-Europe -- a continent renowned for its spectacular cities
and civilizations.
♪♪
But this is a surprisingly wild land,
with over 10 million square kilometers
of diverse natural habitat...
stretching from the northernmost reaches of the Arctic...
to the crystal-clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
♪♪
And across this extraordinary continent,
an epic transformation is under way...
as the wild heart of Europe is unleashed once more.
♪♪
People are supporting the natural world.
-Let's go to the nest and see how the chick is.
-Species are being reintroduced.
-He's not sleeping very well, so we have to be really fast.
-And nature itself is bouncing back.
[ Wolf growls ]
[ Deer bleats ]
The circle of life is being reforged...
as the wild returns to Europe.
♪♪
In the Carpathian Mountains,
a wildlife reintroduction
is transforming the land
and making Europe's untamed heart
even wilder.
♪♪
-In the east of Europe lies a wild paradise...
a rugged forest
where dense foliage camouflages and protects...
one of the most elusive cats on the continent...
[ Birds chirping ]
...the Eurasian lynx.
The largest of the four lynx species,
this secretive wild cat thrives here.
It's the perfect place to raise cubs...
like these little fellows,
who are completely dependent on Mom.
♪♪
She tries to clean them,
but they have other ideas.
[ Cubs growling ]
♪♪
At 2 months old, they just want to play and explore.
[ Cubs continue growling ]
♪♪
If they wander off...
♪♪
...Mom is never far behind.
[ Cub growls ]
♪♪
She'll take care of them for the next 8 months...
♪♪
...until they learn to hunt on their own.
Then they'll leave her and find their own territories,
starting new lives as solitary predators.
♪♪
There's around 10,000 Eurasian lynx living in Europe...
and a quarter of them live here...
in the Carpathian Mountains.
♪♪
The Carpathians are a stronghold for the lynx
and many other species.
Here, a wide range of wildlife
thrives on rugged landscapes...
♪♪
...and in pristine water.
♪♪
The Carpathians span over 1,500 kilometers...
and run through eight separate countries.
♪♪
For centuries, they've been a refuge
for Europe's most iconic species.
♪♪
Predators...
♪♪
...and prey animals...
large and small...
find refuge in this biodiversity hotspot.
♪♪
But one of the ecosystem's most important creatures...
♪♪
...did not find protection here.
♪♪
The European Bison.
It's the continent's largest land mammal,
standing almost 2 meters tall
and weighing almost as much as a car.
[ Bison growling ]
♪♪
Today, it's rarer than the white rhino.
But once, the species used to roam all across Europe.
♪♪
Until the end of the World War I...
♪♪
...when due to hunting and habitat loss,
not a single bison was left in the wild.
♪♪
Out of the few individuals that survived in captivity,
12 were carefully bred
in order to keep the gene line going.
Today their descendants, captive and wild, number 7,000.
♪♪
Bison are a key species with the power to shape the landscape.
♪♪
A single male can eat over 30 kilos of plants
and grasses in a day...
which transforms overgrown land
to a patchwork of meadow and forest.
And they love getting down and dirty.
By rolling in the sand to get rid of parasites,
they clear the ground
for smaller animals and insects.
♪♪
Thanks to human intervention,
European bison are slowly recovering.
♪♪
Here at the Tierpark Berlin,
a team of specialists is working closely
with the conservation groups Rewilding Europe and WWF.
♪♪
Their joint mission --
reintroduce bison to the Carpathians
after more than 200 years of absence
and help restore Europe's ecosystem.
♪♪
It's an intensive breeding program.
Each animal is carefully selected.
[ Bison grunts ]
Over the last five years, more than 50 bison
have been released into the mountains of Romania.
♪♪
Today, after months of preparation,
five more are ready to join them.
♪♪
[ Indistinct conversations in German ]
♪♪
They're an independent herd,
headed by a matriarch called Tirunesh.
♪♪
-Tirunesh is a good leading female.
She is strong. She know what she's doing.
So she will hopefully lead the younger group
through the first winter.
♪♪
-First, the bison need to beloaded into individual crates...
[ Bison grunting ]
♪♪
...which is easier said than done.
♪♪
The keepers are trying to stay out of sight.
♪♪
But to convince some of the younger bison...
now they have to get creative.
♪♪
Even a juvenile could cause a fatal injury with its horns.
But eventually, the bison is moved safely into the crate.
♪♪
These young bison have no idea
of the scale of the mission that lies ahead.
♪♪
They face a 1,300-kilometer journey
through the heart of Europe.
♪♪
It takes two days on the road
for the bison to finally reach their new home...
