Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000
Mystery In Yellowstone
2
00:00:07,076 --> 00:00:08,146
Narrator:
INCOMPARABLE YELLOWSTONE,
4
00:00:08,146 --> 00:00:08,974
A PANORAMA OF LIFE
AND A LANDSCAPE LIKE NO OTHER.
5
00:00:10,458 --> 00:00:12,460
A PLACE WHERE ANCIENT CONFLICTS
PLAY OUT IN A FRAGILE BALANCE.
6
00:00:13,772 --> 00:00:16,361
BUT SOMETHING HAS TILTED
THAT BALANCE DANGEROUSLY,
7
00:00:17,707 --> 00:00:19,122
AND THE PARK'S MAGNIFICENT ELK
ARE DISAPPEARING.
8
00:00:19,847 --> 00:00:22,056
BUT WHO IS THE CULPRIT?
9
00:00:23,195 --> 00:00:25,163
THE WOLF,
REINTRODUCED 20 YEARS AGO,
10
00:00:25,163 --> 00:00:26,474
RIGHT WHEN
THE ELK NUMBERS CRASHED?
11
00:00:27,544 --> 00:00:30,133
GRIZZLIES,
WHO HAVE ALWAYS PREYED
12
00:00:31,203 --> 00:00:32,342
ON THE YOUNGEST
AND MOST VULNERABLE ELK?
13
00:00:32,342 --> 00:00:34,172
[THUNDER]
14
00:00:35,483 --> 00:00:36,001
OR IS IT SOMETHING
MORE INSIDIOUS AND BAFFLING?
15
00:00:36,001 --> 00:00:38,383
[BANG]
16
00:00:39,694 --> 00:00:40,868
NOW SCIENTISTS ARE RACING
TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY
17
00:00:41,765 --> 00:00:43,871
OF THE DISAPPEARING ELK IN...
18
00:00:44,596 --> 00:00:46,494
MYSTERY IN YELLOWSTONE.
19
00:00:46,908 --> 00:00:48,634
♪
20
00:00:53,398 --> 00:00:54,916
[HELICOPTER]
21
00:00:56,608 --> 00:00:59,369
♪
22
00:01:09,069 --> 00:01:12,002
THE SEARCH FOR SUSPECTS
IN THIS MYSTERY
23
00:01:13,038 --> 00:01:14,074
BEGINS WITH THE VICTIMS
THEMSELVES.
24
00:01:18,975 --> 00:01:22,323
ONLY TWO DECADES AGO, THE PARK
WAS THICK WITH THESE ELK--
25
00:01:22,323 --> 00:01:25,223
NEARLY 20,000 OF THEM.
26
00:01:26,293 --> 00:01:27,639
NOW LESS THAN A QUARTER
OF THEM REMAIN.
27
00:01:31,574 --> 00:01:34,404
[BANG]
28
00:01:42,032 --> 00:01:45,450
WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS NEED TO
MONITOR THE HERD'S EVERY MOVE
29
00:01:45,450 --> 00:01:48,108
AND THE HEALTH OF ITS MEMBERS--
30
00:01:48,970 --> 00:01:50,972
AND A ROUND-UP BY HELICOPTER
31
00:01:50,972 --> 00:01:51,697
IS THE QUICKEST WAY TO CAPTURE
CRITICAL INFORMANTS.
32
00:01:56,150 --> 00:01:58,048
IT LOOKS BRUTAL,
BUT THE SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED
33
00:01:59,222 --> 00:02:00,430
THAT THIS IS ONE
OF THE LEAST TRAUMATIC WAYS
34
00:02:01,638 --> 00:02:02,536
TO RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS
FOR THEIR MISSION.
35
00:02:05,711 --> 00:02:06,643
THEY MOVE QUICKLY
TO RESTRAIN THE ANIMALS
36
00:02:09,439 --> 00:02:10,647
AND GET THE SAMPLES THEY NEED.
37
00:02:12,787 --> 00:02:13,443
BIOLOGIST ARTHUR MIDDLETON
HAS SPENT THE LAST FEW YEARS
38
00:02:16,964 --> 00:02:18,552
WRESTLING WITH THE STRANGE
AND UNNERVING ELK DECLINE.
39
00:02:19,932 --> 00:02:23,695
Arthur Middleton:
THE QUESTIONS WERE PRESSING,
40
00:02:23,695 --> 00:02:25,386
THE PROJECT WAS ALREADY
READY TO GO,
41
00:02:25,386 --> 00:02:26,767
AND SO I CAME ACROSS THE STATE
FROM THE UNIVERSITY
42
00:02:26,767 --> 00:02:29,666
UP TO NORTHWEST WYOMING
43
00:02:30,495 --> 00:02:32,013
AND I STARTED MY FIELD WORK.
44
00:02:33,739 --> 00:02:35,569
Narrator:
AFTER MAKING SURE THE ELK COW
IS SAFELY RESTRAINED,
45
00:02:36,984 --> 00:02:38,572
HE TAKES BLOOD SAMPLES
THAT WILL BE CHECKED FOR SIGNS
46
00:02:39,814 --> 00:02:40,988
OF DISEASE, STARVATION, STRESS,
AND PREGNANCY.
47
00:02:44,819 --> 00:02:45,751
THEN HE FITS THE COW
WITH A GPS COLLAR
48
00:02:49,030 --> 00:02:50,170
THAT WILL TRANSMIT HER POSITION
EVERY THREE TO FIVE HOURS.
49
00:02:56,728 --> 00:02:59,489
THE TEAM AIMS TO GET EVERY
ANIMAL CAPTURED AND RELEASED
50
00:03:00,835 --> 00:03:02,285
IN LESS THAN 8 MINUTES
AND WITHOUT ANY SEDATION.
51
00:03:08,049 --> 00:03:11,881
AND THEN THE NEWLY RECRUITED
INFORMANT IS FREE AGAIN...
52
00:03:11,881 --> 00:03:15,125
UNAWARE JUST HOW MUCH
VITAL INFORMATION
53
00:03:15,125 --> 00:03:16,437
SHE'LL BE GIVING MIDDLETON
AND HIS TEAM...
54
00:03:17,818 --> 00:03:18,784
AND THAT SHE COULD HELP EXPOSE
THE KILLER OF HER KIND.
55
00:03:21,097 --> 00:03:24,997
[BUGLING]
56
00:03:24,997 --> 00:03:26,413
THERE ARE MANY
POTENTIAL CULPRITS
57
00:03:27,276 --> 00:03:29,381
IN THE DECLINE OF THE HERD,
58
00:03:29,381 --> 00:03:30,589
BUT THE FIRST ONE
ON EVERYONE'S MIND IS THE WOLF.
59
00:03:30,589 --> 00:03:34,006
LONG MISSING FROM YELLOWSTONE,
60
00:03:34,006 --> 00:03:35,870
THE WOLF ARRIVED
BACK ON THE SCENE
61
00:03:35,870 --> 00:03:36,802
RIGHT WHEN THE ELK NUMBERS
BEGAN TO CRASH.
62
00:03:38,770 --> 00:03:41,462
TOO MUCH OF A COINCIDENCE,
IN THE MINDS OF MANY.
63
00:03:42,808 --> 00:03:44,224
BUT PINNING THE CRIME
ON THE RETURN OF THE WOLF
64
00:03:44,810 --> 00:03:46,467
REQUIRES PROOF.
65
00:03:49,884 --> 00:03:52,439
WOLVES, ONCE CONSIDERED
DANGEROUS VERMIN,
66
00:03:53,302 --> 00:03:55,269
WERE SYSTEMATICALLY EXTERMINATED
67
00:03:56,512 --> 00:03:57,375
FROM THE TIME THE PARK
WAS FOUNDED IN 1872.
68
00:03:59,273 --> 00:04:02,103
BY THE 1920s, THEY WERE GONE,
69
00:04:03,588 --> 00:04:04,554
AND THE PARK WAS TURNED INTO
A SAFER PLAYGROUND FOR TOURISTS.
70
00:04:07,661 --> 00:04:10,250
Film narrator:
YOU'VE JUST ENTERED
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.
71
00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,563
YOU'RE A MILE AND A HALF
ABOVE SEA LEVEL,
72
00:04:14,737 --> 00:04:17,291
AND THE AIR IS CLEAR
AND INVIGORATING.
73
00:04:17,291 --> 00:04:18,499
ALL AROUND US IS THE EVIDENCE
OF THE PARK'S VOLCANIC ORIGIN.
74
00:04:19,983 --> 00:04:22,123
ALL THE FLOWERS AND FORESTS AND
MOUNTAINS ARE RESERVED FOR YOU.
75
00:04:23,677 --> 00:04:26,507
♪
76
00:04:35,965 --> 00:04:38,588
Narrator:
THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
STRADDLES THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
77
00:04:39,796 --> 00:04:41,867
OF THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS
IN WYOMING.
78
00:04:43,904 --> 00:04:46,700
IT'S THE HEART OF THE GREATER
YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM--
79
00:04:47,873 --> 00:04:49,599
AN AREA OF ALMOST
30,000 SQUARE MILES.
80
00:04:51,670 --> 00:04:53,638
[ELK BUGLING]
81
00:04:55,225 --> 00:04:56,537
IT LOOKED PRISTINE--
82
00:04:56,537 --> 00:04:58,746
BUT WITHOUT THE WOLF,
83
00:04:58,746 --> 00:05:00,058
YELLOWSTONE WAS AN ECOSYSTEM
OUT OF BALANCE.
84
00:05:00,058 --> 00:05:01,715
THE ELK POPULATION EXPLODED
TO UNSUSTAINABLE LEVELS.
85
00:05:05,684 --> 00:05:06,271
BUT IN 1995, 70 YEARS AFTER
THE LAST WOLF HAD BEEN KILLED,
86
00:05:10,310 --> 00:05:13,174
THE PARK DID SOMETHING RADICAL:
87
00:05:14,417 --> 00:05:16,350
THEY IMPORTED A PACK OF WOLVES
FROM CANADA
88
00:05:16,350 --> 00:05:19,319
AND RELEASED THEM
INTO YELLOWSTONE.
89
00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:20,458
Middleton: THE WOLF HAD BEEN
REINTRODUCED IN THE MID 1990s,
90
00:05:23,012 --> 00:05:25,255
AND IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS
BIOLOGICALLY.
91
00:05:26,878 --> 00:05:29,708
THEIR POPULATION NUMBERS
GREW VERY RAPIDLY,
92
00:05:31,089 --> 00:05:32,815
AND THEY EXPANDED FAR
OUTSIDE OF YELLOWSTONE PARK
93
00:05:33,643 --> 00:05:35,507
INTO THE SURROUNDING REGION.
94
00:05:36,853 --> 00:05:38,130
Narrator: THE WOLVES
IMMEDIATELY SET ABOUT DOING
95
00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:40,236
WHAT THE PARK BIOLOGISTS
HAD HOPED--
96
00:05:41,582 --> 00:05:42,342
HUNTING THE OVERPOPULATED ELK
WITH A VENGEANCE,
97
00:05:43,170 --> 00:05:45,448
BRINGING DOWN ELK NUMBERS
98
00:05:46,691 --> 00:05:47,554
BUT ACTUALLY IMPROVING
THE HEALTH OF THE HERDS.
