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00:00Across the planet, most wildlife is under threat, but one animal is defying the odds.
00:16The wolf.
00:20In America, all across their former range, wolves are coming back.
00:26Only one thing stands in their way.
00:29If they're a threat to my cattle, and my horses, and my family, I'm going to start shooting
00:35them.
00:39A team of wildlife experts spent the winter on the front line of wolf return, looking
00:48for a very special wolf family.
00:53The lookout pack.
00:56When you see a wolf track, there's no mistaking it, it's like, bam, now that's a wolf.
01:01These pioneering wolves were leading a dramatic comeback down the west coast of America.
01:09After weeks of searching, the team tracked them down.
01:13That is amazing, oh my god.
01:19But of the original ten, only two remained.
01:23We have a lab report, and we believe that animal was shot.
01:27The pack had been illegally killed.
01:34Isaac and Jasmine headed south, following up fresh wolf sightings.
01:40If we can document a second pack this far south, we're building up a much bigger picture
01:45of a major comeback for wolves in this region.
01:49And Gordon journeyed north.
01:52Wolf, yes, yes, yes, yes.
01:57Now the summer phase of the expedition is about to begin.
02:01The next thing I want to do is head further north, go over the border into Canada to find
02:07that source population, to find out if the wolves are going to keep on coming.
02:12In Canada and America, the team is back to find out if wolves really do have a future
02:17on the west coast.
02:23We are farther south in the Cascades than I ever imagined wolves would be right now.
02:30Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go,
02:47go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
02:56The battle between man and wolf is long running.
03:00When European settlers arrived in America, they saw the wolf as a threat and waged war
03:06on them.
03:11More than a million were poisoned, shot or trapped.
03:17As people colonized westwards, wolves were wiped out.
03:23The wilds of Canada became their last stronghold.
03:31Now wolves are sneaking back over the border into Washington state.
03:38The lookout pack was the first to breed here in 70 years.
03:45But with most of the pack dead, wolf comeback to the west coast hangs by a thread.
04:07A car has arrived in Washington's Cascade Mountains.
04:11The expedition has moved 100 miles to the south of Winter Base Camp.
04:16There has been some extraordinary news.
04:26Following up on wolf sightings, government scientists have managed to capture and radio
04:31collar a young female.
04:34This is the furthest south wolves have been found in the Cascades for almost a century.
04:45Expedition biologist, Jasmine Minbashian, has come to see for herself.
04:51We're up in the air trying to find this collared female.
05:00We've got the telemetry equipment and we're listening for a signal to try and pinpoint
05:04her exact location.
05:07When the female was caught, scientists took a sample of her DNA.
05:12It's revealed something no one could have guessed.
05:14Amazingly, it looks like this animal is a direct descendant of the lookout pack.
05:20Which is incredible to think that despite all the odds of illegal killing and poaching,
05:27that this pack can persist, it can continue.
05:29It's just a testimony to how resilient wolves are.
05:32The legacy of the lookout pack lives on.
05:41Remarkably, this female from the lookout pack not only survived, she has moved even deeper
05:51into Washington state.
05:58By sampling wolf DNA from across North America, scientists have traced the bloodline of some
06:03members of the lookout pack up the Cascade range to the Great Bear Rainforest.
06:15More than 500 miles north of Jasmine, a small expedition team is getting ready to sail up
06:20the Canadian coast in search of the ancestors of Washington's wolves.
06:31Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan is in charge.
06:34I've come over the border into Canada to British Columbia to try and find out this source population,
06:41to find the wolves here, get an idea of the numbers and to try and find out whether they'll
06:45keep on moving south into North Washington.
06:49On board is fellow Brit and expert tracker Chris Morgan.
06:54He left Lancashire when he was 19 to follow his passion, studying bears and wolves in
06:59the wilds of North America.
07:04You've got this amazing source population of wolves that could continuously feed into
07:08the Cascades, but the source population has to be healthy as well, of course.
07:12So I'll be trying my best to find out how many are here and what they're up to.
07:21They'll be travelling into the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, an immense wilderness.
07:31Few people live here, so wolves can exist largely undisturbed.
07:37But they're still wary and rarely seen.
07:44There are thousands of hidden coves and islands.
07:48They could be anywhere.
