02x05 - The Great Bear Show

[bunniefuu]

[Chris kratt]
today on kratts' creatures...

A black bear!

Where'd he go?

[Chris]
we're bringing
our wilderness skills

To the north woods,
where we're checking out

One of the most
puzzling creatures--

The bear!

[Martin kratt]
are bears cuddly and cute?

Vicious K*llers
or gentle herbivores?

[Chris]
we'll find out the answers

And maybe one or two things

We didn't know
about wilderness survival

In this episode
of kratts' creatures!

Iarriba!

Iandale, andale!

We're here
in the north woods
of canada,

Searching for one
of the most beloved

And, at the same time,

Most feared creatures
of all time.

I don't think
any other creature

Has been the subject
of so many stories and songs.

I'm not talking
about the woodchuck.

It's the black bear,

A creature
that can be found

All over north america,

From up here in canada

To the everglades
and even mexico.

O.k.,
Let's get this straight.

A black bear is black,

And a brown bear
is brown, right?

It's a factual inexactitude.

Which means...

Wrong.

If you're looking
for reality,

You need
the entire bear story.

For instance,
some black bears are brown,

Some are even white,

And some are
everything in between,

There are so many types
of bears out there!

There are eight species
of bears

Living on
all but three continents.

They come
in a rainbow of colors.

The names
get confusing.

There are many different kinds
of brown bears,

Including grizzlies,
kodiaks,

And--you guessed it--
brown bears.

If you ask me,
we need to clarify.

In north america,
there are three types of bears--

The brown bear,

The polar bear,
one of the biggest

And strongest bears
in the world...

And the black bear,

Which is the smallest
and most common of the three.

Check out the rest
of the world,

And you'll find
the world's smallest bear...

The malaysian sun bear.

He lives in the tropical forests
of southeast asia.

What about the bears
of russia or china?

There are a lot of bears
out there.

It can be hard
to tell them apart.

Take the grizzly
and the black bear.

How do you do it?

[Martin]
you've got to know
what to look for.

The grizzly is larger,

With a big hump
on its shoulders.

It also has
a rounder head

With a straight nose.

[Chris]
the black bear has
a smaller head

With a roman nose.

Even though
black bears

Are the most common
in north america,

They're still
not easy to find.

Our plan is
to set up camp,

Make sure we have
all our supplies,

Then head into the woods
on our search.

Ready.
Ready, bro?

Yes.

When you're out
in bear country,

Something you should
always do

Is take proper care
of your food supplies.

Bears will eat
just about anything.

Their amazing
sense of smell

Lets them know
when food's around.

That's why we're putting
all our food

In this bear-resistant
container.

It's airtight so the bear
can't smell the food.

We're putting the food
insidethe container.

You cando other things.

We need a demonstration moment
to explain.

[Chris]
today's scientific experiment...

Hiding food from bears.

Method?

Put all your food
in the bag

And string it up
between two trees

Where the bears
can't get it.

[Chris]
this has been
another successful

Kratt brothers
scientific experiment.

Thank you.

There are other ways
of ensuring

Bears don't
get into your food--

Stringing it up
or burying it.

Or take it with you.

[Allison]
lug that stuff around?
Why bother?

Because when you're in
the deep woods,

It's easy to get lost.

The last thing you want
to have happen

Is to run out of food.

[Chris]
there's another reason
to take this stuff along.

That's because we're
looking for black bears.

They might not be
easy to find.

A male black bear
has a ginormous range--

[Martin]


[Chris]
I didn't know that.

If we didn't have food with us

And got lost or stranded,

We might starve out there.

[Martin]
definitely something to avoid.

[Chris]
and speaking of food,

While we're looking
for bears...

Hey!

All the blueberries
have been eaten

Off these bushes.

There must be
a bear around.

A bear loves berries.

When he finds
a berry patch like this,

He'll gorge himself.

That's why
there aren't
any berries left.

Berries aren't
the only things
bears eat.

Bears
are omnivores,

Which means they eat
almost anything,

Including fruit,
plants, and animals.

Here's a few things

Off a bear's
preferred menu.

[Martin]
grass and roots.

Bears are into

The whole greenery
and roughage thing.

[Chris]
they'll go for small animals
like woodchucks...

[Martin]
frogs and crabs...

[Chris]
birds and eggs...

[Martin]
even baby foxes,
if they catch them.