99
00:05:47,968 --> 00:05:50,833
♪
100
00:05:53,249 --> 00:05:56,494
[ELK BUGLING]
101
00:05:56,494 --> 00:05:58,461
♪
102
00:06:00,567 --> 00:06:03,363
BUT NOT EVERYONE WAS THRILLED.
103
00:06:04,571 --> 00:06:06,469
HUNTERS WHO COMPETE
WITH WOLVES FOR ELK
104
00:06:06,469 --> 00:06:07,643
AND RANCHERS WHO FEARED
FOR THEIR LIVESTOCK
105
00:06:08,954 --> 00:06:10,162
PREDICTED THE WOLVES
WOULD CAUSE A CATASTROPHE.
106
00:06:10,784 --> 00:06:13,649
♪
107
00:06:16,686 --> 00:06:19,551
20 YEARS LATER,
108
00:06:20,897 --> 00:06:21,933
IT WAS BEGINNING TO LOOK
LIKE THE WOLF-HATERS WERE RIGHT.
109
00:06:21,933 --> 00:06:23,452
ELK NUMBERS
HAD PLUMMETED BY 80%.
110
00:06:24,625 --> 00:06:27,145
AND AS A FEW DOZEN WOLVES
BECAME HUNDREDS,
111
00:06:27,145 --> 00:06:28,491
PRESSURE GREW TO SHUT DOWN
THE RETURN OF THE WOLF.
112
00:06:29,665 --> 00:06:32,978
Middleton: THE TIME DREW
CLOSER AND CLOSER
113
00:06:32,978 --> 00:06:34,773
FOR THEIR PROTECTIONS
TO BE LIFTED,
114
00:06:34,773 --> 00:06:35,774
AND THAT MEANS
THEIR MANAGEMENT SHIFTS
115
00:06:37,258 --> 00:06:37,880
FROM A PROTECTION POSTURE
TO MORE OF A HARVEST POSTURE,
116
00:06:40,434 --> 00:06:43,195
WHERE THE PUBLIC IS PERMITTED
TO HUNT WOLVES.
117
00:06:44,334 --> 00:06:46,889
Narrator:
THE SITUATION WAS URGENT:
118
00:06:47,717 --> 00:06:49,926
IF WOLVES COULD BE HUNTED AGAIN,
119
00:06:49,926 --> 00:06:51,825
THE WHOLE SUCCESS
OF THE PARK'S ATTEMPT
120
00:06:51,825 --> 00:06:53,033
TO RETURN YELLOWSTONE
TO ITS ORIGINAL BALANCE
121
00:06:53,033 --> 00:06:55,207
WAS IN DANGER.
122
00:06:55,932 --> 00:06:58,314
ENTER DR. MIDDLETON,
123
00:06:59,453 --> 00:07:01,075
A YOUNG BIOLOGIST
SENT TO DETERMINE
124
00:07:01,075 --> 00:07:02,594
WHETHER THE WOLF WAS NOT
JUST A SUPREME PREDATOR
125
00:07:02,594 --> 00:07:04,907
BUT A MASS MURDERER.
126
00:07:06,253 --> 00:07:09,221
Middleton: I CAME HERE TO FIND
THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION
127
00:07:09,221 --> 00:07:10,360
THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE LOCALLY
AND A LOT OF SCIENTISTS
128
00:07:11,051 --> 00:07:13,260
HAD ASKED, WHICH IS:
129
00:07:14,572 --> 00:07:15,745
DOES THE PRESENCE OF WOLVES
SCARE ELK SO MUCH
130
00:07:15,745 --> 00:07:18,230
THAT THEY'RE LOSING FAT,
THEY'RE STRESSED OUT,
131
00:07:19,093 --> 00:07:22,476
AND THEY'RE NOT REPRODUCING?
132
00:07:22,476 --> 00:07:23,270
SO I HAD TO GO OUT IN THE FIELD
AND STARE AT ELK.
133
00:07:27,136 --> 00:07:29,828
Narrator: MONITORING THE HERD
THROUGH THE BRUTAL WINTERS
134
00:07:31,140 --> 00:07:32,244
IN THEIR TERRITORY
IN THE LOWER NORTHERN RANGES
135
00:07:33,453 --> 00:07:35,006
ISN'T EXACTLY ALL
IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE.
136
00:07:36,801 --> 00:07:39,528
Middleton: CONTRARY TO WHAT
I WAS LED TO BELIEVE,
137
00:07:40,460 --> 00:07:43,255
ELK DON'T REALLY DO VERY MUCH.
138
00:07:44,740 --> 00:07:45,361
THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT RUNNING
INTO WOLVES ALL THAT MUCH,
139
00:07:46,811 --> 00:07:48,398
AND THEY'RE MOSTLY JUST DIGGING
AROUND IN THE SNOW FEEDING
140
00:07:48,813 --> 00:07:51,540
ALL DAY.
141
00:07:52,886 --> 00:07:54,266
Narrator: THE ELK CERTAINLY
DON'T LOOK STRESSED,
142
00:07:54,266 --> 00:07:55,854
AND THEY BARELY GLANCE UP
143
00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:57,960
AT ANY WOLF THAT ISN'T
WITHIN SPRINTING DISTANCE.
144
00:08:00,687 --> 00:08:01,895
THE RESULT OF THE BLOOD TESTS
145
00:08:04,725 --> 00:08:06,002
CONFIRM WHAT MIDDLETON
IS SEEING IN THE FIELD:
146
00:08:06,002 --> 00:08:07,797
THE COW ELK ARE
IN EXCELLENT HEALTH,
147
00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:09,972
AND OVER 70% OF THE FEMALES
ARE PREGNANT.
148
00:08:11,318 --> 00:08:14,114
STRESS CAN PREVENT PREGNANCY
AND CAUSE MISCARRIAGE,
149
00:08:14,114 --> 00:08:16,392
SO THAT DOESN'T SEEM
TO BE THE PROBLEM.
150
00:08:18,877 --> 00:08:19,913
BUT ANOTHER RESULT
IS DISTURBING:
151
00:08:22,743 --> 00:08:23,813
THE TESTED FEMALES
ARE OLDER THAN EXPECTED.
152
00:08:24,952 --> 00:08:26,402
ONLY A HANDFUL
IS UNDER 9 YEARS OLD,
153
00:08:27,127 --> 00:08:28,922
FAR PAST AN ELK'S PRIME.
154
00:08:29,957 --> 00:08:31,476
THEY GENERALLY DON'T LIVE
PAST 15.
155
00:08:31,476 --> 00:08:35,342
[BUGLING]
156
00:08:35,342 --> 00:08:36,585
THE HERD ISN'T JUST SHRINKING;
IT'S BECOMING GERIATRIC.
157
00:08:38,759 --> 00:08:41,590
IN WINTER, THE ELK HERD
SEEMS HEALTHY AND RELAXED--
158
00:08:42,142 --> 00:08:44,524
JUST OLD.
159
00:08:45,628 --> 00:08:46,974
SOMETHING MUST BE
HAPPENING TO THEM
160
00:08:46,974 --> 00:08:47,630
AT SOME OTHER TIME OF THE YEAR,
KILLING OFF THE YOUNG ELK.
161
00:08:49,908 --> 00:08:51,323
SPRING IS COMING,
162
00:08:54,741 --> 00:08:55,845
MEANING THE MASS MIGRATION
OF PREY ANIMALS
163
00:08:55,845 --> 00:08:57,398
IN SEARCH OF BETTER GRAZING.
164
00:08:58,261 --> 00:08:59,504
MANY OF MIDDLETON'S COLLARED ELK
165
00:09:00,988 --> 00:09:02,403
ARE HEADED TO THE HIGH PLAINS
IN THE INTERIOR OF THE PARK,
166
00:09:02,403 --> 00:09:05,130
WHERE THERE WILL BE
RICH PASTURE,
167
00:09:05,130 --> 00:09:06,856
JUST IN TIME FOR CALVING.
168
00:09:06,856 --> 00:09:09,341
COULD SOMETHING BE HAPPENING
169
00:09:09,341 --> 00:09:10,411
DURING THE LONG
AND ARDUOUS TREK?
170
00:09:13,967 --> 00:09:17,142
Middleton: ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT THINGS
171
00:09:17,142 --> 00:09:18,661
THAT HAPPENS THIS TIME OF YEAR
172
00:09:18,661 --> 00:09:20,732
IS THE MIGRATION
OF THE LARGE HERBIVORES--
173
00:09:20,732 --> 00:09:22,700
THE ELK, THE MOOSE,
THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE,
174
00:09:23,770 --> 00:09:25,910
THE MULE DEER,
THE BIGHORN SHEEP.
175
00:09:27,083 --> 00:09:29,016
ALL THOSE ANIMALS,
THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS,
176
00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:32,123
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS ARE
MOVING TO THEIR SUMMER HABITAT,
177
00:09:33,745 --> 00:09:36,576
NEARER TO THE CORE
OF YELLOWSTONE,
178
00:09:37,715 --> 00:09:39,130
AND ELK ARE THE DOMINANT
MIGRATORY ANIMAL.
179
00:09:40,752 --> 00:09:43,548
Narrator:
AS THE ELK SLOWLY MIGRATE
180
00:09:44,756 --> 00:09:46,378
BACK UP INTO
THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK,
181
00:09:46,378 --> 00:09:47,828
THEY PASS THROUGH DIFFERENT
WOLF TERRITORIES...
182
00:09:48,726 --> 00:09:50,451
WITH MIDDLETON ON THEIR HEELS.
183
00:09:51,314 --> 00:09:52,592
BUT ONCE AGAIN, HE FINDS OUT
184
00:09:53,662 --> 00:09:55,111
THAT ENCOUNTERS
BETWEEN ELK AND WOLVES
185
00:09:55,111 --> 00:09:57,424
REMAIN EXTREMELY RARE,
186
00:09:57,424 --> 00:09:58,494
AND THE ELK SHOW
NO SIGN OF STRESS.
187
00:10:01,704 --> 00:10:04,465
BY MAY, THEY REACH THE HIGH
PLATEAU IN THE INTERIOR,
188
00:10:05,708 --> 00:10:07,676
WHERE NEW, RICH GRASSES
AND MILD TEMPERATURES
189
00:10:08,780 --> 00:10:10,471
SET THE STAGE
FOR A NEW SEASON...
190
00:10:11,058 --> 00:10:12,750
AND A NEW DRAMA.
191
00:10:13,613 --> 00:10:16,477
[WOLF HOWLING]
192
00:10:17,824 --> 00:10:19,411
AS NIGHT FALLS, THE FEMALES
SLIP AWAY FROM THE HERD
193
00:10:19,411 --> 00:10:20,861
AND PREPARE TO WELCOME A SLEW
OF NEWCOMERS INTO THE WORLD
194
00:10:22,069 --> 00:10:24,624
AND A WHOLE NEW SET
OF VULNERABILITIES.
195
00:10:25,141 --> 00:10:27,765
[HOWLING]
196
00:10:29,111 --> 00:10:31,458
THE NIGHT IS CALM,
BUT THE DAWN WILL BRING TROUBLE.
197
00:10:32,770 --> 00:10:35,565
♪
198
00:10:41,641 --> 00:10:44,471
DAYBREAK REVEALS
THE YEARLY MIRACLE--
199
00:10:46,024 --> 00:10:47,163
OVERNIGHT, YELLOWSTONE COUNTRY
HAS BECOME A MASSIVE NURSERY.
