

Later I often stood at this railing.

Each time I came here,

my mom had to buy me carrots,

and I tried to hit the bears' noses.

I was convinced that the big animals in the pit

were excited about my visit.

Today the bears have a proper park.

Nowadays, feeding is prohibited.

But it still remains an attraction.

This dignified animal,

which once roamed here through the forests,

and which the Celts worshipped as a divinity.

- Hello.

Hello.

- For more than 15 years David Bittner has spent

the summer months in the west of Alaska.

As a biologist he explores the grizzly's world,

and he stands up for the preservation of their habitat.

- The bear behind me is called Luna,

I recently gave her that name.

Yes, and unfortunately she probably moved

out of the frame right now...

Mhh...

But when she’s only half a meter away from me,

that means:

Stop.

Oh you even farted?

Luna.

I think she has problems with her digestion.

She’s a real sweetheart.

A real sweetheart!

Luna!

It's okay, it's okay.

You're a good girl.

She is smelling something.

But I don’t think she is smelling me.

There must be a bigger male back there.

It’s a highlight for me spending an evening

like this just with her.

Hey Luna!

No.

Luna, no! You mustn’t touch the fence.

This hurts. Watch out!

Luna! Oi!

No! Luna!

You mustn’t touch the fence!

You’re really an idiot!

Had the fence been turned on,

she would have been given a shock.

She would have walked straight into my camp!

This bear is too much!

OK, good night Luna.

Don’t touch the fence.

I hope she is listening to me.

The next part is about how such close encounters

between a human and a bear can come about.

- I first met David Bittner

at one of his presentations.

I'm mesmerized...

But I'm also confused.

This closeness...

How is this possible,

with wild creatures?

Is this okay?

- If we human beings

change our behaviour,

I see a chance for a peaceful coexistence

of men and bears.

- I’m seized by curiosity.

And by a longing

for the wild,

the original,

the unknown.

I embark upon a journey with David.

Leaving civilization behind,

and venturing into a region

where more bears live than humans.

I want to know what will happen to me

when I encounter this animal.

Without a railing, and at eye level.

David is not the first one,

who has kept track of bears in this region.

The dropout and visionary

Timothy Treadwell had lived here for years,

until he was fatally injured by a bear.

Exactly there, where we are heading now.

It was our pilot Willy who found

the Grizzly Man’s mortal remains.

- You know, this is the last real...

wilderness, I think, in the US.

The only way you can get here is fly.

You know, I've always had a great respect for bears

but I... I've seen the power of what they can do,

when they want to.

It's amazing an animal that big can move so quietly.

- Thanks Willy!

- See you later!

Early summer on Alaska’s Western peninsula.

Our home for the next three months.

- It's a great feeling being out here again!

But I still have to get used to all these bugs again

which are buzzing around my head.

But it’s part of being out here,

that dozens of mosquitoes

are whizzing around in your nose and ears.

Although this fence looks really fragile. Just thin wires.

A simple sheep’s fence, it is highly effective.

Just in case a curious, cheeky bear passes by.

But I don’t want to demonstrate its effects now,

I really hate electric shocks.

The camp attracts the bears.

That’s why we store the food in this small tent.

They can only be opened with a pocketknife.

The food is perfectly protected like that,

against curious bears.

- Now it's us: fenced in.

The bears: hiding, somewhere in the mountains.

The familiar feeling of the camera handle

helps to distract me

from the unpredictable out there.

After half a year of hibernation

the bears are leaving their dens.

We have not seen one yet.

David spots a cave up on the hillside.

Is it a den?

He wants to have a closer look?

The only way to get around here

is by using the bear trails.

I have to force myself

to leave our camp.

The bear trails intersect with the landscape,

like fibrous veins.

This dense trail network only evolved

by thousands of paws,

without the help of pick and shovel.

It is said the biggest brown bears

in the world live in this area.

- Hey bears!

It's always important to make yourself known

because at any moment you could cross a bear’s way.

Sometimes I stop and listen if I hear a bear

which could be heading in my direction.