[Chris]
gastronomically ambitious
grizzly bears

Will k*ll animals
as big as elk or moose.

[Martin]
or chow down on dead grub
like this dead moose.

[Chris]
not to mention
a whole world of insects.

[Martin]
and then there's always garbage,

Although it's not good for them.

[Chris]
the old story is true.

Bears doeat porridge

And whatever
they get their paws on.

Wow! Bears really do
eat anything.

There's the food.
Where are the bears?

[Chris]
my vote is up there.

[Martin]
this terrain is
perfect den material--

Remote, tucked away,
protected from the elements.

And really hard
to climb.

That's another thing
about black bears--

They're great climbers.

Check this out!

Is it?

Yep.

A bear den.

Some bear
must have spent

The whole winter
sleeping in here.

Forget those stories
about bears only
living in caves.

Just about anywhere
secluded and sheltered
will do--

In between large boulders,
under logs,

In hollow logs,
in brush piles,

And even under buildings.

[Allison]
what's the coolest thing
about bears?

Hibernating.

Imagine how cool it would be
to sleep all winter

Without getting up
to go to the bathroom!

Hibernating
human humbug!

You rang?

This whole hibernation myth
is one of those things

My bear buddies have been
laughing about for years.

Everybody knows
that bears hibernate.

It's common knowledge.

At least,
I thought so.

You mean they don't?

[Ttark]
absotively not!

He's doing a thing
I call winter sleep.

He'll wake up now and then
and search for food.

Let me get this straight.

All a bear really does
is sleep?

What do you mean, all?

Winter sleep
is a weighty subject.

You see, in the winter,
pickings for food are slim,

So bears spend the autumn
getting fat.

Then they slow down
their heart rate

And body functions

And catch some zs

And just live off
all that fat.

It keeps them nice and warm
and insulated

During the lean months.

Hey,
after all that eating,

Who wouldn't want
a bit of a nap?

If a bear doesn't hibernate,
who does?

Somebody has to, right?

[Ttark]
you want true hibernators?
Check out bats.

Or how about woodchucks
and marmots?

They grab winter shuteye.

When it comes to
bears hibernating, forget it.

So we found a place
where a bear's
been sleeping.

The only question is,
where's the bear?

Come on.

Do you get
the feeling
we're not alone?

[Bear growling]

I wonder...

A black bear!

You're there
with a black bear.

This is amazing!

Where'd he go?

I think he went
that way.

He must have gone
over there.

There he is!

Let's go!

I'll navigate.

[Martin]
he's over there!

I know a shortcut.

[Chris]
are you sure

You know
where we're going?

Come on.
There he is!

We won't lose him.
This way!

Man, this bear
can really move.

That's another bear myth
we should destroy.

One of the biggest myths
about bears

Is that they're slow
and clumsy.

They may seem that way,

But when a bear
wants to move,
it's fast.

A black bear
can reach speeds

Of 35 miles an hour,

Make big leaps,
and even scale cliffs.

[Martin]
in a sprint,

A grizzly bear can run
as fast as a horse.

Bears can handle
this terrain

Much better than we can.

Aah!
Aah!

You call that
navigating?

Our bikes!

They're on the bottom
of the river!

Where are our packs?

They're floating
down the river.

Aw, man!
There goes our food!

Yeah, there goes
our food.

But there's one thing
we didn't lose--

The bear!

Bears spend
about as much time

In the water
as we do.

Actually, black bears
and grizzlies

Probably spend more time
in the water than humans.

After all,
it's a great place
to cool off.

Don't forget playing.

And catching fish!

And playing.

[Bear roaring]

[Chris]
so another myth
bites the dust.

Bears love the water.

They're true natural swimmers.

[Martin]
now all we need to do, al,

Is figure out
exactly where we are.

Hang on, guys. We've got
some technical breakdowns here.

Hey, where are you guys?

Something tells me you went
a million miles downriver.

Do you know where you are?

Of course.

I have no idea
where we are.

I do. We're wet,
we're cold, we're lost...

And we don't have
any food.

We're in trouble.

No, you're not.

All you need to do
is what the survivors do.

What?

Who's one of the greatest
survivors of them all?

The most resourceful,
clever, capable...

[Chris]
our dad?

I'm talking about
the bear.

If you follow it,

You'll probably find food
and be o.k.

She's right.

The bear went
that way.

