In the wildest corner of the American West the epic story of the Yellowstone grizzly bear continues to unfold
I'm Casey Anderson, and this story has defined my life as a naturalist I track Yellowstone Grizzlies in every condition
imaginable a
little bit too close for comfort
Census us he's coming up to us right now
Along the way learning about the many risks that threaten this isolated population
He's trying to get away from his sliding through the snow that boulders keeping up with her might hit him
Together with my best friend Brutus a grizzly bear I raised from birth
We're giving you a rare glimpse of one of the world's most remarkable animals
Chronicling their lives to help ensure a bright future for the incredible Yellowstone grizzly
It's 5:00 a.m. It's cold windy and miserable out here
I'm high above the treeline just outside of Yellowstone National Park and I'm here to witness
One of the most incredible grizzly bear behaviors and maybe one of the most incredible behaviors in the animal kingdom
This is absolutely incredible
Just below me. There's 14 grizzly bears. They have Cubs moms. Big boars all kinds a
View like this makes it all worthwhile. No matter the cold the wind or the altitude
from my very first encounter I've been fascinated by this amazing animal the more I learned the more I wanted to tell their story and
The little-known tale of these Yellowstone Grizzlies is truly one for the ages
But my passion goes beyond observing these bears in the wild. You see my feelings towards Grizzlies are a little bit different than most people
Maybe that's because my best friend weighs in at Oh about 800 pounds
That's him there. He's a brown bear named Brutus, and I've raised him since birth
Let me explain how it all started
I was born in Helena Montana in 1975 the same year the Yellowstone grizzly bear was added to the endangered species list
Growing up surrounded by the Montana wilderness. It's no surprise. I quickly learned about all the local wildlife
By Montana standards this bear was a very damn
Fast forward to college as I studied biology. I got more and more engaged in the wilder side of things
this is patches the Wolverine and
Here's Hershey okie and rookie three river otters. I got to know well
In the winter I ran a team of sled dogs anything to be outside and working with animals
Before I knew it I was the curator at a wildlife park
Visiting an elephant orphanage in Kenya and hanging out with some amazing crocodiles
And yes, these jobs come with their occasional bumps and bruises like the time a mountain lion gave me a pretty good thrashing
But hey, if it's your passion, you'll lick your wounds and turn the corner and that led me straight to Brutus
Jiri is about five months old
throughout my life
I've been called the animal magnet because animals always seem to find me but with Brutus well
Seems like we picked one another sort of like friends on the playground and we've been going strong ever since
When Brutus outgrew the house
We built him a sanctuary and started attracting visitors of all ages to teach them about crizzley bear biology and conservation
Brutus is a born performer
So we began filming him as part of our educational mission
kiri stars in a picnic parade scene in a public service video
As you can see, we're on a movie set here demonstrating why it's so important to keep a clean camp in grizzly country
Brutus has been a huge part of my life. He's sort of like well, he actually was my best man
Today Brutus is a six-year-old in the prime of his life
And at this point we've been pals for so long that we developed a unique relationship
One that means lots of interactions playing tag and some playful wrestling. I
Even get an occasional grizzly kiss all things that you would never think about doing under ordinary circumstances
In fact, the trust and respect that allows us to be this close is simply one-of-a-kind
In other words do not try this at home
Bears are among the most massive and powerful animals on earth and luckily for me
I can show you that strength close-up and give you a look at the Grizzlies basic anatomy
Headache one of the first things people are blown away by when they see Brutus is the size of his head
Got a 56 inch head. Oh that's as big as a beach ball a big head virtus and
Check out that muscular hump on the upper back
This helps differentiate a grizzly from other bears in the wild from the side
You can see that participators 44 inches tall and six feet in length
But when they're on all fours, it's tough to see how big these bears really are. Oh boy
Let's show them how big you are. Oh
Boy, that's pretty high five. Cool boy. Give me another high five good boy
When standing Brutus Tower seven feet eight inches tall that's seven inches taller than Shaquille O'Neal
Just a few more years. He'll be full-grown
Topping out at over 8 feet tall
So there you have it if you ask me it's a pretty impressive package now just imagine seeing all of this in the wild
Historically Grizzlies roamed the entire western half of North America with a population numbering over
100,000 bears
the westward expansion of European settlers brought with it increased hunting and habitat destruction and
the grizzly population suffered drastic losses
Today in the lower 48 states only about 1500 greece's remain in less than 2% of their former range