But everything is quiet.

Let's go on.

Wow!

The den is still warm.

I feel uncomfortable entering it with David.

- There is no other mammal which spends

half of its lifetime in hibernation.

The bear doesn’t eat, doesn’t drink.

It doesn’t excrete.

Their kidneys are working constantly.

It’s astonishing that they don’t poison themselves.

Here in the caves the cubs are born in winter.

Usually at the end of January, beginning of February.

The mother starts to feed them with her milk.

Right after birth the cubs weigh less than a pound.

And in spring the mother feeds on the sedge grass.

It is so comfy, secure and beautiful here.

This is a real luxurious den.

Even I would like to spend some nights here.

It's a very special feeling being surrounded

by untouched nature for miles.

- And how was your night?

- My nights here are totally shitty.

Because I don’t have a sleeping mat.

And my ground looks like that.

I have to fix my mat.

If only the sun would shine,

so I could put it in the water and

figure out where the hole is.

In the beginning everything is still fine.

There is bread, butter, cheese.

But after a short while, things look different.

- A young bald eagle is observing us.

What's on its mind?

Since he was a little boy,

David has spent a lot of his time off out in the wild.

It was his dad,

who had passed on his love of nature to him.

As a teenager, he had followed the salmon's tracks

on long kayak trips,

also in Alaska.

But where there are lots of salmon,

bears can’t be far.

One morning while fishing

David suddenly faces a huge male bear.

- Hi Balu.

It's okay.

- It is the beginning of a great friendship.

- Hello Balu, hello.

- Over years they often meet each other.

Balu and David.

- Totally crazy!

He sits down just one meter away from me.

If anybody could witness this...

Crazy!

A very special bear for me!

- When they last met, Balu was badly injured.

An attacker had ripped out a huge part of his fur.

Since then David hasn’t seen his friend anymore.

Is Balu still alive?

- It wouldn’t be good for this land and these animals,

if thousands of people would do the same.

Humans are always a disturbing factor

in such a wild territory.

Humans shouldn’t approach bears closer than 50 yards.

But if the bear approaches you, the situation is different.

That’s exactly what often happens.

The animals get used to me

or other people.

They start to feel secure

and tolerate me and they approach me.

I let them come close to me

in comparison to someone who would walk away

if the bear reaches 50 yards.

- We start our first attempt to capture bears with our cameras.

During the last couple of years

Balu and Luna frequently passed along this river.

- Now we have to wait until something will happen.

- And then, we wait...

and wait...

and wait...

But then....

Luna?

No.

A bear family!

A mother bear with three cubs.

Hungry, the family searches the river for salmon.

They are still far away - out in the sea.

Just a few days here

and the camera is already damaged.

Luckily only the camera.

Mother bears are famously determined

to defend their cubs.

Driven by hunger, more and more bears move

from the mountains down to the coast.

Not only the bears seem to be more trusting here.

Could this be because there's no people living here?

The Arctic days are getting longer.

The sunshine is getting more intense.

We appreciate every warm ray of sun.

And the extra power

which we urgently need for our cameras.

Down on the lush coast meadows: grazing bears.

A strange view for me.

Grizzlies in Alaska grazing like the cows in our Alps.

While filming,

childhood memories come alive.

The story of the Little Prince,

when he meets the fox and asks him

how they can become friends.

"You must be very patient," replies the fox.

"First you will sit down

at a little distance away from me in the grass.

I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye

and you will say nothing.

But you will sit a little closer to me

every day…"

One bear dislikes the green stuff

from the coastal meadows.

Bruno - the big boss of the lagoon.

He is a strict carnivore.

The early summer months are hard for him.

Many new competitors and barely any food.

Hungry and marked from

the first fights for rank and females,

he is looking for food.

For the time being, he will have to make do

with small sand-fish.

- Bruno was just digging here before.

But my nose is not as good as his.

1 - 0 for Bruno.

- How long would we have to live out here

until our senses would be sharp enough?

And until we could survive

without equipment and supply.