08:02Before Gordon can begin filming, Chris must try to narrow down their search.
08:09This inlet goes in about 10 miles here and there are cascading waterfalls all around
08:17us.
08:18It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.
08:23His 15 years of tracking experience tell him this might be a good place to start.
08:36Over the next 10 days, Chris will be living rough in one of the wettest places in North
08:40America.
08:41At least I have some kind of dry storage and a place to retreat to when it really starts
08:47raining.
08:49Because this is nothing apparently.
08:51Oh, look at that, some scat, bear scat right there.
08:58Yeah, this is full of berries, some grasses, we're going to have to keep our wits about
09:04us.
09:05This is grizzly bear country, so definitely extra precautions needed.
09:09They always pull the bear spray out when I'm in thick vegetation like this.
09:14It's just a dose of capsaicin pepper that puts off a bear when it's charging towards
09:19you.
09:20Changes his behaviour pretty quickly and deters him.
09:33Problem is, in this thick vegetation with lots of noisy creeks around, you can stumble
09:39across an unsuspecting bear quite easily.
09:45A surprised bear can be a dangerous bear, especially if it's a grizzly bear.
09:49So we've got to make noise, but that scares the wolves away, so it's tricky.
09:59Fatal bear attacks happen every year in North America, almost always in this kind of setting,
10:06where they can't hear people coming.
10:34Just up the coast from Chris, Gordon's found a slightly easier route.
10:41He's checking the shoreline for any wolf tracks.
10:45There's a dark shape on the shore.
10:54Oh, there it is, there it is, okay.
11:02Okay, where are you?
11:04There you go.
11:06Now, raise your head up.
11:10Okay, we've got a black bear eating salmon.
11:14That's a youngster from this year.
11:19His mother and his brother or sister probably aren't that far away.
11:24Oops, he's just got a little whiff of us if we stand nice and still.
11:33Okay, he can smell us.
11:35He's sniffing the air, but he's carrying on, munching his fish.
11:43Okay, we've got this bear coming towards us.
11:48Gordon doesn't want to surprise him.
11:51The bear can smell something strange, but his poor eyesight means he hasn't seen Gordon yet.
12:03He's just here.
12:14Hey, bear.
12:18Hey, bear.
12:26He just got a little waft of our scent and sent him off running.
12:32It's a really peaceful animal.
12:34There's so many people that are petrified of these animals.
12:40Practically every big carnivore is misunderstood.
12:44Black bears, wolves.
12:47We're just fearful of things that are bigger than us.
12:54Animals that have claws and teeth.
12:57Look at this little animal. Beautiful.
13:00Just beautiful.
13:04This deep-seated fear of large carnivores is one reason why so few wolves exist beyond pristine wildernesses.
13:13But their century-long absence from much of the United States has had far-reaching consequences for the wildlife.
13:22Scientists, like wolf expert Doug Smith, have realized only recently that wolves are not the only predators.
13:32That wolves are a vital part of the American landscape.
13:38These large carnivores are one of the major structuring forces in nature.
13:44I mean, equal to things like climate and sunshine.
13:48These large carnivores really do affect what we see out there.
13:53Wolves hunt elk and deer.
13:58This prevents herds from becoming too large and also keeps them on the move.
14:05Unchecked, they overgraze shrubs and young trees, damaging the habitat for other wildlife.
14:23Wolves on the landscape produce an environment that's very different without them.
14:29We lop that level off and we're losing something.
14:33We're losing how these systems were put together for millions of years.
14:41If Canada's coastal wolves keep spreading and gain a foothold in Washington state,
14:49it might be the start of something historic.
14:53Wolves could continue down the Cascades, helping to recolonize their former range.
15:02Even as far as California and Mexico.
15:12In Washington, the lookout pack survivor is on the leading edge.
15:17Jasmine is working to locate this female wolf with local biologist Scott Fitkin.
15:24There we go.
15:26We're getting signal?
15:28Yep.
15:32Yep, she's down there hiding somewhere.
15:36I'm spiraling up.
15:38Okay.
15:41To pinpoint her location, the pilot must now pull tighter and tighter circles.
15:47Jasmine's keen to get a sighting.
15:49That's the only way she can be sure if the wolf's alone or part of a pack.