the Creator Yellowstone Ecosystem
In and around Yellowstone National Park is home to the southern most Grizzlies left in North America
This island population of about 600 Grizzlies is hemmed in on all sides by roads and human settlement
In every year I venture into the wilderness to see firsthand how yells don't really survive on this ecological island. I
Know that small isolated
Populations are at constant risk of extinction due to sudden changes in climate and food sources as well as disease and mismanagement
and
Once an island population is gone natural recovery is nearly impossible
My journey begins just outside the western border of Yellowstone National Park in an area I return to every year I
Arrive at this cabin just in time to see the last act of winter
It's an important time for Grizzlies as they begin to emerge after hibernation
And I know this place is loaded with bears this time of year
Place I've been coming for the last six years every spring and this is the most no I've seen in my lifetime
this late in the year
The long cold winter takes its toll on every animal in Yellowstone
during five months of hibernation
Grizzlies will lose up to 30% of their body weight
Other species like bison wolves and moose are exposed to the winters harshest elements as they constantly search for food
Fact this one has been very hard
I'm a little bit concerned about how it's gonna affect the Grizzlies behavior, and I'm kind of unsure where I'm gonna find
This is prime
springtime grizzly bear habitat and Yellowstone Ecosystem
Whether it's eating the plants the grass or its roots and bulbs
this semi arid
Landscape is exactly where the Grizzlies come for their first meals of the year
Well snow might make it difficult for the Grizzlies to find the food
It'll actually make it easier for me to find them cuz it's pretty much just all white out there
So they're brown bodies will stick out very well
Right there, I think that's our first bear and might try to get a better view
But I've got to be extremely cautious and stay downwind the second that bear catches a whiff of me coming even from a mile away
He'll be gone
Here's the reason look closely at the profile up Lucas's face
You can see the ger is Lee's dish shaped nose to properly ID a grizzly like the one I'm tracking
You can't ignore this feature and this nose is seven times stronger than a bloodhounds
I've picked up the big dark Grizzlies tracks of this deep snow and it's really nice because he's broke in the snow, but
Bears walk with a pigeon toe. So it's a little difficult to follow
But I'm going to continue to follow him. I
Pick up tracks where he left off last night
Still tracking that big male Koreans to the snow and I found some of his scat
by analyzing a bear scat you can see what he's eating this time of year and
It's real obvious at first glance here that it's primarily biscuit roots all chewed up. He little chunks of the root through there
This is a really good sign. The Bears are finding something to eat. Despite the above-average late season snowpack
When I thought spring was finally on its way winter just won't quit
and
Then things started getting really interesting
Just spotted oh
Chrisley bear all cut us know how here the sage was at the pottery yards away
I'm gonna move in on this barren up to a safe distance. I don't want to disturb his natural behavior
Maybe he'll move in closer to me
Okay, here we go
I found a spot downwind in the trees and that bear is coming right in towards me just
To see his black contrasting if the snow is just so clear to see his home
He's got snow over his face. He
Doesn't have a clue I'm here and I'd like to keep it that way
Surprise Grizzlies often charged and he could take me out for good with a single SWAT of his paw
No bear can get by without some serious claws
Essential for digging Brutus's claws are shorter than most but while Grizzlies have claws up to four inches long
That's like a steak knife on each finger the front paw checks in at eight inches by 8 inches
Think dinner plates and you get the idea
Luckily for me. This Baris got his eyes on the prize underground. I'm able to observe him safely from a distance
Christopher has stayed almost 20,000 calories a day no matter what the weather's doing
This guy right now. It's either white wine. He's digging in this month flying everywhere over the snow is really
Snows are like coming down now. He's actually bulldozing his nose through the snow to smell the ground better
Oh, yeah, you just grab something and pulled it out of the ground
It's a pretty good situation the wind's born in my face the sagebrush has kind of eyes on that kilo he can't see me
But he is fully my interactions I got it
On him. I don't want him to disappear in the city ages and all of a sudden pop up really close
Keep on moving buddy good he's gonna walk right on by without even noticing me. That's just the way I like it
Well, here's the excavation of that bear I was just watching out here in the sage and look at this
I mean this bear did some serious digging they've used their nose. They've come to this area
They're smelling things under the ground and it's really obvious what they're smelling you look right here
That's a rodent nest
