All language subtitles for 55A0E8E825F22399AF6F84640E6D7A0F_eng

There's lots of very comforting noises
coming from next door.

Every year, around the
world, thousands of grizzly

bear cubs are orphaned
because of conflict with humans.

I was expecting to be bigger.

But in one remarkable place, baby bears
are being given a second chance at life.

I'm Gordon Buchanan.

I've come to the Russian wilderness to
help a pioneering family of biologists...

rehabilitate six grizzly orbs.

Ten out of ten.

We've got just nine mums to try and get
them back to the wild.

But this is the most vulnerable time in
their lives.

Everything's stacked against a cub that
has lost its mother.

We must prepare them to be wild grizzly
bears.

This is too close.

But is it possible for humans to raise
these large predators?

That is a bear cub in sheer ecstasy.

And can they survive in the wild without a
mother?

This is Russia.

The biggest country in the world.

And it's home to most of our planet's
brown bears.

These are Russia's grizzlies.

There are over 100,000 of these bears
across this country.

They need huge territories spanning up to
4,000 square kilometres.

So there isn't always enough space for
bears and humans to live side by side.

Every now and again there's a break in the
trees.

You see where some of the forest has been
fed.

There's a field.

There's little hamlets.

And that leads to conflict.

Conflict between these big predators and
human beings.

Bears are sensitive to human encroachment.

Every year hundreds of
cubs are abandoned when

their mothers are
disturbed at their dens.

So I'm heading nine hours north-west of
Moscow to the small village of Bubinitsi.

Home to an amazing family that
rehabilitates baby bears.

What I want to find out is whether it's
possible to rescue an orphaned cub and

successfully and safely return it to the
wild.

It's February and six bear cubs have just
been rescued.

I've been given unprecedented access to
help rehab them back to the wild.

This refuge for baby grizzlies is run by a
family of biologists.

The Pajitnovs.

Hello Katya.

Hello.

I'm in the right place.

Katya Pajitnov has rehabbed nearly 100
bear cubs.

She's a world leading expert.

How nice to meet you.

Hello Gordon, nice to see you.

Thank you.

Welcome to Bubinitsi.

Thank you very much.

It's great to be here.

Come in please, we have to feed our bears.

The orphans sleep in wooden boxes designed
to replicate dens in the wild.

It starts off like a scene from Jurassic
Park.

You hear these unearthly sounds coming
from a box.

You open it up expecting there to be a
velociraptor in there.

And you've got this tiny, very cute little
bear in there.

I suppose it's like human babies.

Human babies make a lot of noise when they
need something.

They just need food.

And that's exactly what all this noise is
about.

It's just about every one of these bears
being hungry.

But while the cubs scream, we have to
whisper.

So they don't get used to human voices.

They drink a special formula with the same
fat content as double cream.

This takes me back.

My first lesson in rehab is essential.

Baby bears need to be fed 12 times a day.

12 times a day.

Just keep him.

Because he will try to escape.

There you go, pal.

Kind of lost for words.

I was expecting them to be bigger.

I've seen grizzly bears in the past.

And they are huge.

And all of these guys are tiny.

The milk goes down incredibly fast.

Before you know it, 110 mils and it's
gone.

It's very surreal.

The cubs are five weeks old.

And way less than a bag of sugar.

They were born blind and have just opened
their eyes.

This group is made up of three pairs of
brothers.

Pasha and Slava were dumped in a bin near
Moscow.

It's suspected poachers killed their
mother.

Tolya and Choma were found in a box
outside a vet's in St. Petersburg.

Zhenya and Zhora were handed in by loggers
who accidentally scared their mum away.

Early on in life, cubs are very
vulnerable.

Only half are likely to reach adulthood.

So after each feed, we'll monitor their
progress.

Their first milestone is to learn how to
crawl.

And some of them are already mobile.

It's a mini bear crash on this area of
carpet.

And it just gives them an opportunity to
move around.

It's a rare chance to
see baby bears at a time

when they would usually
be hidden in a den.

Fairly sure to the little trained eye.

You wouldn't know that these were bear
cubs, not yet.

Their ears are all still crumpled up.

They don't have the proportions of a bear.

If you look at their faces, you might just
think they're puppies.

In fact, actually, their faces look like
cubs.

They're nice and quiet.

Kind of piggy.

They're only just starting to crawl.

But we're trying to get these cubs back to
the wild in nine months.

How on earth are these animals,
these same animals, going to be ready to

actually go off on their own before the
end of the year?

It doesn't add up.

In the wild, cubs stay with their mothers
until they're two and a half years old.

