♪♪
NARRATOR: From the mighty
grizzly bear...
[ Bears growling ]
...to the endearing
real-life Paddington,
the spectacled bear...
and the majestic polar bear,
king of the frozen north...
♪♪
...this remarkable animal family
has long captured
our imagination.
♪♪
To survive, they must draw on
all their skills.
So whether it's raiding
nature's larder...
standing up to their rivals...
[ Bears growling ]
...raising the cubs...
or even proving that you'resmarter than the average bear...
♪♪
...today, bears face
their biggest obstacles yet...
as they try to get to grips
with a changing world.
But whatever they're up against,
bears bring curiosity, cunning,
and creativity
to every challenge.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
NARRATOR: Bears are some of
the most charismatic creatures
to walk our planet.
And they all share
the same key characteristics.
Like this Alaskan brown bear.
Their impressive size
and strength sets them apart.
They have forward-facing eyes
with vision similar to our own.
♪♪
But their sense of smell
is over a hundred times
more powerful.
♪♪
Large, dexterous paws
are tipped with long claws
that can open up
even more opportunities.
♪♪
Although they're classified
as carnivores,
most bears eat a diverse mix
of plants, insects, and meat.
♪♪
Across the world,
there are just eight species,
yet they range over
a wide variety of habitats --
From the ice world
of the north...
♪♪
...through the mountains
of Asia...
...through the mountains
of Asia...
♪♪
...to the heat of the Tropics.
♪♪
To live in these
very different places,
they've had to adapt.
♪♪
The skills they need to survive
must be learned and mastered
over a lifetime.
So making it as a bear
is far from easy.
♪♪
Katmai National Park in Alaska.
A wilderness where mountains
meet the sea.
♪♪
This is home to the brown bear,
also known as the grizzly.
♪♪
And they're gathering for oneof the most extraordinary events
in nature.
♪♪
The salmon run.
♪♪
Every summer, millions of
salmon head upstream to spawn.
♪♪
Waterfalls are a natural barrier
for the migrating fish.
♪♪
And the bears know it.
♪♪
♪♪
Three cubs emerge
from the forest.
Their mother is bone-thin
and needs to eat.
But this is a dangerous place
for a young family.
♪♪
Competition for every fish
is fierce.
[ Bears growling ]
♪♪
For their own safety, the cubs
are kept on the sidelines.
It's a prime position
for watching the action.
Catching a powerful,
slippery salmon takes practice.
♪♪
And the grizzlies,
like all bears,
must work out the best way
to tackle their prey.
There's the "dash and grab."
♪♪
Less energetic is the
"stand and wait" approach.
♪♪
But it has its downsides.
♪♪
♪♪
Beneath the falls,
"sit and wait" is
the most successful strategy.
♪♪
Fights can break out
at any moment.
[ Bears growling ]
♪♪
For now, the cubs
are out of their depth.
♪♪
An experienced big male
can catch 30 salmon a day.
♪♪
And, eventually,
most of them have had enough.
♪♪
The mother decides
it's safe enough to return.
♪♪
♪♪
Her cubs are depending
on
her
technique --
a combination of patience
and experience.
♪♪
♪♪
And now her family
can share a meal.
♪♪
The skill and judgment needed
to master a chaotic situation
like this,
with tricky prey
and other bears,
takes years to learn.
♪♪
So, for cubs,
lessons start early.
The forested areas
of North America
are home to the grizzly's
smaller cousin --
the American black bear.
It is the most numerous
of the eight species.
♪♪
These cubs are just under
four months old.
♪♪
Their small size makes them
extremely vulnerable,
so they must learn quickly
to stay out of danger.
♪♪
There are predators
in these forests.
♪♪
Weighing up to 12 pounds,
a bald eagle could easily
snatch and k*ll a cub.
♪♪
As could a coyote.
Most dangerous of all
are grey wolves.
♪♪
♪♪
But there
is
a place
the cubs can seek safety.