It looks like that bear pulled up a bowl a little rodent that burrows beneath the soil
It's a small snack for a big animal, but that's a good source of a some much-needed calories
They can really get in there and really move somewhere what they're looking for is roots Road this involves
You never guess that bears are foraging for newly sprouted plants. These are spring beauty corns, they're like little potatoes and
Here some biscuit root
few dandelion leaves and
my personal favorite
wild onion
Another vital source of food is winter kill the animals that have died during the harsh winter and are now slowly decomposing
Bears with their highly sensitive noses are often the first to find them
Once a bear tucks into one of these it won't be leaving until it licks the bones clean
But for the Grizzlies in this area, they're true bread-and-butter this time of year is mostly underground
This actually reminds me a lot of what Brutus does back home tearing up the ground. That's what grizzly bears love
You can't get too close the Grizzlies dig him in the wild so to show you how it's done
I'm gonna give my friend Brutus a similar challenge
He's not a bull eater. But he loves salmon a staple food source for many wild bears
Let's see what happens when we invite him in for a closer. Look
So I've hit some salmon up here in the ground
You can see he's using that nose to try to find underneath just like they do in the wild when they're looking for the voles
Nice found the exact spot I hit the salmon what he's doing
He's trying to get that scent all over his body to mask his own out in the wild grizzly bears smell horrible because every dead
Thing stinky thing they come along to to do this behavior right here it roll around in it cover up their scent
So when they're sneaking up on prey they smell like a dead thing not an actual bear
So things don't get afraid of them. Bruce has used his sense of smell
Identified a food source underneath the ground
He's using those big claws and this big muscle mass right here that powers those powerful forearms that makes crews leave some excellent
excavators
He's doing something really neat right now that I've actually seen a lot of grizzly bears do he doesn't want that salmon to get any
More dirty, so he actually flips it upon his paw lifts it up and you realized it just like a dinner plate
Nice found most of the small chunks of salmon, but the mother lode very deep in the ground and I know he's smelling it
right now
Now he's really digging in you can really see that hump and working. You can see his claws working
So Brutus has found the mother lode he's dubbed 3 feet in the ground to get it
Now he's using his hole for a bed because that's nice and cool in the sunshine homebody
It's May and I'm heading back into the field observed more springtime grizzly behavior
I'm also hoping to catch up again with that same dark grizzly bear out in this open meadow
I'm staying low to keep out of sight and
this is really unusual a
Pair of sandhill cranes have come in roxbury. They're kind of all around
It's really interesting. The bear is doing all the work
They're just kind of hanging out waiting for something to come out for them to eat
So this game the cranes are playing a little bit dangerous and they're literally playing chicken with the grizzly bear
At last the weather thaws and spring arrives in Yellowstone
This means many more bears including female Grizzlies with newborn Cubs will leave their dams for the summer
To understand the helpless island population of Grizzlies as a whole we've got to get a sense of how these new Cubs are faring
I'm wondering about two yearling Cubs that I saw last spring. Did they survive the winter? Will they have left their mother's side this year?
I'm up early always the best time to catch up good. Here's a behavior and I've set my sights on two bears less than
It looks like another pair of sandhill cranes are in the air as well
Just come up the hill here right here in the mud. I see a really good set of tracks here
And in fact, there's two sets of tracks and that l'académie looks like they're probably sub-adults
Just by the size
Adolescent bears are known as sub adults until they reach maturity
Very obvious grizzly tracks one way you can tell us a straight line of their toes
And then the obvious big claws sticking out a good inch away from the toes here and as I followed them up
Just up here. There's actually a big set of what looks like it to be a big large male grizzly. Bear moving in that direction
And then I look up and just over here. I see the two sub adults and they're walking over here feeding upon this plateau
Amazing these are the Cubs I saw last year
I know bears that return year after year, like clockwork to the same spot at the same time
Here's a look at the same bears alongside their mother last spring
It looks like these guys have made it they've come back to the spot where mom taught them to forage
It's a good sign these young bears are doing well
I
Get myself in a good safe place where I can watch these two adolescents from above
What a point of view and if I literally have front-row seats tech grizzly bears out there digging in the ground
This is like one of the coolest opportunities that anybody could have
What's up adults are there bears that have just been kicked away from mother?
