Land of the Bears Page #2

And now they have to wait

for the salmon

to swim thousands of kilometres

to get to the coast.

Another long month is spent

grazing and wandering

about Kamchatka.

The wait is long.

So long.

They're all watching the river,

waiting for the salmon,

waiting for the flutter

of a fin,

a sliver of silver reflection.

A body slithering

through the water.

Waiting for that first fish.

Hunger has made them irritable

and less tolerant than usual.

They have to be

in the best position

when the salmon arrive...

...at last.

The bears have waited months

for this moment-

the first fish of the year,

the promise of better days.

And soon

there will be even more.

Millions of salmon are just

a few miles from the coast -

not far at all.

They have one last hurdle -

to avoid the jaws

of the sea lions.

Most of them do survive

and regroup,

ready to begin

the last leg of their journey -

the rivers.

In the vast amount

of salt water,

they can detect the smallest

drop of fresh water

from the river

they were born in.

The odour has remained

mysteriously in their memory...

...and will lead them

to their birthplace.

In small groups,

they begin the journey upstream

to go lay eggs

and perpetuate the species.

The bears will meet them

at their destination.

So, from the mountains

and the forests

where they took shelter,

from the valleys

where they grazed,

from everywhere,

they head to the best rivers

for fishing.

They walk for days,

following the trails left

by generations of bears

before them.

The young bear is there,

ready to fish.

He mustn't make

the same mistake as last year,

when he failed

to eat enough fish.

The mother and her cubs

are there too.

Then the huge males arrive.

Experience has taught them

to be patient

and not run around.

They know how to wait

for the right moment

to make sure

the salmon don't get away.

The tiny baby fish,

born the previous year,

nibble on pieces of fish

stuck between the bear's paws.

For once, something small

eats something big.

The bears have one objective

this summer -

to stuff themselves with

salmon, as many as 50 a day,

and stock as much fat as

possible in order to survive.

That won't be a problem

for the huge males,

but it's not the case for the

mothers and the younger bears.

The fish are too agile

and the river is too wide.

It's extremely difficult

to fish

and keep other bears away

at the same time.

The cubs are carefree

and oblivious to the pressure

their mothers endure.

But why would they fish

for themselves

if they don't have to?

This is what all mothers

and cubs experience.

In the morning,

the males search for salmon

again at the edge of the river.

They don't have any cubs

to look after

and will keep all the fish

they catch for themselves.

The mothers must find

a better place to fish,

a spot where there are

more salmon, easier to catch.

The higher upriver

the salmon swim,

the more tired they become,

so the mothers follow them,

moving away from

the mouth of the river.

We ride on the snowy hills

Under the moonlight

The cols of the valleys

Fade in the night

Come where

the rocky mountain streams

Meet the sky

Where the rivers run so clear

And cold...

Still further upriver,

there's a place

with more salmon

than any other place

in the world.

Lake Kurile.

Millions of salmon

cross this lake every summer.

The bears of Kamchatka know it,

so they arrive at the lake

hundreds at a time.

We fight against thunder

Struggle with storms

And dance in the fires

Of willows and thorns

Oh, where the future

meets the past

I will ride on

Where the ancient tales

are right

I'll Call

Riding, riding

We'll reach the holy fields

So far away, so far away

Riding, riding...

The young bear

is at the lake too.

He can finally catch

his first fish.

But there's still

the same problem.

When you find a good spot,

you can rarely enjoy it alone,

and as bears don't like

close contact,

tension mounts quickly

between the mothers.

The tension will become worse

over the course

of the next few days,

when the largest group of bears

in the world

gather at the lake.

The mothers eventually

get into the water...

...where they can fish in peace.

Well, not exactly in peace.

As soon as the mothers

manage to catch a fish,

the cubs steal it away

from them.

The food isn't shared equally.

The weaker bears often end up

without fish.

Half of all bear cubs die

before the age of two

due to brother-and-sister

rivalry, hunger,

disease and accidents.

A mother bear spends her entire

day taking care of her cubs,

and it's only in the evening,

when she's sure

that they have eaten enough,

that she can finally

fish for herself.

The young bear

has found a calm spot

away from the mothers

and all the commotion.

But does he really fish

like an adult,

or does he still play

like a cub?

He's now at the crucial age

where he can spend his first

year alone, without his mother,

learning to survive on his own.

He's young,

so any female his age

that comes near him

is a distraction

from the task at hand.

It's likely the first time

he's felt the urge to mate.

He still has a lot to learn

about that, too.

But when he does,

he will no longer just ensure

his own survival.

He will also contribute to the

perpetuation of his species.

A mother bear arrives.

She is young,

and, as usual with the first

litter, she only has one cub.

She'll pamper, feed

and protect him

until he reaches the age

where he can venture out alone.

Then he will leave her.

It's the last summer

he'll spend with his mother.

So he enjoys it.

He plays and runs around

in the waves and the wind,

carefree,

savouring every moment.

Summer is almost over.

Seasons change quickly in

Kamchatka - except for winter.

That lasts for months.

The bears have to begin

preparing for it now.

The salmon continue

their journey.

Thousands of them swim upriver,

driven by

an irrepressible instinct

to get to their birthplace

and spawn.

Once they're in fresh water,

they stop eating and drinking.

Their bodies

change mysteriously,

becoming deformed and reddened,

and then they rot.

The river where life begins

is now the river

that causes their death.

Some are so exhausted...

...they just give up.

Others continue the fight,

swimming against all the odds.

Those who still have

the energy to swim

will lay millions of eggs

that will become

millions of salmon,

and they will come back to

the same place in five years -

a never-ending cycle of life.

For the bears,

the red salmon are a sign

that the end is near -

the end of summer,

the end of salmon season.

Now they know that they have to

eat as fast as they can,

stuff themselves,

and feed their cubs.

They must get ready

for the coming winter.

So all around the lake,

they fish relentlessly,

pressed for time.

Downstream, all the salmon

are gone from the big river.

The bears head for the lake.

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