Bruno’s predecessor is old Oliver.

It’s been a while since

he had to step down from the chief position.

Due to his age.

- I bet he must be more than 30 years old.

But he is still respected.

I guess he must be almost blind.

And he makes it over and over.

- Back in the camp David shows me two bear skulls,

which he left here the previous year.

- This skull belongs to a female bear,

around 15 years old.

Female because the distance between these two bones

is bigger than in male skulls.

This one is in a real good condition.

Still some flaps of skin.

It’s not more than a year old.

The teeth are a bit worn-down.

Compared to this male one.

The teeth here are extremely worn-down.

Almost to the gum.

A really old bear.

All four canine teeth are worn-down too.

What’s really special:

this hole.

I always thought that this was from a fight

but I’m not sure, it could be a bullet wound...

Hello mama.

This is almost like an alarm clock.

This is the fourth morning the bear family

is passing by,

spending the night 100 yards away in the brush.

I really hesitate to tell,

but the place where I usually go to pee...

is one of their favourite places.

They wallow there.

It is so cute. This bear family.

- It is our bear family,

which we already met at the creek.

Somehow, their presence doesn’t worry me anymore.

Four months ago the mother gave birth to her cubs.

Not bigger than a handful.

Naked and vulnerable.

The mother needs plenty of energy

to nourish herself and the cubs.

The little ones are struggling with the tough grass.

Their digestion is still adjusted to mother’s milk.

I have to listen twice:

the strange sound really comes from the cubs.

The smallest, a bit aside, doesn’t realize that

it is missing a vital meal.

While his siblings already get

a digestive tiredness.

- Arriving from the left there is a big male.

It makes her nervous.

She is constantly checking what he is doing.

- Before this trip, I thought bears were loners.

But here on the lush meadows they are forced

to graze as if they were herd animals.

Because as long as they have to wait for the salmon,

the bears depend on the grass.

Away from the group, we observe

a magnificent male,

and a young female

who seems to be interested in him.

Bears make love for hours

sometimes even days.

He is smelling something.

He’s at the fence.

- David is sure that the female bear was just curious,

despite the tempting smells.

Me on the other hand,

I am grateful for the electric fence.

We’ve been living here for a month already.

Our mother bear is still waiting for

the big salmon run.

Her hunger is unbearable.

She's running out of milk for the little ones.

Occasionally she catches some fish

but it’s still not enough at all.

- The poor mother is struggling to feed her offspring.

She spends practically all day and night by the creek.

Not an easy task to be a mother bear.

Even less when feeding three cubs.

As if fishing isn’t hard enough already,

the mother also has to defend her cubs

from other bears.

The mood has changed over the last few days.

The offspring learns to defend itself

and to fight for every bite.

The smallest got hit on the head in the course of the fight.

Once again, it was left empty-handed.

And has to make do with mussels.

Not only our bear family is hungry for salmon.

Annually, millions of fish are pulled out of the bays.

Alaska’s main export.

The salmon is flown out by huge cargo aircraft

and end up as a mass product in our supermarkets.

Again it’s the smallest of the cubs

that has been hurt in the fight.

The mother barely takes notice.

But this time it seems to be serious.

The next morning the little one doesn't feel much better.

Like the mother, its siblings are

now also keeping their distance.

- The mother left it alone.

It won't take long until the little one will die.

Because sooner or later a male will come and kill it.

I really hope I don't have to witness the little one dying.

- I'd really like to take the little one to the camp

to nurse it.

At the same time I know it’s not right

to interfere here with the course of nature.

But why does the mother leave it behind just like that?

Is it her own survival instincts?

Or the concern for the two others?

Far away from everything

and still right in the middle of things:

Life and death seem extremely intertwined.

The force of nature constantly fading

away and renewing at the same time.

The bad weather triggers a hint of homesickness.

Shortly before my departure my children folded

this swan and secretly put it in my baggage.

Now it is fluttering in the gusts of the east wind.

The gusts have picked up and turned into a heavy storm.