200
00:10:48,648 --> 00:10:51,581
[GEESE HONKING]
201
00:10:54,895 --> 00:10:57,691
♪
202
00:11:09,772 --> 00:11:12,499
THE CALVES CAN STAND
WITHIN HOURS,
203
00:11:14,018 --> 00:11:14,812
BUT THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO RUN
WITH THE HERD FOR TWO WEEKS.
204
00:11:16,330 --> 00:11:17,987
SO THEIR MOTHERS KEEP THEM APART
AND KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THEM.
205
00:11:20,196 --> 00:11:22,992
♪
206
00:11:33,071 --> 00:11:35,833
THE SHEER NUMBER OF ELK CALVES,
ALMOST ALL IN GOOD HEALTH,
207
00:11:36,937 --> 00:11:39,560
CLEARLY SHOWS
THAT THE ELK PREGNANCIES
208
00:11:40,907 --> 00:11:41,701
HAVE NOT BEEN AFFECTED
BY THE PRESENCE OF WOLVES.
209
00:11:46,913 --> 00:11:49,709
BUT THE PREDATORS SENSE
A NEW OPPORTUNITY--
210
00:11:50,779 --> 00:11:52,228
THERE ARE YOUNG
PREY ANIMALS EVERYWHERE.
211
00:12:01,548 --> 00:12:03,895
WOLVES ARE DEVOTED PARENTS;
212
00:12:05,276 --> 00:12:06,001
THE WHOLE PACK WILL DO
WHAT IT CAN TO FEED THEIR PUPS.
213
00:12:09,073 --> 00:12:11,800
BEAR FAMILIES HAVE EMERGED
FROM HIBERNATION,
214
00:12:12,870 --> 00:12:14,561
AND THE MOTHERS
HAVEN'T EATEN IN MONTHS.
215
00:12:16,805 --> 00:12:17,806
EVEN SCAVENGERS
WILL TURN INTO HUNTERS
216
00:12:20,947 --> 00:12:21,810
WHEN SPRING CALVES
ARE EVERYWHERE FOR THE PICKING.
217
00:12:24,467 --> 00:12:27,125
BUT THE HUNTERS NEED TO CHOOSE
THE HUNTED CAREFULLY.
218
00:12:28,333 --> 00:12:30,542
BISON CALVES WOULD SEEM RIPE
FOR THE PICKING,
219
00:12:31,612 --> 00:12:33,028
BUT THEY'VE ALREADY
JOINED THE HERD
220
00:12:33,891 --> 00:12:35,133
AND ARE PROTECTED BY GIANTS.
221
00:12:42,831 --> 00:12:45,661
ELK CALVES ARE SMALLER
222
00:12:47,007 --> 00:12:47,767
AND STILL DON'T HAVE
THE PROTECTION OF THE HERD.
223
00:12:54,497 --> 00:12:58,329
ELK MOTHERS, TOO,
ARE EXTREMELY PROTECTIVE...
224
00:12:58,329 --> 00:13:01,263
BUT YOUNG MOTHERS
CAN MAKE MISTAKES.
225
00:13:01,263 --> 00:13:02,712
MOM KNOWS THAT WATER
MEANS SAFETY
226
00:13:03,541 --> 00:13:05,646
FROM ALMOST ALL PREDATORS...
227
00:13:05,646 --> 00:13:06,889
BUT THE LITTLE CALF ALSO KNOWS
228
00:13:08,097 --> 00:13:08,995
THAT HE'S NO MATCH
FOR RAGING MELTWATER.
229
00:13:13,068 --> 00:13:15,587
IT COULD BE A COSTLY MISTAKE.
230
00:13:17,037 --> 00:13:17,969
WOLVES ARE ON THE LOOKOUT
FOR UNPROTECTED YOUNGSTERS.
231
00:13:21,386 --> 00:13:22,871
[WOLF HOWLING]
232
00:13:25,287 --> 00:13:27,392
BUT MOTHER SOON REALIZES
HER MISTAKE;
233
00:13:27,392 --> 00:13:29,636
SHE HEADS BACK ACROSS THE RIVER.
234
00:13:29,636 --> 00:13:31,327
♪
235
00:13:42,614 --> 00:13:46,584
FORTUNATELY FOR HER,
236
00:13:46,584 --> 00:13:47,654
HER CALF HAS HIS OWN DEFENSE
THAT FOILS THE WOLF.
237
00:13:47,654 --> 00:13:50,346
♪
238
00:13:59,631 --> 00:14:02,358
HE, LIKE ALL NEWBORN ELK CALVES,
HAS ALMOST NO SCENT--
239
00:14:04,395 --> 00:14:07,156
AND EVEN THE KEEN-NOSED CANINE
CAN'T SMELL HIM.
240
00:14:07,985 --> 00:14:10,642
IT'S A BRILLIANT DEFENSE,
241
00:14:11,851 --> 00:14:13,404
ALLOWING THE MOTHER
TO WANDER AND GRAZE
242
00:14:13,404 --> 00:14:15,647
WHILE HER CAMOUFLAGED BABY
HUNKERS DOWN
243
00:14:15,647 --> 00:14:17,028
AND DISAPPEARS
INTO THE LANDSCAPE.
244
00:14:18,512 --> 00:14:19,375
AND MEANWHILE MOTHER ISN'T
GIVING AWAY WHERE HER BABY IS.
245
00:14:24,001 --> 00:14:24,967
IF WOLVES GET
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT,
246
00:14:28,177 --> 00:14:28,937
SHE'LL GET RIGHT IN THEIR FACES
TO LEAD THEM AWAY FROM HER CALF,
247
00:14:29,765 --> 00:14:33,355
KNOWING SHE'S FAST ENOUGH
248
00:14:33,355 --> 00:14:34,390
TO REACH THE SAVE HAVEN
OF WATER...
249
00:14:39,361 --> 00:14:42,295
AND GUTSY ENOUGH
TO KEEP THEM AT BAY.
250
00:14:44,193 --> 00:14:46,955
Middleton: ELK ARE
VERY SOPHISTICATED ANIMALS,
251
00:14:48,266 --> 00:14:50,165
SO EVEN WHEN WOLVES SHOW UP,
THEY CAN RUN AWAY,
252
00:14:50,165 --> 00:14:52,961
THEY CAN STAND THEIR GROUND,
253
00:14:54,031 --> 00:14:55,480
THEY CAN ASSESS
HOW VULNERABLE AM I?
254
00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,689
HEY, I'M FIVE YEARS OLD;
I'M IN TOP SHAPE.
255
00:14:58,828 --> 00:15:01,417
MY LEGS ARE FINE;
MY HEALTH IS FINE.
256
00:15:01,417 --> 00:15:03,903
I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING
TO WORRY ABOUT.
257
00:15:03,903 --> 00:15:05,905
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
258
00:15:09,736 --> 00:15:13,843
Narrator: AS SUMMER APPROACHES,
259
00:15:13,843 --> 00:15:15,466
THE DECLINE OF THE ELK
IS STILL A MYSTERY.
260
00:15:15,466 --> 00:15:16,708
THE INVESTIGATORS ARE ABOUT
TO COUNT THE CALVES AGAIN.
261
00:15:18,779 --> 00:15:22,956
AND THE RESULT IS DISTURBING.
262
00:15:22,956 --> 00:15:24,199
Middleton: YOU COULD HAVE
AS MANY CALVES AS COWS
263
00:15:25,338 --> 00:15:26,718
BECAUSE EVERY COW
CAN HAVE ONE CALF,
264
00:15:28,065 --> 00:15:29,031
SO, IN LATE SUMMER,
ONLY A FEW MONTHS AFTER CALVING
265
00:15:30,067 --> 00:15:32,103
WE COUNT HOW MANY CALVES
THERE ARE,
266
00:15:32,966 --> 00:15:34,830
AND IF THERE'S VERY FEW CALVES,
267
00:15:34,830 --> 00:15:36,073
THEN SOMETHING
DURING THE SUMMER,
268
00:15:36,073 --> 00:15:38,006
UP ON THE SUMMER RANGE,
269
00:15:39,076 --> 00:15:40,042
IS CAUSING THE LOSS
OF THOSE CALVES.
270
00:15:40,042 --> 00:15:42,734
Narrator: BY SUMMER'S END,
271
00:15:43,943 --> 00:15:45,047
ONLY A THIRD OF THE CALVES
ARE STILL ALIVE.
272
00:15:45,047 --> 00:15:47,187
ARTHUR MIDDLETON
NEEDS TO REASSESS.
273
00:15:49,086 --> 00:15:51,812
THE ELK COWS WERE
IN GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION
274
00:15:52,434 --> 00:15:53,987
IN THE WINTER,
275
00:15:54,815 --> 00:15:56,403
WITH MOST OF THEM PREGNANT
276
00:15:56,403 --> 00:15:58,095
AND SHOWING NO SIGNS
OF WOLF-INDUCED STRESS.
277
00:15:58,095 --> 00:15:59,303
THE HERD IS OLD, BUT THEY'RE
CARRYING THE CALVES TO TERM
278
00:16:00,338 --> 00:16:02,444
AND GIVING BIRTH
TO HEALTHY YOUNG.
279
00:16:05,826 --> 00:16:09,692
BUT THEN THEY START
TO DISAPPEAR,
280
00:16:09,692 --> 00:16:10,970
AND, EVEN THOUGH THE ELK NUMBERS
WENT INTO FREE FALL
281
00:16:12,281 --> 00:16:14,249
AT THE SAME TIME AS
THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE WOLF,
282
00:16:14,249 --> 00:16:17,838
THERE'S NO SMOKING GUN HERE--
283
00:16:17,838 --> 00:16:18,943
FOR THE SCIENTISTS REALIZED,
THROUGH MONITORING BOTH SPECIES,
284
00:16:20,151 --> 00:16:23,706
THE WOLVES AREN'T TAKING
NEARLY ENOUGH OF THEM
285
00:16:23,706 --> 00:16:24,845
TO ACCOUNT
FOR THE ELK'S DECLINE.
286
00:16:25,398 --> 00:16:28,159
[HOWLING]
287
00:16:28,159 --> 00:16:29,471
Middleton: WOLVES ARE ONLY
ONE OF FIVE PREDATORS--
288
00:16:29,471 --> 00:16:31,128
ACTUALLY SIX
IF YOU COUNT HUMANS--
289
00:16:32,474 --> 00:16:33,233
THAT EAT ELK, AND THEY WERE NOT
AFFECTING THESE ELK
290
00:16:34,303 --> 00:16:36,961
AS STRONGLY AS EVERYBODY
SAID THEY WERE.
291
00:16:37,789 --> 00:16:39,964
AND SO I SPENT A LOT OF TIME
292
00:16:41,034 --> 00:16:42,553
FINDING OUT
WHAT WAS NOT GOING ON;
293
00:16:42,553 --> 00:16:43,554
I NEEDED TO FIND OUT
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
294
00:16:43,554 --> 00:16:45,763
♪
295
00:16:50,595 --> 00:16:53,391
Narrator: SINCE HUNTING
WITHIN THE PARK BOUNDARIES
296
00:16:54,013 --> 00:16:55,876
IS PROHIBITED
297
00:16:55,876 --> 00:16:57,602
AND OTHER PREDATORS
298
00:16:57,602 --> 00:16:57,809
SUCH AS MOUNTAIN LIONS
AND WOLVERINES ARE RARE...
