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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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this is the story of the rise to power
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of the largest wolf pack ever
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known
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going from strength to strength they're
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now at a turning point in their
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[Music]
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lives the balance of power is Shifting
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within the
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pack
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the leaders face a takeover Challenge
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from within their own
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[Music]
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family
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winter in Yellowstone is 6 months of
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temperatures below
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freezing it can look
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beautiful but the conditions are
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Fierce this is a time when most animals
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struggle simply to
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[Music]
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survive but is also a time when one
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animal truly comes into its
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own this is the time of the wolf and
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wolves are back in Yellowstone National
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Park after an absence of nearly 70
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years American gray wolves are
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formidable
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Predators they hunt in large packs and
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bring down prey far larger than
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themselves wolves have been nipping at
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the heels of elk for hundreds of
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thousands of
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years in the depths of winter there will
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always be the weak the old the
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injured once
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targeted the wolf pack closes
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in
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the pack has its prey but the Wolves
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won't be allowed to eat in
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peace as the Bison stumble across the
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wolves and their kill they
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Panic extraordinary scenes like this
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disappeared entirely from the American
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West early last century millions of
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Bison were exterminated and the Wolf
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wasn't far
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behind it was treated as Vermin by
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ranchers and park officials hunted
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poisoned and
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trapped the Yellowstone wolf was
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[Music]
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gone 1995 brought a change in Fortune
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wolves were brought from the Canadian
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wilderness to be released back in into
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the park after a 65e absence here guys
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right here Doug I got two here park
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biologists kept the wolves in pens to
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get them used to the new surroundings
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and they had their hands full from the
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start even after 10 weeks the Canadian
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wolves still had a healthy disrespect
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for human
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company the plan to fit radio colors to
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monitor the Wolves progress location
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proved
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[Applause]
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challenging but local officials had more
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serious worries once released would the
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Wolves leave the park and start praying
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on livestock instead of the wildlife if
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they did the project was doomed
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hang as the date of the releases
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approached Park biologists like Doug
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Smith really had no idea what would
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happen once the door doors to the pens
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were
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[Music]
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opened one's
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[Music]
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out there two two are out we got two out
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many people were tearful the emotional
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burden that was lifted off of people's
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shoulders was
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tremendous now what was going to happen
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would this take would the wolves go back