16:03Anything?
16:05I don't see any movement, but I know she's close. It's frustrating.
16:09Well, it's the heat of the day. It's likely she's laying down somewhere in the trees.
16:13Yeah, you're right. That'd be my guess too.
16:20Dense forest cover means the search will have to continue on the ground.
16:30Final team member and expert wolf tracker Isaac Babcock
16:34is heading to the last known position of the wolf.
16:39Jasmine called me down to tell me that they radio collared a female wolf here
16:45and we are farther south in the Cascades than I ever imagined wolves would be right now.
16:53So I'm going in to try to find out if she has pups, if she has other wolves with her,
16:58what's going on, what's the status, and what's she doing down here this far south?
17:04Local scientists have already criss-crossed this forest from the air,
17:09plotting the female's movements.
17:15Before he starts tracking her, Isaac checks in with biologist Bill Gaines for an update.
17:22Bill's discovered an intriguing pattern.
17:25This is the most recent telemetry information we have from the female with the radio collar.
17:29You can see how in some places we have clusters of locations where she's spent some time.
17:35You know, we're not sure what she's doing there. Is she on a kill? Is she at her den site?
17:40If there's something bringing her back and back and back, you know, through all those movements,
17:44something's got to be holding her down there. Either, I don't know, puppies makes it.
17:49That's what we're hoping to find out.
17:51All right.
17:52This could be an exciting development, if she does have pups.
17:57She'll have hidden them away at a carefully chosen place, deep in the forest, called a rendezvous site.
18:08Usually a rendezvous site has shade and water nearby, and it's just a place for the pups to grow up.
18:14It's kind of an epicenter of activity for the pack, like spokes on a wheel, with the rendezvous center at the middle.
18:20The wolves kind of fan out and hunt for the summer.
18:27A pack can be based at the same rendezvous site for days on end, making them easier for Isaac to find.
18:34But it also makes them vulnerable to illegal hunters.
19:05500 miles north of Isaac, Chris is on the trail of the ancestors of the radio-collared female.
19:16The key to finding a wolf is first to find its prey.
19:23During late summer, the rivers of the Great Bear Rainforest are filled with millions of spawning salmon.
19:30They draw predators of all shapes and sizes out of the forest.
19:43Chris is hoping that wolves might be tempted out to feed on the energy-rich salmon.
20:00Wow, look, look, look, look.
20:02Look at this channel, it's packed full of fish.
20:05Humpies, that's the male that has that hump back there. You see three of them next to each other.
20:09Oh, look, there's some dead salmon over there, and a dinner table over here.
20:14Look, bingo.
20:20There is a salmon with its brain bitten clean off.
20:23A sign of potential wolf feeding.
20:27Here's one of the pink salmon.
20:29You can see the size difference between the pink salmon and the chum.
20:34This one, look at that, it's got a claw mark or a canine hole in it there.
20:39And also the brain is gone.
20:41The brain is full of protein and fat.
20:43And look at that, they've chewed that right off.
20:45I think that we are hot on the trail of something big with teeth and claws.
20:58Oh, look at that.
21:01Scat. Wolf scat.
21:04And it could be quite fresh. Look at that.
21:06There are salmon teeth.
21:10Fantastic.
21:13Not only have we got wolf scat,
21:15but this is the evidence we need to show that they've been here feeding on salmon as well.
21:20And I've got a hunch that they're probably going to be feeding on salmon as well.
21:25And I've got a hunch that they're probably going to be over in this main channel here.
21:30The riverbank is lined with crows and gulls,
21:32there are eagles flying overhead.
21:34It seems to be where the heart of the action is.
21:37Chris thinks the wolves may well return to this salmon hotspot.
21:45He reports back to base with the news Gordon's been hoping for.
21:51We got into this cool spot.
21:53It was just by the river there.
21:54And that's where the tracks were.
21:56I was even thinking it might be a spot for you to get in and maybe place a hide.
22:02It could be Gordon's best chance to catch up with the elusive coastal wolves.
22:09It's pretty guaranteed that I'm going to see salmon, whether I'll see the wolves or not.
22:13I can't quite picture it in my own head.
22:15I think it is quite incredible to think of a pack of wolves catching fish.