♪♪
Thanks to their strong,
curved claws,
these cubs can climb
from a very young age.
♪♪
But perfecting the technique
takes time.
♪♪
They need to learn which trees
are best for gripping onto.
♪♪
Smaller trees and branches
are good for practice.
Well, most of the time.
♪♪
This tree is too flaky.
♪♪
This tree is too slippery.
♪♪
But this tree is just right.
♪♪
Going up is one thing.
♪♪
But coming down again
can require a helping hand.
[ Cubs grunting ]
All bears must learn
how to avoid danger,
but there's one species
that's come up with
an unusual strategy.
♪♪
India.
♪♪
Home to the sloth bear.
Here, there are fewer tall trees
to escape into.
♪♪
And, in any case, the local
predators are skilled climbers.
♪♪
So these sloth-bear cubs
need a different escape plan.
♪♪
When their mother
sounds the alarm,
they head for
the safest place around.
♪♪
Her shaggy coat allows the cubs
to climb onto her back,
clinging on, using
strong forelegs and toes.
It's unusual for a big cat to
challenge a sloth-bear mother.
Unlike her cubs,
who so often do.
A mother bear is
the cubs' protection...
and their only guide.
♪♪
With so many skills to learn,
most bear cubs stay with their
mother for two to three years.
[ Bear growls ]
In Alaska,
a five-month-old grizzly cub
is working out his boundaries.
♪♪
Adult bears spend
most of their lives alone,
so this time with his mother
helps him learn
how to interact
with other bears.
♪♪
All cubs need to master
their new surroundings.
♪♪
In the Arctic, young polar bears
emerge from their den
to take their first steps
in the snow.
♪♪
This cub is more cautious.
♪♪
They need to get to grips
with this terrain quickly.
♪♪
Soon they will have to walk
many miles in search of food.
♪♪
In Canada, another grizzly cub
is trying his luck at fishing.
♪♪
His mother demonstrates
how it's done.
♪♪
Observational learning is one of
the most effective ways
for cubs to pick up new skills.
And with so many salmon here,
he's got a good chance.
♪♪
Now, to hold onto it.
♪♪
[ Cub grunts ]
[ Thunder rumbles ]
As cubs grow more independent,
they start trying things out
for themselves.
[ Bees buzzing ]
In the woodlands of Minnesota,
a fallen tree holds something
that bears
are famously fond of.
[ Buzzing ]
Honey.
[ Buzzing ]
And it hasn't gone unnoticed.
This nine-month old
black-bear cub
may have never encountered
bees before.
♪♪
And sometimes, learning
can be a painful process.
[ Bear growls ]
His experienced mother has
a tried and tested technique.
♪♪
This "smash and grab"
leads to fewer stings.
♪♪
Honeycomb provides
sugars and protein
from the bee larvae inside.
♪♪
Much of a cub's learning
is focused on food.
As one of the biggest
land animals,
some bears need
over 5,000 calories
just on an average day.
In many parts of the world,
bears have to adapt
and specialize
to fuel
their sizeable appetites.
[ Thunder rumbles ]
The Andes Mountains
in South America.
Home to this continent's
only bear.
White facial markings
are a clue to its name --
the spectacled bear.
But to many of us,
it's far more familiar
as the storybook character
of Paddington
who came all the way
from "darkest Peru."
♪♪
Like its fictional counterpart,
this bear has a sweet tooth.
Although in
these
cloud forests,
marmalade sandwiches
aren't an option.
♪♪
Fortunately, there's another
high-calorie food here.
Bromeliads.
A family of plants
that includes the pineapple.
Perched yards off the ground,
they're out of reach
for most large mammals.
Bromeliads are notoriously
robust plants,
but the spectacled bear
can break them apart with ease.
That's because,
relative to its size,
it has the largest jaw muscle
of any bear species...
and grinding teeth
that are secured into its jaws
with three roots instead of two.
It's after the sugar-rich core.
The spectacled bear
will also eat palm nuts,
birds' eggs, and small animals.
