Animal Planet - Wild Russia

Narrator: IN RUSSIA'S FAR EAST IS A REMOTE LAND --

A PLACE WHERE HEAVEN AND HELL COLLIDE.

THIS IS KAMCHATKA.

FOR NEARLY A CENTURY,

THE SOVIETS KEPT THIS REMOTE PENINSULA UNDER LOCK AND KEY.

VEILED IN SECRECY,

IT REMAINED LARGELY UNTOUCHED BY CIVILIZATION.

NOW THE SHROUD IS LIFTED.

BE AMONG THE FIRST

TO JOURNEY INTO THIS LAND OF FIRE AND ICE,

WHERE VOLCANOES TRANSFORM THE LANDSCAPE

AND GLACIERS GLARE.

FOLLOW THE TRIALS OF KAMCHATKA'S CREATURES

IN A LAND FORGED FROM FIRE.

RUSSIA, THE LARGEST COUNTRY ON EARTH,

MORE THAN TWICE THE SIZE OF THE UNITED STATES.

EPIC IN SCOPE AND DAZZLING IN ITS EXTREMES,

EACH REGION IS A WORLD OF ITS OWN.

WITH MORE THAN 300 VOLCANOES,

KAMCHATKA IS ONE OF THE MOST VOLCANICALLY ACTIVE AREAS

ON EARTH.

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS HAVE BEEN SHAPING AND RESHAPING THIS LAND

SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL.

LOCATED AT THE FAR EAST OF THE ASIAN CONTINENT,

RUSSIA'S 6 1/2 MILLION SQUARE MILES OF TERRITORY

ENDS IN A PENINSULA CALLED KAMCHATKA.

AT 750 MILES LONG,

IT'S THE SIZE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

AND YET A MERE 400,000 PEOPLE LIVE HERE.

FOR DECADES, THE ENTIRE AREA

WAS LOCKED BEHIND THE SOVIET IRON CURTAIN.

SHIELDED FROM HUMAN CONTACT,

THE ANIMALS OF KAMCHATKA FLOURISHED

IN THIS UNTOUCHED WILDERNESS.

NOW "WILD RUSSIA"'S FILM CREW HAS GAINED UNPARALLELED ACCESS

INTO THE AREA'S WILDEST AND MOST INHOSPITABLE REGIONS.

THIS UNIQUE FOOTAGE REVEALS A MERCILESS WORLD

AS IT'S RARELY BEEN SEEN BEFORE.

FOR MORE THAN HALF THE YEAR,

WINTER GRIPS VOLCANOES AND SEAS ALIKE.

SNOW FORMS LAYERS NINE FEET DEEP.

UP TO 700 STELLER'S SEA EAGLES

TAKE REFUGE AT KAMCHATKA'S LAKE KURIL.

MORE POWERFUL THAN EVEN THE AMERICAN BALD EAGLE,

THESE EAGLES CAN WEIGH UP TO 20 POUNDS.

THIS CRATER LAKE

IS THE LARGEST SPAWNING GROUND FOR SOCKEYE SALMON

IN THE WORLD.

THEY'RE SKILLED AT FISHING,

BUT THEY'D RATHER FIGHT THAN FISH.

OF ALL THE BIRDS HERE,

ONLY THE STELLER'S SEA EAGLE HAS THE RIGHT GEAR

TO CARVE INTO A SOCKEYE SALMON'S THICK, LEATHERY SKIN.

SHIELDING THE MEAL FROM A MOB OF BULLIES

CAN BE A SHORT-LIVED EXERCISE,

AND THIS MAY BE THE FIRST TIME

THEIR BRAWLS HAVE EVER BEEN CAUGHT ON FILM.

STELLER EAGLES HAVE MORE THAN EACH OTHER TO CONTEND WITH.

GOLDEN EAGLES ARE NEVER FAR BEHIND,

AND THEY'RE CHAMPION FIGHTERS.

THEIR CURVED, RAZOR-SHARP BEAKS

COULD EASILY INFLICT FATAL INJURIES.

THIS EAGLE STANDS VICTORIOUS.

AROUND 8 MILLION SALMON

COME EACH YEAR TO LAKE KURIL TO SPAWN.

LIKE THE SALMON THAT SWIM UP ALASKA'S RIVERS,

SALMON ALSO SWIM FROM THE PACIFIC TO KAMCHATKA.