They could be two three four years old, but often once they're kicked away from their mother. They remain at least sibling groups
And they begin him next year. They'll actually separate and live out the remainder of their life solitary
Now there's six hanging around actually kind of keeping their distance and just now
came together
Just like typical siblings that got a little bit of a bite
What's gonna happen as DC Bears are gonna get mature more solitary and they're gonna go their separate ways we're already seeing signs
back that they don't really want to be around each other whether eating
Sharings not in the grisly way
Now these some adults are just like teenagers they're actually just graduated high school and they're going off to college
It's the first time they can't depend on money more
So this is a big reality. Check Boram
They have to find food on their own and they don't have the protection of mother from the big boars
So this is actually one of their most dangerous years
Suddenly the adolescents behavior changes, they appear nervous on edge standing on their hind legs and
Here we go. The big boar whose tracks I saw earlier is coming right over the crest of the hill
Adult male Grizzlies are not social animals. They don't like competition for food or a female's affection
And these adolescents are simply no match for this huge boar. Will it be fight or flight?
Not cut myself in a crazy situation to sub-adults went over the hill out of sight then suddenly they pulled them towards
Their 85 yards away now. I see that big male bears moving up behind me
It looks like these guys know this isn't a fair fight
Thankfully, they're distracted and they don't even notice me they're covering their own hides and heading straight for the forest
But my situation just got worse
I'm armed only with a can of bear spray and I have no chance of outrunning this big boar who in a burst of speed
Can run up to 40 miles per hour
I've got a territorial male
Showing that he's the boss
And I don't want him to show. Oh then he's the boss
It's easy to see when Brutus opens his mouth wide don't want to anger this bear of
Grizzlies mouth gave measures around 12 inches and holds four two-inch canines and they have the bite force of over
1,200 pounds per square inch
enough to crush a bowling ball
Now there's a little bit too close for comfort
He senses us. He's gonna be up to us right now
Doesn't know where he can't smell us so I have to really say let that bear know
that I'm a human and
I think right now might be the time
We bet
And just like I thought as soon as he identifies us as a human he wants nothing to do with us
He couldn't smell us. He was moving in really a dangerous dangerous distance
So I had to stand up say hey bear identified myself as a human and just like any bear should in this ecosystem
Be afraid of humans and get out of here
That was a close call
Scaring a bear off like that is always the last resort
These bears will need their space as they look for mates and continue to fatten up during the early spring
I'll come back in a few weeks in the thick of Yellowstone's summer tourist season for one of the Grizzlies favorite traditions
the pursuit of newborn elk calf
Summers arrived and my year-long Odyssey into the lives of Yellowstone. Grizzlies has brought me to the center of their island population
Yellowstone National Park, the world's first national park
This time of year the entire ecosystem hums with life
It's hard to imagine the grizzly population is still at risk
Although food may be plentiful and weather kind Grizzlies confront a new challenge every day during the warmer months
People nearly three million tourists arrived mostly during the peak summer months and managing them while preserving the Grizzlies natural
Behavior is a big job
today, I'm gonna soak up the experience at your typical park visitor and
That means driving the parks roads and looking for people or more specifically a bear. Jam a
Gridlock of cars and pedestrians fine where a glimpse with a real live grizzly bear and it doesn't take me long to find one
The source of all this attention is this beautiful blonde grizzly
What an amazing opportunity for all these people right above them only 30 yards away we have a young female grizzly foraging
eating grasses and dandelions
She's moving about I've actually watched her
go over in an area where some blocks and she was turning over the rocks to see her paws really close and she's probably
answering those rocks
And you can see that a grizzly bear can do as far as generating excitement here alongside the rogue ales to mark
And this is more than likely most of these people's first time I've ever seen a grizzly bear
What an amazing thing to see is such a close distance
I've heard that watching the Bears of the park were wasn't always like this
In fact fallout from how visitors used to interact with the bears nearly led to the yells. Don't grizzly surmise in the
1970s that's when their population reached a dangerous low point of around 200 individuals. I
Wanted to get to the bottom of the story. So I decided to ask park ranger Mike Leach to fill in the details
What are you looking at out there?