22:22I just thought they'd scavenge fish.
22:24But they're actively going into the river and trying to catch salmon.
22:28I think it is quite incredible to think of a pack of wolves catching fish.
22:33I just thought they'd scavenge fish.
22:35But they're actively going into the river and fishing.
22:39Catching fish in the same way that grizzly bears do.
22:41Hooking them out and eating them.
22:43And that's not something new.
22:44That's been happening for thousands and thousands of years.
22:51Gordon will stake out the river mouth alone in a hide.
22:55You'll have to remain here, alert, 24 hours a day, to stand any chance of capturing this unusual fishing behaviour on film.
23:25Wolves are incredibly adaptable.
23:30Able to live anywhere from the arctic tundra to baking desert.
23:36Feeding on everything from mice to huge male bison.
23:43Wolves are very intelligent. They have large brains for their body size.
23:48When you're killing something, it is anywhere from two to ten times as big as you.
23:55And you weigh a hundred pounds and you could get your brains kicked out?
24:01You have to be smart about it.
24:05A single wolf is one of the cleverest animals on the planet.
24:09But when they put their brains together and work as a pack, they can hunt the most formidable prey.
24:25In Washington, Isaac has trekked into the Cascade Mountains.
24:54To the rendezvous site the radio-collared wolf keeps returning to.
25:00Now he needs to find out if she's raising a family here.
25:08The rendezvous site basically is like a puppy playground.
25:12It's a place where the wolf pups stay at and the adults come and go.
25:16They go hunting, they go out and then they always return there and meet the pups there.
25:25Isaac is such an experienced tracker, he can spot the tiniest signs that wolves have been here.
25:36Wolf tracks right here.
25:40These tracks here don't look very fresh to me.
25:43The good news is this looks like an ideal spot for a rendezvous site.
25:46You've got a creek coming through, you've got some open areas to play in.
25:50Everything's pointing that this might be the spot.
25:54In the Great Bear Rainforest, Gordon's 30 hours into his vigil.
26:05A new influx of spawning salmon has brought the bounty of the ocean deep into the heart of the forest.
26:11You see so many different species benefit from salmon.
26:26There's a seal coming up the river.
26:29There's no surprise, this river is just full of fish.
26:35The first wolf that comes along is going to have a field day in there.
26:41I've still got a really high hope for this place, it feels so right.
26:46Why wouldn't a wolf come here?
26:51But there's still no sign of them.
26:54Chris is further up the coast.
26:56Now the rain has stopped, soft banks are the perfect place to look for wolf tracks.
27:02There's some mud down here, maybe...
27:05Oh wow, look, grizzly tracks.
27:08Right here.
27:10Quite fresh as well, some of them.
27:12Tracks of all sizes, look, there's cub tracks here, see that?
27:15Then there's adult tracks.
27:17There's a main palm pad, and then five toes, and you can even see the long claws.
27:22Grizzlies have really long claws, and that's what these holes are here.
27:25Look at them all up here, wow, super fresh as well.
27:29There.
27:31There's a grizzly bear right on the logs here.
27:32Look at him.
27:34Hey bear, it's okay.
27:37It's alright.
27:39Okay, this is quite a deep pool, but we should be ready to move back here.
27:47He definitely knows I'm here.
27:50Look at that, he's pulling up scraps from underneath.
27:54Yeah, look, can you see? He's moving his paws around under the water,
27:58trying to find fish scraps, there's one, he just pulled one out.
28:01Suddenly the sun is out, the bears are out, it's just magic.
28:11Oh, see that? He just heard a fish splash,
28:14and went right over to the shallow little pool over there.
28:17He'd much rather get the fresh ones than the dead scraps.
28:21He's pulling the skin off this fish, because it's full of fat.
28:31Just a beautiful looking animal.
28:36Look at that, huge.
28:39Surveying the scene, looking for the next fishing spot.
28:46Oh my goodness, look at that, you beautiful bear.
29:00The rain has started again, dampening golden spirits.
29:09I'm sitting here, with my ankles in freezing cold, squelchy mud,
29:14and there's rain splattering in to the hide.
29:18So, things have been better.
29:21I just hope it's all worthwhile.
29:24A really amazing experience.