But the Pajitnovs have
created a unique rehab

system that fast-tracks
baby bears to independence.

It closely follows cub
development in the natural

world and breaks down
into three key stages.

Stage one is the house where the cubs are
now, which acts as their den.

They'll receive 24-hour care, just like
they would from a mother bear in the wild.

In a few months, the cubs
will progress to stage two,

a large forest enclosure
to replicate den emergence.

Then, after nine months, the cubs will be
ready to go.

In a few months, if all's
gone well, stage three

will see the orphans
released into the wild.

While I help rehab the bears, I'll be
living with the family.

I join Katya's husband,
Sergei, and his son, Vasa,

for what I'm told is a
traditional Russian dinner.

Good evening.

What's... is it Dobry Nochi?

Dobry Veche.

Dobry Veche?

Dobry Veche.

Dobry Veche.

Good evening.

In Scotland, people think that barbecue is
just for the summer, so maybe I have to

think differently, because you're out here
in the snow cooking chicken.

I'm glad we're not eating outside.

Temperatures tonight will drop to minus
20.

It looks amazing.

Gordon, maybe a little bit of vodka?

OK, OK.

I mean, when I'm in Russia, do as the
Russians do.

Thank you for inviting me into your home.

Sit, or...?

To the bottom.

To the bottom?

To the bottom.

That's very nice.

The rehab of baby bears
has been passed down

three generations
in the Pajitnov family.

It was started by Sergei's father,
Valentin, in the mid-'80s.

Since then, this family of
biologists have rehabbed

more bear orphans than
anyone else in the world.

On average, they rescue ten cubs every
year.

It means no holiday, no weekend.

But as we are working together, there
are three of us, and we are like one.

A very good working mechanism,
organism.

A well-oiled machine.

Yes, well-oiled machine.

What keeps you doing it year after year,
January, February after January,

February, the same thing?

Human take a lot from the nature.

We damage it, we harm it, disturb wild
animals, wildlife, trees, plants, flowers.

This process of rising up
orphan bear cubs, it means

we are paying for something
bad made in the world.

Yeah, giving something back.

Yeah.

OK, I think we have to toast the six bear
cubs.

OK.

And their lives are in our hands.

As well in your hands.

So give them... Help.

A helping hand.

Yes.

Helping hand.

To the bears.

Helping hand, yeah.

Helping hand.

It's 10pm.

I've been awake for 14 hours.

But I have to do my first night shift.

A mother bear will sleep alongside her
cubs to feed them on demand.

Her family replicate this round-the-clock
care.

So tonight, I'll be next door to the
orphans.

Is this where I'm going to sleep?

Yes.

It is the room specially for bear feeder
where you can sleep.

You can have a rest here for several hours
because we have to feed them very often.

OK.

Oh.

That's great.

It's perfect.

See you tomorrow.

Good night.

I love you.

I might not need to set an alarm clock if
they all start screeching and squawking.

Um, yeah.

I'm not going to need any bell to wake me
up.

There's so many flashbacks to when our
children were really young.

It feels like a familiar road that I'm
walking down.

At midnight, after just two hours' sleep,
the orphans are awake and hungry.

Pasha, the smallest cub, is the loudest.

Bears are born during hibernation, so they
often scream to get their mother's milk.

Even after they've been fed, a mother
bear's work isn't done.

I'm just really replicating what the
mother would be doing inside the den.

She's also cleaning them.

She'd be doing them by licking them all
over, cleaning them with her tongue.

It's important all the cubs have clean
fur.

Each strand of hair traps in heat,
keeping them warm.

By the time all the orphans are
fed, washed and back to sleep, it's 1.

30 in the morning.

At 5am, they're hungry again.

Russian grizzly bears are most active at
dusk and dawn, so the cubs are even louder.

On the mat, the orphans are full of
energy.

But one isn't moving like the rest.

Zhora, the biggest cub, is struggling to
crawl.

Are you worried about him?

Is that not normal?

You should be more, more developed.

You know, he's very heavy.

And his paws are not very strong.

Before Zhora was rescued, it's thought he
didn't eat for a couple of days.

That period of starvation may be slowing
his development.

Sadly, it's something Katja has seen
before.

Katja's giving him a
massage, putting his legs and

his paws into the position
that they should be in.

Because what we want to see with every
single one of them is development.

In the wild, a cub like Zhora would be
unlikely to survive.

In the family's experience,
if he doesn't improve in a few

weeks, he'll have to spend
the rest of his life in captivity.

The cubs are six weeks old.

It's time for a weigh-in.

