[00:00.00] [00:03.85] [00:05.85]NARRATOR: Yellowstone, [00:07.80] [00:11.17]volcanic wonderland. [00:13.04] [00:16.53]Two million acres of wild space [00:18.99] [00:20.69]right in the heart of North America. [00:23.20] [00:31.53]The heat of the summer has unveiled [00:33.12] [00:33.21]the full extent of the Yellowstone wilderness [00:36.00] [00:36.09]and, for a few precious months, it has blossomed. [00:39.60] [00:47.05]But, now, Yellowstone is changing. [00:49.88] [00:53.57]In just a few weeks, the snow and ice of winter will be back. [00:57.35] [00:58.21](BUGLING) [00:59.96] [01:03.01]As the animals of Yellowstone now turn to face [01:06.40] [01:06.49]perhaps the biggest challenges of their year, [01:09.44] [01:13.25]the true value of the world's first national park [01:17.28] [01:17.37]is about to become clearer than ever. [01:20.16] [01:49.17]It's late August and on Yellowstone's peaks [01:52.95] [01:53.05]there is already a dusting of fresh snow. [01:55.84] [01:58.97]Now, a new sound marks the new season. [02:01.96] [02:02.05](BUGLING) [02:04.35] [02:09.25]Fuelled by testosterone, [02:11.20] [02:11.29]the bugle call of this male elk is a boast of his strength. [02:14.96] [02:19.13](SHRILL BUGLING) [02:20.80] [02:22.13]All over Yellowstone, [02:23.64] [02:23.73]male elk are challenging each other for dominance. [02:26.44] [02:26.53](BUGLING) [02:28.24] [02:28.89]The sound of Yellowstone's autumn. [02:31.32] [02:40.37](SHRILL BUGLING) [02:42.83] [02:49.37]They are trying to win the admiration of females [02:52.32] [02:52.41]and gather them into a harem. [02:54.60] [02:55.77]Only then do they stand a chance at mating with them before winter. [02:59.88] [03:00.93]But the females are not yet in season, [03:03.80] [03:03.89]so they are not really that interested. [03:06.64] [03:07.49]And, for now, they have a more practical concern. [03:11.00] [03:15.77]Winter will soon be here. [03:17.80] [03:19.21]They are eager to head down to lower ground [03:21.28] [03:21.37]before the snow comes in earnest. [03:23.75] [03:25.73]Some will move down into nearby valleys, [03:28.48] [03:30.85]whilst others will journey much further, [03:33.60] [03:35.13]even beyond the boundaries of Yellowstone itself. [03:38.28] [03:47.89]Yellowstone is deep in the Rocky Mountains of North America, [03:51.64] [03:55.65]an isolated high plateau defended by rugged peaks. [03:59.24] [04:06.13]In the middle is the National Park. [04:08.59] [04:15.17]The park and the surrounding mountains form one of the most important [04:19.04] [04:19.13]and spectacular wilderness areas on Earth. [04:21.96] [04:27.33]In just two months, this great plateau will become a deep freeze once more. [04:31.88] [04:34.45]Before then, the animals of Yellowstone will have to get ready [04:39.20] [04:40.73]or get out. [04:42.12] [04:46.81]But, for now, below the snow-dusted peaks, [04:51.04] [04:51.13]summer still lingers in the heart of Yellowstone. [04:53.96] [04:54.37](GRUNTING) [04:55.92] [05:01.81]The sun has revitalised this place [05:04.76] [05:04.85]and, now, there are more living things here [05:06.76] [05:06.85]than at any time of the year. [05:09.04] [05:15.37]The summer has brought visitors too, [05:17.96] [05:19.41]who are enjoying Yellowstone at its most vibrant. [05:22.16] [05:33.29]As the sun now starts to get lower in the sky, [05:36.76] [05:36.85]the rich colours make this [05:38.12] [05:38.21]one of the best times to see the geysers. [05:41.00] [05:55.13]On the grasslands, the good times are already over. [05:58.40] [06:00.33]These bison are making the most of the grazing, [06:03.36] [06:03.45]but it is now dry and parched. [06:05.68] [06:07.45]From now on, they will have to rely heavily on stored fat [06:10.44] [06:10.53]to keep them going, [06:12.24] [06:12.33]as these meadows become covered in more than four feet of snow. [06:16.24] [06:24.93]Others are already thinking of leaving. [06:27.60] [06:34.25]Pronghorn evolved to outrun a now-extinct North American cheetah [06:39.08] [06:39.57]and, so, are the fastest antelope on Earth. [06:42.36] [06:54.73]But, unlike bison, their lightweight bodies can't store [06:57.92] [06:58.01]enough