A Wildlife Filmmaker's Close Encounters With Black Bears
Filming Alaska's black bears (Ursus americanus) in their natural habitat.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Alaska - a black bear roams an iceless mountainside with her cubs. The mother appears timid and nervous. She wants to disappear from this coverless terrain as quickly as possible. The reason: grizzly bears inhabit this territory too, and they are black bears' archenemies. Grizzlies are merciless when it comes to bear cubs that aren't their own. Wildlife filmmaker Andreas Kieling is on an expedition in Alaska trying to get close to black bears. Up to now he has only managed to observe them from a distance, but now he is on their trail.
ANDREAS KIELING: "A bear was digging here, no question, a grizzly or a black bear. They do this to get these roots out of the ground. They are old willow roots and their root bark contains lots of acetylsalicylic acid, which is actually the active ingredient in aspirin, only the bears get high on it. The Native Americans of old were aware of its effects and used this root as a painkiller. But the bear tracks have disappeared."
NARRATOR: Kieling believes the bears followed the salmon upstream. After a short drive he spots a black bear in a tree. Where there's one bear, there's bound to be more. Kieling wants to find a protected spot to position his camera. He looks for a place which has a good overview of the canyon.
KIELING: "I think this is a great hiding place. The bears will hardly notice me here."
NARRATOR: Just as Kieling has finished setting up, he spots the first black bears in the water. The river salmon promise a hearty meal. The females look on from a safe distance with their cubs as the male bears occupy the best fishing spots. This is the first ever fish dinner for some of the young bears gathered here.
Further up a mother bear searches for her cub. Her little one stands by the river and crying frantically for its mother. If one of the male bears notices this desperate scene, the young bear will be lost. As is common among brown bears, black bear cubs are often killed by their own fathers. The little bear is helpless in the strong current, and the powerful males are fishing at the end of the rapids. It reaches the life-saving bank, but the danger has not yet passed. One of the adult males has taken note of the little bundle of fur.
KIELING: "I really thought that would be the end of it for that cub. Luckily for him the adult male had gorged himself so much that he couldn't get up the rocky crevices fast enough. He was really lucky."
NARRATOR: Andreas Kieling has found the perfect spot. He can observe the black bears at close range from here, and is able to capture this impressive footage.
ANDREAS KIELING: "A bear was digging here, no question, a grizzly or a black bear. They do this to get these roots out of the ground. They are old willow roots and their root bark contains lots of acetylsalicylic acid, which is actually the active ingredient in aspirin, only the bears get high on it. The Native Americans of old were aware of its effects and used this root as a painkiller. But the bear tracks have disappeared."
NARRATOR: Kieling believes the bears followed the salmon upstream. After a short drive he spots a black bear in a tree. Where there's one bear, there's bound to be more. Kieling wants to find a protected spot to position his camera. He looks for a place which has a good overview of the canyon.
KIELING: "I think this is a great hiding place. The bears will hardly notice me here."
NARRATOR: Just as Kieling has finished setting up, he spots the first black bears in the water. The river salmon promise a hearty meal. The females look on from a safe distance with their cubs as the male bears occupy the best fishing spots. This is the first ever fish dinner for some of the young bears gathered here.
Further up a mother bear searches for her cub. Her little one stands by the river and crying frantically for its mother. If one of the male bears notices this desperate scene, the young bear will be lost. As is common among brown bears, black bear cubs are often killed by their own fathers. The little bear is helpless in the strong current, and the powerful males are fishing at the end of the rapids. It reaches the life-saving bank, but the danger has not yet passed. One of the adult males has taken note of the little bundle of fur.
KIELING: "I really thought that would be the end of it for that cub. Luckily for him the adult male had gorged himself so much that he couldn't get up the rocky crevices fast enough. He was really lucky."
NARRATOR: Andreas Kieling has found the perfect spot. He can observe the black bears at close range from here, and is able to capture this impressive footage.