well
We've actually got a grizzly bear here across the flats in that meadow out on a bison carcass this wolf Patrick took down this bison
Probably about 48 hours ago, and we've been watching this great interaction
There's tools out there competing with this mayor right now the spares not letting those wolves get much food
Even though they risk their life to take that animal down
that's one of the things that's really exciting why people stay for so long is you really get to learn a lot about
The predator prey and the predator predator dynamics so I know it hasn't always been like this
I mean this bears out here eating natural foods
But that's not always been the case as a know things have drastically changed here since the parks established in 1872
It didn't take very long for this to become a bear part, you know by the early
1890s people were coming to Yellowstone to see in this park
most of our
garbage dumps throughout the park had become bare viewing areas until
the big management decision in
1970 to close the garbage dumps
I learned from Mike that when the dumps closed it was like asking the Bears to quit their addiction to human food
cold turkey as a result grizzly human conflict
Skyrocketed and over 200 Grizzlies had to be killed or removed from the park
finally in
1975 the Bears were listed as a threatened species and started their long road to recovery in
The process Bears returned to their natural behaviors and wild food sources today
their population has grown but human related conflicts still pose a major threat and
When careless human actions lead to a conflict with the Grizzly
It is the bear that pays the price it will often be permanently removed from the population
that's why Brutus and I team up to educate the public to be bear aware in the unique way that only we
Don't make a noise
Donating our time to a series of public service announcements that views entertainment and information
Mike also see soap for the bears future
I firmly believe that the single most important piece of grizzly habitat is the human heart
It sits in the heart of these people we can protect them here in the park
We can have federal protections
But if we don't want them here as citizens
They're not gonna be here as I watched the drama between the Wolves grizzly and bison unfold and reminded that true wilderness
Doesn't come easy
Good science is a critical part of this effort and the radio collar on this bear allows scientists to track its movements for their research
The wolves that killed that bison last night are coming back to take what's theirs and that bears not
She's perched up on the carcass and the wolves are moving in and she's not budging
We've evolved instead right from a roadside, you know, I'm not the only one witness and that's me
Everybody here is literally having a National Geographic moment right on the road. I mean, this is really awesome
This incredible display continues until dark and then with the full moon risin it's time to turn in for the night tomorrow
I'll be up before dawn seeking out an elk herd and a hungry grizzly or two to give them a run for their money
Of abundance and as well as they so
Sometimes you have to work a little bit harder to find a quiet place to call your own
State in the tattoo campground. It's 5:00 a.m. Do something
Trailhead let's take me up to this big high country plateau where there's a lot of elk and a lot of grizzly bears
I really hope to get back there away from the people and witness some grizzly bears chasing some elk calves. I
Can see why they call this North America's Serengeti, there's a big herd of elk bunch of bison and some pronghorn
It's early summer. Everything's green. They're out there and they're feeling good
They're playing but little did they know on the very far side of that plateau
There's a big Griz moving down the ridge and he's moving down very rapidly. Well, that's telling me he's like really on the hunt
It's really walking fast. He's moving right to a herd of a bunch of elk
Now I don't think a grizzly bear is fast enough to actually outrun and catch an adult elk but those calves are easy quarry
This radio collared bear is all business and the fearful elk herd Huddle's together
He's going in after them but it's going to be hard to pull a fast one on this herd
It doesn't hurt to have so many pairs of alert eyes
But this grizzly doesn't give up and this is unusual. There's an older bull outside the herd and he's not easily frightened
In fact, he's making a span
But the bear goes in for the kill
The priestly reconsiders the icy Swift that's quite possibly the greatest escape had ever seen
The sheer quickness and power of the Grizzly never ceases to amaze me. Let's see if Brutus can give us a demo