energy to keep them here through the winter. [07:01.36] [07:01.45]So, now they must head out. [07:03.52] [07:11.53]Their journey will be the longest of all. [07:14.28] [07:21.01]But as many are preparing to get out, some have no choice but to stay. [07:25.92] [07:28.85]In the remote north east of the Yellowstone wilderness [07:31.84] [07:31.93]are the Beartooth Mountains. [07:34.08] [07:37.41]Here, surviving above 8,000 feet, [07:40.64] [07:40.73]a tree now welcomes the change of season, [07:43.52] [07:46.49]the whitebark pine. [07:48.24] [07:54.73]All summer, these trees have been soaking up the energy of the Sun [07:58.24] [07:58.33]preparing for this moment. [08:00.36] [08:04.29]Now, they offer the animals of Yellowstone [08:06.72] [08:06.81]a bumper crop of pine cones. [08:08.96] [08:15.89]The whitebark pine is gambling on the fact [08:18.45] [08:18.53]that animals now need all the food they can get before winter, [08:23.24] [08:23.33]and is hoping it can entice them to spread its seeds [08:26.04] [08:26.13]far and wide across Yellowstone. [08:28.43] [08:36.29]So, inside the cones, it has put tasty, nutritious pine nuts. [08:40.88] [08:46.81]A pine squirrel. [08:48.36] [09:16.53]It snacks on a few of the nuts to keep going [09:19.52] [09:29.21]and then buries them, one by one, in a sheltered hollow beside the tree. [09:33.52] [09:36.93]If it hides them well and packs them carefully, [09:39.64] [09:39.73]they should last through the winter. [09:42.24] [09:43.53]But this is not much good for the tree. [09:46.20] [09:46.29]Its seeds have gone nowhere. [09:48.44] [09:56.57]A grizzly bear mother and cubs. [09:58.84] [10:02.53]It's unusual for a grizzly to have so many cubs. [10:05.64] [10:07.37]This mother has found two orphans and adopted them. [10:11.04] [10:17.53]But now she has four cubs to fatten up [10:19.56] [10:19.65]before they go into the den to hibernate this winter. [10:23.12] [10:34.53]She's after pine nuts, too. [10:36.72] [10:36.81]They are 50% fat. [10:38.44] [10:43.41]In a good year, a grizzly bear can put on five pounds a day [10:47.03] [10:47.13]eating nuts alone. [10:48.80] [11:10.49]If squirrels have done the hard work, [11:12.60] [11:12.69]it doesn't matter that grizzlies can't climb trees. [11:15.96] [11:20.37](SQUEAKS) [11:21.68] [11:36.93]The squirrel will just have to start again. [11:39.76] [11:41.97]Luckily, this year, the trees are being particularly generous. [11:45.75] [11:54.53]A Clark's Nutcracker. [11:56.48] [11:59.13]This is what the tree has been waiting for. [12:02.00] [12:05.29]With its perfectly-shaped beak, it prises the nuts from the cones [12:09.56] [12:09.65]and tucks them one by one into a special pouch under its tongue, [12:13.60] [12:16.45]up to 1 50 at a time, [12:19.52] [12:19.61]a fifth of its entire body weight. [12:22.04] [12:43.21]Then it flies as much as 1 5 miles away [12:46.36] [12:46.45]and drills the nuts into the ground in sets of 1 0, [12:50.04] [12:58.45]placing a stone on top of the stash to mark the site. [13:01.88] [13:13.29]It goes back [13:14.80] [13:15.65]for more [13:17.00] [13:17.81]and more. [13:19.16] [13:25.21]Over the autumn, a single bird can bury 30,000 nuts [13:28.83] [13:28.93]across an area of 1 00 square miles. [13:32.00] [13:36.69]When the winter comes, [13:38.04] [13:38.13]it will manage to remember the location of a staggering 70% of these seeds, [13:42.96] [13:43.05]even when hidden beneath the snow. [13:45.48] [13:50.41]But as the Clark's Nutcracker remembers its way into surviving the winter, [13:54.64] [13:54.73]it becomes the whitebark's greatest ally. [13:57.48] [14:01.69]Although its feat of memory is extraordinary, [14:04.60] [14:04.69]for every 1,000 seeds it buries, it still forgets 300. [14:09.04] [14:12.05]From all those missed seeds carried far and wide across Yellowstone, [14:16.60] [14:16.69]new whitebark pines will germinate next spring. [14:20.39] [14:46.33]It's now September [14:48.36] [14:48.45]and the elk have made their way down to graze [14:50.75] [14:50.85]where the grass on the river banks is still green [14:53.88] [14:53.97]and they can browse the nutritious shoots of young willow