[Martin]
and it looks like

He's found
something to eat.

[Chris]
blueberries!

If you think
we're joining the bear,
you're wrong.

Like all
wild animals,

Bears can be
unpredictable.

As long as
you give them
their space,

Bears almost never
att*ck humans.

On the other hand,

People are constantly
k*lling bears

For no reason at all.

In north america,

About 40,000 bears are
k*lled by people yearly.

But only
a couple people

Are k*lled by bears
each year,

And it's usually
the people's faults.

[Allison]
the problem is,

Some people think that bears
are cute, cuddly creatures

And try to pet them
or get way too close to them.

You've got to give
wild bears their distance.

That's what
we're going to do.

We're going to
keep our distance,

Play it cool,

And the bears will, too.

We'll wait till
the bears

Finish with
these blueberries.

You know the rule--

The bears eat first.

Geez, are they ever
going to finish?

I'm starving.

I can't find any!
Have you?

Yeah.

Let's split it.

I'm still hungry.

Let's follow
the bears.

They probably know
where more food is.

[Chris]
if you're wondering

How we're able
to follow this bear,

How about
another edition of...

Tracking a bear
isn't tough

As long as you know

What their
footprints
look like.

All bears have
five toes
on each foot.

At the end of each toe,
there's a curved claw

About the size
of a crayon.

Look at these prints.

Here's a front paw...

And here's a hind paw.

Bears use their claws

To dig for roots
and even catch fish.

After a long summer
of digging,

Their claws
usually wear down.

They always grow back
in the wintertime,

Just like
our fingernails

Are constantly
regrowing.

The bear's
headed this way.

This root's
been dug up.

A bear could have
come by here.

Definitely.

Yep, looks like
the black bear
found more food.

Hey, what's he doing?

Some black bears
have been known

To lift rocks
that three men
couldn't budge.

These guys are strong.

This guy's probably
not after us.

He's after one of
his favorite foods
or something.

Like honey?

Bees!

These guys are not having
an easy time of it.

[Martin]
how do bears
stand this?

[Chris]
they're all over me!

Wha--whoa!

Aah!

This time,
I'llnavigate.

Aah!
Aah!

Aah!aah!

This can't be right.

That whole thing
about bears going after honey

Is just a myth.

It's like a story,
a fairy tale.

[Ttark]
sure, bears like honey,

But they really love
the larvae.

Let me beespecific.

A bee's eggs
hatch into larvae,

Which is sort of like
little defenseless maggots.

They have it pretty good,

Staying in the honeycomb,
eating pollen,

But then, look out!

They do this little number
called pupating,

Which means
when they buzz out,

They're full-fledged bees.

[Ttark buzzing]

[Martin]
there goes another myth.

Bears do eat honey,

But they really love
bee larvae.

[Chris]
this bear's still searching
for food.

He seems to know
exactly where to go
to get it.

Bears know
their territory
very well.

This is probably
our bear's
territory.

You might be right.

Bear scratchings.

One of the reasons
a bear claws at trees

Is to mark
his territory.

This is a sign
to other bears

To back off.

He also
makes his claim

By rubbing up
against the tree,

Leaving his scent
and tufts of fur.

These are
more signs to bears
to back off.

Hey, chris, listen.

Aw.

The people
at this camp

Must have gone
hiking or something

And left their food
in the open.

There's only one thing
we can do.

The answer is...
Not much.

If a bear wants
to have a picnic,
he gets a picnic.

Look at these bears.
They're chowing down.

I wonder
what kind of people

Would do something
so stupid?

What would they be like?

[Chris]
stupid might be
too strong a word,

But they sure
weren't thinking about

Living in harmony
with nature.

[Martin]
for instance,

Setting food out
like you would at home

Is not a smart move
out here.

[Chris]
the wilderness is
full of wild creatures,

And human food is
like a magnet to them.

[Martin]
cover and seal
all your food completely.

[Chris]
the worst thing to do
is abandon your campsite

Without creature-proofing it.

[Martin]
otherwise, you know
what will happen.

They cleaned
the place out!

Chris?

Oh.

Take a look.

Wow.

People are afraid
of black bears,

Though there's
no reason to be.

But the black bear
has every reason

To be afraid
of one creature--

The grizzly.

[Martin]
who could blame
the black bear?

Grizzly bears are so large,
powerful, and fast.

