01x21 - Wild Moose Chase/Where the Bison Roam

[bunniefuu]

Hey, everyone-- it's me, Molly!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

Let's go!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

(laughing): Whoo!

♪ By plane or sled or snowshoe ♪

♪ She is ready to explore ♪

♪ From Kaktovik down to Juneau ♪

♪ Always wanting to learn more ♪

Yeah!

♪ Together with her best friend Tooey ♪

♪ Always by her side ♪ And Trini!

♪ Discovering the outdoors ♪

♪ On adventures day and night ♪

♪ Come along with Molly ♪

♪ Molly ♪

♪ Through fields of fireweed ♪

♪ Come along with Molly ♪

♪ Molly ♪

♪ From tundra to the sea ♪

Mahsi'choo-- let's go!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪ Yeah!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

♪ Come on ♪ ♪ Let's go! ♪

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

MOLLY: "Wild Moose Chase."

♪ ♪

What if I trade you a glow-in-the-dark eraser

for one of your sled dog sketches?

I don't know.

Did you see how cute this guy is?

Boop, boop.

Take the deal.

So cute.

Yes, that is very cute.

What if I throw in...

Hmm...

hilarious googly-eye glasses?

Now we're getting somewhere.

(laughing)

(school bell rings) (gasps)

Okay, time for class.

Sorry, Mrs. Marsh.

We can finish this later.

Actually, Molly, you and Tooey were giving us

a perfect example of what we're learning about today.

We're learning about googly-eye glasses?

(laughing): No.

We're learning about bartering,

and how this trading has been so important

to Alaska Native peoples.

Cool. Ehu.

Make pictures in your mind while I'm reading.

It'll help you understand.

♪ ♪

For centuries,

the Alaska Native people

have depended on barter and trade.

Some villages had access to furs.

Others lived near the coast, where they could gather fish

and other treasures from the ocean.

Sometimes, one tribe would have to add to their offer,

to make sure that the trade was fair,

like a valuable tool.

When both parties agreed, a final exchange was made.

A good trade was helpful for everyone.

Bartering not only gave the Alaska Native peoples

access to the things they needed

to live and survive,

but it also strengthened the bond

between villages and tribes.

You were right, Mrs. Marsh.

Making pictures in my mind

helped me understand what you were reading.

That's great, Molly,

because you are all going to barter with a class

way up in Kaktovik.

Better start sketching, Tooey.

I bet they've got a lot of neat stuff to trade up there.

Ooh, this pup is gonna be so cute.

So, if we send you this lunchbox of shells,

you'll send us a box of agates

and some cute sled dog sketches?

I can personally guarantee the cuteness of the sketches.

♪ ♪

Okay, Qyah, it's a deal.

Tavra!

Tavra! Good deal!

(cheering)

Hey, what's that thing

behind you on your wall?

Oh, you mean our fossilized whale bone?

That's a whale bone? (gasps)

Would you be willing to trade for it?

Hm, you guys would have to offer something pretty special

for us to trade something like this.

Molly, this is as cute as it gets.

(quietly): Stay cool.

MOLLY: How about we trade...

(gasps)

How about some moose antlers?

OTHERS: Huh?

Moose antlers?

Big moose antlers.

♪ ♪

Tavra! Deal.

Deal!

Talk to y'all next week.

Mahsi'choo.

(kids talking excitedly)

(softly): You have moose antlers that big?

(softly): Don't worry.

I've got this.

Seriously?

Seriously.

MOLLY: We've got some old antlers

that have been collecting dust in the storeroom for years.

TOOEY: You sure your parents are gonna be okay with you trading them?

My parents would be mad if I didn't trade them.

Behold, the...

(yelps) What?

I don't get it.

They were mounted onto a wood board with metal bolts.

It'd be hard to take them down.

(bell over door rings)

Ti'ya! Dad!

(detector scanning)

Hey, Molly Doodle.

Oh, what's wrong?

The big moose antlers are gone!

Oh!

You had me worried this was some kind of emergency.

We're learning about how trading brings villages together.

We were gonna trade the antlers for a whale bone.

A whale bone?

(chuckling): Okay, this is an emergency.

(sighs): But I'm sorry, Molly,

I traded those antlers to Mr. Patak

for this metal detector.

(evenly): Oh.

Find anything good?

(metal detector beeping)

Aw, yeah!

cents.

(metal detector beeping, Dad gasps)

cents.

cents more, and I'll have a whole dollar!

(sighs): Okay, new idea.