trees. [14:57.92] [15:15.17]The males are now upping their game. [15:17.68] [15:20.05]This bull urinates on himself to increase his masculine appeal [15:24.76] [15:26.65]and by thrashing his antlers to decorate them, [15:29.16] [15:29.25]he hopes to make himself look more impressive. [15:32.24] [15:41.33](ELK BUGLING) [15:42.84] [15:44.73]The females are paying a little more attention now. [15:47.68] [15:47.77](SHRILL BUGLING) [15:50.07] [15:52.69]The bull has succeeded in gathering a fair-sized harem. [15:56.20] [15:57.97](SQUEALING) [15:59.68] [16:00.25]But the females are still not quite ready to mate. [16:03.52] [16:05.09]They are now focused on feeding as much as they can [16:07.84] [16:07.93]before moving lower still. [16:10.00] [16:16.57]But the elk are being watched. [16:19.44] [16:19.53](WOLF hOWLING) [16:21.44] [16:25.73]Over the summer, wolves have been less mobile because of their young pups [16:30.20] [16:30.29]but their strength is building again. [16:32.92] [16:48.49]The elk get twitchy and head for the cover of trees. [16:51.80] [17:00.81]They may be a little safer here [17:03.11] [17:06.01]but the food in the forest is far less nutritious than on the river banks. [17:10.56] [17:16.33]If they want to eat well and avoid wolves this winter, [17:20.11] [17:20.21]they'll need to keep on moving. [17:22.48] [17:23.29](BARKING) [17:24.60] [17:32.85]As the elk move gradually downwards, [17:35.28] [17:35.37]they follow the rivers out of Yellowstone's central plateau. [17:38.99] [17:44.85]The rivers, in turn, follow the path of glaciers [17:47.72] [17:47.81]that flowed from this great bowl in the last ice age [17:51.68] [17:51.77]and carved their way right through the barrier of surrounding mountains. [17:56.08] [18:04.37]Today, these valleys are escape routes [18:06.67] [18:06.77]for animals from the returning ice of winter. [18:09.76] [18:19.29]Lower down, the valleys broaden, the rivers slow [18:24.41] [18:24.49]and a richer variety of trees grows in the alluvial soils, [18:28.52] [18:34.01]the perfect home for Yellowstone's most industrious creature. [18:37.79] [18:38.69](SPLINTERING AND CRACKING) [18:40.00] [18:54.29]A beaver can fell a cottonwood tree in just a few hours, [18:58.20] [18:59.61]hundreds in a year. [19:01.32] [19:06.41]The beaver doesn't chew through the whole trunk, [19:09.28] [19:09.37]just enough to make the tree unstable. [19:12.28] [19:12.37]It then retreats [19:14.04] [19:14.81]and lets the wind do the rest. [19:17.19] [19:17.29](CREAKING) [19:18.60] [19:20.77](WIND BLOWING) [19:22.28] [19:42.01]It cuts branches into more manageable lengths [19:45.84] [19:45.93]and then swims them down a network of purpose-built canals towards the dam. [19:50.48] [19:56.81]The pond gives this beaver protection from predators [20:00.16] [20:00.25]and the canals allow it to forage far into the forest, [20:03.44] [20:03.53]carrying many times its own weight with ease. [20:06.48] [20:14.49]Autumn is the busiest time of year for beavers. [20:17.44] [20:17.53]It won't be so easy to make repairs when the pond is frozen over. [20:21.48] [20:33.57]The sound of running water is their stimulus [20:36.16] [20:36.25]to shore up gaps with timber and plug leaks with mud. [20:39.84] [20:48.41]But the dam not only serves the beavers. [20:51.24] [21:00.33]Moose come here from the forests around [21:02.76] [21:02.85]to feed on weeds that thrive in the beaver's shallow pond. [21:06.63] [21:08.49]The weed is rich in vital sodium that the forest can't easily provide. [21:13.56] [21:19.01]But now that winter is approaching, [21:21.12] [21:21.21]another essential role for the dam is revealed. [21:24.24] [21:36.41]These smaller branches are not for fixing the dam, [21:39.60] [21:41.09]they're for eating. [21:42.80] [21:52.57]The beaver secures them to the mud in the lake bottom. [21:56.00] [22:01.93]In just a few weeks, this lake will be frozen [22:04.92] [22:06.21]and the beavers won't be able to cut and move trees. [22:10.36] [22:10.45]But they will be able to swim right under the ice [22:12.72] [22:12.81]to feed from this underwater larder. [22:15.37] [22:24.01]Moose also eat twigs and branches [22:26.72] [22:26.81]and often try to take advantage of the beaver's hard labour. [22:30.56] [22:37.29]This young male is getting a little too close to the beaver's larder. [22:41.56] [22:55.69]Autumn is not a time for sharing. [22:58.48] [23:04.73](OWLS hOOTING) [23:06.20] [23:19.41]It's mid-September. [23:21.12] [23:24.69]As the sun drops further in the sky, [23:27.36] [23:27.45]the aspens, cottonwoods and maples [23:30.64] [23:30.73]start shutting down for the winter. [23:33.19] [23:35.41]They now digest the green pigments in their leaves [23:38.72] [23:38.81]to claw back what nutrients they can into the trunk and roots. [23:42.64] [23:43.69]What's left behind make the colours of autumn. [23:47.16] [24:31.77]Groves of aspen all turn at the same time. [24:34.80] [24:41.05]Each grove descended from one tree, [24:44.67] [24:44.77]interconnected by roots, [24:47.60] [24:47.69]colour-coordinated. [24:49.40] [25:02.57]As cold air sinks further down from the mountains, [25:06.24] [25:06.33]it brings autumn mist to Yellowstone's valleys. [25:09.56] [25:21.89]It was in the autumn of 1 870 [25:24.60] [25:24.69]that the first official exploration party to Yellowstone [25:28.23] [25:28.33]began to plan for the creation of the world's first national park, [25:32.44] [25:35.17]the beauty of Yellowstone's autumn [25:37.28] [25:37.37]inspiring a complete change in the way we value the wild. [25:41.36] [25:50.81](BUGLING) [25:53.16] [26:12.01]For the last six weeks of strutting and herding, [26:15.28] [26:15.37]male elk have eaten almost nothing. [26:17.83] [26:19.25]They are exhausted. [26:20.96] [26:30.69]This bull has done well. [26:33.20] [26:33.29]He has successfully held on to his harem. [26:36.64] [26:36.73]And now the females are finally coming into season. [26:40.00] [26:43.97]But they are being distracted by another male. [26:47.51] [26:47.61](SHRILL BUGLING) [26:49.28] [26:52.69]If a bull elk can't dominate all rivals, he can't have access to the females [26:57.63] [26:57.93]and all his effort will have been in vain. [27:00.76] [27:03.09]Now he must gather the last of his strength. [27:06.04] [27:07.65]The rival wants to take him on. [27:09.95] [27:24.37]The aim is to get an antler point into his neck. [27:27.48] [27:31.93]But they are evenly matched. [27:33.88] [27:33.97]Neither can penetrate the other's guard. [27:36.68] [27:40.13]Now it's all about power. [27:42.16] [27:44.69]A well-aimed thrust or a broken neck will kill. [27:47.76] [28:14.65]This challenger is lucky to get off with just a parting stab in the rump. [28:19.12] [28:24.85](SHRILL BUGLING) [28:27.12] [28:35.77]The victor returns to his females. [28:38.20] [28:38.93]His young will be born next spring. [28:41.39] [28:45.85](SQUEALING) [28:47.64] [28:49.33]But the prospects are not so good for a defeated bull. [28:52.87] [28:52.97]After all this effort, [28:54.52] [28:54.61]he will now have to wait until next autumn to try his luck again. [28:58.60] [28:59.93]That's if he even makes it. [29:02.00] [29:05.21]Bull elk, exhausted by the rut, [29:07.80] [29:07.89]struggle to survive the Yellowstone winter. [29:10.76] [29:23.49]It's now October [29:25.16] [29:25.25]and the winter is catching up with the elk once more. [29:28.60] [29:31.41]An early flurry of snow is a sign that it's time to make a decision. [29:35.76] [29:37.25]To stay is to face the certainty of snow and wolves. [29:40.56] [29:41.73]To go offers the chance of an easier life, [29:44.44] [29:44.53]but the uncertainty of the world beyond Yellowstone. [29:47.84] [29:48.45](BUGLING) [29:49.80] [30:07.57]Every autumn, thousands of elk do leave Yellowstone. [30:11.44] [30:11.53]And, as they go, they cross an invisible line [30:14.84] [30:14.93]out of the protection of the National Park. [30:18.20] [30:19.05]Here they confront new danger. [30:22.04] [30:30.45]Dressed in orange to avoid each other, but a colour that elk can't see, [30:36.36] [30:37.37]hunters come to the forests just around Yellowstone in October [30:41.40] [30:41.49]to shoot elk. [30:42.92] [31:09.49](GUNShOT) [31:10.52] [31:10.61](ELK BLEATING) [31:13.44] [31:14.65]Elk, of course, have no understanding