At the very bottom of my duffel bag,

I find a yet untouched newspaper,

which I had picked out of the letter box on departure.

VALAIS WOLF CAN BE HUNTED

The simultaneity of two worlds.

My view on the wildlife is changing out here.

- The tent is completely squeezed.

I have to hold the poles.

It smells good. Are you making coffee?

- Yes.

- It’s nice and warm here.

It was obvious the little one wasn't doing well,

but now it's an unlucky fellow, because it was attacked.

It has a large wound on its back.

A gash on the head.

It hurts so much witnessing this.

All just ripped out.

Everything torn to pieces.

We can see the force of big bears’ jaws.

Just like that.

They can crush the skull of a little bear.

Shit!

I’m glad we’re back on shore.

It’s pretty wild out there.

My most dangerous experiences were not with bears

but when I was paddling on the sea.

Three days ago I saw a bear making

a huge heap of sand.

For some reason he behaved strangely.

He’s now further up in the valley.

That gives us the chance

to see why he built this sand castle.

Oh shit.

This looks like a bear’s food cache.

There must be a big animal buried here.

I’m doing this just because there's open space

and because the bear is far away.

Oh gee.

Look at that!

Shit!

A dead bear.

Oh my goodness.

That can’t be true!

Look there!

Here, he dragged him backwards across the ground.

You can clearly recognise it.

But this looks like a fight scene.

It is obvious. Something has happened here.

All these claw marks.

Even though it’s a shy bear,

it’s high time we leave this place.

Before he’s back.

- Hopefully it’s not Luna or Balu which have been killed

and now buried in the sand as food cache.

Until now, neither of them has reappeared.

And suddenly...

right next to us.

- Just stay here. It’s beautiful.

- We’ve never seen this one before.

- It's okay.

- He’s huge.

- It’s OK, he’s calm.

It's okay. It's okay.

Hey, hey.

Okay.

- I smell bear.

- You are the boss.

Yes, it’s ready.

It's okay.

It's okay.

It's okay.

He’s a little curious.

It's okay.

Never in my life has a minute passed so slowly.

But his interest in us does not really seem to be that great.

A few steps further:

A young female.

But even she doesn’t interest him in the slightest.

He’s drawn to the other shore.

Two fully-grown males, so gentle.

- It would be very interesting to identify

the genetic fingerprint of these two bears.

With a sample of their faeces I could easily and quickly

determine their relationship.

My assumption is that bears

who are in close physical contact with one another

are also genetically closely related.

Hey!

- The teen bears however,

for the first time without their mother,

seem rather cheeky towards us.

Hunger and curiosity make the youngsters unpredictable.

- Hey, it's okay.

- Still no sign of any salmon.

- It's okay.

- It's okay.

- Hey bear, hey!

I don’t want to spray him.

Those siblings feel stronger when they’re together.

Back there, a new bear.

Both of them are a bit afraid.

It's okay! It's okay.

- And how much adrenaline

do you have in your veins now?

- None.

Because I know it is because of the other bear

and not because of me.

- There are people who say it’s a matter of time

until you get eaten by a bear.

- Yes, that risk is real.

If you have a bad encounter

in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Then people will say:

I already told you ten years ago, now it’s happened.

But I don’t listen to those people.

I listen to people who know me.

Who know that my approach towards these animals

isn’t careless or light-headed

but respectful.

- The native Inuit here see the bears

as their direct ancestors and kindred spirits.

Close encounters with them still make me feel insecure.

I see bears differently now.

From a sluggish, dulled animal

behind a fence to a vital, characterful creature.

Every day, I discover new similarities

between bears and humans.

We both like to eat roots, berries, fish and meat.

We both carefully protect our defenseless newborn

and patiently nurse them for several years.

And sometimes...

sometimes we do something just for the sheer joy of it.

It’s summer now.

We’ve now been living among the bears for two months.

The constant presence of the bears

has become as familiar to us

as to put on our waders every morning.

Even Bruno, the boss who usually keeps his distance,

approaches the camp.