Gaining weight is an important indicator
to overall baby bear health.

Pasha remains the smallest, but he's
growing well.

200 grams in the last 24 hours.

Significant.

So if you only weigh a couple of kilos,
it's a bit less of an addition.

200 grams each day, that all starts to add
up.

Zhora is also getting heavier.

Is he the biggest?

Yes, he's the biggest.

At three kilos, Zhora is top of the class
by weight.

But his lack of mobility is worrying.

The rest of the cubs are beginning to
climb.

In the wild, they learn this important
skill in the den.

Using branches and roots.

So to practice climbing, the orphans need
our help.

We're going to build them a wooden
climbing frame.

It's getting solid.

This is exciting.

It's really nice actually.

It's kind of to build something that these
cubs are going to use.

It's really a useful stage in their
advancement.

It's like building a treehouse for your
kids.

But when I did that, my kids never used
it.

But I built it.

This is definitely going to be used by the
cubs.

Shall we?

Yes, trying.

Easy.

Great.

Okay.

From now on, the whole group will spend up
to 12 hours each day with the frame.

The Pajetnovs have
discovered that orphan cubs

learn to climb quicker
when they're together.

It's March.

Officially, it's the beginning of spring.

But the average daytime temperature is
minus five.

The cubs are eight weeks old.

Most of the group are climbing and
walking.

But Zhora isn't strong enough to support
his body weight.

He uses a climbing frame like a crutch.

It doesn't help that he's getting heavier
every day.

At the moment, the cubs are putting on two
kilos each week.

In such a short space of time,
it really is a miraculous rate of growth.

But these baby bears aren't just growing
in size.

Their sense of smell is now fully
developed.

It's thought to be seven times more
sensitive than a dog's.

This new super sense makes them curious to
explore the world around them.

And feeding times now involve an element
of crowd control.

It feels a lot like I'm manning the bar at
the, um, the cute baby bear pub.

As soon as the pub is opened, the punters
start queuing up.

What is it?

The usual?

I think you've been drinking, sir.

I think you've been drinking.

I think we've both been drinking.

Look at the state of you.

I can smell it on your breath.

It's milk.

You too.

I can see it in your eyes.

When I first met the orphans a couple of
months ago, they didn't look like bears.

But now, they are mini grizzlies.

Their faces are much rounder, and their
ears are kind of unfurled, and they're

sort of more in proportion with their
head.

As the cubs grow bigger, it becomes harder
to bottle feed them.

So at this age, the Pajitnovs try to feed
them from balls.

To do that, the orphans need to be weaned
onto solid food.

What is that?

Semolina.

Semolina.

Katia uses fortified semolina porridge.

It's packed with essential nutrients.

And?

Mmm, it's very sweet.

But it's very sweet, yes.

See, this is something I could eat.

The porridge is watered
down to begin with, to

help with the transition
from bottle to bowl.

Katia and I will feed the
bears one at a time, because

learning to bowl feed can
be dangerous for the cubs.

If they put their noses too far into the
bowls, they can accidentally inhale the

food, leading to pneumonia, which can be
fatal.

We start with Zhora, the largest but least
developed cub.

Oh, yeah.

Give me one.

No, come on.

Here you go.

OK.

Enough.

We want Zhora to associate the bowl with
food.

So before we put it on the floor, we
give him a little taste of the porridge.

No, no, don't eat too much.

Sorry.

Let's try it on the floor.

Ten out of ten.

Come on.

Zhora is doing incredibly well.

He was the bear cub that we were most
worried about early on.

And look at him.

See, he's standing up on his back legs.

His whole rear end is coming up.

His head's down.

He's mastered feeding from the bowl.

Zhora's development has been slower than
the others'.

But now, he's the first to learn how to
feed from a bowl.

And he's starting to walk.

He's a little bit unsteady.

But his floor's a bit slippy, so it's maybe
not the best surface to show his skills.

But that's exactly what we want to see.

It's a huge relief to see Zhora walking.

But there's no time to celebrate.

With five hungry cubs to feed.

The other orphans get to grips with bowl
feeding.

But weaning baby bears is as messy as you
might imagine.

I'd say...

80% of the milk goes into their stomachs.

And the 20% goes everywhere else.

The orphans have passed this important
milestone in rehab.

From now on, they won't be bottle fed.

They'll eat porridge three times a day.

Okay, sweet dreams.

They're developing so quickly.

It's easy to forget they were only born
two months ago.

It's April.

A cold front is keeping temperatures below
freezing.

The cubs are ten weeks old.

And they're teething.

Grizzlies have 42 teeth.