They can hunt creatures
as formidable

As moose, elk,
dall sheep, caribou...

And like we said,
black bears.

Check out
how huge they are!

Grizzlies can get
up to 9 feet in height

And weigh about 850 pounds.

We're talking about

One of the world's
largest and strongest animals.

[Chris]
formidable as the grizzly is,

There is one thing
the black bear has over it.

He can climb trees.

The grizzly is
pretty much land-based.

[Martin]
so if black bears
get into any "grizzly" trouble,

Their tree-climbing skills
come in handy.

Pretty convenient,
don't you think?

It's amazing
that an animal

As big as
a black bear

Is so great
at climbing trees.

[Chris]
of course, black bears
don't only climb trees

To get away from grizzlies.

[Bear growling]

[Martin]
sometimes, it's to get away
from each other.

[Chris]
this young black bear
was chased here

By an older,
dominant male.

[Martin]
that's the last time
he tries

To join in on
another bear's meal.

[Chris]
bears use three things
to find potential meals--

Hearing, smell,
and eyesight.

Some senses
are stronger than others.

A lot of people think

That bears have
bad eyesight,

But they're really
just nearsighted,

And if I put on
the creature vision
goggles

And set them to "bear,"

Oh...

Whoa!

Bears arenearsighted!

Which means they have problems
seeing stuff that's far away,

But they can still detect
form and movement.

Good hearing helps, too,

But the strongest sense
for a bear is smell.

Far away, a bear
couldn't see chris so well,

But he could
sure smell him.

The only time bears
have real problems seeing

Is just after they're born.

Newborn cubs can't see at all.

It isn't long

Before things
come into focus for bears.

These grizzly cubs
are about 6 months old.

They can see perfectly.

[Martin]
they're not too bad
at climbing, either.

Nobody told them

Grizzlies aren't supposed to be
any good at it.

Mother bears usually give birth
to two cubs at a time.

They're born blind
and helpless,

Weighing about
a pound each.

[Chris]
after three to five weeks,
they open their eyes

But still depend
upon their mothers for milk.

She'll nurse them
for months.

[Martin]
whoa, chris!

Those cubs are nursing
right now.

[Chris]
you don't often get
an opportunity

To see bears nursing
in the wild.

In spring,
mom and her cubs

Come out of the den
ready to explore.

Mom will teach her cubs
essential skills

Like how to forage
and fish

Or how to recognize threats.

[Martin]
and a lot more,
like how to defend yourself.

[Chris]
mother bears are
superprotective

And will fight even other bears
to defend her cubs.

[Martin]
the number one rule
for approaching bear cubs--

Back off!

Martin, it's
our black bear!

I think he found
another campsite.

That's more proof
that bears are

The ultimate
foragers.

Except I don't think
he'll find anything here.

Hey, it's
our campsite!

He thinks
there should be
food around here,

But he can't
find any.

Because I took care
of it.

By navigating us
into the river.

I hid the barbecued
potato chips!

All right!

Wait a minute.

We can't open food
near a bear.

Do you think I'd open
the potato chips?

Do you think I'm crazy?

Exposing bears
to human food
is a bad idea.

In fact,
feeding them anything
is wrong.

If bears get used to
human food

Or people
feeding them,

They'll come
to expect it.

They could lose
their foraging
and survival skills.

Bears don't need
humans to survive.

They just need
to be bears.

We need to give them
their space

So they can do
their natural bear thing.

See?

He didn't find any food,
so he's heading out.

See you.

Let's get those chips.
Man, I'm starving.

[Howling]

So we know that bears

Are not cute and cuddly
teddy bears.

They're also not
the awful K*llers

A lot of people
make them out to be.

What a bear is,

Is a special,
amazing creature

That shares the planet
with all of us.

We need to protect
their habitat

And their
life style.

If we do that,

We'll have
all the more bears

To share
the wilderness with.

I had no idea

People had so many crazy ideas
about bears.

Ttark, did you know

Some people actually think
the koala's a bear?

I think it's time
for a little hibernating, al.

You know,
a little shuteye.

[Allison]
yeah, sure, but listen.

The kodiak's the biggest bear
in the world.

Do you know
how big they can get?

Ttark?

[Ttark snoring]

Chris, martin,

You must know how big
a kodiak bear can get.

Whoa!

I'd say it's
about 10 feet.

That's big,
but maybe 8.

[Bear growling]

O.k., 10.