All language subtitles for Arctic Secrets S02E02 Yukon Wild 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DD+2 0 H 264-QOQ

*

The Yukon is a true
wilderness...

One of the last on earth.

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At its heart runs a river,

where salmon make an epic
journey to reproduce...

Only to face
powerful predators,

whose survival depends on
this seasonal migration.

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It's a place where
giants battle...

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And surprises hide
in the smallest places...

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Where the primeval mountains

tell the story of our planet.

Carved in stone...

By the power of water...

And the violence of ice.

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This is the Yukon,
a place of rebirth...

And extraordinary journeys
across an imposing land.

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A land now under threat

from rapid and
unprecedented change.

*

*

*

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It's early fall.

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A September sun rises low
over the Chilkat Mountains.

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There's frost in the air.

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A solitary sockeye
salmon is almost home,

desperate to reach the
same patch of river

where it was born...

The spawning beds where
it will lay its eggs.

*

It's traded its ocean
silvery blue for a fiery red

to attract a mate.

*

From the North Pacific,
salmon of several species

climb the rivers
into the interior

in a series of migrations,

swimming against
the strong currents and

leaping many rapids.

It's an extremely
tough journey,

and the fish need an
enormous amount of strength --

and luck --
to make it home.

And winter is closing in.

*

Theirs is the longest
freshwater migration

of any salmon in the world...

Almost two thousand miles

up the mighty Yukon River.

*

The Yukon River is the
third longest waterway

in North America.

Starting in the
Coast Range Mountains,

it flows almost 2,000
miles northwest through

the Yukon Territory and
across Alaska

towards the storm-tossed
Bering Sea.

*

The Yukon watershed is huge...

over 320,000 square miles.

That's 25%
larger than Texas.

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As it crosses the
Yukon Territory,

it carves its way through
narrow channels and

meanders through
wide-open valleys.

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The salmon are
determined...

But tired.

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The energy expenditure
is incredible.

After they leave the sea,
they never eat again.

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It's a journey of
life and death.

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This grizzly has been
waiting for weeks...

Along with many others
who line the shores.

A gauntlet of sharp
claws and gaping jaws.

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And they finally
get their chance.

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The bears need an
enormous amount of food

to ready for the long
winter ahead,

and the egg-laden salmon

provide a much-needed feast.

Only the luckiest salmon
make it past the bears.

*

In the mountains
along the river,

herds of Dall sheep
roam the peaks and crests.

*

The lush days of
summer are over.

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In autumn,
grass is already scarce.

And though these sheep
are expert foragers,

it's time to move on.

The ewes and their lambs
slowly wander

from their summer pasture
high on the mountains,

to their winter grounds
at lower altitudes

on windswept,
south-facing slopes.

*

*

But all that is
about to change.

The annual rut is
about to begin.

*

The ewes are en route
to meet up

with a band of male sheep --

the only time in the year

when males and females meet.

*

It's a journey fraught
with danger...

Predators lurk everywhere.

But the sheep are well equipped
to deal with the threats.

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Their hooves are perfectly
adapted to the tough terrain.

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Their flexible toes
quickly adjust to the

uneven surfaces of the mountain.

Should a wolf
or bear appear,

they're capable of dashing
across the rocks to escape.

*

But if attacked,

these gentle-looking
animals are known to

butt wolves over the
edge of cliffs.

Within two weeks
of their birth,

the lambs started nibbling on

the sparse mountain greenery.

*

Now, at four months of age,

they're close to being weaned.

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But some don't want to give
up on the sweet milk just yet.

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To survive, the lambs
have to grow rapidly.

The coming winter
will be brutal.

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40-50% of lambs
won't make it through.

(bleats)

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Icy death is a tough
reality in the Yukon.

*

*

The Yukon is home to
some of the most

majestic mountain
ranges on earth.

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This is the upper end of the
massive American Cordillera...

A rocky spine...

The backbone of the Americas...

*

Stretching from the Arctic...