299
00:16:57,809 --> 00:17:00,502
♪
300
00:17:03,988 --> 00:17:06,784
BEARS ARE PRIME SUSPECTS.
301
00:17:07,888 --> 00:17:08,993
AND YELLOWSTONE IS HOME
TO TWO KINDS--
302
00:17:09,683 --> 00:17:11,271
BLACK AND GRIZZLY BEARS.
303
00:17:12,755 --> 00:17:13,480
IS EITHER OF THESE BEARS TO
BLAME FOR THE DISAPPEARING ELK?
304
00:17:14,826 --> 00:17:17,829
♪
305
00:17:20,004 --> 00:17:22,800
Middleton: WOLVES EAT SOME ELK,
OF COURSE THEY DO,
306
00:17:24,284 --> 00:17:25,492
BUT GRIZZLY BEARS ARE ESPECIALLY
GOOD AT FINDING NEWBORN CALVES.
307
00:17:27,770 --> 00:17:32,085
HUNTING AROUND LIKE BIRD DOGS
ON THE LANDSCAPE,
308
00:17:32,085 --> 00:17:34,225
FINDING THEIR SCENT,
CATCHING THEM AND EATING THEM,
309
00:17:35,709 --> 00:17:37,539
AND THEY DO IT IN THE FIRST FEW
WEEKS OF THE LIFE OF AN ELK CALF
310
00:17:39,989 --> 00:17:42,820
BEFORE IT'S EVEN UP,
RUNNING AROUND.
311
00:17:44,339 --> 00:17:46,306
AND THAT'S HOW MOST ELK CALVES
THAT DIE FROM PREDATION DIE.
312
00:17:52,209 --> 00:17:55,315
Narrator: THIS CALF,
KILLED EARLIER BY A GRIZZLY,
313
00:17:55,315 --> 00:17:58,111
IS STILL GUARDED BY ITS MOTHER.
314
00:18:04,324 --> 00:18:07,051
GRIZZLIES HAVE
THE KEENEST SENSE OF SMELL
315
00:18:07,879 --> 00:18:09,122
OF ALL YELLOWSTONE'S PREDATORS.
316
00:18:10,330 --> 00:18:12,332
THEY CAN DETECT
THE NEARLY SCENTLESS CALVES
317
00:18:12,332 --> 00:18:14,093
THAT OTHER PREDATORS CANNOT.
318
00:18:14,610 --> 00:18:16,233
[HOWLING]
319
00:18:17,648 --> 00:18:20,444
THE COW ELK TRIES
TO DISTRACT THE BEAR
320
00:18:21,341 --> 00:18:23,757
AWAY FROM HER DEAD YOUNGSTER.
321
00:18:23,757 --> 00:18:24,862
BUT SHE'S HELPLESS
BEFORE THE MASSIVE GRIZZLY.
322
00:18:25,276 --> 00:18:27,899
♪
323
00:18:32,732 --> 00:18:35,907
[RAVEN SQUAWKING]
324
00:18:35,907 --> 00:18:38,600
♪
325
00:18:47,471 --> 00:18:50,267
[RAVEN SQUAWKING]
326
00:18:50,888 --> 00:18:53,615
♪
327
00:18:55,824 --> 00:18:59,621
BUT IF THE BEAR IS RESPONSIBLE
328
00:18:59,621 --> 00:19:01,519
FOR THE ELK'S
PLUMMETING NUMBERS,
329
00:19:01,519 --> 00:19:03,176
THERE MUST BE SOMETHING ELSE
AT PLAY HERE.
330
00:19:03,176 --> 00:19:06,041
BEARS WERE AROUND
HUNTING ELK CALVES
331
00:19:06,041 --> 00:19:07,560
WHILE THE ELK HERDS
WERE STILL ENORMOUS,
332
00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:09,009
EVEN OUT OF CONTROL.
333
00:19:10,873 --> 00:19:12,289
[RAVEN SQUAWKING]
334
00:19:14,877 --> 00:19:16,431
IS SOMETHING TURNING
YELLOWSTONE'S GRIZZLY BEARS
335
00:19:17,156 --> 00:19:19,296
INTO ELK MASS MURDERERS?
336
00:19:27,614 --> 00:19:29,513
AND THE GRIZZLIES NOW BECOMING
THE LEAD SUSPECT,
337
00:19:29,513 --> 00:19:30,962
IT'S TIME FOR SOME SERIOUS
BEAR EXPERTISE.
338
00:19:31,998 --> 00:19:34,276
FRANK VAN MANEN
AND HIS COLLEAGUES
339
00:19:35,484 --> 00:19:37,279
FROM THE INTERAGENCY
GRIZZLY BEAR STUDY TEAM
340
00:19:37,279 --> 00:19:39,281
KNOW THE BEARS
OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTRY
341
00:19:39,281 --> 00:19:41,145
BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.
342
00:19:41,145 --> 00:19:43,182
Man: HELLO!
343
00:19:44,562 --> 00:19:45,701
Frank van Manen: GRIZZLY BEARS
ARE THE ICONIC SPECIES
344
00:19:45,701 --> 00:19:47,358
IN THIS ECOSYSTEM.
345
00:19:48,497 --> 00:19:50,706
IT'S AN ANIMAL
THAT IS VERY POWERFUL.
346
00:19:50,706 --> 00:19:51,569
YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE WALKING
IN GRIZZLY BEAR COUNTRY
347
00:19:52,743 --> 00:19:54,503
THAT YOU'RE NOT
THE MOST POWERFUL CREATURE
348
00:19:54,503 --> 00:19:56,195
IN THAT LANDSCAPE,
349
00:19:57,541 --> 00:19:58,127
AND THAT'S A SENSE OF HUMILITY
THAT I ALMOST ENJOY.
350
00:19:58,127 --> 00:20:00,129
HEY, BEAR!
351
00:20:01,579 --> 00:20:02,615
AND IF WE CAN FIND A WAY TO
COEXIST WITH ANIMALS LIKE THAT,
352
00:20:02,615 --> 00:20:04,686
I THINK WE'VE
ACCOMPLISHED A LOT.
353
00:20:06,550 --> 00:20:09,208
Narrator: THE SCIENTISTS NEVER
ENTER GRIZZLY TERRITORY ALONE.
354
00:20:09,932 --> 00:20:12,625
IN TEAMS, THEY SET OUT
355
00:20:13,902 --> 00:20:15,041
TO CHECK ON THEIR
SPECIALLY DEVELOPED BEAR TRAPS--
356
00:20:15,041 --> 00:20:17,112
A LITTLE LOW-HANGING BARBED WIRE
357
00:20:18,217 --> 00:20:19,218
SURROUNDING A COCKTAIL
OF ANIMAL BLOOD.
358
00:20:21,565 --> 00:20:22,393
THE BARBS SNAG BITS OF BEAR FUR
FOR THEM TO ANALYZE,
359
00:20:25,534 --> 00:20:27,709
AND CAMERAS WILL CATCH THEM
IN THE ACT.
360
00:20:34,819 --> 00:20:37,615
THE CAMERA TRAP SHOWS
A FAMILY OF THREE
361
00:20:38,651 --> 00:20:39,721
PASSING THROUGH
JUST 24 HOURS AGO.
362
00:20:45,416 --> 00:20:48,143
AND SURE ENOUGH, THEY'VE LEFT
CRUCIAL HAIR SAMPLES
363
00:20:48,833 --> 00:20:52,181
FOR DNA ANALYSIS.
364
00:20:52,181 --> 00:20:53,769
THE RESEARCHERS HOPE TO IDENTIFY
EACH AND EVERY BEAR
365
00:20:53,769 --> 00:20:56,393
AND THEIR PREFERRED MENU.
366
00:20:58,878 --> 00:20:59,741
Van Manen: WE CAN GET A LOT
OF INFORMATION
367
00:21:02,709 --> 00:21:04,470
FROM THESE,
WHAT WE CALL HAIR TRAPS,
368
00:21:04,470 --> 00:21:06,437
BECAUSE WE'RE COLLECTING
DNA SAMPLES.
369
00:21:06,437 --> 00:21:08,715
THAT'S BASICALLY
LIKE GENETIC FINGERPRINTING.
370
00:21:08,715 --> 00:21:12,271
WE CAN IDENTIFY THE INDIVIDUAL,
371
00:21:12,271 --> 00:21:13,651
AND THERE'S SOME INCREDIBLY
INTRIGUING PATTERNS
372
00:21:14,376 --> 00:21:16,344
THAT COME OUT OF THAT.
373
00:21:17,483 --> 00:21:19,278
Narrator:
ONCE BEARS ARE IDENTIFIED,
374
00:21:20,348 --> 00:21:22,350
THE SCIENTISTS CAN BEGIN
TO FIGURE OUT
375
00:21:22,350 --> 00:21:23,730
WHERE THE BEARS ARE GOING
IN SEARCH OF FOOD--
376
00:21:23,730 --> 00:21:25,284
BOTH INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE THE PARK.
377
00:21:26,215 --> 00:21:29,046
ANALYSIS OF THE ANIMALS' SCAT
378
00:21:30,323 --> 00:21:31,151
TELLS THEM EXACTLY
WHAT THE BEARS ARE EATING.
379
00:21:37,365 --> 00:21:40,057
Van Manen:
GRIZZLY BEARS ARE DISTRIBUTED
380
00:21:41,300 --> 00:21:42,611
IN ABOUT 50,000
SQUARE KILOMETERS OF HABITAT,
381
00:21:42,611 --> 00:21:45,752
AND IT IS LISTED
AS A THREATENED POPULATION
382
00:21:45,752 --> 00:21:48,514
UNDER THE U.S.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.
383
00:21:48,514 --> 00:21:51,137
SO OUR TASK AS A STUDY TEAM
384
00:21:51,137 --> 00:21:53,001
IS TO HELP SPECIES
AND POPULATIONS RECOVER.
385
00:21:54,589 --> 00:21:57,316
Narrator:
BUT HAIR TRAPS ARE NOT ENOUGH.
386
00:21:58,351 --> 00:21:59,456
TO REALLY FIGURE OUT
WHAT'S GOING ON,
387
00:22:00,940 --> 00:22:01,561
THEY NEED TO RECRUIT THE BEARS
THEMSELVES AS INFORMANTS.
388
00:22:03,011 --> 00:22:05,703
ONCE A BEAR IS TRAPPED
AND SEDATED,
389
00:22:06,532 --> 00:22:08,879
HE GETS A THOROUGH MEDICAL EXAM
390
00:22:08,879 --> 00:22:09,776
BEFORE BEING FITTED
WITH A GPS RADIO COLLAR.
391
00:22:12,848 --> 00:22:13,780
AN EXPERIENCED VET
FROM THE PARK MANAGEMENT
392
00:22:17,059 --> 00:22:17,784
HELPS WITH MEASURING,
WEIGHING AND BLOOD DRAWING.
393
00:22:21,132 --> 00:22:22,030
SO FAR, THE GPS DATA
HAS BEEN STARTLING.