THE SALMON'S EPIC JOURNEY

IS CRITICAL TO KAMCHATKA'S WILDLIFE.

BUT THE NUMBER OF SALMON

THAT RUN UP THESE RIVERS IS DECREASING.

POACHERS HAVE TAKEN MORE THAN 100,000 TONS OF SALMON

FROM THESE WATERS EVERY YEAR.

AS A RESULT,

THERE ARE LESS SALMON IN KAMCHATKA'S RIVERS,

AND THEY'RE RUNNING LATER.

WINTER TURNS TO SPRING.

AS THE ICY GRIP EASES,

THE WORLD'S LARGEST BEARS EMERGE FROM THEIR DENS.

KAMCHATKA'S BROWN BEARS OUTSIZE

EVEN THE NORTH AMERICAN GRIZZLIES.

MALES CAN REACH 8 FEET TALL AND WEIGH CLOSE TO A TON.

TODAY, THERE ARE SOME 14,000 BEARS HERE --

THE LARGEST SINGLE POPULATION ON EARTH.

AFTER ALMOST SIX MONTHS OF HIBERNATION,

THIS BEAR'S INTENT ON CLEANING HIS COAT.

A GOOD ROLL IN THE SNOW REMOVES BUILT-UP GRIME.

NOW HE HAS ONLY ONE THING ON HIS MIND -- FOOD.

BEARS CAN LOSE UP TO 350 POUNDS WHILE HIBERNATING.

EVERY BEAR'S EXIT FROM THEIR WINTER DEN

MARKS THE START OF A RACE AGAINST TIME.

THEY ONLY HAVE THE BRIEF SPRING AND SUMMER SEASONS

TO PACK ON THE POUNDS

OR FACE CERTAIN DEATH COME WINTER.

UNTIL THE SALMON RUN STARTS IN EARLY JUNE,

THE BEARS EAT LIGHT.

THEY HAVE A NOSE

FOR SUCCULENT ROOTS, GRASS, BERRIES, AND BUGS.

THE SMARTEST BEARS MAKE THE LONG TREK

OVER THE MOUNTAIN RANGES

TO KAMCHATKA'S VERY OWN GARDEN OF EDEN --

THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS.

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT ON EARTH.

THIS ENTIRE VALLEY IS A HOTBED OF GEYSERS AND STEAMING VENTS.

GEYSERS OCCUR IN JUST A FEW PLACES IN THE WORLD.

KAMCHATKA'S ARE SECOND

ONLY TO THE ONES IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.

BUT, UNLIKE YELLOWSTONE,

THE ONLY WAYS TO REACH THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS

ARE BY HELICOPTER OR A THREE-DAY TREK ACROSS THE WILDERNESS.

DEEP BELOW THE SURFACE, FLOWING LAVA HEATS WATER

TO TEMPERATURES OF MORE THAN 200 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT...

...UNTIL INCREASING PRESSURE

FORCES IT THROUGH THE EARTH'S CRUST.

IN THIS VALLEY, SPRING COMES EARLY

AS THE GEYSERS HEAT THE SURROUNDING AIR.

THE WARM, MOIST CONDITIONS

PROVIDE HUNGRY BEARS WITH PLENTY OF GREENS.

AFTER A LONG HIBERNATION, THE BEARS ENJOY

ALL THE AMENITIES THE VALLEY HAS TO OFFER.

THEY WADE INTO THE FAST-FLOWING, WARM WATERS.

THE BEAR'S DENSE FUR TRAPS AN INSULATING LAYER OF AIR.

BUT THEIR THICK COAT ALSO MAKES A PERFECT HOME FOR PARASITES.

A GOOD BACK SCRATCH BRINGS SOME RELIEF.

THE SULFUROUS WATER OF HOT SPRINGS IS HEALING

AND ALSO DRIVES OFF FLEAS AND TICKS.

POOLS CAN REACH TEMPERATURES OF UP TO 140 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

FOR THIS BEAR, A TRIP TO NATURE'S SPA MUST BE BLISS

AFTER SIX MONTHS OF HIBERNATION.

THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS IS A PLACE

OF PERFECT CALM AND RELAXATION FOR BROWN BEARS.

BUT IT'S NOT ONLY BEARS WHO HAVE FLOURISHED HERE.