But half of its diet is made up
of these high-energy plants.
The spectacled bear can satisfy
its need for calories
by using its strength
and its ability to find
and remember food sources.
But on the other side
of the world,
a very different habitat
presents
an even greater challenge.
Across Asia, many of the forests
are populated by one kind
of plant -- bamboo.
In China alone,
bamboo forests cover an area
of over 20,000 square miles.
But for an animal
trying to make it here,
there's just one problem.
♪♪
Bamboo is incredibly tough
and fibrous...
and particularly low
in calories.
♪♪
So, to conquer this landscape,
one bear has done something
quite extraordinary.
♪♪
The giant panda
has adapted its body,
and even its behavior,
to almost exclusively
eat bamboo.
♪♪
The bear spends its days
searching the Qinling Mountains
for the most nutritious part
of the plant.
♪♪
It usually sits down to eat...
so that its flexible forepaws
are free to help harvest
the bamboo.
It's the only bear
that has evolved a wrist bone
to act as an opposable thumb,
allowing it to select
and manipulate
the most tender part
of the plant.
To prevent injury
from bamboo splinters,
its esophagus and stomach
are lined with
tough, thick walls.
But its digestive system,
like those of other bears,
is built for eating meat,
and it lacks the plant-digesting
bacteria of a true herbivore.
♪♪
So, to get enough nutrients,
the panda has to munch
for up to 14 hours a day,
chewing its way through
♪♪
This low-energy diet also
affects a panda's behavior.
♪♪
To avoid exhaustion, it limits
unnecessary socializing
and walking in tricky terrain.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Bamboo is evergreen,
so at least the panda
can eat all year round.
♪♪
It's even come up with a method
of breaking ice
off frozen leaves,
by using its warm snout.
♪♪
Fossil evidence suggests that
pandas have been eating bamboo
for the last four million years.
But their complete dependence
on this one plant
has put them in danger.
♪♪
Pandas once thrived across
Eastern and Southern China,
but due to poaching and
the decline of their forests,
by the 1990s,
their population had crashed
to just 1,000 bears.
Today their range is restricted
to six isolated mountain ranges.
Over the last six decades,
efforts have been made
to save the panda,
by giving them protection
and setting up reserves.
♪♪
And in the early 1980s,
China opened its first
c*ptive breeding center.
♪♪
This program has been
very successful,
with over 300 pandas
born in captivity.
♪♪
Some of these are now
being released into the wild.
♪♪
[ Indistinct conversations ]
All the work
to bring this bear back
from the brink of extinction
is starting to pay off.
Today, the wild population
has nearly doubled
to more than 1,800 pandas.
An almost exclusively
vegetarian diet
is the exception for bears.
Most need more protein
to thrive,
and they'll go to
extreme lengths to get it.
♪♪
In India's dry grasslands,
food is hard to come by.
♪♪
This fortress holds the answer.
♪♪
But how to get inside?
The sloth bear
is the real-life Baloo,
the character inRudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book."
the character inRudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book."
♪♪
Its distinctive shaggy coat
made early explorers think
it was a sloth.
But it's the bear's
powerful paws and unusual face
which are key
to how it gets its food.
♪♪
Under cover of darkness,
it targets
the mound's inhabitants.
Termites.
They build these giant mounds,
which are fortified by a wall
of sun-baked clay.
Most termites are less
than half an inch long,
but there could be over
a million of them inside.
♪♪
To get to them, the sloth bear
has just the tools for the job.
It uses 3-inch-long claws
to tear into the mound.
♪♪
Soldier termites have pincers,
but they're no match forthis bear's next form of attack.
Long, floppy lips
and a lack of front teeth
allow it to use its mouth
like a vacuum cleaner
and suck up hundreds
of termites at a time.
♪♪
It can also shut its nostrils
to avoid inhaling dirt
or any stray insects.
♪♪
A sloth bear can demolish
an entire termite colony
in a single night.
♪♪
Rich in fat, as well as protein,
termites provide almost double
the calories of a steak.
