Original subtitles

.

- NARRATOR: WHEN YOU SEE THIS - SYMBOL, YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT IS

EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HI, I'M DYLAN DREYER AND

WE'RE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON ANOTHER

"EARTH ODYSSEY".

ON TODAY'S EPISODE, FIND OUT

MORE ABOUT BEAR NECESSITIES.

WE HEAD TO TURKEY AND WE'LL SEE

HOW THESE CUBS WILL FARE WITH

THE HELP OF THEIR MOMMA BROWN

BEAR.

PLUS, WE'LL DODGE BLACK BEARS

AND SEAGULLS AS WE JOURNEY

THROUGH VANCOUVER ISLAND.

THEN, WE TRAVEL TO THE INTENSE

WILDERNESS OF RUSSIA.

THE HUNT IS NOW ON.

AND THEN, WHAT'S THIS MYSTERIOUS

CREATURE ON THE FOREST FLOOR?

- IT WEARS A SECRET SYMBOL ON ITS - CHEST.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: OF ALL THE PLACES WE'VE - TRAVELED TO ON "EARTH ODYSSEY",

FEW ARE AS MUCH A HIDDEN EDEN OF

LIFE AS THE COUNTRY OF TURKEY.

- IT HAS AN INCREDIBLE - BIODIVERSITY WITH MORE THAN

80,000 SPECIES OF ANIMALS.

19,000 OF WHICH ARE

INVERTEBRATES AND THIS IS ALL

DUE TO THE FAUNA AND FLORA THAT

MAKE UP TURKEY'S PRECIOUS

ECOSYSTEM.

WELCOME TO TURKEY WHERE WE HAVE

JUST DISCOVERED THE COUNTRY'S

LARGEST PREDATOR.

THE BROWN BEAR.

THIS FEMALE ISN'T ALONE.

HER YOUNG CUBS ARE NEVER FAR

BEHIND.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: FOR HER, THE SHADED - WOODS ARE PERFECT FOR A MIDDAY

NAP.

- LEAVING THE CUBS TO ONE OF THEIR - FAVORITE ACTIVITIES.

BUT THEY CAN'T SPEND ALL DAY

PLAYING.

- BEARS HIBERNATE THROUGH THE - WINTER MONTHS, SO WITH THIS

BOUNTIFUL TIME OF YEAR IN FULL

SWING, THEY'LL NEED TO EAT AS

MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

LUCKILY, THERE ARE MANY

NUTRITIOUS FOODS FOUND ACROSS

THESE BLOSSOMING FLOWER MEADOWS.

THESE FIELDS ATTRACT MANY BEARS,

YOUNG...

...AND OLD.

IT'S THOUGHT THERE ARE AROUND

3,000 BEARS ACROSS TURKEY.

MANY OF THEM LIVE HERE IN THE

MOUNTAINS OF THE NORTHEAST, ALL

THANKS TO THE ABUNDANCE OF FOOD.

- THESE SWEEPING MEADOWS WOULDN'T - BE NEARLY AS RICH WITHOUT ONE OF

NATURE'S KEY INGREDIENTS.

DESPITE TEMPERATURES OF MORE

THAN 100 DEGREES, AT THIS

ALTITUDE, SUMMER THUNDERSTORMS

ARE COMMON.

THE HIGH RAINFALL ALLOWS PLANT

LIFE TO FLOURISH, WHICH IN TURN

SUPPORTS THE HIGH POPULATION OF

BEARS.

BUT LARGE MALES LIKE THIS ARE

TYPICALLY SOLITARY ANIMALS.

HE MARKS HIS SCENT ON TREES TO

TELL OTHER BEARS IN THE AREA TO

KEEP OUT OF HIS WAY.

BUT WITH SO MANY BEARS HERE,

CONFRONTATION IS INEVITABLE.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: ANOTHER MALE HAS

VENTURED TOO CLOSE.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: EACH ARMED WITH POWERFUL

CLAWS, A SQUABBLE OVER TERRITORY

- COULD BECOME A FIGHT TO THE - FINISH.