All the way to Tierra del Fuego
at the tip of South America.

It encompasses the
Coast Range Mountains,

the Rockies,
the Sierra Madre

and the Andes.

The North American end
of these ranges

started forming around
200 million years ago...

Born when the
continents were young

and undergoing dramatic,
violent change.

*

The North American and
Pacific plates collided,

causing the earth's
crust to fold and bend,

sculpting the landscape with
immense tectonic energy.

Volcanoes erupted through
fissures in the crust,

spewing lava and ash.

*

Over millions of years,
this volatile mass

of molten rock cooled
and hardened.

The majestic mountains
of the Yukon are

silent monuments from that
time of transformation.

*

*

Deep in the interior,
further upriver,

the grizzlies are still waiting
for the salmon to arrive.

*

In the meantime,

the bears get their sugar fix.

While they wait
for the main course,

dessert is everywhere.

Cranberries... Blueberries...

Cloudberries...

But the bears need protein.

Protein the salmon
can best provide.

*

In this remarkable land
where everything seems big,

the bears are not.

Grizzlies here only
grow to about

two thirds of what
their relatives

further downstream achieve...

about 600 pounds for
a male Yukon grizzly

versus over 880
for a coastal Alaskan male.

*

The grizzlies aren't the
only ones waiting

for the fish to
finally get here.

*

Bald eagles also know
the salmon are coming.

*

(chirping)

While the grizzlies
are smaller here,

bald eagles
actually get larger,

the further north they live.

*

With a wingspan of up to
eight feet, they are

one of the largest birds in
the Northern skies.

*

Though relatively
abundant now,

it wasn't always this way.

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In the 1960's,
the species hovered

on the brink of extinction.

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The pesticide DDT weakened
the shell of their eggs,

which cracked under the
weight of the nesting parents.

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Successful hatching of
chicks dropped to near zero.

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The ban on DDT and other
conservation efforts have

brought the bald eagle
back from the brink,

with around 115,000 birds

in Canada and the United
States today.

*

*

Juvenile bald eagles
aren't "bald" yet.

Their heads don't turn white
until they're fully mature

at around four to
five years of age.

These birds must learn the
art of salmon fishing

from their more
experienced elders.

For now, they watch
and wait

from the bottom of
the pecking order.

Extremely territorial
when breeding,

bald eagles are highly
social outside nesting season

and congregate by
the scores at the

salmon spawning beds.

Bickering over
the best spots,

they keep a steady
eye on the water.

(chirping)

*

As night falls,
the eagles sit quietly.

*

*

*

*

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In the early morning light,
the river erupts.

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It's the moment the bald
eagles have been waiting for.

*

*

But the young bird
is so inexperienced;

it doesn't know what to
do with the writhing fish.

Salmon have thick leathery
skin and tough scales.

The juvenile eagle isn't
sure how to get at the

delicious flesh underneath.

Before he can figure it out,

an adult swoops in...

*

And claims his prize.

*

*

*

The salmon makes one final
desperate struggle --

before succumbing to the
eagle's powerful grasp.

*

These large birds are
surprisingly peaceful

with each other.

*

(chirping)

*

There's enough for
everybody to eat...

and they don't mind sharing.

But not the choice pieces.

The young eagle must wait
until the birds of higher rank

have had their dinner...

but there'll be plenty left.

*

Magpies also join the feast...

and everyone gets the
nourishment they need.

*

It's a last moment of
abundance

before the long, hard winter.

*

(eagle calls)

*

From its mouth at
the Bering Sea,

the Yukon River extends over
3,000 km to its source

in the mountains of
British Colombia.

*

*

Its headwaters lie here,

at the toe of the
Llewellyn Glacier...

Part of the Juneau Ice field
in the Coast Range Mountains.

*

The Juneau Ice field is
home to 140 glaciers...

One of the largest
ice fields in the world

outside the Arctic circle.

Like a frozen inland sea,

the ancient glacial
ice can reach a depth

of over 4,000 feet.