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to Canada what are they going to
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do
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in theory Yellowstone was perfect wolf
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habitat but no one really knew whether
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the Wolves would Thrive starve or simply
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leave the park for biologist Doug Smith
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head of Yellowstone's wolf recovery
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program the releases Mark the beginning
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of an epic 7-year scientific
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Adventure I've been interested in wol
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since I was a small
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boy I never dreamed that I would be in
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the position that I am today
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and and for me this truly is a labor of
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love I love going to work every day I
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love trying to figure out what these
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animals are doing their stories their
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interactions with the other animals in
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yellow stone is a wonderful opportunity
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that challenges me in every
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[Music]
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way
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to keep track of the Wolves Doug's team
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have fitted radio collar to about a
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third of the animals when the batteries
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run out the collar have to be
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replaced
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okay one coming behind
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you after trying several different
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recapture techniques Doug has found
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darting from a helicopter to be the
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least traumatic for the
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wolves
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okay we're still with this first one I'm
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going try not to get bit
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here while the wolf is sedated Doug
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gives it a thorough examination and
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checks its Health before replacing the
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collar the radio callers have given him
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an extraordinarily intimate glimpse into
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the Secret Lives of
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wolves I think it's good we got here on
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Insight the Wolves he's come to know
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best the AAC released in the shadow of
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Druid peak in
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1996 the Druid pack initially seemed to
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adjust well to
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Yellowstone but more than a year later
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they wandered out of the park and the
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pack leader was
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shot command of the seven wolves fell to
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his mate the alpha female a beautiful
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wolf but a violent
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one a coyote scavaging her kill was was
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in serious
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trouble the first elf female was wolf
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number 40 she was very aggressive and
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she ruled with an iron
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Fest led by this powerful dark queen The
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Druids developed a reputation for
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killing wolves from neighboring packs as
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well as
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coyotes wo
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a stranger from a rival pack a young
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male known as number 21 entered the
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druid's
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territory he risked his life to courau
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the dark
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queen his gamble paid off number 21
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managed to win her over and became the
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alpha male of the Druid
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pack the union of these two wolves did
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not go unnoticed the dark Queen's sister
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number 42 was
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watching known as the Cinderella wolf
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number 42 was in constant trouble with
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her sister she was never quite
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submissive enough to pleas is her
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leader vicious put Downs were all too
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common and then one night everything
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[Music]
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changed the dark queen was dead probably
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killed by her own
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sister