29:27I just hope it's all worthwhile.
29:30I really am so desperate to see these wolves.
29:33I just hope that this all pays off.
29:47We've got a wolf, we've got a wolf.
29:50Gee whiz, oh wow.
29:53Amen, bedraggled looking wolf, it's a wolf.
29:57Yes, yes, yes.
30:04Its coat is a distinctive rusty brown colour,
30:08characteristic of these coastal wolves.
30:12Oh, he's got a fish, got a fish, yes.
30:16I'm so happy, I'm so happy.
30:19I'm so happy.
30:21Only a handful of people have filmed this unique behaviour.
30:29And it's the first time Gordon has seen a wolf close up in the wild.
30:35This is very much the fulfilment of a lifetime ambition.
30:41It is a wild, wild wolf.
30:46You handsome, handsome, handsome dog.
30:54Not only do wolves catch salmon,
30:57there are reports of them hunting seals,
31:01snatching seabirds
31:04and foraging for mussels.
31:07Some are known to swim more than seven miles at a stretch.
31:16The fact that wolves and humans can survive in the same places
31:20and hunt the same food
31:23has brought them into conflict.
31:28It's amazing to look at this animal and think that the attitude
31:32was to exterminate, to wipe them out.
31:37Because we fear them,
31:40we see them as competition,
31:43competition.
31:54One of the world's most interesting, charismatic animals.
32:02Just to see it in the wild is utterly fantastic.
32:14Young lone wolves will strike out into new territory
32:19to establish packs of their own.
32:24But once they leave pristine wilderness behind,
32:28they are likely to come up against humans.
32:32Just 90 miles from one of America's biggest cities,
32:36Isaac thinks he's closing in on what could be a new pack.
32:41They could be 50 yards away.
32:44They could be a few hundred yards away.
32:47I mean, they could be farther than that.
32:52We're the closest we've been so far.
32:58Isaac has brought a camera and long lens
33:01to record the movement of the pack.
33:04It's the first time we've seen a pack this close.
33:07Isaac has brought a camera and long lens to record what he sees.
33:17If there is a pack here,
33:19they'll be incredibly wary of humans.
33:25One of the hardest parts about this, I think, is that
33:29you're coming into an area that you've never been into before
33:33and so you really don't know the lay of the land
33:35and you really need every advantage you can get
33:38because the wolf's senses are just so acute.
33:41They pick you up so quickly,
33:43whether smell you or hear you or see you.
33:52That's an old wolf's cat.
33:59You see that jawbone over there?
34:06This really looks to me like the spot.
34:09I just heard a bunch of moving in the bushes right beyond.
34:17And now I don't know what to do.
34:21I'd like to pull out of here to somewhere
34:24where I can watch it
34:27but be far enough away that they won't kind of know I'm here.
34:36Isaac finds a vantage point to keep watch.
34:49And the meadow's all padded down.
34:52It's got bones around.
34:54It looks to me like an area where pups have been playing
34:57so I'm going to sit here.
35:05The existence of pups would be fantastic news
35:09but there's still one thing that could halt wolf recovery in its tracks.
35:14The rendezvous site is just a few miles from farmland
35:22and the neighbours may not be friendly.
35:31When you're on the leading edge of colonisation
35:35when you're new to a human-dominated landscape
35:38you're going to run up against human attitudes
35:40that are not hospitable to your existence.
35:46I think there's great wolf habitat in Washington.
35:49Will the humans allow them to occupy and live in that habitat?
35:52That's the open question.
35:57Their return is one of the most contentious issues in rural America.
36:03Nowhere more so than in Idaho.
36:09In the mid-1990s, 35 wolves were reintroduced here
36:13in a controversial experiment.
36:17With legal protection, they thrived.
36:21But maybe no longer.
36:23There's a new proposal in place to hunt wolves in Idaho once again.
36:27The plan comes after President Obama's administration
36:29lifted the ban on wolf hunting in both Idaho and Montana.
36:34The change in the law means that wolves living here in Idaho
36:38can now be shot legally.
36:42Jasmine's crossed the state boundary to meet a local hunter
36:45one of thousands who bought a licence this year to kill wolves.
36:51I think understanding people is really the key to understanding
36:55how wolves are going to return to this landscape
36:57and stay on this landscape.
