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Canada -

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the second largest country on Earth.

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Famous for its epic wilderness.

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From the Rocky Mountains...

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..to the Great White North.

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Breathtaking...

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..rugged...

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..and immense.

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It's a rich and varied wonderland...

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..which supports some of North
America's most iconic species.

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Theirs is a world of extremes.

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Their life...

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..at the mercy of the elements.

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Every season brings new challenges.

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It'll take strength...

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..and tenacity...

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..courage...

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..and resilience...

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..skill...

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..and good fortune...

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..just to make it through...

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..A Year in the Wild.

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Summer finally arrives in the wilds
of Canada...

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..bringing longer days and warmer
temperatures.

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Babies born in the spring emerge
into a world transformed.

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The sunlight fuels an incredible
surge of life.

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And the race is on to make the most
of it.

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The Rocky Mountains run through
South-West Canada

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like a rugged spine...

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..a land of long icy winters and
brief summers.

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Beyond the trees, a world of stony
desolation prevails.

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This is the realm of the pika.

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This tiny relative of the rabbit
lives among the jumble of rocks...

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..his refuge from the cold of winter
and the heat of summer.

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The slopes below are bursting with
fresh growth...

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..fuelled by the July sun.

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Rich pickings for this busy male.

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He must harvest as much as he can
before the snow returns.

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Each mouthful is ferried back to his
rocky retreat...

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..and added to his growing store.

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Here, in the shelter of the
boulders...

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..the sweet grass dries to make hay.

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Food, which is key to his survival
through the brutal winter.

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SQUEAKING NOISE

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A territorial call
nearby puts him on the defensive.

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There's an intruder on his patch.

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Born just 30 days ago...

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..this pale pika pup must grow up
fast.

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Over the next two months,

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she needs to claim a territory and
build a haystack of her own.

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Or she won't survive winter.

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SQUEAKING CONTINUES

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Challenging an established
male is a bad start.

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He runs in to defend his border...

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..scent marking the edge of his
domain.

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She does the same.

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Boundaries established,
it's back to work.

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Making hay while the sun shines.

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The pale pup makes a good start.

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But her haystack is small and
exposed...

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..whilst the male's is vast.

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And while she seems to lack a sense
of urgency...

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..he keeps going.

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Every mouthful of grass could be the

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difference between life and death
once winter sets in.

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A snack break helps to keep the
energy levels up.

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But it also means that his haystack
is left unattended.

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The pale pup quickly cashes in...

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..and raids the larder of the
hard-working male.

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The longer he's away,
the more she takes.

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By the time he heads home with the
next load...

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..she's long gone.

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And he is none the wiser.

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The pale pup has no-one to guide
her...

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..but with guile and quick thinking,

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she's learning to shape her own
destiny.

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For other mountain residents,

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summer is when vital knowledge is
handed down.

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Every year, mountain goat kids

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follow their mums on an epic
journey.

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Their final destination lies at the
base of a 500-foot cliff.

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Hidden amongst the rocks
is a secret spring...

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..rich in precious minerals the
goats need to stay healthy.

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The sure-footed nannies
lead the way.

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They make this journey every year.

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But it's a steep slope for a
first-timer.

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Put a foot wrong up here,

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and he'll plunge to his death.

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It's summer in the Rocky Mountains
of Canada.

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And mountain goats are nearing the
end of a perilous journey.

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There's just one more steep descent
to make

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before they reach the ancient
mineral lick below.

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Kids follow the adults
as best they can.

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The nannies have had years to hone
their climbing skills.

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But the kids are still learning.

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There's no room for error.

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They've all made it down safely.

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This mineral-rich water is an

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important pick-me-up after a bleak
winter diet.

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But with hungry bears and wolves
nearby...

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..they can't stay long.

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Dominant goats jostle for
position...

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..whilst nervous kids wait for a
space to become free.

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Once they've had their fill,
the goats head back to safety.

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Mothers stay below their kids to
break a fall.

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But a straggler
has to find his own way.

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Panic sets in.

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And in the rush to re-join
his mother...