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the next day the once lowly Cinderella
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wolf claimed the den of the dark queen
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for her own
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pups the Druid pack had a new
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leader she took her sister's mate for
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herself and she raised her sister's pups
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as well as her own and a third litter as
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well they had 21 young mouths to feed
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The Druids took turns babysitting and
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feeding them
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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all
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all but one of these pups from three
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litters grew into adults a remarkable
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achievement for the Druid pack and a
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triumphant return of wolves to
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Yellowstone I didn't think that 20 out
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of 21 pups were going to
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survive Yellowstone was the ideal place
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for wolves to be and they weren't there
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and we reintroduced them and conditions
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were such that they could have three lit
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of pups in one pack and they could have
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20 of 21 of those pups
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survived eventually the Druid Peak pack
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grew to 37
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members almost certainly the largest
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wolf pack ever
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known with so many wolves The Druids
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became a force to be reckoned with they
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needed more territory and their howling
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left no doubt they intended to take it
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by
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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force the first thing that happened when
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the Druid Peak pack grew was they had to
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get more territory they had to take over
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more land unfortunately all the land in
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the northern part of Yellowstone was
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occupied by other wolves so they had to
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take it aggressively from the nearest
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pack in the no man's land between the
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druid's territory and their neighbors
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Doug and his team found Grim evidence of
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fierce border
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skirmishes
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huge yeah that's pretty big lots of
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blood territorial skirmishes between
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wolf packs can be ferocious in fact they
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can be so bad that wolves can die in
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these boundary skirmishes about who's
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going to control the different areas of
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the
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park this area right here is a
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major zone of tension between these two
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packs they're ter teror boundar is
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pretty much a butt here and three wolves
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have died in 3 years right along this
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boundary The Druids almost certainly
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killed this wolf in pursuit of more prey
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and more
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territory but their gray fur shows that
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time is catching up with The Druids
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Alpha
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pair the once black Cinderella wolf and
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her dark partner have entered their TW
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Twilight
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years I feel a lot of kinship with 42
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and 21 because I'm watching them gray
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and I'm starting to gray along with them
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so all this stuff pulls me a lot of
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different ways so I'm bonding with the
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study
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subjects now 7 years old 42 and 21 the
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alpha pair have outlived most of their
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contemporaries but they won't be allowed
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to enjoy their golden years in peace
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trouble comes in the form of number 113
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a powerful young male a lone
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wolf the unique thing about 113 is he's
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so big and how he referred to him was
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that big male
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wolf in the prime of his life number 113