Ten more than us.

To relieve teething pains, the cubs chew
everything in sight.

Including our cameras.

In the wild, bear cubs would now be leaving
their dens to forage with their mothers.

To replicate den emergence
for the orphans, we

need to move them
outside for the very first time.

The Pozhetnovs have a forest enclosure
just for orphaned cubs.

It's 13,000 square metres.

Out here, a hut is their new den.

When the door is opened, the surrounding
forest becomes their territory to explore.

This is the most important time in the
rehab process.

It's when the orphans will learn to be
wild.

From now on, we'll gradually minimise
contact with the cubs.

But we need to keep an eye on them.

What we want to do is
to be able to film them,

observe them, and
not have to be present.

So I've got these fixed-rig cameras that
I'm going to set up so that I can actually

film the bear activity from maybe 20,
30 metres back there.

Another camera.

I might cheat it in round this side.

That might be the most direct route for
the cable.

The house.

The bear house.

Six unrelated bear cubs would never live
as a group in the wild.

But there's a reason for putting them all
together.

The Pajutnovs have
discovered that without a mother,

orphans need to form
their own family to thrive.

To do that, one cub must become the
leader.

It's going to need a little bit of
fine-tuning, but this is a really good

position because we can see right into the
hut.

So we should be able to straightaway see
who is the most bold bear.

If any of these bears
take one footstep out, into

the snow, we'll see
with this camera who it is.

Who's the bravest bear of the bunch?

With the cameras set, it's time to bring
the cubs to their new home.

But at their final feed before moving,
we discover a problem.

Pasha, the smallest orphan, has lost the
use of his legs.

It's just split out.

It's like a starfish.

He's actually waving away the skin on his
knees and his hind legs.

In the wild, a cub
like Pasha would be

unable to follow its
mother during emergence.

The Pajitnovs have never seen this before.

We'll try to treat the sores on his legs
with anti-bacterial cream.

But it's going to take time for them to
heal.

It's a big worry because as soon as we put
the cream on, he starts to move around and

it's all getting wiped off and
it might just be in a vicious

circle where it gets worse
and worse and worse for him.

It's one thing to see an animal struggle
with its development, but it's very

different to see that it's actually
physically injuring itself.

All the cubs should be moving to the
enclosure today.

But there's no way Pasha could survive
outside.

Now that there's more separation in the
development of the cubs, it makes me more

worried for Pasha because he is the one
that's having troubles.

And you see that much more clearly when
you compare him to the likes of Jora.

He's able to feed from the bowl perfectly.

He's able to move around really quickly.

Pasha is nowhere near that.

So what I'm realising now is I think we
have to split these cubs up.

It's worrying to break up the group.

But we can't leave Pasha alone.

The decision is made to keep his brother
Slava with him.

This should minimise any emotional stress
on both of them.

For the other four cubs, it's time to
move.

The enclosure is just a kilometre away.

So far, the cubs have only known the
inside of heated cabins and our care.

Now, they must learn how to survive in the
wild.

We'll see.

Hello, guys.

Bring her.

OK.

As easy as that.

I feel quite weird leaving them in there.

It doesn't feel right, although it's the
right thing for them.

The orphans will spend the night in their
new den.

Then tomorrow, the door will be opened.

And they'll see the outside world for the
very first time.

At seven the next morning, I'm anxious to
see how they are.

To ensure this is as close to a den
emergence in nature as possible,

it's important the bears don't see me
opening the door.

I don't see anyone at the moment.

I'm just going to zoom in.

Oh, yeah, there's cubs.

I can see three.

Three of the cubs.

They're nowhere near the door.

They're about two metres at the back of
the...

the back of the den heart.

Let me see if I can see them on the camera
that's inside the den.

OK.

Where are you?

Where are you?

Oh, I see you.

What our cubs have right
now is the same opportunity that

a mother bear gives her cubs
when she opens up the den.

She doesn't throw them out.

She leaves it up to them to sort of make
up their own minds to explore.

Look at that.

Zhenya, right on the threshold.

One raised paw away from touching the
outside world for the first time.

He has a liberated nose.

He just came out beyond the door.

Come on, fella.

Out you come.

Zhenya is Zhora's brother.

He's the second biggest in the group.

And it seems he's the boldest.

He's out.

He's got one paw in the snow.

Snow is something that
you take for granted in

this part of the world
at this time of year.

But for this bear cub,
it's the first time that

his little paws have
ever touched the stuff.

Zhenya is the first orphan to step outside
the den.

Will he be the group's leader?

What a little character.

Zhenya has already picked up a survival
skill.