Available throughout the year,
insects like these can form
Around the world,
physical adaptations
allow different bear species
to specialize in the most
nutritious food available.
♪♪
In Southeast Asia, nothing is
out of reach for the sun bear.
♪♪
Sickle-shaped claws
and bare-soled feet
mean it can access fruit
in the jungle's tallest trees.
♪♪
Powerful paws expose
insect larvae.
Powerful paws expose
insect larvae.
♪♪
And they use a 9-inch-long
tongue to fish them out.
♪♪
♪♪
Japan.
On the rocky slopes
of the Hida Mountains,
an Asiatic black bear
uses its sense of smell,
and careful footwork,
to uncover its prey --
ants.
♪♪
It can spend up to eight hours
a day flipping these rocks.
♪♪
When it comes to food,
most bears show a remarkable
level of resourcefulness.
And that's just as well,
because the bears living
in the Northern Hemisphere
face a particularly
difficult challenge.
♪♪
North America.
In seasonal climates,
the food available changes
with the time of year,
so bears like these grizzlies
have to switch food sources
every few weeks.
♪♪
Spring brings new growth.
♪♪
Succulent sedges and grasses
are just a few of the 175
different plant species
in grizzly bears' diet.
As summer approaches,
seafood appears on the menu.
But the bears
need to plan ahead.
They time their hunting
during the three-to-five-hour
window of low tide.
On the exposed sand,they detect their prey by smell.
Clams.
With over a billion nerve cells
in their nose,
they can even smell these
crustaceans through the sand,
and grizzlies can dig up
as many as a hundred clams
in one low tide.
They'll also gather seaweed,
barnacles, and mussels
to add to their diverse diet.
But in early autumn,
the bears' appetites
suddenly go into overdrive.
On the coast, this coincides
with the appearance
of a major food source.
♪♪
The salmon are back.
Hormonal changes cause the bears
Hormonal changes cause the bears
to enter a phase of excessive
eating, or hyperphagia.
They eat almost continuously,
without ever feeling full.
At this time of year,
grizzlies can consume up
to 100,000 calories a day.
♪♪
That's the equivalent
of over 1,000 boiled eggs.
But this gluttony has a purpose.
♪♪
[ Wind rushing ]
♪♪
[ Howling ]
As winter tightens its grip
in the north...
♪♪
...feeding opportunities
begin to disappear.
♪♪
♪♪
For many large animals,
this can spell disaster.
♪♪
But bears have a solution.
♪♪
And it requires an extraordinary
feat of physiology.
♪♪
After their autumn
feeding frenzy,
they retreat to a den.
♪♪
Inside, they enter
a state of hibernation.
♪♪
In this deep sleep,
their body temperature
drops several degrees,
and their heartbeat slows to
as few as 10 beats a minute.
♪♪
♪♪
They don't eat or drink
for up to seven months.
Instead they rely solely
on their fat reserves
to stay alive.
Grizzlies and American
and Asiatic black bears
all enter this deep formof hibernation in colder climes.
They don't experience
any heart complications,
blood clots,
or even bone and muscle loss
during this extended period
of inactivity.
The implications for
human medicine are huge.
NASA scientists are hoping
the bears' biochemical secrets
will one day help astronautswith long-distance space travel.
[ Bird chirping ]
[ Bird chirping ]
♪♪
With the arrival of spring,
the bears emerge
healthy and lean.
After their long fast,
they stock up in the meadows.
♪♪
Bears have had to adapt to make
the most of the food available.
♪♪
But it's not the only challenge
they face.
Adult bears lead
mostly solitary lives.
♪♪
And as the season warms up,
many animals have just one thing
on their mind.
♪♪
So how
does
a bear find a mate?
♪♪
The answer involves trees...
♪♪
...and a good old-fashioned
back scratch.
♪♪
♪♪
As they rub, they mark the tree
with their scent.
It's like leaving
a calling card.
♪♪
The higher they can rub,
the better.
