Episode Information

Grizzly bears in Alaska are adapting to a changing environment. This documentary shows how the world’s largest brown bears on Kodiak Island are the main protagonists of a fascinating interaction in a complex ecosystem. Their survival depends on the abundance and diversity of wild salmon, their main food source. Climate change is disrupting an equilibrium that existed for thousands of years. Focusing on the life of several bear families the film shows, how Grizzlies are adapting to these new challenges.

Kodiak Island is located 25 miles off the coast of Alaska. The largest brown bears on Earth live in this natural paradise, up to 9 feet tall. In the Northern Pacific lives the largest abundance of wild salmon in the world. Every year, the fascinating salmon migration occurs throughout Alaska. Millions of wild salmon migrate up the rivers and return to spawn in the exact same places where they were born years before. The bears are waiting at rapids, small waterfalls and rivers and grab endless amounts of salmon from the streams. Their main food source to survive the long winter. But it's a delicate balance, and recent research shows how important biodiversity among wild salmon is to ensure the bears find enough to eat. That's because different species of wild salmon migrate up the rivers at different times. So the more diverse the salmon population is, the longer bears can hunt salmon along the rivers.
>
Warming oceans are affecting the total amount of salmon in the Pacific. The interests of the fishing industry must be considered. The risks of overfishing needs to be averted. Climate change is threatening the balance of fish abundance in major rivers, along the coasts, in lakes, and even in the smallest tributaries. Only with enough salmon Alaska's giant bears can survive the long winter.