of park boundaries or of Yellowstone. [31:19.92] [31:21.89]To them, this is simply an instinctive migration [31:24.76] [31:24.85]to find more hospitable land, so they just keep going. [31:28.72] [31:36.81]Beyond the ring of hunting lands, [31:38.96] [31:39.05]the natural mosaic of forest and grass [31:41.80] [31:42.05]is replaced by an alien geometry. [31:44.51] [31:48.37]Circles of irrigated grass, [31:50.83] [31:54.01]squares of maize, [31:55.92] [31:57.93]golf courses, [31:59.96] [32:00.05]the signature patterns of mankind. [32:02.92] [32:07.21]It's unlikely they'll be welcome here. [32:10.24] [32:19.69]By now, the pronghorn have pushed further [32:21.99] [32:22.09]than any of the Yellowstone's animals. [32:24.96] [32:25.05]Out of forests, through farmland [32:27.51] [32:27.61]and down into the wide prairies [32:29.44] [32:29.53]at the foot of the Rocky Mountains themselves. [32:32.96] [32:41.77]Their search for winter grazing [32:43.40] [32:43.49]takes them over 1 00 miles to the south of Yellowstone, [32:47.36] [32:47.45]the longest migration of any American mammal. [32:50.40] [32:56.29]They have made this journey every year since the last ice age. [33:00.56] [33:01.57]But, nowadays, they have a problem. [33:04.40] [33:08.97](TRUCK hONKING) [33:11.32] [33:12.01]Their traditional winter refuges [33:13.96] [33:14.05]lie right above some of the richest natural gas deposits in America. [33:18.60] [33:25.57]The wells are no direct threat to pronghorn. [33:28.84] [33:33.49]But pronghorn are timid. [33:35.87] [33:38.01](TRUCK hONKING) [33:39.32] [33:39.41]At the slightest noise they run [33:41.56] [33:41.65]and when they run, they run at 60 miles per hour. [33:45.19] [33:48.57]They evolved to avoid cheetahs, not juggernauts. [33:52.08] [33:56.09]Trucks, fences [33:57.80] [33:57.89]and the disturbance from the wells have put pronghorn at risk. [34:02.16] [34:05.61]There are 1.2 million acres here, [34:08.56] [34:08.65]but 75% of it has now been earmarked for gas and oil. [34:12.60] [34:22.61]Back in the farmland, the elk have found food. [34:26.04] [34:29.21]But this grass is not meant for them. [34:32.20] [34:35.57](COWS LOWING) [34:37.56] [34:44.65]Ranchers will tolerate elk [34:46.76] [34:46.85]as long as they don't compete too much with their cattle. [34:50.84] [34:56.65]But, as the elk move in, their old enemy follows them out of Yellowstone, [35:01.67] [35:02.85]an animal that's more difficult for ranchers to accept. [35:06.72] [35:12.41]In their minds, fear of the wolf runs deep. [35:15.68] [35:21.97]Even Yellowstone lost its wolves. [35:24.48] [35:25.33]They were wiped out over 80 years ago. [35:28.12] [35:31.21]After years of prejudice, they were reintroduced in 1 995, [35:35.60] [35:38.49]brought back by the authorities to restore Yellowstone's natural balance. [35:43.32] [35:47.01]But the wolves have done so well, [35:48.92] [35:49.01]that now they are moving out of the park looking for new territories [35:53.52] [35:53.61]and prey. [35:55.32] [35:59.01]Out here, it's clearer to see why wolves have a bad reputation. [36:03.36] [36:17.33]If ranchers' cattle are at risk, by law, wolves can be shot. [36:21.48] [36:32.25]As wolves come back, ranchers are being forced to return to the old ways, [36:37.08] [36:41.69]to get back into the saddle and protect their herds. [36:45.44] [36:50.85](BEEPING) [36:52.56] [36:54.57](BEEPING RISES IN PITCh) [36:55.55] [36:57.73]But opinion is changing. [37:00.16] [37:00.25]Working with scientists who have radio-collared the Yellowstone wolves, [37:04.44] [37:04.53]ranchers can now keep track of them [37:06.76] [37:06.85]and when they know they are near, [37:08.40] [37:08.49]shoot not to kill but to scare them away. [37:11.36] [37:19.85](CATTLE LOWING) [37:21.52] [37:32.13]The return of the wolf will always be controversial. [37:35.88] [37:38.41]But evidence is now emerging [37:39.96] [37:40.05]that wolves are far more important than anyone imagined, [37:44.00] [37:45.97]especially back in the heart of Yellowstone. [37:49.24] [37:54.97]It's nearly the end of October. [37:57.64] [37:58.77]The cold autumn nights have brought a thin crust of ice to a