This way, their scent
can travel farther.
♪♪
And it doesn't take long
for these chemical signals
to attract other bears...
♪♪
...who then leave
their own messages.
♪♪
It's thought that this
unusual form of communication
helps individuals work out
who's around, who to avoid,
and who's available.
Now all they need to do
is get together.
On the Alaskan coast,
the dating game has moved
to the next stage.
Male and female grizzlies
gather on the meadows.
Some travel for hundreds
of miles to be here.
♪♪
The big males show off
with a strut,
known as the "cowboy walk."
But there's more to this swagger
than meets the eye.
As they twist their paws
into the grass,
they leave behind a scent trail
made up of
The effect is enhanced
with urine.
These pungent scents
and body postures
signal the bears'
intent to mate
and help males
establish a hierarchy.
But when males
are evenly matched,
there's only one way
to resolve their differences.
♪♪
[ Bears growling ]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
With the battle over, the victor
can continue his courtship.
In some parts of the world,
finding a mate
is even more challenging.
♪♪
The Arctic.
♪♪
Freezing temperatures
and gale-force winds
make this land of snow and ice
one of the most inhospitable
places on the planet.
♪♪
But to the polar bear,
it's home.
♪♪
Polar bears evolved
from brown bears
many thousands of years ago
and spread north.
♪♪
Here, a lone male occupies
a massive home range...
sometimes in excess
of 100,000 square miles.
♪♪
That's an area over 4,000 times
the size of Manhattan.
♪♪
So, the chances of
meeting a mate here
seem vanishingly small.
♪♪
But this Arctic nomad
has a strategy.
♪♪
In common with grizzlies,
polar bears have sweat glands
on the soles of their feet.
So their footprints
are full of information.
♪♪
All a male has to do
is follow them.
But his long-distance trek
is no guarantee of romance
on the first date.
When he finds her,
he's got to impress.
When he finds her,
he's got to impress.
♪♪
She'll only mate with him if she
thinks he's fit and strong.
So she puts him to the test.
His downhill tobogganing
lacks style.
But he's keeping up.
The next challenge
is a rocky ascent.
The female makes it look easy.
Weighing almost twice as much
as she does
and at close to half a ton,
his size isn't helping him now.
He needs some encouragement,
and she has a unique way
of giving it.
This is one of the few times
that polar bears
come together as adults.
Courtship can last
three weeks.
Then they'll go
their separate ways.
♪♪
The female will spend the winter
months under the snow...
where she'll give birth
to her cubs.
♪♪
And the male will endure
the coldest weather
that any bear on the planet
must face.
♪♪
Temperatures will drop
as low as minus 40 degrees.
But this extraordinary bear
has mastered the art
of staying warm.
A double-layered fur coat
not only helps
to keep out the cold,
but it also keeps the heat in
by trapping infrared radiation.
And underneath is a layer
of pure blubber,
up to 4 inches thick,which provides vital insulation.
But to maintain
its ample waistline,
a polar bear
needs high-fat food.
Seals.
And the best place to catch them
is on the sea ice.
This is where the seals create
breathing holes and dens.
♪♪
The polar bear's sense of smell
is the most acute
of all the bears.
Seven times more powerful
than a bloodhound,
it can pick up the scent
of a seal from 20 miles away.
♪♪
To help him walk across
the ice sheet,
To help him walk across
the ice sheet,
large paws act like snowshoes
to spread his weight,
while bumps of skin
on his footpads
and hairs between his toes
provide grip.
♪♪
♪♪
He can pinpoint his prey,
by smell,
♪♪
♪♪
But seals are agile swimmers,
and nine out of ten hunts
end in failure.
There
are
successes,
and to survive,
each bear must catch
at least one adult seal
every 10 to 12 days.
But today, polar bears
are facing a new challenge.
With rising
year-round temperatures,
their hunting grounds
are shrinking.
Enormous masses of ice that were
frozen for thousands of years
have broken apart
and melted away.