The Coast Range Mountains
protrude like

islands from the glaciers,

some towering
over 7,000 feet.

*

The ice field is ancient...

in some areas it's up to two
and a half million years old.

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During the most recent
glaciation a massive

dome of ice stretched from the

Pacific Coast all the
way to the Atlantic Ocean,

extending in parts
as far south as Manhattan.

*

Around 10,000 years ago,

as the Laurentide Ice Sheet
retreated to the east,

the western extent
of this frozen slab,

known as the
Cordilleran Ice Sheet,

also shrank...

leaving the
Juneau Ice field...

a relic of the frozen past.

Everything here has been
touched and shaped by ice.

*

Mountains have been sculpted.

Valleys have been carved.

Scoured by millions
of tons of ice,

plowing across this land...

advancing and retreating.

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Mountain range upon
mountain range...

Stretching to the horizon.

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Raging rivers gouged
deep canyons into the rock...

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Dividing vast plateaus.

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Here, in the
Yukon's interior,

the temperature
frequently plunges to

negative fifty eight
in winter.

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In the summer, it can
soar to eighty six degrees.

One of the greatest
temperature variances on earth.

*

Rocks and rubble mark
the gradual retreat

of the ancient glaciers.

This moraine is home to
one of the most

intriguing species in the Yukon.

*

Tiny herbivorous mammals
called pikas have turned

this glacier-scarred landscape
into a cozy home.

They take advantage of the
countless crevices

between the rocks
of the moraine.

*

Now, at the
beginning of September,

it's their
busiest time of year.

In barely three weeks,

this valley will be
blanketed by snow...

Pikas don't hibernate.

They spend the winter awake...

nestled in the
nooks and crannies

of the moraine
underneath the snow.

They're stockpiling now for
the lean times ahead.

*

Pikas actually "make hay".

Each pika collects
its own stockpile

of grasses and leaves,

and dries it on the rocks
in the summer sun...

They store the hay
in crevices...

safe from the elements,
lasting all winter.

*

The pikas are not alone
on the moraine.

*

They share their home with

a colony of hoary marmots.

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The marmots are highly social.

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They live in big family groups
of up to 36 individuals.

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While the pikas are
much more territorial

and jealously
guard their hay piles --

the marmots like to lounge
on the rocks together.

*

They spend almost half their
time sunning themselves.

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Unlike the pikas, the
marmots hibernate together

in their large burrow
beneath the moraine...

so they don't need to
stockpile any food.

*

The hoary marmot is
an ancient species...

Fossils date back more
than two million years.

The marmot was here in
the Yukon at

the height of the last Ice Age.

*

Now, marmot and
pika habitat is in decline.

A warming world is replacing

their alpine meadows
with forest.

*

They're so well adapted
to the bitter climate,

they're ill equipped for the
world's rising temperatures...

They can die from overheating
in just a few hours...

*

Other alpine species might
move to higher altitudes.

But marmots and pikas live
so high on these mountains

that there's nowhere further
up for them to go.

*

They now run the risk of being
the first species with the

sad distinction of going
extinct due to climate change.

*

Marmots and pikas share
watchman duties on the moraine.

(Screeches)

Both call out to warn
the others.

(Screeches)

Danger lurks all around.

From the sky...

(Bird call)

*

And on the ground.

A young silver fox has
taken interest.

*

Its den is nearby.

*

The parents didn't choose
this site accidentally.

*

In these sparsely
populated mountain ranges,

this moraine is a
hot spot for prey.

Silver foxes are a dark variant
of the more common red fox.

They're the same species -

just have differently
colored coats.

In North America,

most silver foxes live here...

in the far Northwestern
reaches of the continent.

The fox is one of the most
successful predators

on the planet.

It has colonized
virtually every corner

of the Northern hemisphere.

It's extremely resourceful and
an outstanding hunter.

*

This juvenile silver fox
and its sibling

aren't living up to their
reputation just yet...