37:07Gordon's flying back from Canada.
37:12He also knows the most urgent problem
37:15for the wolves trickling down into the United States
37:18is that many people don't want them back.
37:21He's arranged to meet the leader of the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition.
37:27I've come here to look for a guy called Ron Gillette
37:30who is a self-confessed wolf hater.
37:33I've been told I'll find him at the rodeo.
37:36I'm not quite sure what he's going to make of me
37:39because I'm a self-confessed wolf lover.
37:43This is cowboy country.
37:46Traditions and attitudes haven't changed much in a century.
37:49Ron Gillette and his followers
37:52fear wolves will eat their cows
37:55and destroy their way of life.
37:58Cattle ranching has been a big thing
38:01in this part of North America for a hundred years.
38:04Through the entire region, not just here in Pendleton
38:07but the surrounding region, Idaho, Idaho, Idaho,
38:11Idaho, Idaho, Idaho, Idaho,
38:14Idaho, Idaho, Idaho, Idaho,
38:16the surrounding region, Idaho, Washington,
38:19this is all cattle country.
38:22Are people's livelihoods being affected by the return of these wolves?
38:26The livestock owners are losing their livestock,
38:30horse people are losing their horses.
38:33We're all being affected.
38:36It is the most vicious, cruel predator in North America.
38:39It will actually take its prey down alive
38:42and suck the blood as the blood pumps out.
38:46And you're not talking about control, you're talking about wiping them out.
38:49Get rid of them.
38:51The facts are in, the experiment is over, it is failed.
38:55Get them out, get rid of them.
38:58He says that his livelihood and his life
39:01has been negatively affected by these wolves coming back.
39:05But, you know, he's not talking about controlling wolves.
39:08He is talking about extermination, about eradication.
39:13You know, I thought we'd been through that a hundred years ago.
39:16We wiped the wolves out and we're giving them a chance to come back.
39:19But things haven't changed enough for some people to allow that.
39:25Wolves do kill livestock.
39:28It tends to be uncommon to rare, but it does happen.
39:31And those wolves will always be dealt with.
39:33Wolves were eliminated so the ranches could be put there.
39:37But now that they're there, we are respecting the rights
39:40and private property of the ranchers.
39:43Wolves kill livestock, they're dead.
39:46That's the story.
39:48Much more complicated is the story of wolves killing elk, deer,
39:52huntable wildlife.
39:54To get to the bottom of that story,
39:57Jasmine has driven to Idaho.
39:59She has arrived at the home of deer and elk hunter, Milton Turley.
40:07Good, you must be Milton.
40:09I am Milton Turley, nice to meet you.
40:11Nice to meet you, I'm Jasmine.
40:13Jasmine wants to understand why Milton feels his lifestyle
40:16is threatened by wolves.
40:18She's decided to join him on a wolf hunt.
40:22I want to kill a wolf this morning.
40:24Let's go hunting.
40:25I want to kill a wolf this morning.
40:27Let's go hunting.
40:52This is an AR-15.
40:54It's a semi-automatic.
40:56It's an assault weapon.
40:58You couldn't find a better thing to hunt a wolf with, though.
41:01It's a small caliber, and I've got 30 rounds.
41:05Not that I'm going to use that,
41:07but I'm not going to be shooting more than once or twice at them.
41:15Jasmine spent her life protecting wolves.
41:19Now she may be about to see one shot, legally, in front of her.
41:39Back in Washington,
41:41Isaac still has his sights trained on what he thinks
41:44is the wolf pack's rendezvous site.
41:46But he's seen nothing all day.
41:49Time to try something new.
42:16It sounds like the howl of a lone adult wolf.
42:46Howl.
43:00That's a pup.
43:13Pup.
43:17Pup.
43:35There's a bunch of wolves in there.
43:46They're really, really close.
44:02It is indeed a new pack.
44:07Now Isaac must wait
44:09to find out how many pups there are.
44:16In Idaho,
44:18Jasmine is heading towards the meadow
44:20where Milton hopes to find
44:22and shoot
44:24a wolf.
44:26It's really hard for me to think about the idea of
44:29killing such a beautiful and intelligent animal.
44:32But I'm here to learn and be open-minded,
44:35but I have to say it's really hard.