394
00:22:24,757 --> 00:22:27,518
Van Manen:
WE HAVE SEEN MOVEMENTS
395
00:22:29,037 --> 00:22:29,831
DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY,
BASED ON OUR GPS LOCATIONS,
396
00:22:29,831 --> 00:22:31,591
OF TEN KILOMETERS OR MORE,
397
00:22:33,075 --> 00:22:35,008
THROUGH A LOT OF AREAS WHERE
THERE WAS A LOT OF HUMAN USE
398
00:22:35,008 --> 00:22:37,735
AND NOBODY EVER REPORTED
SEEING HIM,
399
00:22:37,735 --> 00:22:39,392
NOBODY HAD ANY IDEA
400
00:22:40,497 --> 00:22:42,291
THIS ANIMAL WAS CROSSING
THIS LANDSCAPE
401
00:22:42,291 --> 00:22:43,638
AMONG ROADS AND PEOPLE,
BIKES AND CARS.
402
00:22:45,122 --> 00:22:46,606
IT'S REALLY FASCINATING HOW
THESE ANIMALS USE THE LANDSCAPE
403
00:22:47,573 --> 00:22:50,541
AND BASICALLY GO UNDETECTED.
404
00:22:51,024 --> 00:22:53,613
HEY-O!
405
00:22:53,613 --> 00:22:54,959
Narrator: THE COLLARS CONFIRM
406
00:22:54,959 --> 00:22:56,340
WHAT THE SCIENTISTS
HAVE ALWAYS SUSPECTED.
407
00:22:56,340 --> 00:22:59,136
BEARS ARE SMART ANIMALS
THAT ARE HAPPY TO MAKE USE
408
00:22:59,999 --> 00:23:01,725
OF HUMAN-CREATED SHORTCUTS.
409
00:23:03,071 --> 00:23:05,453
THEY USE THE SWATHS CREATED
FOR ELECTRICAL LINES
410
00:23:05,453 --> 00:23:07,627
AS URSINE HIGHWAYS,
411
00:23:09,111 --> 00:23:09,733
PERFECT FOR COVERING LONG
DISTANCES WITHOUT BEING SEEN.
412
00:23:11,597 --> 00:23:14,358
AND THEY USE THE TELEPHONE POLES
AS SCRATCHING POSTS,
413
00:23:15,601 --> 00:23:18,189
AS WELL AS LEAVING
CHEMICAL MESSAGES ON THEM
414
00:23:18,776 --> 00:23:20,640
FOR OTHER BEARS.
415
00:23:22,435 --> 00:23:23,850
Man: THERE WE GO.
416
00:23:25,749 --> 00:23:27,371
[BEEP]
417
00:23:34,896 --> 00:23:37,554
Narrator: THE FINDINGS
ARE GREAT NEWS FOR BEARS.
418
00:23:44,008 --> 00:23:47,943
Van Manen: FROM ALL OUR
DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS,
419
00:23:47,943 --> 00:23:49,842
WE'VE SEEN THAT THIS POPULATION
INCREASED
420
00:23:49,842 --> 00:23:51,637
BY BETWEEN
ABOUT 4 TO 7% ANNUALLY
421
00:23:51,637 --> 00:23:54,502
FROM 1983 TO ROUGHLY ABOUT 2000.
422
00:23:55,675 --> 00:23:58,506
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN SINCE THEN
423
00:24:00,059 --> 00:24:01,129
IS THAT THE POPULATION GROWTH
HAS SLOWED DOWN A LITTLE BIT,
424
00:24:01,129 --> 00:24:03,580
BUT THERE'S CERTAINLY
NO INDICATION OF DECLINE.
425
00:24:04,684 --> 00:24:06,928
SO WE ARE NOW LOOKING
AT A POPULATION
426
00:24:06,928 --> 00:24:07,894
IN MUCH BETTER SHAPE
THAN THEY WERE IN THE 1970s.
427
00:24:13,521 --> 00:24:16,316
Narrator:
BUT IS GOOD NEWS FOR BEARS
428
00:24:17,559 --> 00:24:18,422
THE CAUSE OF THE TERRIBLE NEWS
FOR THE ELK?
429
00:24:20,631 --> 00:24:21,425
WITH THEIR NUMBERS GROWING
STEADILY IN THE LAST 30 YEARS,
430
00:24:24,704 --> 00:24:26,499
COULD GRIZZLIES BE OUR KILLERS
OF YOUNG ELK CALVES?
431
00:24:27,707 --> 00:24:30,365
CLEARLY THE NUMBER
OF MANY MORE GRIZZLIES
432
00:24:31,746 --> 00:24:32,712
WOULD HAVE SOME IMPACT
ON THE SURVIVAL OF THE ELK,
433
00:24:33,402 --> 00:24:35,508
ESPECIALLY CALVES.
434
00:24:36,267 --> 00:24:38,684
BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.
435
00:24:38,684 --> 00:24:40,168
THE MOST DRAMATIC DECLINE
OF THE MIGRATING ELK HERD
436
00:24:40,168 --> 00:24:43,309
HAS TAKEN PLACE
IN THE LAST 10 YEARS--
437
00:24:43,309 --> 00:24:44,862
AND DURING THAT TIME THE GRIZZLY
POPULATION HAS HELD STEADY.
438
00:24:50,523 --> 00:24:53,250
SO NOW IT'S EVEN HARDER
TO PIN THE ELK MURDER MYSTERY
439
00:24:54,009 --> 00:24:56,253
ON A SINGLE PREDATOR,
440
00:24:57,461 --> 00:24:58,427
AND THE PROFILES OF OUR
POTENTIAL SERIAL KILLERS
441
00:24:58,427 --> 00:25:01,430
GET MURKIER.
442
00:25:01,430 --> 00:25:02,949
[BIRD SQUAWKING]
443
00:25:04,744 --> 00:25:07,575
[BEAR GROWLING]
444
00:25:08,748 --> 00:25:10,785
IN A WOLF-BEAR STANDOFF
OVER A CALF KILL,
445
00:25:10,785 --> 00:25:12,649
THE BEAR IS ALMOST ALWAYS
GOING TO WIN.
446
00:25:23,418 --> 00:25:27,318
BUT THAT DOESN'T
NECESSARILY TRANSLATE
447
00:25:27,318 --> 00:25:28,803
INTO AN ELK-HEAVY,
ALL-CARNIVORE DIET
448
00:25:28,803 --> 00:25:30,494
FOR THE BEARS.
449
00:25:31,909 --> 00:25:32,565
THE ANALYSIS OF THEIR HAIR
AND SCAT SAMPLES SHOW OTHERWISE.
450
00:25:37,397 --> 00:25:39,434
Van Manen: BASICALLY,
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
451
00:25:40,504 --> 00:25:42,023
WAS THAT IT WAS
INCREDIBLY DIVERSE.
452
00:25:42,023 --> 00:25:42,989
GRIZZLY BEARS CONSUMED 266
DIFFERENT SPECIES OF ORGANISMS.
453
00:25:47,269 --> 00:25:49,996
PLANTS, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT
MAMMALS, FISH, INSECTS--
454
00:25:52,067 --> 00:25:56,347
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE VARIETY
OF SPECIES.
455
00:25:56,347 --> 00:25:58,557
WE CALL THEM OPPORTUNISTIC
OMNIVORES FOR A GOOD REASON.
456
00:26:00,593 --> 00:26:03,320
Narrator: AFTER THE 3 TO 5
MONTHS OF HIBERNATION
457
00:26:04,390 --> 00:26:05,529
THEY EVEN EAT DIRT--
VOLCANIC SOIL--
458
00:26:06,599 --> 00:26:07,911
TO JUMP-START
THEIR DIGESTIVE SYSTEMS.
459
00:26:08,774 --> 00:26:10,569
THE POTASSIUM AND MAGNESIUM
460
00:26:11,846 --> 00:26:12,605
MAY HELP KILL OFF PARASITES
THAT CAUSE DIARRHEA.
461
00:26:15,332 --> 00:26:18,231
BUT THEY NEED HUGE AMOUNTS
OF PROTEIN AND FAT AS WELL,
462
00:26:19,405 --> 00:26:21,234
AND A SURPRISING AMOUNT
OF THESE NUTRIENTS
463
00:26:22,753 --> 00:26:23,340
COMES FROM THE TINIEST OF PREY
IN THE STRANGEST OF PLACES.
464
00:26:30,243 --> 00:26:33,971
DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS,
465
00:26:33,971 --> 00:26:35,628
GRIZZLIES CLAMBER UP
PAST 9,000 FEET
466
00:26:35,628 --> 00:26:37,630
TO REACH PRECARIOUS SLOPES
OF LOOSE ROCK,
467
00:26:37,630 --> 00:26:39,632
OFTEN WITH YOUNG IN TOW.
468
00:26:40,806 --> 00:26:41,910
THEY'RE LOOKING
FOR LITTLE PACKETS OF FAT
469
00:26:43,118 --> 00:26:44,672
HIDING FROM THE SUN
AMONG THE ROCKS: MOTHS.
470
00:26:44,672 --> 00:26:47,778
ARMY CUTWORM MOTHS...
471
00:26:47,778 --> 00:26:50,194
COMMONLY KNOWN AS MILLER MOTHS.
472
00:26:50,194 --> 00:26:50,816
IN YELLOWSTONE, THE MOTHS
CAN MATE AND SPENT THE SUMMER
473
00:26:51,886 --> 00:26:53,715
IN THE SHADE
OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
474
00:26:55,441 --> 00:26:59,445
DURING THEIR STAY
THE MOTHS FATTEN UP
475
00:26:59,445 --> 00:27:00,549
ON THE NECTAR
OF THE RICH ALPINE MEADOWS...
476
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,276
AND HIDE ON THE SLOPES.
477
00:27:05,658 --> 00:27:06,383
A SINGLE GRIZZLY BEAR CAN EAT
OVER 40,000 MOTHS A DAY.
478
00:27:10,007 --> 00:27:13,045
THAT'S ACTUALLY
20,000 CALORIES OF FAT!
479
00:27:18,395 --> 00:27:21,053
HOWEVER, THE LOOSE ROCK CAN MAKE
THIS AN UNNERVING FEAST...
480
00:27:22,779 --> 00:27:25,574
♪
481
00:27:33,375 --> 00:27:36,068
BUT GRIZZLIES CANNOT LIVE
BY MOTHS ALONE.
482
00:27:41,107 --> 00:27:42,868
Van Manen:
WE SEE DIET DIFFERENCES
BASED ON INDIVIDUALS.
483
00:27:43,972 --> 00:27:45,871
EACH INDIVIDUAL
IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
484
00:27:47,355 --> 00:27:49,046
WE SEE DIFFERENCES BASED ON
WHERE YOU ARE IN THE ECOSYSTEM.
485
00:27:49,046 --> 00:27:51,773
WE SEE DIFFERENCES
BASED ON TIME,
486
00:27:52,636 --> 00:27:55,604
SO FROM ONE DAY TO THE NEXT
487
00:27:55,604 --> 00:27:57,020
THEY COULD BE CONSUMING
SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT,
488
00:27:57,020 --> 00:27:59,194
FROM ONE SEASON
TO THE NEXT SEASON
489
00:27:59,194 --> 00:28:01,680
AND EVEN FROM ONE YEAR
TO THE NEXT YEAR.
490
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,406
Narrator: WITH SO MANY
FOOD SOURCES TO CHOOSE FROM,
491
00:28:05,891 --> 00:28:06,892
WHY WOULD GRIZZLIES BE TAKING
MORE AND MORE ELK CALVES?
492
00:28:08,272 --> 00:28:10,689
IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT
ON THEIR MENU DISAPPEARING?