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has one thing on his mind a mate but
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Druid Turf is a dangerous place to come
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[Music]
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courting caution takes hold and the big
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male wolf has second thoughts about
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advancing
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further and it's 21 The Old Man Of The
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Druids who chases him
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[Music]
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off
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but the Druid pack has young daughters
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and the powerful stranger's presence
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hasn't gone
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unnoticed she's interested but nervous
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a meeting between wolves from different
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packs is a tense and dangerous
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Affair these behaviors are quite
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ritualized the animal stands very
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stiffly facing the oncoming
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wolves it almost appears as if a wolf is
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highly nervous and moving in a very kind
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of mechanical way probably trying not to
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do anything wrong because the slightest
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mistake could mean death for that wolf
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and that wolf knows
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that clearly the young Druid ladies
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appear more Amorous than
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aggressive not so their
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father
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trespasses are not tolerated by senior
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Druids big number 113 is seen as
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trouble humbled and submissive one
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daughter comes crawling back to her
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father she may be young but she's a
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druid and the pack still howls as
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one for the
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[Music]
00:17:54
moment as winter sets in the Druid pack
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faces is a dilemma hunting has been good
00:18:01
but there are simply too many of them
00:18:04
and they are constantly
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hungry they spotted an injured elk calf
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who seeks refuge in an icy
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stream this catch seems too easy to be
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true but it means getting drenched and
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the wolves are not sure it's worth
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it
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they move on leaving the elk Cal's fate
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to snow and
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ice Winters and Yellowstone are
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merciless temperatures can drop to 50
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below vast elk herds are gathering here
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in the Lamar Valley and the wolves are
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right behind
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them led by the veterans 21 and
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42 it's time for the pack to turn to the
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business of hunting
00:19:29
this is prime wolf country full of elk a
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favorite prey and they know the local
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terrain which gives them an
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advantage wolves one of the most
00:19:45
important ways they hunt is by getting a
00:19:47
good look at their prey so what the
00:19:50
Druid Peak pack likes to do is use Lamar
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Valley in the wide open space there to
00:19:56
get the elk herds moving and in that way
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they can examine the
00:20:04
elk 21 the alpha male of the Druid Peak
00:20:08
pack is often times the leader of the
00:20:10
hunt he's the oldest most experienced
00:20:13
arguably the wisest wolf in the pack and
00:20:15
so he understands what El can be pursued
00:20:18
but he might not necessarily be the most
00:20:20
aggressive wolf in the Hunts he allows
00:20:24
some of those younger wolves and their
00:20:26
enthusiasm come for forward to to take
00:20:29
care of the initial stages of the hunt
00:20:32
and he'll move in towards the
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end with so many wolves the Druid pack
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employs a scatter gun tactic Fanning out
00:20:41
to break up the
00:20:54
[Music]
00:20:57
herd
00:20:58
[Music]
00:21:04
[Music]
00:21:07
each wolf follows its own Target but
00:21:10
keeps an eye out in case a fellow Druid
00:21:12
is on the heels of an easier
00:21:18
[Music]
00:21:27
mark an experience General 21 oversees
00:21:31
the attack leaving the hard work to the
00:21:34
younger
00:21:38
[Music]
00:21:56
troops all it it takes is a single
00:22:03
stumble the take down is the most
00:22:05
dangerous moment a frightened elk can
00:22:08
easily deal a fatal blow with its sharp
00:22:11
Hooves but The Druids have experience on
00:22:13
their side the prey is
00:22:18
overwhelmed with so many Hunters the
00:22:21
carcass will be quickly stripped to the
00:22:23
Bone there will be little left for
00:22:26
scavengers
00:22:37
after a hunt it's time to restore order
00:22:39
in the ranks the alpha female 42 demand
00:22:44
submission from her
00:22:46
[Music]
00:22:56
daughters
00:22:59
the success of The Druids has had an
00:23:01