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..this kid makes a terrible mistake.

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Even experienced goats sometimes
fall to their deaths.

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But somehow, this little one has
survived.

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Battered and bruised,
he immediately tries again.

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This time he makes it back to mum.

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He's escaped death by the narrowest
of margins...

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..but his future is still uncertain.

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In the Rocky Mountains, there are
deadly drops round every corner.

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1,700 miles east of the goats lies a
vast wooded wilderness

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known as Algonquin Provincial Park.

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Every summer, 130 species of birds
gather here to breed...

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..including five types
of woodpecker.

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High in a birch, a yellow-bellied
sapsucker lives up to her name.

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She hammers holes in the trunk...

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..and laps up the sap with her
bristly tongue.

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It's a vital source of energy...

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..which other birds are keen
to exploit.

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With the coast clear,

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a ruby-throated hummingbird
takes his chance.

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Sap is a good substitute
for flower nectar

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and will help fuel his migration

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back to Central America in a few
weeks' time.

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It's not just other birds that
plunder the wells.

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A young squirrel arrives for his
sugar fix.

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And when he's finished,
the insects move in.

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A mourning cloak butterfly sees off
intruders with a flap of her wings.

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But these wells are also
a death trap.

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Some insects get stuck
in the sugary goo.

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And the sapsucker returns to reap
the harvest.

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A few feet below, her red-throated
mate does the same.

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Full of protein and energy...

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..every beakful is the perfect meal
for their growing chicks.

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Picking off insects makes feeding
time effortless.

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After a month on this rich diet, the
chicks will be ready to fledge.

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And when they do, they'll have a
living larder on the doorstep.

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Whilst summer brings abundance to
forest dwellers in the south...

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..it means starvation for polar
bears in the north.

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This mother and her two cubs came
off the ice in June.

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And they may not eat again
until November.

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They slowly make their way north to
where the ice will form first,

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giving them access to seals again.

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Some think they enter a kind of
walking hibernation.

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During this time
they reduce their metabolism,

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cutting down energy demands whilst
food is in such short supply.

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Every summer, this coast is home to
around 1,000 polar bears...

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..each one slowly starving.

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Their weight can drop by 20 pounds
per week.

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So they pick at anything
they can find.

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With temperatures nudging
20 degrees Celsius,

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they run the risk of overheating.

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To help keep cool,
some lie in wet kelp...

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..then pump blood to an area around
their shoulder blades

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where the heat can radiate away.

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Others choose to cool off by lying
in shallow coastal waters.

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Days are long...

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..so a mother bear keeps her cub
entertained

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by playing tug-of-war with an old
discarded fishing line.

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But this only serves to attract the

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attention of a
desperate hungry male.

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Female polar bears are fiercely
protective.

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And if he gets anywhere near
her cub...

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..all hell will break loose.

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It's summer on the shores of
Canada's Hudson Bay.

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And a polar bear mum takes a chance
to cool off with her cub...

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..whilst a hungry male bear
watches on.

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Perhaps thinking they've found food,
he approaches, head down.

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Growling and snorting, she attacks.

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He knows better than to pursue
and quickly retreats.

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As summer continues,
bear numbers increase...

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..and tensions start to rise.

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With so little food around,
these confrontations

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waste valuable energy
and seem to achieve little.

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Females with cubs must choose their
battles wisely.

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Where male bears are concerned...

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..it's often safer to just
walk away.

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900 miles due east of the bears,
on the treeless tundra of

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northern Quebec, animals will soon
face an enemy they can't ignore.

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These barren lands are home to the
Leaf River caribou.

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In summer, there's ample food for
bulls and growing calves alike.

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But these halcyon days
don't last long.

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Shallow pools of meltwater
dot the land.

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For the caribou, this is where the
nightmare begins.

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A multitude of mosquito larvae
writhe in the water.

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Feeding...

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..growing...

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..until they're ready to emerge.

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Canadian mosquito swarms are the
stuff of legend.

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Every summer,
they're emerging earlier

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and living longer.

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This year is no exception.

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The tundra is now abuzz with clouds
of these blood-sucking insects.