[ Bear grunting ]
Each year,
the Arctic's frozen ocean
is becoming smaller and thinner.
♪♪
Polar bears are being forced
to swim ever-greater distances
to hunt seals.
♪♪
With their powers of endurance
pushed to the limit,
many will starve or even drown.
♪♪
If current trends continue,
some scientists predictthe summer sea ice in the Arctic
could be gone
within half a century
and, with it, potentially
a third of all polar bears.
♪♪
♪♪
In some parts of the Arctic,
polar bears are trying to adapt
to this changing world.
[ Trucks beeping ]
Driven by hunger, the normally
solitary bears have been filmed
Driven by hunger, the normally
solitary bears have been filmed
coming together
to feed on our leftovers.
It's a desperate
and alarming strategy.
In today's world, people are
increasingly encroaching
on the wilderness.
This is a problem
for all animals,
but the bears' opportunistic
nature means many of them
will try to take on
this new challenge.
[ Siren wails ]
Bears have an inbuilt curiosity
and the largest brains,
relative to body size,
of all carnivores.
♪♪
They've discovered a way
into our world.
[ Laughter ]
And cubs follow the lead
of their mothers.
With their dexterous paws,
they are practically made
for breaking and entering.
♪♪
Unlike many animals,
they'll readily investigate
anything new...
and quickly work out
if it can be useful.
♪♪
Because of their broad diet,
they thrive on our food.
♪♪
Some scientists believe that thebears'
problem-solving abilities
mean they should be ranked
with monkeys
in terms of intelligence.
♪♪
Learning by trial and error,
they've discovered
that our world
can bring many benefits...
♪♪
CHILD: The bear's
right next to us!
NARRATOR: ...although
our interaction with bears
can at times be fraught
with danger for both of us.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
CHILD: Oh, my goodness!
Dad! Dad!
[ Children screaming ]
NARRATOR:
Where bears and people
increasingly need
to share resources,
there
are
occasions
when this relationship
can be more harmonious.
Serranías del Burro.
A mountainous region
in Mexico's northeast.
It's home to the black bear,
which is endangered
in this country.
For this family,
the big challenge in summer
is finding enough to drink.
The underlying limestone
soaks up the rain,
leaving no permanent streams.
Fortunately,
there's another source...
Fortunately,
there's another source...
but reaching it requires
a certain cunning.
[ Cattle lowing ]
♪♪
This is an area
used for cattle grazing.
♪♪
The ranchers have set up
watering holes
by tapping into
underground springs.
♪♪
The bears can take advantage
of this.
But the cattle are desperate
for water, too.
They're naturally wary
of potential predators
and armed with sharp horns
which could easily injure
or even k*ll a bear.
♪♪
♪♪
The livestock
gradually move off.
The family finally have
their chance to drink.
The ranchers here
are very tolerant of bears.
They even provide a step up
for the cubs.
♪♪
♪♪
Weighing all the risks
and taking advantage
of new opportunities
are vital skills
for bear cubs to learn.
Soon they will have to
take their first steps
to independence
and stand on their own two feet.
♪♪
♪♪
After spending their early years
in the care of their mother,
young bears face
a very different world.
♪♪
For the first time
in their lives...
they are alone.
♪♪
To be a bear
takes a lot of skill...
♪♪
♪♪
...from avoiding danger...
surviving the seasons...
and learning to tackle whatever
food is in front of them.
♪♪
And if they can do that,
they'll reap the rewards.
♪♪
But the bear's biggest
challenge yet...
[ Ship horns blaring ]
...is today's
rapidly changing world.
[ Ship horns blaring ]
Six of the eight species of bear
are vulnerable to extinction.
♪♪
There is more pressure than ever
on their habitats
and the food they depend on.
They'll need our help...
and our willingness
to share space.
If we give them a chance,
their brains, brawn,
and ability to adapt
will do the rest.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
To learn more about
what you've seen
on this "Nature" program,
visit pbs.org.
♪♪
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Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register