Bears can lick snow to stay hydrated.

We are witnessing a bear cub having his
very first taste of freedom.

Good on you.

Good on you, Zhenya.

Den emergence can take several days,
as cubs build up their confidence.

But Zhenya's first steps might inspire the
others.

The bears are 12 weeks old.

They have all left the den.

At this age, their mothers would be
leading them into the forest.

But the Pajitnovs have
found that without a

mother, the orphans
will follow the boldest cub.

In this group, there are two potential
leaders.

Zhora and his brother, Zhenya.

Only one can take charge.

They've chosen to have a boxing match on
the iciest bit of snow.

Zhenya, with his white streak of fur,
has always stood out.

He's the most confident cub.

He dominates his brother, Zhora,
who is a late developer.

Thick fur helps protect them during
playfights.

But their sharp teeth and claws still pack
a punch.

He's the only one who can defend himself.

A triumphant brother emerges.

Against the odds, Zhora is the group's new
leader.

He now has the
confidence to explore further

from the den, and
the others will follow.

So we have Zhora in the lead.

And then Tanya in the back.

Tanya was definitely the lead bear on the
first day of opening the den.

And now Zhora has overtaken him.

Amazing considering Zhora was the bear
that couldn't walk.

And now he's the boldest of the bunch.

After just a week in the area,
Zhora and the others have made a huge leap

in their development.

Pasha and Slava are still stuck inside.

If they don't progress soon, I'm worried
they'll remain in captivity for life.

The difference between Pasha and Slava and
the other cubs is huge.

It feels like a gulf has opened up between
them.

But the good news is that Pasha's wounds
are not completely healed.

They're still there.

They're not bleeding.

And he's starting to use his back legs.

Before they were just splayed out like a
starfish.

And now they're coming closer and under
his body and he's actually using them.

So I would expect within a few days
there's going to be a lot more improvement.

And as soon as he starts using his back
legs, those wounds will fully heal.

If Pasha keeps improving,
we can move him

and his brother Slava
to the enclosure soon.

It's mid-April and the thaw has finally
begun.

Temperatures are staying above freezing
for the first time in six months.

Pasha and Slava finally join the others
outside.

Pasha and Slava have
been reunited with the

other four cubs and
that's as it should be.

I feel that for each of the cubs they're
going through this process, this journey,

together and we don't want to see anyone
being left behind.

And now they're all able
to play together, climb

together, maybe even
learn from each other.

In May, daytime temperatures soar to the
mid-twenties.

But warm weather brings mosquitoes.

The cubs are four months old.

They now weigh around ten kilos,
twenty times their birth weight.

To fuel this rapid growth, they're
foraging further from their den.

As adults, 89% of their calories will come
from plants.

So the cubs spend up to 12 hours a day
looking for food.

Jorah is still the leader.

Pasha remains the smallest.

His legs are completely healed,
but he's always at the back of the group.

And when the others climb, he really
struggles to keep up.

Grizzly cub claws are curved to help them
grip trees.

It's a key skill that helps them escape
from predators.

The cubs are becoming expert climbers.

But Pasha lacks confidence.

Just a couple of meters up, he stops and
freezes.

Pasha needs to climb higher.

In the wild... Grizzly cub claws
are curved to help them keep up.

A predator could reach him down here.

Cautiously he pushes on, testing each
branch to check if it'll hold his weight.

If he makes a mistake, it's now a 15 meter
drop to the forest floor.

The other cubs are already at the top of
the tree.

Grrrrrrr.

Grrrrrr.

Grrrrrr.

Grrrrrrr.

By focusing on the others,
Pasha conquers his fears... Grrrrrr.

Making it to 30 meters above the ground.

Grrrrrrrr.

Grrrrrr.

Inspired by his fellow orphans,
Pasha has finally learned to climb.

I'm starting to see the secret behind the
Pajetnov system of rehab.

They're helping each other master the
skills they need to survive.

Now they're all able to climb together,
they can all have the next big

opportunity, which is a taste
of freedom, a taste of real

freedom, which is when the gate
to this big enclosure is opened.

You know, that's when they're real, the
biggest challenge really starts for them.

In here they can learn the basics,
but outside it's actually out there in the

forest beyond this fence that they really
learn to be, to be bears.

Next time, the cubs leave the enclosure
and start to live...

like wild grizzlies.

This is too close for comfort.

They've got to learn to make it on their
own.

They want them to go out of their depth.

But Pasha struggles to pile on the pounds.

And before release, will the cubs master
the skills they need to survive?

Literally just ripping the log apart.