493
00:28:16,487 --> 00:28:19,352
IN YELLOWSTONE'S
WHITEBARK PINE FORESTS,
494
00:28:20,699 --> 00:28:21,734
SQUIRRELS ARE BUSY PREPARING
FOR THE LONG WINTER.
495
00:28:24,426 --> 00:28:28,327
AND THE SMART BEARS KNOW IT.
496
00:28:28,327 --> 00:28:30,363
WHILE SQUIRRELS FRENETICALLY
COLLECT AND STORE
497
00:28:31,606 --> 00:28:32,711
THE ENERGY-RICH SEEDS
OF THE WHITEBARK PINES,
498
00:28:33,539 --> 00:28:36,059
THE GRIZZLIES SIMPLY WAIT
499
00:28:38,199 --> 00:28:40,857
AND THEN DIG UP THEIR BURROWS
TO STEAL THE SEEDS.
500
00:28:41,892 --> 00:28:44,723
♪
501
00:28:53,007 --> 00:28:55,699
Van Manen: WHITEBARK PINE
IS AN IMPORTANT FOOD SPECIES
502
00:28:56,355 --> 00:28:58,598
FOR GRIZZLY BEARS.
503
00:28:59,979 --> 00:29:01,601
THEY ACTUALLY FEED ON
THE BIG SEEDS OF WHITEBARK PINE
504
00:29:01,601 --> 00:29:03,603
THAT ARE VERY RICH IN PROTEINS
AND FATS DURING THE FALL TIME,
505
00:29:04,881 --> 00:29:06,952
SO IT'S ALSO A FOOD SOURCE
THAT IS AVAILABLE
506
00:29:08,263 --> 00:29:09,092
DURING AN IMPORTANT TIME OF YEAR
FOR GRIZZLY BEARS,
507
00:29:10,265 --> 00:29:11,473
BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THEY PREPARE
FOR HIBERNATION.
508
00:29:16,375 --> 00:29:20,275
Narrator: BUT THE WHITEBARK PINE
FORESTS ARE DYING.
509
00:29:20,275 --> 00:29:23,451
72% OF THE BIG TREES ARE GONE,
510
00:29:23,451 --> 00:29:24,797
MANY KILLED BY THE VORACIOUS
MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE,
511
00:29:26,074 --> 00:29:27,973
WHICH IS THRIVING
BECAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING.
512
00:29:29,008 --> 00:29:31,770
♪
513
00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:41,814
BUT PINE NUTS ARE IMPORTANT
TO THE BEARS ONLY IN THE FALL,
514
00:29:41,814 --> 00:29:45,162
BEFORE HIBERNATION,
515
00:29:45,162 --> 00:29:47,268
AND NOT IN THE SPRING,
516
00:29:47,268 --> 00:29:48,200
WHEN THE ELK CALVES
ARE DISAPPEARING.
517
00:29:53,550 --> 00:29:57,381
STILL, THE DECLINE
OF THE WHITEBARK PINE
518
00:29:57,381 --> 00:29:58,727
DOES PROVIDE AN IMPORTANT CLUE
IN THE PUZZLE:
519
00:30:00,177 --> 00:30:01,627
IT SHOWS HOW GRIZZLIES REACT
TO A VANISHING FOOD SOURCE.
520
00:30:04,699 --> 00:30:08,668
Van Manen:
WE WERE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE
521
00:30:08,668 --> 00:30:09,428
THAT THEY'RE NOT USING
WHITEBARK PINE HABITATS
522
00:30:09,428 --> 00:30:12,120
AS MUCH AS THEY USED TO.
523
00:30:13,190 --> 00:30:14,640
SO WE HAVE SEEN
A RESPONSE TO THAT,
524
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:15,744
BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN
THAT THEY INCREASED
525
00:30:16,884 --> 00:30:17,954
THEIR HOME RANGES
OR THEIR MOVEMENTS,
526
00:30:17,954 --> 00:30:20,163
AND INSTEAD WHAT WE FOUND
527
00:30:20,163 --> 00:30:21,440
WAS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE FINDING
ALTERNATIVE FOOD SOURCES
528
00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:23,476
WITHIN THEIR
REGULAR HOME RANGES.
529
00:30:24,892 --> 00:30:28,309
Narrator: THE UPSHOT--
WHEN FACED WITH A FOOD CRISIS,
530
00:30:28,309 --> 00:30:29,758
BEARS DO NOT CHANGE
WHERE THEY EAT...
531
00:30:30,552 --> 00:30:32,692
THEY CHANGE WHAT THEY EAT.
532
00:30:34,453 --> 00:30:38,250
SO THE QUESTION BECOMES:
HAS SOMETHING DISAPPEARED
533
00:30:38,250 --> 00:30:40,079
FROM THE BEARS'
SPRING AND SUMMER MENU
534
00:30:41,253 --> 00:30:43,600
THAT'S MAKING THEM
TURN ELSEWHERE FOR FOOD,
535
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:44,946
ESPECIALLY AMONG THE BEARS
THAT ENCOUNTER THE ELK HERDS
536
00:30:45,982 --> 00:30:47,880
JUST AS THE ELK
ARE GIVING BIRTH?
537
00:30:49,537 --> 00:30:52,264
THE ANSWER: A STUNNING YES.
538
00:31:00,789 --> 00:31:01,998
VAN MANEN FINDS A HUGE CLUE
TO THE ELK MYSTERY.
539
00:31:01,998 --> 00:31:03,723
THEY SHOW THAT BEARS
AROUND YELLOWSTONE LAKE
540
00:31:05,242 --> 00:31:06,209
AREN'T EATING THE FISH THAT
USED TO DOMINATE THESE WATERS
541
00:31:06,899 --> 00:31:10,799
AND THEIR SPRING DIETS.
542
00:31:10,799 --> 00:31:11,731
Van Manen: FOR THOSE BEARS
NEAR YELLOWSTONE LAKE,
543
00:31:13,147 --> 00:31:13,941
CUTTHROAT TROUT WERE CERTAINLY
A PORTION OF THE DIET.
544
00:31:15,252 --> 00:31:18,014
AND NO DOUBT THAT THAT USE
DECLINED SUBSTANTIALLY.
545
00:31:19,394 --> 00:31:22,501
Narrator: IN THE LAST DECADE,
IT HAS BECOME CLEAR
546
00:31:22,501 --> 00:31:24,710
THAT SOMETHING HAS GONE
TERRIBLY WRONG
547
00:31:25,435 --> 00:31:26,815
IN YELLOWSTONE LAKE.
548
00:31:30,026 --> 00:31:32,131
ROBERT GRESSWELL
OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
549
00:31:33,512 --> 00:31:36,549
KNOWS THE FISH OF YELLOWSTONE
BETTER THAN ANYONE.
550
00:31:36,549 --> 00:31:38,517
AND HE'S BEEN WITNESS
TO A TRUE ECOLOGICAL CALAMITY--
551
00:31:39,863 --> 00:31:43,729
THE DISAPPEARANCE
OF THE NATIVE CUTTHROAT TROUT.
552
00:31:43,729 --> 00:31:45,938
Robert Gresswell: IN THE 1960s
THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
553
00:31:47,215 --> 00:31:49,735
THAT WOULD SHOW UP TO FISH
ON FISHING BRIDGE.
554
00:31:50,494 --> 00:31:53,394
AND IT WAS DANGEROUS.
555
00:31:53,394 --> 00:31:55,154
I REMEMBER IN 1969,
WHEN I WORKED HERE,
556
00:31:55,154 --> 00:31:57,846
YOU DIDN'T DRIVE ACROSS THE
BRIDGE WITH YOUR WINDOW DOWN,
557
00:31:59,158 --> 00:32:00,919
BECAUSE YOU MIGHT GET HOOKED
BY SOMEBODY CASTING.
558
00:32:04,405 --> 00:32:05,130
Narrator: FISHING IS NOW
FORBIDDEN AT FISHING BRIDGE...
559
00:32:07,891 --> 00:32:09,893
BUT EVEN IF IT WEREN'T
560
00:32:11,239 --> 00:32:11,964
IT WOULD BE A MIRACLE
TO CATCH A CUTTHROAT TROUT.
561
00:32:18,937 --> 00:32:21,767
ISOLATED FROM OTHER CUTTHROAT
562
00:32:23,286 --> 00:32:24,804
WHEN THE LAST ICE AGE CREATED
THE IMPASSABLE LOWER FALLS,
563
00:32:24,804 --> 00:32:27,083
YELLOWSTONE'S CUTTHROAT
BECAME GENETICALLY DISTINCT
564
00:32:28,256 --> 00:32:30,327
AND THE FOUNDATION
OF A THRIVING ECOSYSTEM.
565
00:32:34,780 --> 00:32:37,162
FOR MILLENNIA, MILLIONS
OF YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT
566
00:32:38,266 --> 00:32:39,681
HAVE MIGRATED
UP THE LAKE TRIBUTARIES
567
00:32:40,406 --> 00:32:41,925
TO SPAWN IN LATE SPRING.
568
00:32:42,753 --> 00:32:44,100
AS MEMBERS OF THE SALMON FAMILY,
569
00:32:45,273 --> 00:32:47,517
THEY LIVE AND REPRODUCE
IN SHALLOW WATERS,
570
00:32:47,517 --> 00:32:48,967
WHICH MAKE THEM EASY TARGETS
NOT ONLY FOR HUNGRY BEARS.
571
00:32:51,279 --> 00:32:54,075
Gresswell:
THE YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT TROUT
572
00:32:55,111 --> 00:32:56,250
HAS A HUGE ROLE
IN THIS ECOSYSTEM
573
00:32:56,250 --> 00:32:57,837
AS A KEYSTONE SPECIES,
574
00:32:58,873 --> 00:32:59,943
AS A KEYSTONE PART
OF THE FOOD WEB.
575
00:33:06,432 --> 00:33:09,125
THERE ARE NUMEROUS,
IN ONE ESTIMATE 42 ANIMALS,
576
00:33:10,574 --> 00:33:14,475
THAT AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFE
577
00:33:14,475 --> 00:33:15,959
MAY FEED ON
YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT TROUT.
578
00:33:18,272 --> 00:33:21,102
Narrator: SPAWNING TIME
IS IN LATE MAY AND EARLY JUNE--
579
00:33:22,207 --> 00:33:24,105
PERFECT FOR
THE FAMISHED GRIZZLIES
580
00:33:25,417 --> 00:33:26,211
EMERGING FROM HIBERNATION
TO GET SOME PROTEIN.
581
00:33:27,281 --> 00:33:30,111
♪
582
00:33:37,325 --> 00:33:40,121
♪
583
00:33:42,813 --> 00:33:45,644
BUT SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT MUST
HAVE CHANGED IN THE LAST YEARS.
584
00:33:46,369 --> 00:33:48,957
BEARS AREN'T EATING
585
00:33:50,166 --> 00:33:51,029
ANYWHERE NEAR THE NUMBER
OF FISH THEY USED TO.
586
00:33:56,413 --> 00:33:59,071
WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST TODD KOEL
FROM THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
587
00:34:00,555 --> 00:34:02,764
HAS BEEN MONITORING THE NATIVE
CUTTHROAT TROUT FOR YEARS.