The Carpathian Mountains.
♪♪
Now they're set to join 18 others
in a bid to ignite a new era...
for this gentle giant of the animal kingdom.
♪♪
Matriarch Tirunesh and her four companions
have never been free before.
♪♪
Now with over 60 bison roaming the Carpathians,
nature can take advantage of their presence
in all kinds of ways.
♪♪
Animals can thrive where bison graze and wallow.
♪♪
New plants grow in freshly grazed land.
♪♪
Insects, birds, mammals, and reptiles
all benefit from the bison's return.
[ Bird chirps ]
♪♪
Even their hoof prints come in handy.
♪♪
Filled up with rain water,
it becomes a welcome pit stop for an adventurer...
on an epic journey.
♪♪
This female yellow-bellied toad
may have to travel almost 200 meters
in search of a pond to lay her eggs.
♪♪
The water-filled hoof print lets her soak up oxygen
through her huge pores, allowing her to breathe.
♪♪
But she must continue her journey.
♪♪
And when you're just 5 centimeters tall,
it's a long road.
♪♪
She's lucky.
There's another perfect puddle just around the corner...
providing a little relaxation for the toad in the hole.
♪♪
The hoof print pools warm up quickly in the sunlight,
creating a warming bath for this cold-blooded creature.
♪♪
With one last push...
♪♪
...she finally reaches the perfect pond.
♪♪
But she's got company --
dozens of males looking for love.
♪♪
It's unlikely this female would ever have made it
to this mating pond
without the help of the water-filled bison tracks...
making the bison an improbable Cupid in this toad romance.
♪♪
With the change of seasons,
these mega herbivores bring new opportunities
to the Carpathian's residents.
♪♪
When the mountains become blanketed in thick snow...
predators have to work harder.
In Romania's Carpathians,
this red fox is looking for a meal.
But he's not relying on his eyes.
Instead, he uses his excellent sense of smell...
and hearing...
to locate a suitable snack.
[ Rodent chirps ]
The fox can detect and stalk a rodent under the snow
from around 30 meters away.
♪♪
And when it pounces, it uses its tail like a rudder,
to balance in midair.
[ Rodent chirps ]
[ Bird cawing ]
Success.
[ Animal screeches ]
Foxes aren't the only ones looking for food in winter.
♪♪
Bison continue to graze
on grasses hidden beneath the snow.
[ Animal chirping ]
But they also rely on small trees and branches
to make it through.
♪♪
As they continue to graze the forest,
all this eating creates open areas...
and makes room for one of the most unusual mating rituals
to take place.
♪♪
Dawn in Europe's pine forest,
and time for the headliner to make an appearance...
a male capercaillie looking for love.
[ Bird clicking ]
To attract attention, he calls continuously
and fans his tail feathers.
He's chosen this clearing for its good acoustics
and visibility.
And it works.
The female is transfixed.
[ Bird continues clicking ]
But there's competition.
Another male arrives, and things quickly turn serious.
♪♪
He's prepared to fight.
♪♪
[ Bird clicking ]
At first, it's just a lot of noise.
♪♪
But then things get physical.
♪♪
The two warriors can't lose focus.
♪♪
One false move could lead to injury...
or even death.
They face off...
until one concedes defeat.
[ Birds screeching, clicking ]
And the winner gets what he came for.
[ Bird clicking ]
Or maybe not.
♪♪
In the depths of winter, the return of bison
is having a positive impact on the region and its animals.
♪♪
But for the mountains' top predator,
the re-introduction of the mega herbivore
is beginning to satisfy a very different primal urge.
♪♪
A stocky bison would provide plenty of meat
for a hungry pack.
♪♪
Wolves may be exceptional hunters,
but they will not turn down a chance to scavenge.
[ Wolf yelps ]
Up to one quarter of all bison calves
die in their first year.
But their carcasses don't go to waste.
The remains of this 1-year-old will feed the entire pack.
♪♪
Each wolf can eat up to 20% of its bodyweight in one go.
[ Wolves growling ]
♪♪
Wolf packs have a strict hierarchy.
[ Wolves snarling ]
And each wolf must take its turn.
♪♪
Until the party is interrupted...
[ Bison lows ]
...by a herd of bison.
[ Bison growling ]
♪♪
Each bison weighs more than 15 wolves combined.
♪♪
[ Wolf growls ]
And they know how to fight.
[ Bison growling, wolves barking ]
Wolves suffer more injuries from these animals
than any other adversary.
And it's not long before they abandon the carcass.
♪♪
Wolves once hunted bison here in Europe.