44:43As long as you don't make any fast movements,
44:46only speaking,
44:48wolves won't spook.
44:50If you start jumping around,
44:52they're going to run.
44:55Milton is going to try and lure a wolf out into the meadow
44:58using an old hunter's trick.
45:01This is what they call a wandered rabbit call.
45:04It squeals.
45:16Just seen something move already.
45:19Sit down. I just seen it move across that open spot down there.
45:22Sit down.
45:24I don't know what it is.
45:27I seen it move, so there's something definitely down there.
45:35It's a wolf.
45:39No, it's a deer.
45:41Something?
45:43It's a deer.
45:44I see him.
45:46There's another one behind him too.
45:48Behind her.
45:50And I'm going to have to tell you,
45:52that's probably the first deer I've seen this summer up here too.
45:54You've got to come out with me more often.
45:58When the wolf started showing up,
46:00the elk started disappearing.
46:02Now, the only change,
46:04habitat doesn't change that quick.
46:06The only change
46:08is the wolf.
46:10Are they declining or are they just harder to find?
46:12If you knew the hunters that I know that hunt at,
46:14they're hard-nosed hunters.
46:17If they can't find them,
46:19they're not there.
46:21Period.
46:24Elk and deer hunting
46:26is a multi-million dollar industry in Idaho.
46:29If wolves are decimating game herds,
46:32whole communities could suffer.
46:42You hunt wolves
46:44so the deer and elk populations don't decline.
46:47Well.
46:49Is that the reason why?
46:51Right now,
46:53I think the elk are taking a hell of a hit.
46:55And it's impacting my life.
46:57It's impacting my grandkids' life.
46:59And everybody I know
47:01that hangs around me
47:03are impacted by this wolf.
47:05Do you think that there's a role
47:07for an apex predator in the ecosystem?
47:09Yeah.
47:11As long as they're kept in check a little bit.
47:13Anything has to be kept in check.
47:15That's our job as people.
47:17What's that?
47:19That's our job as people.
47:21Oh.
47:23Yeah.
47:25Every time I hear a wolf,
47:27it just sends chills down my back.
47:29It just says that nature is a little sick
47:31because one of the creatures
47:33is literally devouring
47:35the other set of creatures.
47:37There's got to be some middle ground here
47:39that we can have so many wolves
47:41and still have the herds of elk
47:43maintain a lively number of animals.
47:45I can live with that.
47:47Yeah.
47:49I would agree with that, too.
47:51But you know as well as I do,
47:53there are radicals on both sides.
47:55That is certainly true.
47:57Some of my colleagues,
47:59when I told them that you were
48:01one of the people that was going to come,
48:03said she is a radical environmentalist.
48:05What do you want to talk to her for?
48:07And what do you think after meeting me?
48:09Well, I mean, we're getting along all right now.
48:11Good.
48:13So let's take a walk.
48:15OK, let's do it.
48:19Milton and Jasmine see a middle ground
48:22where people and wolves
48:24can share the remaining wild spaces.
48:31But many in the West
48:33see the wolf as just a wanton killer.
48:38Some scientists
48:39believe differently.
48:42Wolves are a very, very effective killer.
48:46However, people
48:48overestimate that fact.
48:50You know, wolves,
48:52most of the time,
48:54are very unsuccessful with their hunts.
48:56In fact, the prey
48:58have evolved mechanisms
49:00to evade and escape wolves
49:02for millions of years.
49:05What we refer to it as
49:07is an evolutionary arms race.
49:09You've got the wolf and the prey
49:11so close to each other's abilities
49:14of wolf killing,
49:16of prey getting away.
49:18The edge between who's got the advantage
49:20is so fine
49:22that really wolves being this indiscriminate,
49:25wanton killer,
49:27wiping out herds of animals
49:29is incorrect
49:31because healthy animals generally
49:33rebuff wolf attacks.
49:40Wolves target weak animals
49:42because they are easy prey.
49:45With a top predator
49:47back on the landscape,
49:49herds may become stronger
49:51and healthier in the long run.
49:54Anti-wolf people get wound up about it
49:56because it's values,
49:58your view of nature.
50:00And it's simple,
50:02who's dominant here?