Let's ask Mr. Patak

if he'll trade the antlers back to us for something else.

(gasps): cents and a metal bolt.

Yeah!

A whale bone, huh?

So you understand why we need those moose antlers, Mr. Patak.

We'll trade anything for them.

Sled dog sketches?

Hilarious glasses? Huh?

(laughs): Both very tempting offers.

(sighing): But I don't have them anymore.

Those antlers are with Auntie Midge now.

She wanted a new chair that reminded her of nature.

So I made her this.

Just curious, what did Auntie Midge give you

for that moose chair?

(chuckles): This.

A block of wood?

Well, sure, for now.

But with a little work in the shop,

just imagine what it could be.

A wooden bowl, a napkin holder.

(gasps): A doorstop.

(Mr. Patak continues)

Maybe Auntie Midge will trade with us.

Hmm, good point.

Come on, Tooey.

This moose chase isn't over yet.

Hmm, maybe you'll be a pepper grinder.

Oh, how am I going to choose?

♪ ♪

MOLLY: Auntie Midge?

We need to talk to you about the moose antlers on your chair.

(both sigh)

MOLLY: And how they're not here anymore.

I liked the way the chair looked,

but I couldn't get out of it without bumping my head.

So I yank off the antlers and traded them to your dad, Tooey.

In return,

he gave me these lovely flowers.

I like the way they remind me of nature.

(sighs)

Without making my head hurt.

TOOEY: Dad! The moose antlers.

We'll trade you anything for them.

(panting): We'll brush the dogs after school for a week.

(chuckles): It's a deal.

The thing is, though,

you're going to have to find them first.

One of the dogs dragged the antlers out into the woods

before I got a chance to hang them.

(groaning): Oh, no.

Was it Anka?

(laughs)

It was.

That's why I haven't found them yet.

Moose antlers are enormous.

Come on!

You'd have to be really good at burying things to hide those.

♪ ♪

Anything?

No.

Any antlers?

Nope.

(twigs snap)

Where could it be?

Anka!

Come back here! (barks)

Anka is good at burying things.

I told you.

Last year, she buried my baseball glove.

I've never seen you play baseball.

Exactly.

(sighs) Don't worry, Molly.

Maybe we could figure out something else to trade.

I know, but that's not what we promised.

Ha!

Hey, Tooey, look at this!

(gasps): You found the antlers?

Uh, no, but I did find this.

(shudders): Eww.

(metal detector scanning)

Hey, Dad.

Find anything good?

Three bolts and a washer.

Um... good!

Hey, Molly Doodle,

I'm sorry you couldn't find those antlers.

I never would have traded them had I known about your project.

That's okay, Dad.

Too bad antlers aren't made of metal.

(gasps): But bolts are made of metal!

Can I borrow your metal detector?

But then what will I use to find washers and coins?

♪ ♪

(laughs): I'm kidding.

Here, take it.

Keep it.

I'm tired of finding junk in the yard.

I wonder what Connie will trade me for all these bolts.

♪ Yes! ♪

(metal detector scanning)

(detector beeps)

TOOEY: We searched everywhere,

but we couldn't find the moose antlers.

MOLLY: You mean these moose antlers?

ALL (gasping): Huh?

Ta-da!

(cheering)

How'd you find them?

My dad's metal detector.

The antlers are mounted on this piece of wood

with metal bolts.

Hey, guys!

I hope you've got your wow faces ready.

(groaning)

The wow faces up north

look a lot different than they do down here.

Uh, what's wrong?

Aren't they big enough?

They're really big, and amazing.

It's just that...

We lost the whale bone.

ALL: Huh?

I took the bone home so I could box it up

to send it to you guys, and, well...

Her dog buried it.

Hard to believe, right?

Not that hard.

He buried everything: the whale bone,

the metal lunchbox with the shells.

Wait!

Metal lunchbox?

♪ ♪

(detector scanning, beeping)

(digging)

♪ ♪

Enaa baasee'.

Thank you, Qyah!

No, thank you.

Quyana.

Hey, I really like

those snow goggles on your wall.

What do you want to trade for them?

Hey, everyone!

Molly here to answer your questions about life in Alaska.

Leilani from Hawaii asks,

"Where could I go to learn more about Alaska Native culture?"

A great place to learn more is at a museum.

GIRL: Today, we're visiting the Museum of the North

in Fairbanks, Alaska.

We're going to see items that were traded long ago.

The museum has a lot more stuff

than the things that are in the display cases.