♪♪
But after centuries without them,
European wolves have forgotten how to tackle such large prey.
[ Bison grunts ]
So these massive herbivores are safe...
for now.
However, there is little they can do for their fallen kin.
♪♪
Just like the bison,
wolves in Europe almost went extinct.
Continent-wide hunting and culling
caused wolf numbers to plummet.
♪♪
Fortunately, hunting regulation and legal protection
came just in the nick of time.
[ Bird chirping ]
Now the wolf population hasn't just survived.
It's made a remarkable comeback.
And today, there are more wolves in Europe than in the U.S.
♪♪
[ Wolves yelping, howling ]
♪♪
This is a wolf rendezvous site...
a key location in a pack's territory,
where the wolves gather to play,
sleep, and feed their pups.
[ Pups whining ]
At 2 months old,
these pups are just a few weeks out of the den.
They are born curious.
[ Pups growling ]
It's how they learn about the world.
But they're already becoming a handful.
♪♪
So while the adults are out hunting,
they've been left behind.
♪♪
But they're not on their own.
They have a babysitter.
♪♪
He keeps them entertained until their parents return.
[ Wolves growling ]
♪♪
It will be a few months still
until they're old enough to join the hunt.
♪♪
For now, they're happy to take the opportunity
to run the babysitter ragged.
[ Pups yelp ]
It's not only the adult wolves
with the pups' best interest in mind.
♪♪
Across the continent, human attitudes have changed,
and rewilding efforts are attempting to monitor
the wolves' amazing comeback.
♪♪
Over 900 kilometers north of the Carpathians,
Polish wolf populations have defied all expectations.
♪♪
Here in the depths of Poland's isolated forests...
scientists are scouring the woodland,
looking for wolf rendezvous sites.
But these apex predators are notoriously hard to find.
♪♪
Wolf expert Sabina Nowak
has been studying wolves in Poland for 20 years...
♪♪
...and goes to drastic lengths to find her subjects.
♪♪
One of the many methods she utilizes is tracking.
With her team, she scans the landscape
for anything the wolves have left behind.
-On the junction, we have some tracks
which look like pup's track. Yeah.
-At just 8 centimeters,
this paw print belongs to a wolf pup...
and means Sabina is heading in the right direction.
-You find some signs and go closer and closer.
It's like a police investigation, yeah?
There is a hole under the fence,
so it can be used by pups.
And on the fence,
we can see hair,
wolf hair.
-Nearby paw prints and traces of the predators' hair
make this a likely wolf rendezvous site
and the perfect location
to set up a camera trap.
-Pups, they like very much to play on roads,
so they emerge every evening, and they play.
So there is a big probability
that they will be recorded by our camera traps.
-Using the footage caught on camera traps like this,
Sabina and the team begin to understand
how the European wolves are repopulating the continent.
-When we set camera traps in good place,
we can observe the relationship between adults,
the parents, and pups.
♪♪
The monitoring of pups is very important,
because we get information about their health.
[ Pups yelping ]
♪♪
We can also observe personalities.
-Some are cautious.
♪♪
Others curious.
♪♪
And some don't like being filmed at all.
♪♪
The Carpathians boast so much wildlife,
they can help other regions ofEurope that aren't as fortunate.
♪♪
[ Bird chirping ]
The lynx population is a prime example.
♪♪
These two lynx cubs were born wild
in the Slovakian mountains.
But one year ago, they were both found abandoned.
♪♪
Since then, Wrano and Alfie have been raised in captivity
with minimal human contact.
After months of rehabilitation at the Bojnice Zoo,
they're ready to be freed.
♪♪
Instead of returning to the Carpathians,
these lynx will be reintroduced to Germany,
where their species has been extinct for 150 years.
[ Clock ticking ]
The relocation team works at night
to minimize visual stimulation for the cubs.
Once the cats are sedated,
carnivore expert Jakub Kubala checks that they're healthy.
-[ Whispering ] We're taking blood samples of the animal
and writing a really special number on the collar
so the German vets can then check it
without the need to tranquilize him again.
-For Jakub and the team,
taking the blood is a complicated procedure.
Lynx are notoriously nervous creatures.
And even under sedation, their stress levels
can have devastating effects.
[ Monitor beeps ]
-He's not sleeping very well,
so we have to be really fast as possible,
because he could wake up in a moment.
-They have just a few minutes to fit a collar.
♪♪
The stress of relocation, combined with the sedatives,
raises the cubs' bodytemperature to dangerous levels.
♪♪
They must continually monitor the lynx
to ensure they do not overheat.
[ Monitor beeping ]
Just as the process is coming to an end,
things take a turn for the worse.