beaver's pond. [38:03.71] [38:04.57]Unlike in the river valleys below, [38:06.87] [38:06.97]up here, there are not many tall cottonwood trees. [38:10.40] [38:10.49]So this beaver has built his dam from the shoots of young willows [38:14.16] [38:14.25]sprouting all along the side of his pond. [38:17.40] [38:33.01]But he is something of a novelty. [38:35.52] [38:36.65]Even by the time Yellowstone was made a national park, [38:40.52] [38:41.17]beavers had been virtually hunted to extinction by fur trappers. [38:45.56] [38:52.17]They only began to reappear here in 1 995, [38:55.87] [38:56.41]the year the wolves came back. [38:58.79] [39:04.33]Now wolves are chasing elk again, elk have had less time to eat willows, [39:09.88] [39:09.97]so willows are sprouting everywhere. [39:12.88] [39:14.93]Today, as winter approaches, [39:18.00] [39:18.09]all over Yellowstone beavers are using those willows [39:21.56] [39:21.65]to put the finishing touches to a dam-building renaissance. [39:25.76] [39:39.01]And for every dam, there is a new habitat for new life [39:43.12] [39:43.21]and a richer, more diverse Yellowstone. [39:46.32] [39:55.77](hONKING) [39:57.64] [40:05.13]But just as Yellowstone reveals the complexity of life, [40:09.00] [40:09.09]it also exposes its fragility. [40:11.76] [40:17.33]On its lofty ridges, [40:18.80] [40:18.89]there are signs that all is not well with the whitebark pine. [40:22.67] [40:27.33]From above, it looks like autumn colours have come to an evergreen world. [40:32.16] [40:38.61]But these trees are dying. [40:41.04] [40:50.29]Small eruptions of resin dot the trunk of the tree, [40:53.96] [40:55.45]evidence of an invasion. [40:57.80] [41:06.37]Tiny beetles are chewing through the tree's outer defences. [41:10.44] [41:18.45]Once inside, they lay eggs that turn into larvae that eat the tree. [41:23.52] [41:32.17]Each tree that is lost [41:33.60] [41:33.69]threatens all the animals that rely on its autumn bounty. [41:37.72] [41:43.49]The only thing that can stop the beetles is extreme cold. [41:47.48] [41:49.09]But, recently, the climate here has been getting warmer and warmer. [41:54.16] [41:56.73]No national park can protect against that. [41:59.92] [42:06.37]This is a tree that needs a cold winter. [42:09.52] [42:20.61]It's now November [42:22.32] [42:22.41]and the elk have found their feeding grounds just in time, [42:25.72] [42:26.33]the snows of winter at their heels. [42:29.20] [42:35.05]Here they join other herds who come to this place every year, [42:38.83] [42:38.93]where the snow will be less deep and life a little easier. [42:42.96] [42:52.09]But, today, they graze on an island of grass [42:55.12] [42:55.21]surrounded by development. [42:57.64] [43:01.93]As they run from the winter, [43:03.52] [43:03.61]the fate of Yellowstone's animals outside the national park [43:07.15] [43:07.25]is decided not by the cold, but by people. [43:11.28] [43:14.29](SQUAWKING) [43:16.44] [43:17.01]These elk are lucky. [43:18.80] [43:18.89]This refuge has been kept aside to give them some degree of sanctuary. [43:23.60] [43:29.85]So, although the park isn't big enough to protect all its animals all the time, [43:34.76] [43:34.85]its influence can spread beyond its boundaries [43:38.28] [43:39.09]and if even ranchers can come to tolerate wolves, [43:42.32] [43:42.61]then anything is possible. [43:45.07] [44:02.45]In the mountains of Yellowstone, [44:04.52] [44:04.61]where the elks' bugles signalled the beginning of autumn just two months ago, [44:09.47] [44:09.57]all seems deserted. [44:11.72] [44:18.29]But, now, the final act of the season is about to take place. [44:22.48] [44:23.89]From out of apparently nowhere, come the bighorn sheep. [44:27.76] [44:29.57]The toughest of all Yellowstone's animals, [44:32.08] [44:32.17]they can stay here all winter [44:33.88] [44:33.97]on slopes and crags that the biting wind keeps clear of snow. [44:38.24] [44:46.85]Now they are coming together to rut. [44:49.84] [44:51.89]Like elk, the males battle for females. [44:55.00] [44:55.93]But where elk do their best to avoid fights, [44:58.92] [44:59.45]bighorn relish them. [45:01.56] [45:10.93]A quick