[BEARS ROARING]

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: ALTHOUGH BOTH BEARS GAVE - IT THEIR ALL, ONLY ONE BEAR CAN

CLAIM THIS TERRITORY.

COMING UP, THESE PACIFIC SALMON

FACE THEIR BIGGEST AND FURRIEST

CHALLENGE YET.

THEN, WE TRAVEL TO THE INTENSE

WILDERNESS OF RUSSIA, TO

DISCOVER SOME OF ITS MOST

DANGEROUS PREDATORS.

AND ITS MOST EVASIVE PREY.

.

- NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE - MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: VANCOUVER ISLAND IS HOME

TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST

DIVERSE ECOSYSTEMS.

GLACIER-CAPPED MOUNTAINS,

ANCIENT FORESTS, NUTRIENT-RICH

OCEANS.

AND A NETWORK OF RIVERS AND

CREEKS THAT SUPPORT A WILDERNESS

LIKE NO OTHER.

BUT ONE CREATURE STANDS OUT

ABOVE ALL THE REST.

THE PACIFIC SALMON.

VIRTUALLY ALL LIFE HERE RELIES

ON ITS EXISTENCE.

AS SUMMER DRAWS TO AN END, THE

ISLAND PREPARES FOR AN INVASION

OF SALMON.

A SPECTACLE THAT FUELS THE

REGION'S RIVERS OF LIFE.

IT'S EARLY OCTOBER AND MANY OF

VANCOUVER ISLAND'S STREAMS HAVE

DRIED TO JUST A TRICKLE.

THE AUTUMN RAINS ARE LONG

OVERDUE AND THE RECENT DROUGHT

HAS PREVENTED SALMON FROM MOVING

UPRIVER TO REACH THEIR SPAWNING

GROUNDS.

- BUT IT APPEARS CHANGE IS IN THE - AIR.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: EVEN THE ISLAND'S BLACK - BEARS, WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING

PATIENTLY FOR WEEKS, SENSE IT.

- SOON, THE RIVERS ARE IN FULL - FLOW.

THE SALMON MAKE THEIR MOVE.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: SO DO THE BEARS.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: BLACK BEARS CAN KILL UP - TO HALF THE SALMON IN THESE

SMALLER STREAMS.

THEY CAN EACH CONSUME UP TO

20,000 CALORIES A DAY WHEN

STOCKING UP FOR WINTER.

COMING UP, WE TRAVEL TO THE

INTENSE WILDERNESS OF RUSSIA TO

DISCOVER SOME OF ITS MOST

DANGEROUS PREDATORS.

AND THEN, WE GO IN SEARCH OF A

MYSTICAL CREATURE WITH A SYMBOL

ON HIS CHEST.

.

- NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE - MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: RUSSIA IS EARTH'S - LARGEST COUNTRY AND ACCOUNTS FOR

ONE NINTH OF THE PLANET'S

TERRESTRIAL AREA.

AND RUSSIA'S MAGNITUDE DOESN'T

END ON LAND, EVEN THEIR

SEA-LOVING MAMMALS ARE SOME OF

THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD.

LIKE THE POLAR BEAR.

DESPITE ITS SIZE, IT GETS AROUND

RUSSIA'S GLACIERS WHILE BARELY

BEING NOTICED.

- STRETCHING MORE THAN 6,000 MILES - FROM EAST TO WEST.

THIS IS THE BIGGEST COUNTRY ON

OUR PLANET.

BUT IT'S ALSO A LAND OF MYSTERY.

WITH SOME OF THE MOST EXTREME

HABITATS ANYWHERE ON EARTH.

IN THIS REMOTE AND ISOLATED

WILDERNESS, SOME OF NATURE'S

MOST INCREDIBLE ANIMALS HAVE

ADAPTED IN AMAZING WAYS.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: BUT THIS WILD REFUGE IS - A FRAGILE PARADISE.

HERE SOME OF THE PLANET'S RAREST

AND MOST ICONIC CREATURES MUST

BATTLE FOR TERRITORY.

AND FOR THEIR VERY SURVIVAL.

WELCOME TO THE WILD EDEN OF

RUSSIA.