♪♪
The cubs, Wrano and Alfie, arenot responding well to sedation.
♪♪
Their body temperature has become dangerously high,
and the team is fighting to bring it down.
-The temperature was still too high.
We drop it for almost 1/2 degree,
but it's still too high, so...
-It works.
The lynx is finally out of danger.
♪♪
When the check-up is complete and the sedative wears off...
♪♪
...Wrano and Alfie are driven through the night...
more than 900 kilometers across Europe...
♪♪
...to their new home in Germany's Palatinate Forest,
where lynx have been absent for more than two centuries.
The cubs seem eager for freedom.
♪♪
Although these are new surroundings, Wrano and Alfie
will be joining 15 other reintroduced Eurasian lynx
who now roam these ancient German woodlands.
♪♪
Finally, the moment arrives.
♪♪
Wrano is off,
and he doesn't look back.
The collar he's wearing will give the team insight
into the lynx's hidden lives.
♪♪
Next, it's Alfie's turn.
♪♪
He follows his adoptive brother to freedom.
♪♪
Thanks to decades of rewilding efforts across Europe,
lynx are now repopulating parts of Germany,
Switzerland, Austria, and Italy.
♪♪
While lynx have needed a helping hand to recolonize,
wolves have had no trouble finding their own way.
In Poland, one particular wolf
embodies this extraordinary story.
[ Wolf barks ]
♪♪
This is Kampinos,
a young wolf rescued after being hit by a car.
And now after recovering in captivity,
he's about to be set free.
But there's work to do first.
Kampinos is sedated...
♪♪
...moved to the checkup area...
♪♪
...muzzled, as a precaution...
♪♪
...and fitted with a collar.
♪♪
He's then carried to his transport crate
for the short journey home to Kampinos National Park...
where he loses no time heading back to the wild.
♪♪
But he doesn't hang around.
Data from his collar shows that shortly after his release,
Kampinos began an epic journey away from his home territory,
and the distance he covered defied all expectations.
♪♪
He traveled more than 600 kilometers
to the other side of Poland,
crossing fields, forests, and mountains.
♪♪
Journeying alone, without a pack,
Kampinos needed easy prey to sustain him along the way.
♪♪
The abundance of food in the Carpathian Mountains
is a major reason wolves have been able to thrive
in the region.
♪♪
[ Boar grunting ]
One species in particular
helped wolves make it through the hard times.
♪♪
Wild boar.
[ Boar grunting ]
These beasts are one of the most widely spread
and abundant mammals in Europe.
♪♪
They have all kinds of tricks up their sleeve
to help them survive and thrive in most habitats.
♪♪
First, their taste in food.
Wild boar will eat almost anything...
from roots and insects...
to berries and carrion.
Even bark is on the menu.
♪♪
Nothing distracts them from the job at hand
Even tussles between adult boar
don't stop piglets from foraging.
[ Boar grunting, screeching ]
♪♪
Wild boar live in groups called sounders.
They're led by the dominant female.
And they all have to look after the piglets...
and keep an eye out for predators...
♪♪
...especially the grey wolf.
♪♪
For a top predator, a sounder of wild boar is a tempting target.
[ Boar grunting ]
♪♪
There's plenty of prey on offer.
[ Boar screeching ]
[ Wolf growling ]
[ Boar grunting, screeching ]
♪♪
But hunting isn't easy...
especially for a solitary wolf...
without the support of a pack.
Wolves have a hit rate of just 20%.
So it's tempting to turn to easier prey...
[ Sheep bleating ]
...from the human world.
♪♪
Local livestock is a reliable target.
[ Sheep bleating ]
Shepherds and farmers lose thousands of animals each year
to wolf attacks.
♪♪
Some shoot wolves in retaliation...
♪♪
[ Wolf howling ]
...even though the predators are protected.
♪♪
It's one of the biggest challenges
for wolf conservation.
♪♪
But an age-old way of protecting livestock
is making a comeback...
♪♪
...and saving wolves in the process.
Beyond the Carpathians, in Northern Greece...
♪♪
[ Dogs barking ]
...the Arcturos Center is raising a new generation
of Hellenic Sheepdogs...
[ Dog barking ]
...with a single goal in mind...
♪♪
...to save livestock from predators.
♪♪
These working dogs may look...
and act...
like oversized family pets.
[ Dogs growling ]
♪♪
But they've been bred over centuries...
to protect and defend sheep.
♪♪
They are fierce protectors of livestock.
Yet the dogs are remarkably nice to people.
And this is encouraged at Arcturos...
where they enjoy a stress-free life.