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Caribou are the biggest warm-blooded
animals here.

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So when mosquitoes find them...

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..they are relentless.

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The only way to escape these
blood-suckers...

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..is to run.

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Caribou herds gather and flee to the
high ground, where cooler

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temperatures and stronger winds
bring them some respite.

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But up here, the land is barren.

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There is little quality food.

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And soon, hunger forces them back
down again.

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A caribou can lose three pints of
blood to mosquitoes in summer.

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And with less time for eating,
they lose weight

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when they should be getting fat for
the coming winter.

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They keep moving, trying to evade
the swarms.

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Their flight brings them to the
banks of the Leaf River.

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For a young calf,
it's a nerve-racking time.

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This is the largest river he has
ever encountered.

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With over half a mile of
fast-flowing water to cross...

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..it's a formidable swim
for the adults...

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..and a potentially deadly one for
the weaker calves.

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They bunch up to shield their
youngsters from the rapids.

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And eventually, they're through.

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But this mum and calf
are lagging behind.

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And now they have no protection
from the current.

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They're driven backwards.

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The calf must stay in his
mother's slipstream...

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..or he risks being swept away.

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She gives one final push...

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..and they've done it.

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There's no time to rest.

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Until cold weather arrives to kill
off the mosquitoes,

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their journey must continue.

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Back on the shores of
the Hudson Bay,

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a polar bear family are close to
journey's end.

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In the last month, they've travelled
over 200 miles.

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From south of
Wapusk National Park...

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..to the mouth of the
Churchill River.

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They've nothing to eat but
grass and sedge...

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..meagre pickings for the world's
largest land predator.

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The seals they crave are hundreds of
miles away.

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And they can't go hunting until the
bay freezes over.

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Summer will be tough
for this family.

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Whilst the hungry bears wait for the
sea ice to return...

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..other ocean creatures take
advantage of its absence.

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Every year,
around 3,000 beluga whales

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gather in Hudson Bay to feed and
give birth.

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They form tight-knit pods while
their babies learn to swim.

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When tired youngsters need to
take a breath,

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their mothers help them
to the surface.

249
00:31:23,660 --> 00:31:27,620
When the babies are strong enough,
they'll follow their parents back to

250
00:31:27,620 --> 00:31:30,020
their feeding grounds
in the Arctic Ocean.

251
00:31:50,140 --> 00:31:53,980
A casualty of the beluga migration
washes up on shore...

252
00:31:56,740 --> 00:32:00,380
..attracting the attention of a
hungry male bear.

253
00:32:15,420 --> 00:32:18,500
So far, he's had the carcass
all to himself.

254
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:28,220
But polar bears can smell food from
many miles away...

255
00:32:41,180 --> 00:32:42,980
..and they're starting to home in.

256
00:32:50,580 --> 00:32:52,900
A young bear rushes the carcass...

257
00:33:12,020 --> 00:33:16,180
..and is quickly and aggressively
put in his place.

258
00:33:21,060 --> 00:33:24,540
There's enough to share,
but it's an uneasy truce.

259
00:33:25,900 --> 00:33:28,820
Tempers could flare up again
at any moment.

260
00:33:38,100 --> 00:33:41,740
The smell of flesh has also
attracted a mother bear.

261
00:33:51,340 --> 00:33:57,260
She's running a risk bringing cubs
into such a volatile situation.

262
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:08,680
It's summer on Hudson Bay,
and two male polar bears

263
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:11,960
rip into the carcass of a beached
beluga whale.

264
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:21,120
A mother bear has been biding
her time.

265
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:27,520
But when one male retreats,
she advances.

266
00:34:29,720 --> 00:34:31,440
She's taking a big risk.

267
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:39,720
Male bears have killed and eaten
yearling bears on this beach before.

268
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,080
And soon there's another one
to contend with.

269
00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:05,600
This female is tough...

270
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:08,560
..and her cubs are cut from
the same cloth.

271
00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:30,440
None of them want to share with
another bear.

272
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,600
Her cubs goad her on..