588
00:34:03,696 --> 00:34:06,354
HE TAKES ONE OF HIS SONS
WITH HIM
589
00:34:07,597 --> 00:34:09,150
TO VISIT A SPAWNING GROUND
NAMED CLEAR CREEK,
590
00:34:09,150 --> 00:34:10,669
WHERE HE'S INSTALLED
A COUNTING STATION.
591
00:34:11,739 --> 00:34:13,292
THE CHANGES ARE
SIMPLY DEVASTATING.
592
00:34:16,088 --> 00:34:17,089
Todd Koel: A DECADE AGO
WHEN I ARRIVED
593
00:34:20,368 --> 00:34:21,024
TO THESE SPAWNING STREAMS
HERE AROUND YELLOWSTONE LAKE,
594
00:34:22,301 --> 00:34:23,682
WE WOULD STILL SEE THOUSANDS
OF CUTTHROAT TROUT
595
00:34:24,855 --> 00:34:26,443
MIGRATING UP THEM
IN THE SPRING TO SPAWN.
596
00:34:28,756 --> 00:34:32,415
AT THAT TIME, YOU'D SEE
OSPREYS FLYING BY
597
00:34:32,415 --> 00:34:35,073
WITH CUTTHROAT TROUT
IN THEIR TALONS.
598
00:34:35,935 --> 00:34:39,077
IT WAS COMMON, ALL THE TIME.
599
00:34:39,077 --> 00:34:41,458
BUT EACH YEAR WHEN WE WOULD
RETURN AND MONITOR THE FISH,
600
00:34:43,495 --> 00:34:46,291
WE WOULD SEE LESS
AND LESS AND LESS.
601
00:34:47,499 --> 00:34:48,707
AND SO, DESPITE SPENDING
A LOT OF TIME OUT HERE,
602
00:34:50,053 --> 00:34:52,918
I HAVEN'T SEEN AN OSPREY
ON YELLOWSTONE LAKE NOW
603
00:34:53,608 --> 00:34:56,059
IN SEVERAL YEARS.
604
00:34:57,336 --> 00:34:58,199
Narrator: THE NUMBERS
CONFIRM THE AWFUL TRUTH.
605
00:35:00,788 --> 00:35:02,307
JUST 20 YEARS AGO,
606
00:35:03,791 --> 00:35:04,999
THERE WERE 50,000 CUTTHROAT
PASSING THROUGH CLEAR CREEK.
607
00:35:04,999 --> 00:35:07,484
IN 2014, THERE WERE ONLY
ABOUT 100 INDIVIDUALS.
608
00:35:13,732 --> 00:35:16,424
AND ROBERT GRESSWELL
SAW IT COMING.
609
00:35:17,701 --> 00:35:19,772
Gresswell: IN 1994
ONE OF THE RANGERS CAME UP,
610
00:35:21,498 --> 00:35:24,363
AND HE HAD A LAKE TROUT
IN HIS HANDS,
611
00:35:25,778 --> 00:35:27,090
AND HE SAID, "THIS LAKE TROUT
WAS JUST BROUGHT TO ME
612
00:35:29,127 --> 00:35:31,957
BY SOME ANGLERS
IN YELLOWSTONE LAKE,"
613
00:35:33,441 --> 00:35:34,442
AND I FELT LIKE SOMEBODY HAD
JUST PUNCHED ME IN THE STOMACH.
614
00:35:40,759 --> 00:35:42,761
Koel: LAKE TROUT ARE NON-NATIVE
TO YELLOWSTONE LAKE,
615
00:35:43,934 --> 00:35:47,731
AND THEY'RE
A VERY PREDATORY SPECIES.
616
00:35:47,731 --> 00:35:49,147
THEY'RE SORT OF LIKE WOLVES
ON THE LANDSCAPE,
617
00:35:50,009 --> 00:35:52,288
BUT IN A PLACE IN THE WATER
618
00:35:53,323 --> 00:35:55,360
WHERE THEY'RE NOT
SUPPOSED TO BE.
619
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:57,155
Narrator: THE INVADING
AMERICAN LAKE TROUT IS HUGE,
620
00:35:58,328 --> 00:35:59,881
MUCH BIGGER
THAN THE NATIVE CUTTHROAT,
621
00:36:00,468 --> 00:36:02,781
AND INSATIABLE.
622
00:36:04,300 --> 00:36:05,749
A SINGLE LAKE TROUT CAN EAT
MORE THAN 40 CUTTHROAT A YEAR.
623
00:36:05,749 --> 00:36:09,546
AND NOW THEY'VE BROUGHT
THE YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT
624
00:36:09,546 --> 00:36:10,892
TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION.
625
00:36:12,342 --> 00:36:15,794
Koel: IN OTHER LAKES WHERE
LAKE TROUT HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED,
626
00:36:15,794 --> 00:36:16,898
THE NATIVE SPECIES
CAN BE EXTIRPATED COMPLETELY--
627
00:36:17,485 --> 00:36:20,281
BECOME EXTINCT--
628
00:36:21,696 --> 00:36:22,387
AND SO WHEN THE LAKE TROUT
WERE FIRST DISCOVERED HERE
629
00:36:22,387 --> 00:36:24,216
TWO DECADES AGO,
630
00:36:24,216 --> 00:36:26,494
THAT CAUSED HUGE ALARM
631
00:36:26,494 --> 00:36:27,219
BECAUSE OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN
HAPPEN AROUND US ALREADY
632
00:36:27,219 --> 00:36:29,152
IN THESE OTHER PLACES.
633
00:36:30,429 --> 00:36:32,535
Narrator: BUT HOW DOES THIS FIT
INTO THE MYSTERY?
634
00:36:32,535 --> 00:36:33,294
WHY WOULDN'T BEARS SIMPLY SWITCH
FROM ONE TROUT TO ANOTHER?
635
00:36:34,709 --> 00:36:37,091
THE ANSWER, AND THE FINAL CLUE
IN OUR MURDER MYSTERY,
636
00:36:38,161 --> 00:36:40,301
WAS WITHIN
THE SCIENTISTS' GRASP.
637
00:36:48,171 --> 00:36:50,069
HAS LED THE PARK MANAGEMENT
638
00:36:50,069 --> 00:36:51,692
DEEP UNDER THE SURFACE
OF YELLOWSTONE LAKE.
639
00:36:51,692 --> 00:36:54,453
THE INVASIVE TROUT LIVE
AND REPRODUCE DEEP IN THE LAKE
640
00:36:55,592 --> 00:36:58,802
AND NEVER MIGRATE
TO SHALLOW WATERS.
641
00:36:58,802 --> 00:37:00,563
SO BALD EAGLES, OSPREYS,
AND BEARS CAN'T GET TO THEM.
642
00:37:05,568 --> 00:37:08,329
BUT IT HAS PROVIDED A VITAL CLUE
IN THE ELK MURDER MYSTERY:
643
00:37:09,710 --> 00:37:11,953
IF GRIZZLIES, EMERGING
FROM HIBERNATION IN THE SPRING,
644
00:37:13,127 --> 00:37:15,233
FIND THAT THEIR EASIEST
AND RICHEST SOURCE
645
00:37:16,268 --> 00:37:17,338
OF FAT AND PROTEIN
HAS DISAPPEARED,
646
00:37:17,925 --> 00:37:19,582
WHAT DO THEY DO?
647
00:37:21,169 --> 00:37:23,965
THEY WON'T MIGRATE
IN SEARCH OF OTHER FISH.
648
00:37:25,035 --> 00:37:26,209
THE BIOLOGISTS' STUDIES
HAVE SHOWN THAT.
649
00:37:27,348 --> 00:37:29,177
INSTEAD THEY'LL
STAND THEIR GROUND, ADAPT,
650
00:37:30,317 --> 00:37:31,594
AND FIND ANOTHER
RICH FOOD SOURCE ON LAND.
651
00:37:32,871 --> 00:37:36,978
[WOLF HOWLING]
652
00:37:36,978 --> 00:37:37,979
AND WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND
YELLOWSTONE LAKE IN LATE SPRING,
653
00:37:38,877 --> 00:37:41,224
WHEN THE FISH FAIL TO APPEAR?
654
00:37:42,294 --> 00:37:44,365
THE MIGRATORY ELK HERDS
HAVE RETURNED
655
00:37:44,365 --> 00:37:45,366
TO THE LUSH HIGH MEADOWS
TO GIVE BIRTH.
656
00:37:57,171 --> 00:38:00,001
AND THE GRIZZLIES,
657
00:38:01,140 --> 00:38:02,210
FAR MORE ADEPT
AT HUNTING ELK CALVES
658
00:38:02,210 --> 00:38:03,211
THAN WOLVES
OR ANY OTHER PREDATOR,
659
00:38:04,661 --> 00:38:05,283
HAVE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO
UP THE ANTE ON THE NEWBORNS...
660
00:38:06,249 --> 00:38:09,114
AND THE ELK POPULATION CRASHED.
661
00:38:09,528 --> 00:38:12,151
♪
662
00:38:21,954 --> 00:38:24,957
♪
663
00:38:29,962 --> 00:38:32,965
♪
664
00:38:41,215 --> 00:38:43,942
AND SO IT APPEARS
THAT THE LOWLY LAKE TROUT,
665
00:38:45,288 --> 00:38:46,634
NOT THE GREAT BEARS AND WOLVES,
ARE OUR SERIAL KILLERS.
666
00:38:51,259 --> 00:38:52,640
THE PARK MANAGEMENT
667
00:38:55,367 --> 00:38:56,161
HAS BEEN REMOVING
THE INVASIVE KILLERS EVER SINCE.
668
00:38:58,163 --> 00:38:59,682
LARGE GILL NETS,
669
00:39:02,443 --> 00:39:03,237
ADJUSTED TO THE SIZE
AND BEHAVIOR OF THE LAKE TROUT,
670
00:39:03,237 --> 00:39:05,170
ARE DEPLOYED DEEP IN THE WATER.
671
00:39:09,312 --> 00:39:12,315
THE LARGE MESH SIZES
672
00:39:13,661 --> 00:39:14,386
LET THE SMALLER CUTTHROAT TROUT
PASS THROUGH UNHARMED.
673
00:39:15,318 --> 00:39:18,183
♪
674
00:39:23,257 --> 00:39:25,984
EACH YEAR TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF LAKE TROUT
675
00:39:27,192 --> 00:39:28,331
HAVE BEEN REMOVED
FROM YELLOWSTONE LAKE,
676
00:39:29,470 --> 00:39:31,645
BUT THE CUTTHROAT NUMBERS
STILL COLLAPSED.
677
00:39:31,645 --> 00:39:33,371
IN 2007,
A SCIENCE PANEL CONVENED,
678
00:39:34,199 --> 00:39:36,408
HOPING TO AVERT DISASTER.
679
00:39:38,203 --> 00:39:40,378
Gresswell:
THE PANEL UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED
THE CONTINUATION OF THE PROGRAM
680
00:39:42,345 --> 00:39:45,244
AND IN FACT RECOMMENDED
681
00:39:46,625 --> 00:39:47,350
THAT THE PARK SERVICE INCREASE
THE GILL-NETTING EFFORT.
682
00:39:49,041 --> 00:39:52,355
Koel: WE BEGAN GETTING
BIGGER BOATS,
683
00:39:52,355 --> 00:39:55,220
MORE NETS, LARGER CREWS.