♪♪
Socialized from a young age,
every one of the pups is being prepared to work
as a double act in the future.
[ Dogs growling ]
Exposure to their fellow canines as they grow up
is crucial in raising awell-mannered Hellenic Sheepdog.
[ Dogs barking ]
♪♪
However, it's not all fun and games at Arcturos.
♪♪
Today is vaccination day.
[ Dog whines ]
♪♪
Each dog has their blood tested
and is vaccinated against half a dozen canine diseases.
♪♪
-We have to do some tests
so that we can take their health status,
take blood samples so that we make sure
that everything is okay with their health.
-The vaccines are essentialto protect the Hellenic Sheepdog
from passing diseases on to each other
and to other animals they come into contact with.
♪♪
Some are not as keen as others...
♪♪
...and need a little encouragement.
[ Dog whines ]
-It's a busy day, because we have to do all the dogs,
and not all the dogs are having the same behavior.
And we need to make sure that they are not afraid,
not to be a stressful procedure for them.
-[ Speaking excitedly in Greek ]
-Last one up is Fiesta.
At only 5 months old,
she is one of the youngest in the pack.
-[ Speaking excitedly in Greek ]
-But unlike her siblings, she will not become a sheepdog.
♪♪
Fiesta will soon be a breeding female.
-We kept her because we thought that morphologically
and also her behavior was really good
to become a breeding dog.
-If all goes well,Fiesta will be key for Arcturos.
As a breeding female, she has the potential to give birth
to three litters of Hellenic Sheepdogs.
♪♪
-They are not just tools for us.
If we have healthy and happy dogs here,
it's very important for the dogs that we give away later.
[ Dogs barking ]
♪♪
[ Man whistling ]
-Every year, more than 20 dogs are donated to local shepherds.
♪♪
This is Mirco.
She arrived at her new home when she was just 2 months old...
so that she could grow up among sheep.
[ Sheep bleating ]
♪♪
Now she's one of the flock.
♪♪
She doesn't herd the sheep. She simply walks with them,
as a bodyguard.
♪♪
These dogs work in pairs...
keeping watch and constantly alert for threats.
♪♪
All across Europe, similar dog breeds do the same job...
protecting sheep and other livestock...
...day in,
day out...
♪♪
...and all year round.
[ Dogs barking ]
♪♪
Usually, their presence alone is enough to scare off predators.
♪♪
However, this is a lone wolf.
♪♪
With no pack to hunt with, it's after an easy meal.
But these sheepdogs aren't going anywhere.
[ Wolf growling, dogs barking ]
♪♪
Defensive by nature, they will not initiate an attack.
♪♪
As a team, they make sure the wolf knows
their flock won't be an easy target.
[ Dogs continue barking ]
♪♪
The wolf looks submissive, for a moment.
♪♪
But he's persistent.
♪♪
So are the dogs.
[ Dogs continue barking ]
They don't stop until the wolf is well clear.
♪♪
Thousands of predator attacks on livestock
are prevented each year by dogs.
♪♪
In return, many wolves are saved from deadly retaliation.
♪♪
When wolf numbers have a chance to bounce back,
the species is capable of extraordinary feats.
In Poland, a hunting ban on wolves
came into effect just 20 years ago.
Since then, not only have their numbers grown...
♪♪
...they've also dramatically increased their range.
Wolf scientist Sabina uses GPS tracking
and DNA analysis of Polish wolves
to make a startling discovery.
In just two decades,
wolves originating in Northeastern Poland
have traveled to the very edge of Western Europe...
settling along the way in Western Poland, Germany,
Denmark, Belgium, and even the Netherlands.
♪♪
The return of this iconic predator
is down to human interventionand the wolf's adaptable nature.
-Some wolves are very adaptive.
They can accept the human presence.
♪♪
When you give wolves a chance, they will settle.
They will recover.
-A helping hand is all nature needs to bounce back
and establish itself in the modern world.
♪♪
The European bison,
which once teetered on the brink of extinction,
now thrive in the Southern Carpathians.
♪♪
Herds reshape the landscape.
♪♪
Calves are born wild.
♪♪
Predator and prey alike benefit.
♪♪
[ Pups whining ]
♪♪
Together, these creatures
are reviving the Carpathian Mountains...
♪♪
...making one of the wildest places on the continent...
even wilder.
♪♪
[ Bird clicking ]
♪♪
[ Bison grunting ]
♪♪
[ Bear roars ]
♪♪
-To order "Europe's New Wild" on DVD,
visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
Also available on Amazon Prime Video.
♪♪