This is Angie.

She helps take care of the items in the museum.

So you guys are gonna each get a card

that relates to an object in our collection.

And we're gonna try and imagine what they look like.

GIRL: When I got a card, I read the description,

and it made me imagine what the item would really look like.

"Woman's parka made from wolverine and wolf,

forming the sunburst type of ruff."

This is the picture of what I imagined:

a parka with a sunburst type of look.

I thought of the pretty sunshine.

And then we went over

and we found items in the museum collection.

This is where they keep all the extra artifacts.

(Angie sings notes)

KID: Oh, wow.

ANGIE: That is definitely the sunburst parka, right?

GIRL: Yeah, that's kind of what I drew, too.

ANGIE: That's the one! All right.

GIRL: We brought it back to the lab

and we had the elders talk about it.

This is a fancy sunshine ruff.

And this is actually popular in Kotzebue,

where I'm from.

Wow. Yep.

So why do you think it's called a sunshine ruff?

GIRL: Because it's kind of

lighter and different colors,

kind of like the sun. Yep.

It looks like it goes out, right, from the face?

GIRL: It took lots of tiny stitches

and cutting up lots of pieces.

Must have took a long time.

We got to see the items that we drew.

It was fun to compare my drawing to the real thing.

Mahsi'choo.

Thanks for asking and see you next time!

MOLLY: "Where the Bison Roam."

(plane engine roaring)

(phone chirps)

Hey, everyone!

It's me, Molly, coming to you today from...

Somewhere really high.

But when we land, we're going to see

Alaska's only herd of wild wood bison.

They're part of a program

to bring wood bison to the wilderness around Shageluk.

We'll be meeting with a bison expert, Professor Locklear.

And Nina's going to take pictures of the bison

and write a magazine article about them.

We're checking to see how they like their new home,

so we're gonna count them and look for babies.

We're going to see baby bison!

(laughing): If we're lucky.

Why do you look for babies?

It's a sure sign the bison are doing okay

in their new environment.

Bye for now.

We'll report later. (phone chirps)

MOLLY: I've never seen a bison

up close before.

I hear they're really big.

NINA: Actually...

They're really, really big. (laughs)

All right, everybody, we're landing in Shageluk.

(propellers whirring)

It's all you, Molly.

(clears throat)

As we make our descent into baby bison land,

we ask that your seat and tray tables

are in their full upright positions

and your seatbelt is securely fastened.

Thank you for flying with Layla Airlines,

where we rise above the rest.

♪ Bison! ♪

Ade'.

Greetings.

Good to see you again, Professor Locklear.

Always a pleasure, Nina.

And I see you've brought a couple of friends from Qyah.

Yes!

This is our pilot, Layla.

Nice to meet you.

And her daughter Molly.

Who is very excited to see her first bison.

How did you know that?

We scientists have finely-tuned powers of observation.

Whoa.

And Nina told me.

(giggles)

Come!

Let's go to my office so we can chat.

Chat? About bison?

Is there anything better to talk about?

Mmm, nope.

Just bison.

Mm-hmm. (laughs)

♪ ♪

MOLLY: How come they're called wood bison?

Excellent question.

Let's look at the map.

The wood bison live here, in the forest.

MOLLY: Oh.

The forest, where there are trees.

And trees are made of wood.

She's good.

The bison are in an area only accessible by plane.

We'll need this.

The bison wear special collars that send a signal.

When we're close, the antenna lets us know by beeping.

Layla, would you mind helping me attach this to the plane?

Sure thing.

In the meantime, feel free to look around.

Molly has a lot of questions.

Another observation?

Curiosity is very easy to spot.

Whoa!

You didn't tell me they have long beards.

Mr. Rowley would be so jealous.

(laughs)

Aww.

NINA: That's a baby bison.

Why is it a different color?

Baby wood bison are born that way.

And that's good for us.

Because it makes them easier to spot?

Are you sure you're not a scientist?

Well...

We've got to get you a field journal,

so you can take notes when you're out in the field.

I'd love that!

Antenna's all set.

If you can help me load up some of this equipment,

we'll be on our way.

This, too?

Definitely.

That's my field journal, where I keep count of the bison.

And this is your field journal.

You're gonna need one of your own.

Mahsi'choo, thank you.

Yes!

(phone beeping)

(sighs): My battery is running a little low.

So far, I don't hear any signal.

What if we don't get a signal?

What if we don't see any bison at all?

(chuckling): Molly, we've been up in the sky

for three minutes.