SUNRISE IN A WILDERNESS OF

ALMOST UNIMAGINABLE PROPORTIONS.

- THIS COUNTRY IS SO VAST, DAWN - MAY BE BREAKING HERE ON RUSSIA'S

EASTERN COAST, BUT THE SUN WON'T

RISE ON ITS WESTERN FRONTIER FOR

ANOTHER 11 HOURS.

COVERING MORE THAN SIX MILLION

SQUARE MILES BETWEEN EASTERN

EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC, RUSSIA'S

BIODIVERSITY IS AMAZINGLY

VARIED.

HARBORING MANY IMPORTANT YET

VULNERABLE HABITATS.

TOWERING MOUNTAINS, VAST

DESERTS, AND ALMOST A QUARTER

OF ALL TREES ON OUR PLANET.

THIS IS NATURE ON A TRULY EPIC

SCALE.

BUT PERHAPS RUSSIA'S MOST

THREATENED REGION IS FOUND ON

ITS NORTHERLY COAST.

FOR MOST OF THE YEAR, RUSSIA'S

ENTIRE ARCTIC COAST IS LOCKED IN

SEA ICE.

BUT CLIMATE CHANGE MEANS THE

POLAR ICE CAP'S SUMMER VOLUME

HAS DECREASED BY TWO THIRDS

SINCE THE 1980'S.

AND AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, THESE

MELTING ICE FLOWS NOW RETREAT

HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM LAND.

BUT THIS CHANGING MARINE HABITAT

IS ACTUALLY HOME TO THE PLANET'S

BIGGEST LAND-LIVING CARNIVORE.

- MAROONED HERE AMONG THE - DWINDLING ICE AND NOW FIGHTING

FOR SURVIVAL.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: A FEMALE POLAR BEAR

HUNTING FOR SEALS.

- BUT GETTING CLOSE ENOUGH TO - CATCH ONE AT THIS TIME OF YEAR

WILL BE EXTREMELY TOUGH.

- SWIMMING BETWEEN THE FRACTURED - SUMMER SEA ICE IS MUCH MORE

- STRENUOUS THAN WHEN THE SEAS ARE - FROZEN.

IT ALSO MAKES IT EASIER FOR HER

PREY TO ESCAPE.

BUT JUST FINDING A SEAL AMONG

THOUSANDS OF ICE FLOWS IS THE

BIGGEST CHALLENGE.

SO THE BEAR HAS DEVELOPED AN

INGENIOUS HUNTING STRATEGY TO

HELP SNIFF OUT HER PREY.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: SHE IS TRAVELING NORTH

INTO THE WIND.

THEN BY MOVING LEFT AND RIGHT IN

LONG ZIGZAGS, SHE CONSTANTLY

SNIFFS THE AIR.

THIS ALLOWS HER NOSE TO SCOUR A

MUCH LARGER AREA THAN MOVING IN

A STRAIGHT LINE.

AND THE BEAR APPEARS TO HAVE

PICKED UP A SCENT.

- A BEARDED SEAL RESTING ON AN ICE - FLOW.

ONE POINT TWO MILES AHEAD.

THE HUNT IS NOW ON.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: MOVING SILENTLY THROUGH

THE WATER, THE BEAR BEGINS TO

CLOSE IN ON THE SEAL.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: SHE'S MOVING IN THE

RIGHT DIRECTION.

- BUT SHE'S STILL MORE THAN A MILE - FROM THE SEAL AND SHE'S YET TO

SEE IT.

SO THE BEAR MUST REPEATEDLY

CLIMB OUT ONTO THE ICE.

USING ONLY HER NOSE TO REMAIN

LOCKED IN ON HER TARGET.

- THIS BEAR MAY BE THE WORLD'S - BIGGEST LAND CARNIVORE, BUT SHE

CAN ENTER THE WATER WITHOUT

MAKING EVEN THE SLIGHTEST RIPPLE

AS SHE GRADUALLY CLOSES IN.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: WHEN BASKING IN THE - ARCTIC SUNSHINE, SEALS MAINTAIN

THEIR GUARD AT ALL TIMES.