Playing and exploring are

so much more fun
than hunting.

Every bush and puddle is
infinitely more interesting.

*

Not even the prospect of a meal
of marmot can pull them away.

*

But the marmots
take no chances.

The presence of a predator
can send them

to their burrows for hours.

*

Without their calls
and whistles

the hillside falls eerily quiet.

Every day the
temperature is dropping.

*

Rock ptarmigan don't have
burrows in which to retreat.

They rely entirely on
their feathers to

keep them warm...

and safe.

*

Perfectly camouflaged,

they adapt to their surroundings

and molt their
feathers twice a year.

They're mottled brown in
the summer...

and snow white in the winter.

Normally, ptarmigan blend in
perfectly with the moraine.

But not now.

*

Fall is a dangerous
time for the bird.

Already sporting half
its winter white feathers,

it can be seen
from miles away.

The ptarmigan need to
be extra vigilant.

*

A thin veil parts over the
Yukon's rugged beauty...

Revealing the sharp,
jagged ridge of a mountain...

honed by two glaciers
advancing on either side.

*

But not everything
here was carved by ice.

Generation after generation
of Dall sheep have

etched their presence
into the rock.

*

Dall sheep spend the winter
on treeless ridges

where powerful winds
blow away any light, dry snow...

exposing the grasses that will

keep them
fed until spring.

*

The sheep know exactly
where they're going...

They've inherited their winter
range from their ancestors.

Returning year after year...

The exact location inscribed in
their collective memory.

*

This knowledge now faces an
unprecedented challenge.

Inconsistent temperatures,
repeated thawing and

re-freezing creates
a hard layer of ice,

making their winter
grasses harder to reach.

*

In the face of
global warming,

the Yukon is
experiencing change...

Rapid change.

*

In recent years,
the Juneau Ice-field has

wasted away dramatically because
of rising temperatures.

Some glaciers have
retreated over

one and a half miles
since 1984.

*

Scientists predict that the
entire Juneau Ice-field will

be more than half gone by
the end of the century and

vanish completely by 2200.

*

Nobody knows what will happen
to the waterways downstream,

which for thousands of years
have sprung from
the ice-field.

*

The entire rhythm of life
in the Yukon is at risk.

*

And one of its most graceful
seasonal visitors

faces new challenges.

*

The Trumpeter swan once
nested from Alaska and

northern Canada to areas
south of the Great Lakes and

along the St. Lawrence River.

*

Heavy hunting and
destruction of its habitat

drove the Trumpeter swan
to near extinction.

*

By 1933, just seventy
known living birds

remained in the wild.

Thanks to strict conservation
measures the

Trumpeter swan has
since bounced back.

There are almost 20,000
birds in the Yukon today.

*

The Trumpeter swan is
the largest living

species of waterfowl,
with a wingspan

of over ten feet...

and an adult weight
of 26 pounds.

*

These young swans still
have some growing to do

before they reach that
imposing size.

*

Now, in the middle
of September,

they're about three months old.

*

They have to perfect
their flying skills before

the winter migration begins.

Departure is just a
couple of weeks away.

Under the guidance
of their parents

they'll have to fly
across the Rocky Mountains...

Thousands of feet high...

To reach the Pacific coast
of Washington and

British Columbia.

For the young, it is a race
to fledge and fly

before winter closes in.

They will do the
journey clad in grey.

It will be another year
before they turn the same

brilliant white as
their parents.

*

*

After several weeks of
continuous walking,

the Dall ewes and their lambs
have almost reached

their winter range.

*

But before they make
a detour to one of

their favorite destinations...

*

A mineral lick.

Here, high concentrations
of salts and minerals

are accessible on the surface.

*

The sheep lick or
even eat the soil...

Ingesting much needed
nutrients they don't get

from their herbivorous diet.

*

The mineral intake is
crucial for healthy growth,

especially for
nursing ewes and lambs.

They become so
engrossed in the licking,

they pay
attention to little else.