THE VALLEY'S NUMEROUS HOT SPRINGS

GIVE WHITE WAGTAILS A LEG UP ON FAMILY LIFE.

IN AN ADAPTATION UNIQUE TO KAMCHATKA,

THE WAGTAILS MAKE USE OF THE VOLCANIC LANDSCAPE

TO KEEP THEIR EGGS WARM.

THEY BUILD NESTS DIRECTLY OVER THE STEAMING WATERWAYS

SO THEY'RE FREE TO LEAVE THEIR EGGS AND HUNT FOR FOOD.

THIS ALLOWS WAGTAILS TO BREED EARLIER IN THE SEASON.

BETTER YET, THE WARM WATERS ATTRACT A BANQUET OF BUGS

TO FEED HUNGRY MOUTHS.

STILL, THIS PARADISE IS NOT FREE

FROM KAMCHATKA'S AGE-OLD FORCES OF DESTRUCTION.

WHAT IS HEAVEN ONE DAY MAY BE HELL THE NEXT.

Narrator: ON RUSSIA'S EASTERNMOST EDGE

LIES THE SPECTACULAR KAMCHATKA PENINSULA.

THIS IS HOME

TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST NATURAL WONDERS --

THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS.

BUT THIS GARDEN OF EDEN CAN'T BE PROTECTED

FROM THE VIOLENT FORCES

THAT CONTINUALLY RESHAPE THE LAND HERE.

KAMCHATKA IS PART OF THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE --

A RING OF VOLCANOES THAT ENCIRCLES THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

THE PACIFIC RING IS HOME

TO 90% OF THE PLANET'S ACTIVE VOLCANOES

AND 81% OF ITS LARGEST EARTHQUAKES.

THE EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES IN THE AREA

ARE A DIRECT RESULT OF THE MOVEMENTS

OF THE TECTONIC PLATE BENEATH THE PENINSULA.

AND IN JUNE OF 2007,

THESE VIOLENT FORCES TRANSFORMED KAMCHATKA'S JEWEL,

THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS, INTO DUST.

IN MOMENTS,

160 MILLION CUBIC FEET OF ICY RUBBLE

TUMBLED DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.

THIS EXTRAORDINARY NATURAL DISASTER TOOK PLACE

DURING THE FILMING OF "WILD RUSSIA."

THIS IS THE ONLY FOOTAGE OF THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS

BEFORE AND AFTER THE AREA BECAME A BURIAL GROUND

FOR THOUSANDS OF HAPLESS CREATURES.

TWO THIRDS OF THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS DISAPPEARED FOREVER.

THIS LONE BEAR IS A REFUGEE FROM PARADISE,

BUT NOW HIS OWN WEIGHT THREATENS TO TRAP HIM IN THE RUBBLE.

SLOWLY INCHING FORWARD,

HE FINDS HIMSELF CAST OUT INTO THE COLD.

DEPRIVED OF THE HOT SPRINGS AND LUSH GREENERY,

SURVIVORS MUST ADAPT

TO A DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT REALITY.

THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS HAS BEEN ALTERED FOREVER,

BUT MORE CHANGES WILL SURELY COME.

THE BEARS' GREATEST LOSS

IS THE VALLEY'S PLENTIFUL VEGETATION --

AN IDEAL FOOD SOURCE IN EARLY SPRING.

FORTUNATELY, THE SALMON WILL SOON BE RUNNING.

THEIR JOURNEY FROM THE PACIFIC,

UP KAMCHATKA'S HUNDREDS OF RIVERS AND STREAMS,

WILL TAKE THEM INTO BEAR TERRITORY.

KAMCHATKA IS THE BIRTHING GROUND

FOR ONE QUARTER OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION

OF PACIFIC WILD SALMON.

EACH SUMMER, THE BEARS LIE IN WAIT

FOR THE MOMENT WHEN THE SALMON REACH THE SHALLOW RIVERS.

IN YEARS PAST,

KAMCHATKA'S RIVERS TEEMED WITH SALMON BY JULY,

BUT SOME HONE THEIR FISHING SKILLS WITH THE EARLY ARRIVALS.

IT'S BEAR VERSUS SALMON...

CLOSE TO ONE TON OF BEAR

AGAINST A FEW POUNDS OF FISH.