Okay Brutus it's time for the Grand Prix on your marks sad
Grizzly's have tremendous acceleration in short bursts and three strides. They can reach nearly 40 miles per hour now
That's about the speed of a racehorse and much faster than a human
They can't sustain this speed over long distances because they're massive muscular bodies are built for sprinting
But it's enough in a pinch to surprise prey and score a nice meal
All 800 pounds of Burtis can really get up and go luckily for me. I'm pretty quick
I've learned enough to never reenact this scene in the wild
It's late summer now and I'm making my way into this remote Alpine world just as the last of the snow melts
I'm hoping to spot an annual migration that plays a critical role in the life and success of the Yellowstone grizzly bear
The stakes are high as winter approaches time is running out for them historic calories from the stories
I've heard this is the stuff of legends, but I've never seen it with my own eyes, but I spot something else first
So I'm off here at 12,000 feet and I ran into a large herd of elk. They're actually walking down the ridge here
Seeing elk way up here is a bit of a surprise
But there's plenty of vegetation to eat and relief from the heat and the bugs below
but I've got my eye out put one bug in particular the army cut worm on it arrives daily this time of year by the
Thousands each moth is loaded with valuable protein and fat. So where there are Cutler moths that are sure to be Grizzlies close behind
Wow, this is so awesome
That mountain is crawling with grizzly bears
I can see a sow with three cubs two big boars and a couple other individuals right now
I can count nine total grizzly bears
I'm gonna climb up on this Ridge get a bubble him in a safe spot and see if I get a closer look
Judging by all those bears. I think the moths have arrived
The amazing thing is that cut where moths travel hundreds of miles every year from the great plains in search of a very specific
food source and
This is why the moths have come here
They've migrated from the Great Plains to feed on the nectar of these Alpine wildflowers and they actually do it at night
During the heat of the day they retreat to the cracks and the rocks the talus slope and that's when the grizzly bears
Excavate them and then eat them
No time to stop and smell the flowers I'm continuing up the ridge towards the viewpoint and it's tough going
But the hard work pays off, I'm right where I want to be at a safe distance
taking in a high-altitude
Grizzly experience just out here in the talus is a big male grizzly
He's got a bunch of big scars on his neck in his face
More than likely even fighting with other big males in this area over prime food areas
Right now he's really using that big hump and those big claws and those big forearms and movements big rocks in the Taos fields
It's estimated that a grizzly can eat up to 40,000 months in one day
He actually picks them up one by one kind of like an anteater
He flicks his tongue out bang bang bang picks each one of them other-- one by one
This bear is only the beginning over the next few hours
I see more bears than I've ever seen before on a single day nearly 20 individuals and
Believe me put that many bears in sight. It's an action-packed show
This morning is ridiculous. I've got bears down below me feeding and just out here in the snow field
I have two other bears wrestling and plan
But with so many aggressive males competing for prime auth real estate tensions run high
These two big boars chased one another for nearly 20 minutes. They're both Amy to be king of the mountain and neither one's backing down
And just when I think things are settling down a grizzly up slope takes a massive boulder down toward this big man
He's trying to get away from his sliding through the snow and that boulders coming up where they might hit him
As wild and unfamiliar as it is up here
I can't help but think of my friend Bruce Lee as these Grizzlies display their incredible skills
Watching these bears. No big massive amount of rocks makes me wonder how strong Brutus really is
I
Saw from afar how the high alpine Grizzlies make quick work of finding food and boulder fields like this now
I want to get a close-up look using Brutus. I'm
Baiting the challenge by placing salmon underneath the rocks
Your first time on a tell us over than a buddy
You think of this talus? You're gonna look for food just like the wild bears do
Ya
Dig around in it look for food. Come on Brutus. Come on. There you go. Good boy. Yeah good boy
Good boy
You're doing it is like a wild bear do it USCG our boy, it's hard work, huh?