test of horn size and of other important bits of anatomy, [45:15.79] [45:17.65]and the males get straight to the point of sorting out who is toughest. [45:22.04] [45:58.61]As the sound of their battles echoes across the Yellowstone wilderness, [46:03.08] [46:03.17]it marks the end of autumn. [46:05.24] [46:12.33]Now the great change is coming again. [46:14.92] [46:17.53]Winter is here. [46:19.04] [46:50.65]As the snow returns to Yellowstone, it seems like the clock is turning back. [46:55.48] [47:00.81]All traces of the human world are covered up. [47:03.84] [47:08.25]A reminder that when the heart of this great wilderness [47:11.00] [47:11.09]was made a national park, nearly 1 40 years ago, [47:15.36] [47:15.45]it was one of the most remote places on Earth. [47:18.44] [47:20.61]But as the human world has crept up on Yellowstone, [47:23.72] [47:23.81]the true value of this remarkable space has become ever clearer. [47:28.24] [47:35.73]Though, in many ways, Yellowstone is not big enough, [47:39.43] [47:39.53]its influence reaches far beyond its boundaries. [47:42.68] [47:42.77]Not just to the land around, [47:44.68] [47:44.77]but wherever there is a wilderness preserved for its own sake. [47:48.60] [47:55.37]Here, in the heart of America, [47:58.52] [47:58.85]the first national park was born. [48:01.41] [48:06.13]An idea that has led the way [48:08.32] [48:08.41]in redefining our relationship with the wild all over the world. [48:13.76] [48:17.33]Some say America's best idea. [48:20.76] [48:39.29]Bringing Yellowstone's unique natural beauty to the screen [48:42.68] [48:42.77]would have been impossible without the tireless help of the local experts [48:46.84] [48:46.93]that know it like the back of their hand. [48:49.88] [48:49.97]Each has their own story to tell. [48:52.35] [49:09.05]howdy. My name's Mike Kasic. [49:10.48] [49:10.57]I'm the sound recordist for the Yellowstone programmes. [49:13.92] [49:18.21]I live in Livingston, Montana, [49:21.12] [49:21.21]just north of the Yellowstone National Park, [49:23.24] [49:23.33]right by the Yellowstone River. [49:24.88] [49:25.89]MIKE: Being a sound recordist isn't the only thing that I do. [49:29.72] [49:29.81]My friends say that I'm half fish. [49:31.64] [49:31.73]Yeah, he's half fish. [49:32.84] [49:42.25]MIKE: I like to spend my day swimming in the Yellowstone River. [49:45.84] [49:53.01]I just let the current take me. [49:54.88] [50:05.69]And, sometimes, when I want to stop I catch an eddy,just like the fish. [50:10.00] [50:14.13]This is the Yellowstone River. [50:16.36] [50:19.01]This is the same river that flows out of the heart of Yellowstone [50:21.88] [50:22.01]past geysers and bison, to just outside my door. [50:25.68] [50:34.85]This is heavy traffic. [50:36.48] [50:41.25]Sometimes I have to share the water. [50:42.92] [50:50.17]Brrr! [50:51.36] [51:00.69]This is the heart of the wild. [51:02.60] [51:04.37]A lifeblood that courses through wilderness and ends in the prairie. [51:08.64] [51:12.77]Not a single dam holds back its waters. [51:15.07] [51:15.17]It is the longest free-flowing river around. [51:18.52] [51:18.61]It's what many rivers long to be, unstoppable. [51:22.39] [51:23.93]This is the West as it was meant to be. [51:26.68] [51:51.97]One of the reasons I love to do this is because beneath the waves [51:56.12] [51:56.21]swims a creature that I've grown fond of. [51:58.96] [51:59.73]The Yellowstone cutthroat trout. [52:01.60] [52:03.37]They just have aura about them. [52:05.40] [52:05.49]With big red slits under their jaws, they are simply unmistakable. [52:09.72] [52:12.57]The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is the soul of this river. [52:16.04] [52:16.73]It's been here for thousands of years. [52:19.40] [52:23.29]They're a wild animal. [52:25.16] [52:26.09]They're in an underwater wilderness that is spectacular and amazing [52:30.32] [52:31.37]and I think it's the best part of Yellowstone. [52:34.36] [52:53.17]I know it's a little quirky. But looking for fish is what I like to do. [52:57.56] [53:00.93]When I'm in the river, I see the world from a fish's point of view. [53:05.16] [53:05.25]When they