Is it hunger?

To our surprise, an unknown male

dares to enter Bruno’s pool in the river.

The challenger, who is in search of fish,

isn’t easily scared off.

That was truly a major challenge for Bruno.

But he remains the boss of the lagoon.

If the food situation does not improve soon,

it will have fatal consequences for the bears.

Without sufficient fat reserves

no one will survive the harsh winter.

Directly in front of the bears a curious little visitor appears.

The porcupine is of no interest.

Its spikes are too pointy for it to be considered as prey.

Our mother bear has pulled her two little ones

through one more week.

But in her fight for survival

she has even attacked the porcupine.

Out here, this injury can be fatal for the weakened mother.

- I’ve always wondered what bears do at night.

I hear the sounds when they run through the water

or when they roam through the grass.

With this night vision device it’s possible

to observe the bears at night.

Let’s see how it will work.

Hello.

Hello.

There are 20 to 30 bears here.

It’s astonishing how many bears are fishing at night.

Hello.

It's okay.

It's okay.

It's okay.

It's very important to speak to the bears.

Now, it’s crucial because they can’t see me well

and they just sense my presence...

- The situation gets too dicey for me.

I grab my camera, leave David with his bears,

and return through the darkness to the camp on my own.

With every step I’m afraid that

I might trip over a bear's paw.

- I was right on my way back to the tent

when I saw a very big black bear.

As soon as he detected me he ran towards me.

I ran to the tent to fetch the pepper spray.

When I left the tent he was only ten yards

behind the electric fence.

He was almost shoulder height.

Incredible.

A huge beast.

I was incredibly scared.

I told him:

You’re the boss, it’s okay, it's okay.

That didn’t impress him much.

He just came over,

quickly snooped around and left.

I hope I don't see him again.

This beast was really intimidating.

I really hope he’s not going to visit me again.

Such a huge bear.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

This summer is really weird.

There are just too many strange things happening.

There are very few such encounters.

In all the months and almost two years of my life

which I spent out here.

But sometimes you have such encounters.

And then you have to be extremely strong.

Of course I was afraid.

And sometimes it can also go wrong.

Hope not.

I miss you Lunni.

It’s actually quite crazy when I think about it.

Maybe these times are over.

I’d like to go home.

I feel I've had enough of bears.

We're slowly running out of supplies.

The smell of the last portion of pancakes as they leave the pan.

Neither of us is hungry.

- Yes, hello!

Are you still awake?

I just quickly wanted to talk to you!

I wanted to ask you about the weather.

Today is a really nice day out here.

Peaceful and calm.

Can you still hear me?

Now I can hear you again.

And how are our princesses doing?

Huh?

Yes.

Okay.

Then we have to feed them a bit.

Being a little underweight doesn’t do any harm.

Okay.

I have to hang up.

Take care. Bye.

- What’s up now?

- Carpe Diem...

Holy cow!

Oh! Gone!

Shit happens.

- Far out in the lagoon, a swimming bear.

A rare sight.

The lean snout looks familiar to David.

And all of a sudden he’s in a hurry.

- That must be Luna!

It's really her!

That takes a load off my mind.

She looks very skinny.

So nice to see her alive!

I’m so happy.

It wasn't her in this food cache of the other bear.

These moments are just indescribable.

They are coming so close

I don’t feel tempted to go one step further

and stretch my arms to reach for them.

The desire is there, for sure.

But it’s an important boundary.

On the one hand it’s a human being

on the other hand a wild animal.

It’s enough for me when they sit down

or eat a fish two yards away from me.

I just wanted to do the dishes

when I heard a breathing.

There is only a little light,

but it’s clear, it's Luna, who is sleeping.

- Finally.

After thousands of miles in the open sea,

salmon gather in their home bay.

Their destination in this final stretch is

the place where they were born.

It’s still an untold mystery of nature

how they find their home river.

For the bears it’s the moment of salvation.

As individual as the bears are in their character,

their catching techniques differ.

The younger, inexperienced with the simple chase:

a lot of effort but with little return.