impact not only on the elk but on the
00:23:04
wolf's cousin the
00:23:07
coyote continually harassed by Wolves
00:23:11
its numbers have fallen by half in the
00:23:13
Lamar
00:23:21
[Music]
00:23:26
Valley
00:23:29
[Music]
00:23:38
once The Druids were Infamous for
00:23:39
killing coyotes but no longer this young
00:23:43
wolf wants a playmate however
00:23:52
reluctant the two creatures understand a
00:23:55
common body language the coyote knows
00:23:58
that this is a game and not game
00:24:13
over although the Druid pups are 10
00:24:15
months old nearly full grown their
00:24:18
puppyish curiosity and appetite for play
00:24:21
are still very much
00:24:26
alive
00:24:33
play Lets young wolves establish their
00:24:36
status in the pack a constantly shifting
00:24:39
power
00:24:56
struggle
00:25:00
but while the pups play there is trouble
00:25:07
stirring the pack has reached a critical
00:25:10
size it can no longer feed everyone it's
00:25:14
time for the yearlings to strike out on
00:25:16
their own and the rest of the pack can't
00:25:18
emphasize the point strongly
00:25:26
enough
00:25:33
[Music]
00:25:40
[Music]
00:25:51
[Music]
00:25:57
she shunned by his own family this
00:26:00
Outcast will have to make his own way in
00:26:02
the
00:26:03
wilderness if he's lucky he'll find a
00:26:05
young female and start a new pack if
00:26:08
he's unlucky he may be killed by a rival
00:26:11
pack or
00:26:22
starve in the late afternoon one of the
00:26:25
Druid daughters is restless
00:26:28
and with good
00:26:35
reason 113 the lone male is back again
00:26:40
and looking for a
00:26:56
mate
00:27:05
[Music]
00:27:14
[Music]
00:27:20
In This Moment the first steps in the
00:27:23
formation of a new alliance have been
00:27:26
taken
00:27:33
and as day gives way toight there is a
00:27:36
clear declaration that a new pack is
00:27:45
born under cover of Darkness another
00:27:48
Druid female approaches the big male
00:27:56
stranger
00:27:58
[Music]
00:28:00
and then an adolescent
00:28:05
male a new force is gathering but it's
00:28:08
still on Druid
00:28:20
territory the morning finds old 21 the
00:28:24
alpha male leading the remaining Druids
00:28:26
on boorder
00:28:30
Patrol this is not a good time for the
00:28:33
new pack to be caught out in the open
00:28:35
and a very bad time to be caught
00:28:40
mating mother and father suspect nothing
00:28:43
as
00:28:45
yet the new gang spots the patrol it's
00:28:49
definitely time to
00:28:52
leave at the top of the ridge a team of
00:28:55
Druids seals off and Escape
00:28:59
route the big male stranger takes no
00:29:02
chances he leads his band of recruits
00:29:05
into no man's
00:29:07
land on the way out of the valley he's
00:29:10
joined by several more Druid
00:29:13
[Music]
00:29:17
deserters traveling along the disputed
00:29:19
border between rival Wolfpack the young
00:29:22
gang of six heads South further into the
00:29:25
heart of the park to try their fortunes
00:29:29
there the loyal Druids reaffirm their
00:29:32
ownership of this part of
00:29:37
[Music]
00:29:45
Yellowstone to follow the Wolves of the
00:29:48
Interior Doug and his team were also
00:29:50
headed deep into the Backwoods of the
00:29:52
park far off the beaten
00:29:56
path
00:30:16
deep in the heart of Yellowstone is
00:30:19
where Winter hits
00:30:21
hardest there is no Comfort to be found
00:30:24
in these
00:30:26
parts
00:30:47
during their study the scientists have
00:30:49
observed that predator and prey actually
00:30:52
communicate with each other during a
00:30:55
hunt over count numbers of years elk
00:30:59
have developed signals that advertise
00:31:01
their strength and fitness to wolves and
00:31:03
wolves have developed the ability to
00:31:05
guess when the elk are
00:31:09
cheating these elk are signaling that
00:31:11
they're Strong by energetic and
00:31:13
exaggerated
00:31:21
trotting it's a tactic to say don't
00:31:24
bother chasing me because I can outrun
00:31:26
you
00:31:35
sometimes the Wolves will call their
00:31:37
Bluff and continue to chase the elk it
00:31:40
won't be long before any weakness will
00:31:42
be found
00:31:56
out
00:32:06
elk and wolf are much more evenly
00:32:09
matched than might appear and standing
00:32:11
its ground when surrounded by a pack of
00:32:13
hungry wolves turns out to be a winning
00:32:16
strategy if the elk can hold its
00:32:26
nerve
00:32:29
wolves can be killed by their prey and
00:32:31
we've had six wolves die in Yellowstone
00:32:35
because of their prey five by elk one by
00:32:39
a moose so wolves have to be very very
00:32:43
careful at what they
00:32:46
kill standoffs like these can go on for
00:32:50
hours if the elk can resist the urge to
00:32:53
make a break for it the Wolves will
00:32:55
often give up
00:32:58
the wolf's strength lies in killing
00:33:00
animals that are already running a
00:33:03
passing group of Bison is too tempting
00:33:06
to
00:33:18
[Music]
00:33:20
resist the Yellowstone winter finally
00:33:23
loosens its grip and gives way slowly to
00:33:30
Spring the winter has C the weak and the
00:33:34
old only the fittest have
00:33:47
survived today Doug is out with David
00:33:50
meech and Rolf Peterson both Veterans of
00:33:53
wolf research they're looking for a
00:33:55
bison carcass that was spotted from the
00:33:57
air just once in a
00:34:00
life maybe even longer than that well I
00:34:03
didn't see this big mud before Doug and
00:34:06
his team meticulously document every
00:34:08
wolf kill they find and conduct a death
00:34:11
scen forensic
00:34:13
investigation okay now that's got an
00:34:16
extra too right right yeah an impacted
00:34:20
and infected tooth may have caused this
00:34:23
animal's downfall wolves may be able to
00:34:26
sniff out in a rotting tooth dead a
00:34:28
while oh yeah yeah that stuff smells
00:34:31
actually ah and if wolves can detect
00:34:35
abnormalities by smell they could sure
00:34:37
smell that couldn't they but the
00:34:39
researchers suspect more than just a
00:34:41
toothache as the cause of the bison's
00:34:43
death by Soaring apart one of its bones
00:34:46
they can examine the condition of the
00:34:51
marrow look at that wow wow look at that
00:34:55
there's no fat in there whatever oh jeez
00:34:56
yeah I mean there's it's water it's
00:34:58
water it's no fat in the marrow means
00:35:02
the animal was starving would have been
00:35:03
dead even if uh even if the Wolves
00:35:05
hadn't killed it it just couldn't have
00:35:07
gone anywhere yeah wolves did it a
00:35:11
favor the spring Thor has thinned the
00:35:25
ice the B will find Escape
00:35:43
impossible Ravens are the first to
00:35:46
discover a
00:35:51
carcass coyotes aren't far
00:35:55
behind
00:36:08
he's earned the right to have the first
00:36:09
go at the Soggy
00:36:20
[Music]
00:36:23
carcass not that it's going to be that
00:36:25
easy
00:36:35
[Music]
00:36:53
[Music]
00:36:55
Happ
00:36:58
[Music]
00:37:17
this is not one of his better