look up, what they're looking for is food. [53:08.60] [53:17.65]This is the Mother's Day caddis fly hatch. [53:20.40] [53:21.85]Trout food. [53:23.24] [53:25.45]This is another of the Yellowstone's amazing events. [53:28.80] [53:28.89]I'm swimming along and there's not a fly to be seen. [53:32.04] [53:32.13]And, suddenly, there's millions. [53:34.88] [53:34.97]A few hours later, it's back to nothing. [53:38.20] [53:40.73]Caddis flies are not the only food in this river. [53:43.88] [53:44.85]Many animals need the cutthroat trout to survive. [53:47.92] [53:48.01]Ospreys, grizzly bears, otters, the list goes on. [53:53.08] [53:56.41]But the more I see this world like the cutthroat sees it, [53:59.64] [53:59.73]the more I see that things are not quite right. [54:02.96] [54:04.37]Long ago, the U.S. Fish Commission wanted more fish in Yellowstone [54:08.04] [54:08.13]for sport fishing. [54:09.64] [54:09.73]So they stocked 3 1 0 million fish from Scotland and the Great Lakes. [54:14.40] [54:14.49]And one of the fish they chose was the lake trout. [54:17.68] [54:18.45]The trouble with lake trout is they like to eat cutthroat. [54:22.20] [54:22.29]In fact, 80-90% of their diet is cutthroat trout. [54:26.68] [54:26.77]I'm not sure how cutthroats like these stand a chance. [54:30.72] [54:32.13]The cutthroat are up against a lot of things besides lake trout. [54:35.52] [54:35.61]Warming river temperatures, pollution, industrial development [54:40.00] [54:40.09]and if they can survive all these things, [54:42.12] [54:42.21]will they then survive being gobbled up by lake trout? [54:45.64] [54:47.09]This is Yellowstone Lake. It's nearly 2,200 metres. [54:51.04] [54:56.33]Right here is Carrington Island, which is [54:59.40] [55:00.25]the primary spawning grounds for the lake trout. [55:05.16] [55:05.65]And it's the kind of site of the big battle that the biologists [55:09.00] [55:09.09]and the National Park Service have going against these fish. [55:12.76] [55:17.57]So, this is the National Park Service boat. [55:20.00] [55:20.33]It's a drift gillnet boat. [55:22.40] [55:22.49]And they are out here gilling, [55:26.56] [55:26.65]fishing for lake trout. [55:28.24] [55:52.45]By the end of the season, [55:54.44] [55:54.53]they'll have taken about 350,000 lake trout out of Yellowstone Lake. [55:59.47] [56:02.29]It's hard to see so many fish die, [56:04.52] [56:04.61]but watching a species disappear would be even harder. [56:07.40] [56:11.53]They caught this fish before she had time to spawn this year. [56:15.36] [56:17.21]They're getting many more fish every year. [56:20.04] [56:20.13]So they're making progress, but they haven't won the war by any means. [56:24.40] [56:34.53]But now the cutthroat trout are spawning, [56:36.83] [56:36.93]one of the natural world's most fantastic spectacles. [56:40.08] [56:41.61]These fish swim up this creek every year to spawn [56:44.48] [56:44.61]and it is here, in their native gravel, [56:47.36] [56:47.45]that more fish will begin the cycle again. [56:50.32] [56:50.93]With that, there's hope. [56:53.00] [56:53.09]There's hope that, against all odds, these fish will survive. [56:56.68] [57:03.61]In 1,000 years, I hope the cutthroat trout will swim these waters. [57:07.80] [57:11.73]The river is more than just its water. [57:14.29] [57:14.37]The Yellowstone is a river flowing fast and free like no other. [57:19.16] [57:19.65]A wilderness under water. [57:21.80] [57:26.29]I need this kind of wilderness. [57:28.72] [57:29.13]I need it for my heart to beat right. [57:31.48] [57:31.57]Take it away, [57:33.08] [57:33.25]I think we all lose the ability to understand the world. [57:36.95] [57:44.41]The secret to swimming in the river is to let go. [57:48.44] [57:49.01]Let the river take you, wherever that may be. [57:51.96] [57:52.89]I think that is a lesson we could all learn from. [57:56.28] [58:12.29]I guess, for now, I just feel lucky [58:14.24] [58:14.33]that I've had the chance to swim in a wild river [58:16.63] [58:16.73]with the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. [58:19.32] [58:22.32]The End [58:59.32]

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