684
00:39:55,220 --> 00:39:56,532
IT'S REALLY TURNED
INTO QUITE A MASSIVE EFFORT,
685
00:39:58,016 --> 00:39:59,707
AN AGGRESSIVE EFFORT, ACTUALLY,
TO BATTLE THESE LAKE TROUT.
686
00:40:01,433 --> 00:40:04,263
♪
687
00:40:10,304 --> 00:40:13,065
Narrator: THE SCIENTISTS
NEEDED TO FIND OUT
688
00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:15,551
WHERE THE LAKE TROUT
WERE COMING FROM.
689
00:40:15,551 --> 00:40:17,967
SO, THEY SAMPLED THE EAR BONES
690
00:40:17,967 --> 00:40:18,761
FROM THE OLDEST AND BIGGEST
OF THE LAKE TROUT.
691
00:40:24,283 --> 00:40:27,079
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE,
692
00:40:28,287 --> 00:40:29,357
THE EAR BONES SHOW GROWTH RINGS,
LIKE TREES--
693
00:40:29,357 --> 00:40:31,498
SHOWING HOW OLD
THE INVADERS WERE
694
00:40:31,498 --> 00:40:33,465
AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM.
695
00:40:33,465 --> 00:40:35,571
Gresswell: WHAT THEY FOUND
696
00:40:36,882 --> 00:40:38,194
WAS THAT THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURE
ACTUALLY CHANGED,
697
00:40:38,194 --> 00:40:40,438
AND THE OLDEST PART WAS SIMILAR
TO LEWIS LAKE,
698
00:40:42,819 --> 00:40:45,650
SO THESE FISH WERE ACTUALLY BORN
699
00:40:46,858 --> 00:40:48,066
AND LIVED THEIR EARLY LIFE
IN LEWIS LAKE,
700
00:40:49,481 --> 00:40:50,655
AND THEN APPARENTLY WERE MOVED
AT SOME POINT IN TIME
701
00:40:51,449 --> 00:40:54,313
INTO YELLOWSTONE LAKE.
702
00:40:55,660 --> 00:40:57,075
Narrator: BECAUSE NO RIVERS
CONNECT YELLOWSTONE LAKE
703
00:40:57,696 --> 00:40:59,284
TO LEWIS LAKE,
704
00:41:00,734 --> 00:41:02,252
THE INVASIVE TROUT COULDN'T HAVE
GOTTEN THERE ON THEIR OWN.
705
00:41:02,252 --> 00:41:03,668
THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURE SHOWED
THAT THEY'D BEEN DUMPED THERE
706
00:41:04,496 --> 00:41:06,567
SOMETIME IN THE MID-1980s.
707
00:41:08,155 --> 00:41:10,813
[THUNDER]
708
00:41:12,435 --> 00:41:15,196
NO ONE KNOWS WHO DUMPED THE FISH
IN THE LAKE OR WHY.
709
00:41:16,128 --> 00:41:18,441
IT MAY HAVE BEEN
SPORT FISHERMEN,
710
00:41:19,269 --> 00:41:20,512
LOOKING FOR BIGGER FISH TO FRY.
711
00:41:25,344 --> 00:41:28,106
IRONICALLY, THOUGH,
THE GUILT REACHES FURTHER BACK--
712
00:41:28,969 --> 00:41:31,247
TO WHEN THE U.S. FISH COMMISSION
713
00:41:32,317 --> 00:41:33,456
FIRST BROUGHT LAKE TROUT
INTO LEWIS LAKE
714
00:41:33,456 --> 00:41:35,251
MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO.
715
00:41:36,977 --> 00:41:38,219
Koel: THE FISH COMMISSION SAW IT
716
00:41:40,877 --> 00:41:41,844
AS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO BEGIN STOCKING.
717
00:41:43,017 --> 00:41:47,021
AT THE TIME THEY CALLED IT
718
00:41:47,021 --> 00:41:49,265
PLANTING OF FISHES
IN THESE FISHLESS WATERS.
719
00:41:49,265 --> 00:41:52,889
AND THIS WAY IS HOW LAKE TROUT
WERE INTRODUCED
720
00:41:52,889 --> 00:41:54,304
TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.
721
00:41:57,618 --> 00:42:00,345
Narrator: SO FAR,
MORE THAN ONE MILLION
722
00:42:01,726 --> 00:42:03,382
OF THE INVADING TROUT
HAVE BEEN NETTED AND KILLED.
723
00:42:03,382 --> 00:42:05,695
FOR DECADES IT HAS SEEMED
A LOSING BATTLE--
724
00:42:06,731 --> 00:42:08,526
AND THE CUTTHROAT
WERE DECIMATED.
725
00:42:09,872 --> 00:42:12,115
WITH TIME RUNNING OUT,
AND THE WHOLE ECOSYSTEM AT RISK,
726
00:42:13,392 --> 00:42:14,842
THE BIOLOGISTS NEEDED
A MORE AUDACIOUS PLAN.
727
00:42:18,950 --> 00:42:19,537
SO GRESSWELL AND HIS TEAM TAG
LAKE TROUT WITH GPS TRANSMITTERS
728
00:42:22,919 --> 00:42:25,715
AND FOLLOW THEM
TO THEIR SPAWNING GROUNDS.
729
00:42:33,067 --> 00:42:36,484
Gresswell: AS WE IDENTIFY WHERE
THESE LAKE TROUT ARE SPAWNING
730
00:42:36,484 --> 00:42:39,902
IN YELLOWSTONE LAKE,
731
00:42:39,902 --> 00:42:41,317
THEN WE CAN FOCUS
ON THOSE SPAWNERS
732
00:42:41,317 --> 00:42:42,560
DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
733
00:42:43,699 --> 00:42:46,460
Narrator:
AFTER ONE YEAR OF TRACKING,
734
00:42:47,910 --> 00:42:49,290
THE RESEARCHERS FINALLY HONE IN
ON A MAJOR SPAWNING GROUND
735
00:42:49,290 --> 00:42:51,396
IN THE WATERS
OFF CARRINGTON ISLAND.
736
00:42:55,676 --> 00:42:57,471
AND A SPECIALLY DEVELOPED
DIVING ROBOT IS SENT IN
737
00:42:58,679 --> 00:43:00,301
TO DRIVE THE YOUNG FISH
INTO THE OPEN WATER
738
00:43:01,130 --> 00:43:02,787
USING MILD ELECTRO SHOCKS.
739
00:43:04,133 --> 00:43:05,686
MILLIONS OF NEARLY INVISIBLE
HATCHLINGS, WHEN GROWN,
740
00:43:05,686 --> 00:43:08,482
WILL EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT,
741
00:43:09,828 --> 00:43:10,588
AND THERE IS NO NATURAL PREDATOR
HERE THAT EATS THEM.
742
00:43:12,348 --> 00:43:15,213
Man: STOP.
743
00:43:16,559 --> 00:43:18,526
Gresswell: THIS IS ALL
REALLY IMPORTANT RESEARCH,
744
00:43:19,700 --> 00:43:21,426
BECAUSE ALL THE INFORMATION
WE HAVE NOW
745
00:43:21,426 --> 00:43:24,360
COMES FROM THE GREAT LAKES,
746
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:25,292
AND THERE THERE ARE MANY MORE
EGG AND LARVAL FISH PREDATORS
747
00:43:27,018 --> 00:43:29,814
IN THE SYSTEM.
748
00:43:31,263 --> 00:43:32,161
AND EVERY INDICATION WE HAVE
IS THAT ONE OF THE REASONS
749
00:43:32,161 --> 00:43:36,337
WHY WE UNDERESTIMATED SO GREATLY
750
00:43:36,337 --> 00:43:37,407
THE POTENTIAL FOR THE LAKE TROUT
TO AFFECT THE CUTTHROAT TROUT
751
00:43:38,270 --> 00:43:41,895
IS THAT WE JUST HAD NO IDEA
752
00:43:41,895 --> 00:43:43,241
HOW FAST THAT POPULATION
WOULD EXPAND
753
00:43:44,069 --> 00:43:45,519
BECAUSE SURVIVAL OF YOUNG
754
00:43:46,900 --> 00:43:48,384
SEEMS TO BE MUCH, MUCH HIGHER
IN YELLOWSTONE LAKE
755
00:43:48,384 --> 00:43:49,696
BECAUSE THERE ARE
NO OTHER PREDATORS.
756
00:43:52,181 --> 00:43:56,081
Narrator: NOW THAT THEY'VE FOUND
THE SPAWNING GROUND,
757
00:43:56,081 --> 00:43:58,014
IT'S TIME TO BRING IN
THE HEAVY ARTILLERY:
758
00:43:58,014 --> 00:44:01,224
ELECTRIC PULSES KILL THE FRY,
759
00:44:01,224 --> 00:44:02,225
BEFORE THEY GROW LARGE ENOUGH
TO EAT THEIR WAY THROUGH
760
00:44:03,261 --> 00:44:04,952
TO THEIR NATIVE
CUTTHROAT COUSINS.
761
00:44:05,643 --> 00:44:08,438
♪
762
00:44:16,205 --> 00:44:20,071
AND NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME,
763
00:44:20,071 --> 00:44:22,211
THERE MAY BE REAL REASON
FOR HOPE ON THE HORIZON.
764
00:44:22,211 --> 00:44:23,868
SLOWLY, THE INVASIVE LAKE TROUT
NUMBERS ARE FALLING.
765
00:44:27,043 --> 00:44:28,458
[OSPREY CHIRPING]
766
00:44:30,253 --> 00:44:31,979
♪
767
00:44:34,223 --> 00:44:38,468
AND THIS YEAR, ELK NUMBERS
ARE UP SIGNIFICANTLY--
768
00:44:38,468 --> 00:44:40,367
STILL NOWHERE NEAR
THE POPULATIONS OF 20 YEARS AGO,
769
00:44:41,092 --> 00:44:43,784
BUT THE HERD IS GROWING.
770
00:44:44,992 --> 00:44:47,132
IT'S TOO EARLY TO SAY
IF THE CONNECTION
771
00:44:47,132 --> 00:44:47,754
LEADS DIRECTLY FROM THE FISH
TO THE BEARS TO THE ELK MURDERS.
772
00:44:53,138 --> 00:44:55,900
BUT ONE THING IS SURE:
773
00:44:57,280 --> 00:44:58,178
NO SINGLE PREDATOR IS
MORE GUILTY IN THIS CURIOUS CASE
774
00:44:58,178 --> 00:45:00,870
THAN HUMANS.
775
00:45:01,284 --> 00:45:02,976
♪
776
00:45:09,568 --> 00:45:12,295
AND PERHAPS,
WITH A LITTLE BIT OF HELP,
777
00:45:13,365 --> 00:45:14,642
THE ANCIENT WISDOM
OF YELLOWSTONE
778
00:45:16,092 --> 00:45:16,714
IS ALREADY TURNING THE TIDE
AGAINST OUR SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS...
779
00:45:17,956 --> 00:45:20,718
AND THE WORLD'S
FIRST NATIONAL PARK
780
00:45:21,995 --> 00:45:22,823
WILL RETURN TO ITS
PRIMAL RHYTHMS ONCE AGAIN.
781
00:45:23,721 --> 00:45:26,516
♪
782
00:45:35,318 --> 00:45:38,045
♪
783
00:45:44,776 --> 00:45:47,641
♪
784
00:45:59,342 --> 00:46:02,069
♪
61308
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.