Oh.

(laughing): Seems like forever.

(Locklear laughs)

I used to be impatient like you.

But I found that often when I'm least expecting it,

something usually...

(beeping)

...happens!

Did the antenna pick up a signal?

Yes, but it's pretty weak.

What does that mean?

It means that the bison making the signal is pretty far away.

The herd should be nearby.

Maybe we'll find it when we least expect it.

♪ ♪

(device beeping)

(gasps): It's beeping again.

Can't land here, Molly,

but there's an old runway just up ahead.

(beeping rapidly)

MOLLY: Look what else is up ahead!

Wow.

♪ ♪

MOM: Time to land.

(bison lowing in distance)

Do you think there are babies in the herd?

Hard to tell.

I'll count while Nina takes notes and photos.

You two enjoy the show.

I've gotta share this on my vlog!

Hope my battery doesn't run out.

(phone chirps)

Molly here again.

I'm near Shageluk.

Can you guess what's in the background?

I'll give you a hint.

They're not moose.

(laughs)

(phone chirps) They're bison,

which you've probably never seen before.

This is their new home.

Neneekhwaalyaa, everyone.

If I see a baby bison, I'll be back to show you.

(phone chirps)

(lowing)

Are there as many as last time?

Hm, too soon to tell.

I know a spot by the Innoko River,

where some of them like to gather.

We've got more counting to do.

♪ ♪

, ...

Hm, still one missing.

Nina and I are gonna head north to look for the missing bison.

We shouldn't be long.

Can I help out?

You can head south.

But be sure to stay close to your mom,

and keep away from any wild bison you may see.

And it'd be great if you could take notes

in your new field journal,

to document anything you may find.

I find it's really useful to take notes

when I'm in the field working on an article.

Why?

My notes help me remember

important information.

I promise to take really good notes if we see anything.

Then we're all set.

The great bison search is on.

♪ ♪

How are you doing, Molly?

We've been doing a lot of walking.

Um, I'm a little tired.

Hey, can we take off our shoes and dip our feet in the river?

Now, that's a great idea.

(animal lowing)

(softly): Did you just hear something?

A grunting noise.

Could be a lone bison.

(bushes rustle)

(water lapping)

(animal bellows loudly)

♪ ♪

(snorts)

Just a moose.

We have plenty of them in Qyah.

(animal grunting)

(softly): Wait, Mom!

I hear something else.

(softly): Me too.

(animal grunting) It's like a moaning sound.

Remember that signal we heard from the plane,

the first one that was kind of weak?

Maybe it was picking up a bison

that got separated from the herd.

It could be hurt.

Let's check it out.

♪ ♪

(animal lowing softly)

We must be getting closer,

but I don't see anything.

Me, neither.

(animal lowing)

But I definitely heard that.

♪ ♪

(gasps)

(out loud): What is it?

Shh.

(whispering): The missing bison!

(bison lowing softly)

And that's not all.

A newborn baby!

(lowing)

(Molly gasps)

Oh, Nina's gonna flip when she sees these photos.

(phone beeping, Molly groans)

And my battery just d*ed.

But you've got your field journal, right?

Right!

Nina said that notes

help you remember important information.

♪ ♪

(gasps): She did it.

(laughs): Whoops.

It'll take a few tries.

(lowing softly)

(gasps): Her first steps, Mom!

MOLLY (panting): We found a baby bison, right after it was born!

BOTH: A baby bison?

Right after it was born!

Nice work!

Did you get some good photos?

Mmm, my battery d*ed.

But I wrote down lots of notes, like you said.

Great!

Show us where you found the bison.

(bison lowing)

Look!

Here they come.

NINA: Look how the rest of the herd welcomes them.

That's a very good sign.

Chenhditraliy, bison!

That's how we say "until next time" in Deg Xinag.

Chenhditraliy, Wobbles.

Hope you enjoy Alaska!

ADULTS: Wobbles?

(bison lowing softly)

See what I mean?

(all laughing)

♪ ♪

Is that Nina's article?

Uh-huh.

Listen:

"The Wood Bison introduction project

reached an important milestone with the birth of another baby."

That's wonderful, Molly.

Oh, and here's the part I wrote:

"Newborn bison are reddish-brown

"and can stand shortly after birth.

"A calf is protected not only by its mother,

but by the whole herd."

Nice writing, Molly.

Thanks, Mom.

I used my notes to help me write it.

Chenhditraliy, Wobbles.

♪ ♪