You are a klutz. Oh, look at you Tenderfoot. Grizzly. You weren't raised doing this. We're
Gonna be on the downhill side of you
You're a little more clumsy than the wild bears
What a good boy a lot of hard work the Bears up on the talus slopes. Don't get water delivered to him
Good
Okay, so Brutus passed the first test he could clearly flip medium sized boulders with ease and detect the food reward underneath
But how much weight can you actually move? It's time to find out with a second try a
Series of large boulders each heavier than the next. Okay Brutus let her rip
Something underneath these rocks
Yep, Oh ball good
Let me try it the hard way my heart for you though
That's too easy
Try one a little tougher than that
The next Boulder is even larger, but Buddhist doesn't seem to mind
And we're feeling you'd roll over a bus for salmon, huh, it's a good boy now
We got to make it tough for you. That was way too easy
It's time for the real test I need some help setting Brutus Sam reward underneath this massive boulder
So I decide to see how much it weighs
This big guy weighs almost 1,800 pounds
Rudy they can move this big rock something underneath a new just big rock still strong yard
Yeah good
That was easy, yeah, there's a big treat underneath there
That Boulder almost weighs a ton a good boy Brutus that was a good boy
Unbelievable and he didn't even break a sweat
Back in the high country the strong
Midday Sun beats down and the Bears with their bellies full moths find a comfortable nook to take a little siesta
Hmm not a bad idea I
Discover a sweet little cave out of the wind and go about setting up my camp stove for a hot drink
I like my coffee extra strong
The only problem is there's not enough to share with the caves other visitors
As I was making my coffee, I noticed a big pile of Grizzlies get off to the side here
It's obvious looking at it that the Bears are gorging themselves with moths right now
And after I have my coffee, I'm gonna go find one of those moths and see what it tastes. Like I
Figure when in Rome do as the Romans do and win on a grizzly covered mountain top why not taste the richest protein source around
Watch out cut worms. Here I come
Without the help of that powerful grizzly nose
It takes a while to find just one month let alone but thousands of these bears need but finally I find one
Here goes down the hatch
It's actually pretty good just like peanuts
Now that my moth cravings are satisfied I head down the mountain towards camp but what's that in the distance
Wow, what a lucky break we're actually seeing the future of Yellowstone's Grizzlies right here a mother with two cubs
But I can tell from their size that these tiny Cubs are less than a year old. And this is our first Alpine Trek. I
settle in to watch the show
This is just the way I liked a few grizzly bears. I got a big clip between us it's completely safe
The wind isn't my advantage. They can't smell me. I can completely watch them do their natural behavior
And this is a really cool because I'm sitting here watching mama teach the next generation of Cubs how to date help moms
These are the Bears they're gonna be coming back to this mountain
I'm impressed. These little guys have really got this down
But they still got a few things to learn about keeping their balance and watching out for each other on these loose rocks
This little guy. He's riding the wave
Look out Rock
All this even can be serious hard work. I think it's time for a break after a long hour
Dave ball and mom are out on the mountainside and digging the little Cubs are curled up in sunshine here taking a nap
They'll need all the rest they can get
But mom says it's time to head for the hills
As these Cubs cruise on to greener pastures
I'm struck by the fact that the Yellowstone grizzly survival rests on a precarious balance
In this case climate change could affect the timing and location of the moths migration
Leading to a major disruption in the Grizzlies food supply
it's a striking example how small things add up and how island populations are vulnerable to a multitude of factors including
human impact weather fluctuation and natural disaster
Mother nature is hinting that I'm not invincible either
I've got a big thunderstorm moving in here. It could be extremely dangerous all the exposure and the lightning
I've had a great time up here. Saw a lot of grizzly bears a lot of unique behaviors
So I think I'm gonna call it a day and I head back down to camp
This experience will stay with me for a lifetime
Yellowstone Grizzlies have come a long way but they're not out of the woods here an island population is never truly saved from extinction
But maybe ensuring their survival starts with action for starters
We can reconnect this island territory to the remainder of North America's grizzly country
We can also continue monitoring the health of the grizzly population and the overall fitness of the yellowstone ecosystem as a whole
Someday the grizzly may reclaim a good portion of its natural range
Until then Brutus and I will keep on telling their story and writing our own. We're already looking forward to the next chapter