- BUT THE BEAR'S STEALTH AND - CAMOUFLAGE MAKE HER ALMOST

INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM A PIECE

OF SEA ICE.

EVEN WITH THE BEAR NOW JUST

YARDS AWAY, THIS SEAL HAS NO

IDEA OF WHAT'S ABOUT TO TAKE

PLACE.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: SLIPPING BENEATH THE - SURFACE, THE BEAR JUST NEEDS TO

SELECT THE PERFECT MOMENT TO

STRIKE.

SHE LAUNCHES HER ATTACK.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE SEAL REACTS QUICKLY

IN A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO EVADE

THE BEAR.

- BUT LIKE MOST HUNTS AT THIS TIME - OF YEAR, THE FRACTURED SUMMER

SEA ICE MEANS THE LONG HUNT HAS

BEEN A WASTE OF VALUABLE ENERGY.

FOR RUSSIA'S POLAR BEARS, WINTER

CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH.

WHEN "EARTH ODYSSEY" RETURNS,

WHAT'S THIS MYSTERIOUS CREATURE

ON THE FOREST FLOOR?

IT WEARS A SECRET SYMBOL ON ITS

CHEST.

.

- NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE - MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

- DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "EARTH - ODYSSEY".

CAMBODIA IS BORDERED BY THE

COUNTRIES THAILAND, LAOS, AND

VIETNAM.

MOST OF THE LAND IS LOW LYING

PLAINS WITH MOUNTAINS IN THE

NORTH AND MORE HILLS TO THE

EAST.

THE WATER SYSTEMS ARE EPIC.

RIVERS RUNNING WILD THROUGH THE

LAND.

ANIMALS AND PLANTS HERE MUST

ADAPT TO EXTREME WEATHER.

BILLOWING CLOUDS MARK THE

BEGINNING OF THE MONSOON SEASON

ONCE AGAIN.

WATER RUSHES DOWN FROM THE

FOREST UNTIL IT MEETS UP WITH

THE MEKONG RIVER.

THE LONGEST RIVER IN SOUTHEAST

ASIA.

DURING THE RAINY MONSOONS, THIS

RIVER WILL GROW TO 16 TIMES ITS

SIZE.

BOTH PLANTS AND ANIMAL DEPEND ON

THOSE RAINS TO COME BACK EVERY

YEAR.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'VE GOT AN

ENORMOUS APPETITE.

HIDING IN THE THICK FOREST, YOU

MIGHT CATCH A GLIMPSE OF A FURRY

CREATURE, BUT KEEP YOUR

DISTANCE.

THE POWERFUL ASIATIC BLACK BEAR

IS A TOWER OF FORCE.

THIS BEAR WEIGHS TWICE AS MUCH

AS THE AVERAGE HUMAN AND COULD

PLAY PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL

WITH AN AVERAGE HEIGHT OF SIX

AND A HALF FEET.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: BUT THE MOST INTRIGUING

CHARACTERISTIC: AN ASTRONOMICAL

SIGN ON ITS CHEST.

A CREAMY WHITE MARK THAT LOOKS

JUST LIKE A CRESCENT-SHAPED

MOON.

ITS NICKNAME: MOON BEAR.

THESE BEARS ARE BUILT A LOT LIKE

ITS COUSINS, THE AMERICAN BLACK

BEARS.

IT'S THOUGHT THEY MIGHT EVEN

SHARE A COMMON ANCESTOR.

THE MOON BEAR HAS A NOSE FOR

FOOD, TOO.

WITH A POWERFUL SENSE OF SMELL,

HE CAN SNIFF OUT TASTY INSECTS

AND GRUBS.

EVEN WHEN THEY ARE BURIED THREE

FEET BELOW THE FOREST FLOOR.

HE QUICKLY DIGS FOR HIS DINNER

WITH LONG, SHARP CLAWS.

- THE EARTH IS SOFT AFTER ALL OF - THE RAIN.

- THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON THIS - SPECTACULAR JOURNEY THROUGH THE

GREATEST PLACES ON EARTH.

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR

ANOTHER "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]