273
00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,040
..and finally their mother's
had enough.

274
00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:58,160
She sends the interloper packing.

275
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:11,560
It's a good meal, but scavenging is
nothing more than a stopgap.

276
00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:17,160
If this family don't get another
lucky break,

277
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,840
this might be the last food
they have

278
00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:24,240
until the bay freezes over
and they can go seal-hunting again.

279
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,440
Over 800 miles southwest
of the bears,

280
00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,000
and close to the border
with America,

281
00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:42,480
lies a wind-blown wilderness known
as Grasslands National Park.

282
00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:48,560
This is the northern tip of the
Great Plains

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00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,800
that once stretched southward from
Canada all the way to Mexico.

284
00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:58,240
Frequent fires and long periods
of drought

285
00:36:58,240 --> 00:37:01,120
have kept the plains virtually
tree-free.

286
00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,120
But grass thrives...

287
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,400
..sustaining Canada's biggest
land animal.

288
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,560
Up to 30 million bison once roamed
North America.

289
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:28,560
Today, there's fewer than 30,000.

290
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:35,280
Most were slaughtered for their
tongues and their hides

291
00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,360
when American settlers moved onto
the plains.

292
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:58,040
Standing six feet at the shoulder
and weighing over a tonne...

293
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,240
..each bull needs up to 30 pounds
of grass daily.

294
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,120
But they don't have it all
to themselves.

295
00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:17,240
They share it with prairie dogs,
one of Canada's smallest grazers.

296
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:32,160
Weighing about two pounds, an adult

297
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:36,040
prairie dog is a thousand times
smaller than a bison.

298
00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,720
But what they lack in size,
they make up for in numbers.

299
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:56,600
There are over 25 families living
in burrows

300
00:38:56,600 --> 00:39:00,360
on this five-acre patch
of grassland alone...

301
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:07,440
..including this female and her
three two-month-old pups.

302
00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:12,160
Kissing keeps the family bonded.

303
00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:22,400
Out here, danger can come from
any direction.

304
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:27,360
So in this town, they all watch
each other's backs.

305
00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:36,000
Sentries scan the plains,

306
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,960
ready to warn their neighbours
whenever danger's spotted.

307
00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:48,960
With long days, it's easy to let
down your guard.

308
00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:54,720
So prairie dogs regularly remind
their neighbours to stay alert.

309
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:01,960
A call, known as the "jump-yip,"

310
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,600
spreads through the town like a
Mexican wave.

311
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,120
And soon, it reaches the pups.

312
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:21,800
A neighbourhood watch is one of the
benefits of living in a community.

313
00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:24,480
But there's also a downside.

314
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:28,760
With so many animals in one place,
it can draw predators in.

315
00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:35,880
American badgers have been spotted.

316
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,280
The siren sounds.

317
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,160
And everyone dashes back
to their burrows.

318
00:40:55,720 --> 00:40:58,320
But badgers can dig prairie dogs up.

319
00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,960
All the pups can do is sit tight...

320
00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:13,040
..and hope they don't make it
this far.

321
00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,000
The badgers split up to cover
more ground.

322
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:25,800
With poor eyesight, they head upwind
to sniff out a suitable target.

323
00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:29,720
Neighbours are powerless to help.

324
00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:37,720
The badger digs...

325
00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:40,880
..and nets himself a meal.

326
00:41:55,800 --> 00:42:00,520
Once the badgers have fed and moved
a safe distance away,

327
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:02,840
a prairie dog sounds the all-clear.

328
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:13,840
And life in town quickly returns
to normal.

329
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,400
A good stretch relieves stress.

330
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,520
And with sentries back on duty...

331
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:42,880
..the pups can get back
to cuddling Mum.

332
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:49,480
Danger is nothing new
to this family.

333
00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:52,160
They'll face it every day
of their lives.

334
00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:57,680
But the numbers still play
in their favour,

335
00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:00,320
with over 20,000 prairie dogs

336
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:03,200
spread over 350 square miles.

337
00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:09,960
Most pups will survive
their first year in the wild.

338
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:13,520
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