Then. the good noses, with the surprise attack.

Without even seeing their prey, highly efficient.

And… Oliver’s method!

Battue into shallow waters.

Effective, even in his old age.

Skilled hunters catch over 30 salmon per day.

The first salmon run is over.

The food, which is rich in calories, shows its effect.

Bruno can hardly be recognized.

Bruno the boss.

His dominance is unshakeable.

Suddenly he stands only a few steps away from me.

It’s too late for a retreat.

David’s rule in this case:

"Remain seated."

"Remain calmly seated."

- Bruno must weigh 1500 pounds now.

The way he catches one fish after another

with his slow technique is very impressive.

The salmon want to jump up here.

The spawning ground is at a small creek at the upper lake.

It seems impossible to make it up here.

But somehow they still manage to.

Even though the bears are chasing them.

- Overnight the first snow fell in the mountains.

The salmon run comes to an end.

The bears have become pickier.

They only eat the parts of the fish that are rich in fat.

The brain and the skin.

So far, we haven’t seen Balu.

David is worried that he hasn't come

to the big salmon feast yet.

It would be the first time

he doesn’t get to see his buddy bear.

Further up the river,

a mother appears with her one-year-old cub.

Compared to the other bears

she’s significantly malnourished.

- Oh shit.

Mama’s hind leg is injured,

she can hardly use it.

It really hurts to see her like that.

I doubt that she will survive the coming winter.

- The wounded mother defends her cub

as good as she can.

But the other bears notice that she’s weakened.

So the little one is particularly vulnerable.

Eventually the mother manages

to bring her cub to a safe place.

It gives me hope

that the two will survive the winter.

- Hello Berta.

Berta has a cub, already for the second time.

It is exceptionally well nourished.

I’m not worried about them for the coming winter.

Adorable cutie.

She is an extremely tolerant mother.

Right after Bruno, Berta is the highest

ranked bear in the bay.

Anybody who comes too close to her Fluffy

gets to know her violent side.

She keeps her distance only from Bruno.

And surprisingly, still, from old Oliver.

Little Fluffy is extremely interested in my camera.

And it seems totally okay to Berta

to leave her little rascal in our care for a little while.

- That won't be part of the film.

It will be a special moment when I put in the battery.

Oh!

Look at that.

It's splashing right at me.

- Tell me what happened yesterday?

- I wanted to check if the camera is waterproofed...

Unfortunately it isn’t.

- David doesn't want to talk about it.

But the memory card has survived.

- Our mother bear is swimming down here with her cubs.

Hurry up!

- It’s our mother bear giving swimming lessons

to her little ones.

She managed to get rid of the spikes in her snout.

All seem to be healthy and well nourished.

I'm glad I could see them again before leaving.

Harbinger of the coming winter covers the coast.

We only have a few days left

before we leave this place.

- One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Nine bears over there. Amazing!

This is truly the nicest campsite on earth.

With this view on the mountains and on the bears!

Incredible.

- For a last time, we are going to see the bears.

To say goodbye.

A last encounter?

But who is it?

It’s not Bruno...

and it isn't old Oliver.

Berta?

No... a male bear.

A giant!

Somehow this bear seems familiar to me.

Now I recognise him.

- Ahh, it’s amazing he shows up.

So nice! Awesome!

We haven’t seen Balu until now and right now

he appears in the last ray of the sunset.

That’s the most beautiful moment.

And he is doing well!

So nice!

He really is my favourite bear

of the entire coast here in the wilderness of Alaska.

Bye, Balu.

Sometimes it felt like hearing the sun shining.

Not only Balu and Bruno, Fluffy and Luna

will remain in my memories.

Also these fleeting moments of oneness with nature,

which are greater than my senses can perceive.

The bears allowed me an insight into a new world,

in which many things still remain mysterious

and precious to me.

The Inuit here see us humans not as the rulers of the Earth

but as its children.

As creatures, like the bear,

and the wolf,

the salmon,

the eagle,

and all the others.