00:37:25
days
00:37:43
Springtime in Yellowstone is
00:37:46
fickle in the Lamar Valley the blink of
00:37:48
an eye and winter is back
00:37:52
again a mother Grizzly and her Cobb have
00:37:55
emerged from their winter Den only to be
00:37:57
greeted by driving
00:37:59
snow and something more
00:38:02
Sinister
00:38:07
Druids there is no love lost between
00:38:09
Yellowstone's top
00:38:13
[Music]
00:38:20
predators wolves and Grizzlies have been
00:38:23
known to kill each other's
00:38:25
Young
00:38:27
you'd think an aggressively protective
00:38:29
Mother Bear would be best left
00:38:31
[Music]
00:38:37
alone she could break her Wolf's back
00:38:40
with a single swipe of her
00:38:42
paw but she can't risk straying more
00:38:45
than a few yards from her
00:38:49
[Music]
00:38:55
cup
00:38:56
[Music]
00:39:05
finally The Druids lose interest in Bear
00:39:07
baiting and the mother and Cub can go
00:39:10
their own
00:39:18
[Music]
00:39:24
way after several full starts
00:39:27
spring has taken Winter's
00:39:30
[Music]
00:39:55
place
00:39:58
with a cloak of winter lifted the Lamar
00:40:01
Valley is barely
00:40:04
recognizable there are newcomers here
00:40:06
just getting to know the
00:40:10
[Music]
00:40:19
place The Druids have made it through
00:40:21
the winter in fine form old 21 and 42
00:40:26
still at the
00:40:27
helm at this time of year the pack
00:40:30
splits up the Wolves won't need to hunt
00:40:33
as a large team now their prey is elk
00:40:45
cves and it's not just wolves every
00:40:48
Predator is drawn to
00:40:54
them there may be competition between
00:40:58
wolves and grizzly bears for El Cavs but
00:41:01
it's interesting because one day in
00:41:04
Lamar Valley this spring our team
00:41:07
observed two El Cavs killed by wolves
00:41:10
two killed by grizzly bears and two
00:41:13
killed by
00:41:14
Coyotes black bears cougars Eagles also
00:41:18
take El Cavs so the one of the next
00:41:21
studies that we're trying to initiate is
00:41:25
understanding predation on El
00:41:46
Cavs the carves are Nimble and quick
00:41:49
even at this young
00:41:51
age a Grizzly is surprisingly Fleet for
00:41:54
its size it can reach a top speed of 30
00:42:21
mph Grizzlies have young to feed
00:42:25
too
00:42:36
the reintroduction of wolves to
00:42:38
Yellowstone though hasn't been welcomed
00:42:40
by
00:42:46
everyone local sports hunters for one
00:42:49
don't like competing with the
00:42:52
Wolves but despite the return of a top
00:42:55
predator to the Park the scientists
00:42:58
report elk numbers seem to be holding
00:43:06
[Music]
00:43:19
[Music]
00:43:22
steady but the controversy has spread
00:43:24
beyond the park nearly half of the
00:43:27
Wolves now live outside Yellowstone
00:43:30
where they are often not welcome local
00:43:32
ranchers feared for the loss of their
00:43:34
cattle but after 7 years the true losses
00:43:38
have been far lower than many ranches
00:43:40
have
00:43:46
predicted the days are growing longer
00:43:49
and The Druids are away patrolling the
00:43:51
furthest reaches of their
00:43:55
territory
00:43:57
Doug and his team use this opportunity
00:43:59
to study the druid's vacated winter
00:44:06
home Den sites are
00:44:09
Treasures you get a view into the wolf's
00:44:12
world you know it's just like um going
00:44:15
to your house after you've moved
00:44:17
out
00:44:20
okay oh yeah it goes back
00:44:23
aways can you see the main chamber at
00:44:25
the end I
00:44:27
they found that females make dens in
00:44:29
caves dig under tree roots and even take
00:44:32
over Beaver danss it's a narrow entryway
00:44:35
with a big chamber at the end it might
00:44:37
go
00:44:39
uh at least 16 ft an entrance that
00:44:42
probably grizzly bear couldn't get down
00:44:44
but a chamber that was pretty roomy and
00:44:46
[Applause]
00:44:49
comfortable The Druids themselves are
00:44:52
now long gone spending the summer at a
00:44:55
rendevu site
00:44:59
their two-month-old pups stay here
00:45:02
making the most of the Lush period of
00:45:04
sunshine While most of the pack
00:45:10
hunts there are plenty of new sights and
00:45:12
smells to investigate and an attentive
00:45:15
babysitter nearby to make sure things
00:45:18
don't get out of
00:45:24
hand for the next few summer months the
00:45:28
rendevu site will be the focal point of
00:45:30
their young lives though adults often go
00:45:33
their separate ways to hunt they return
00:45:35
to the rendevu site to feed the pups and
00:45:38
keep in contact with the rest of the
00:45:43
pack a new litter of wolf pups is
00:45:46
welcome but Doug knows the time will
00:45:49
soon come when there'll be some sad
00:45:51
losses from the Druid
00:45:53
pack 42 has been there since came on the
00:45:57
scene early they are the thread through
00:46:01
that whole story and that thread is
00:46:04
getting short and it it could end
00:46:08
soon it will be a sad day for me and it
00:46:12
will be a sad day for the story of
00:46:15
Yellowstone
00:46:17
wolves the sadness of those blood should
00:46:20
be balanced by the scale of the
00:46:24
achievement I think the introduction of
00:46:26
wolves to Yellowstone is one of the
00:46:28
scientific opportunities of the century
00:46:31
to be a part of this from the beginning
00:46:34
and document how this system will change
00:46:37
because of the reintroduction of a top
00:46:39
carnivore that belongs here is a huge
00:46:44
scientific opportunity that needs to be
00:46:49
done and now a new chapter has opened in
00:46:53
Yellowstone's
00:46:54
history
00:46:57
Doug has been anxious to find out what
00:46:59
happened to the big young wolf that ran
00:47:01
off with the druid's Adolescent
00:47:05
daughters although number 113 has been
00:47:08
colored his radio transmitter only works
00:47:10
occasionally so he's been hard to
00:47:14
track one day at the edge of the druid's
00:47:17
territory Doug spots a group of pups he
00:47:20
hasn't seen
00:47:22
before and watching over them is 113
00:47:26
no longer a renegade wolf but a busy
00:47:29
father with his young
00:47:32
[Music]
00:47:33
family with the arrival of the pups this
00:47:36
group is now officially a pack in its
00:47:38
own right and
00:47:40
113 is their alpha
00:47:44
[Music]
00:47:49
male a chapter is ending for the Aging
00:47:52
leaders of The Druids but it's just
00:47:55
beginning for this this pack too new to
00:47:57
even have a
00:47:58
name future skirmishes over Yellowstone
00:48:01
territory are
00:48:03
inevitable as these young wolves face
00:48:06
the
00:48:06
future this is their
00:48:09
[Music]
00:48:20
battlecry next Brucey and Tess look at
00:48:23
the highlights of the new series of
00:48:24
Strictly Come daners here on BBC 2
00:48:27
there's a chance to catch up with Robin
00:48:28
Hood on BBC 3 and on BBC 4 captivating
00:48:32
natural history and spectacular scenery
00:48:35
on planet
00:48:38
[Music]
00:48:54
Earth
00:48:56
one member down over 800 mil to go