*

Catching a lamb would fill
this young timber wolf's belly

for many days.

*

But the young wolf is injured
and dragging his hind legs.

He doesn't seem capable
of staging an attack.

*

The sheep seem
to sense that, too.

They continue to
feed on minerals, unperturbed.

*

The sheep spend several
days here...

eating their fill
before moving on.

*

They will meet up
with the males soon.

It's almost
time for the rut.

*

Dall sheep aren't the only
mammals getting ready to mate.

*

Each fall the usually
solitary bull moose

meet in epic clashes,
fiercely competing for females.

*

Male moose first grow their
antlers from the age of one,

with a full new set
growing each year in summer.

Soft, furry tissue
called velvet

covers the rapidly growing bone.

Now, that his antlers
are fully developed,

the bull sheds the velvet.

Strips of it
still hang from them.

*

The antlers fall
off every spring,

and larger ones return with
each passing fall -

reaching their most impressive
size around the age of ten.

They can span almost six feet
wide on a mature male.

The sole purpose of this
elaborate crown

is the annual rut.

The smell of a cow lures
this bull across the valley.

*

*

His long legs,
perfectly adapted

to wading through swamps,

aren't great for clambering
across the glacial moraine.

*

The bull tries to find a way to
bypass the rocky barrier...

*

If he falls on
these sharp rocks,

it could
easily be his death.

Even though the fall
might not kill him,

a broken leg would make him
an easy feast for any wolves

or grizzlies passing by.

*

He decides to risk it all.

*

*

*

His cousins, the
Northern mountain caribou,

have no such problems.

They were made for
this terrain.

Their strong legs and
large hooves are

perfectly shaped against
slippery ice and

uneven, loose rocks.

They migrate through
here each spring and fall...

Hundreds of miles...

one mountain pass
after another.

*

In relation to their
body weight,

their antlers are even
heavier than the moose's.

*

*

This bull is in
magnificent shape.

*

*

His antlers have
stopped growing.

The velvet has
just fallen off.

And they're still tinged
red from his own blood.

*

After spending the summer
spread out in open alpine areas,

the caribou now
congregate in larger herds...

and move towards
their winter habitat.

They move to forest areas
rich with spruce and lichen,

where the snow cover
will be relatively shallow.

The woodland caribou need
the seclusion of these

Yukon mountains to thrive.

But increased mining,
oil and gas activity

disrupts their
migration patterns and

threatens their very existence
across the North.

If the ruthless
exploration continues,

caribou could fade from
this landscape...

within our children's lifetime.

*

*

Before long, all the
leaves are gone...

and color drains from the land.

*

The first snow falls in the
Yukon River valley.

*

The salmon must complete
their once in a lifetime journey

to their spawning beds before
winter truly sets in.

*

These chum salmon are
the weakest jumpers

of all species of
Pacific salmon.

*

Against incredible odds
they have made it here

over countless rapids.

*

Their bodies visibly scarred
from the harrowing journey

they summon their last
energy reserves to mate.

Males grab the females
with their hooked jaws...

encouraging them to
drop their eggs into nests

called redds.

*

The male sprays the
eggs with his sperm.

She will cover the eggs and
sperm with gravel and

remain with her redd until
about two weeks later.

*

*

The adults have accomplished
their mission...

And they die in the very place

where they themselves
were born.

*

Only about two of each
clutch of 4,000 eggs will

make it back here as mature
salmon in four years' time.

*

Ice begins to
close over the river,

locking it in
for the season.

*

The trumpeter swans ready
for their grueling journey

to a warmer winter home.

For the young swans
born here this year,

it will be their first and
greatest test of endurance.

As the lakes
begin to freeze,

the flock gathers.

Multiple families
having a last meal

before their long
journey south.

*

The time has come.

*

*

The young finally
take to the air.

Flying in formation
with their parents.

*

Their adventure has begun.

*

It will be six months
before they return,

when spring
releases the river

from winter's icy shackles,

and life begins anew
in the Yukon.

*

*