50:04Who is the top predator?
50:06And people, for the most part,
50:07don't need a top predator.
50:09We need this group in the middle
50:11that's willing to compromise
50:13on having wolves some places
50:15and not others.
50:17And that's going to be
50:19a much more fruitful path
50:21to solving our wolf issues.
50:28In Washington,
50:30Isaac's been camping out
50:32for several days
50:34but still had no view of the pack.
50:38In full camouflage,
50:40he's returning to the meadow
50:42where he heard the wolves howling.
51:08Oh my God.
51:21That's a pup.
51:23The pups are definitely here.
51:27Awesome.
51:30Beautiful.
51:32Couldn't ask for anything any better.
51:34Wow.
51:35That's really brown.
51:37A lot browner than I expected.
51:39Brown and dark black.
51:41Just beautiful.
52:02I kind of thought
52:03maybe they'd moved on.
52:05But they haven't.
52:07They're in here.
52:09They're just hunkering down
52:11and being really quiet.
52:15Another one.
52:23Two pups.
52:26That's really, really great news.
52:33Here they come.
52:44You ready?
52:52There's one over here right now.
52:57It doesn't sound like there's
52:59any adults here right now.
53:01And it really sounds to me
53:03like a pack.
53:09I can't believe I'm this close.
53:14I think what's so exciting about this
53:17is not really seeing
53:19these wolves right in front of me
53:21but realizing what they represent.
53:25We're watching wolves
53:27return to Washington
53:29right in front of our eyes.
53:31The fact that this pack
53:33has wolves.
53:35The fact that they're succeeding.
53:37That they have pups
53:39and multiple adults.
53:41That it's a full-fledged healthy pack.
53:45It goes to show that
53:47wolves are going to make it here
53:49no problem.
53:51The only question is
53:53are we going to let them?
54:04Jasmine's waited 20 years
54:06to see wolves return
54:08to the Cascade Mountains.
54:10Isaac's told her
54:12he's found the female
54:14but he's kept the discovery
54:16of four pups as a surprise.
54:18So I'm back down
54:20in the deep forests
54:22of the Cascade Mountains
54:24and I've come to find Isaac
54:26who's been camping out
54:28and I'm really hoping
54:30he's had success
54:31because success in this case
54:33means recovery of wolves
54:35to these mountains.
54:37Aha, there's Isaac's truck.
54:44Well, hello.
54:46Jasmine.
54:48Isaac.
54:50How are you doing?
54:52Oh, I'm doing good.
54:54Good to see you.
54:56You look like a man
54:58of the mountains.
55:00That is amazing.
55:04Oh, that just goes
55:06right to my heart.
55:08Oh.
55:12Oh, he's quite the singer.
55:16That is the sound
55:18I want to hear in these hills.
55:22Oh, wow.
55:25Oh, wow.
55:26Oh, wow.
55:32I can't believe
55:34what I'm seeing.
55:41Don't get into trouble.
55:44You'll be all right.
55:56I never thought in 20 years
55:58that I've been looking
56:00for wolves in these mountains
56:02that I would see this.
56:04Thank you, thank you so much.
56:06Isaac, you're the man.
56:08I'm so thrilled.
56:10I'm so thrilled.
56:12We've got pups.
56:14We've got pups.
56:16Nice.
56:17Good job.
56:19That's huge.
56:21I mean, that's going to
56:23change the course
56:24of history.
56:26When they're two,
56:28some will head off on their own
56:30to find a mate
56:32and a new territory.
56:34These wolves,
56:36the lookout pack legacy,
56:38are proving they're smart.
56:40They're learning how to survive
56:42in spite of people.
56:46Gordon has come to meet
56:48wolf expert Doug Smith.
56:50Doug thinks the pioneer wolf packs
56:52in the western United States
56:54have revised some of our thinking
56:56about what wolves are capable of doing.
56:58A few years ago,
57:00we thought that wolves
57:02were only a wilderness species.
57:04They had to have wild country,
57:06pristine habitat in which to live.
57:08But here, they're pushing out
57:10into this landscape
57:12that, to me,
57:14doesn't look that wild.
57:16200 years from now,
57:18what do you think we're going to see
57:20across the wilderness states?
57:22200 years from now,
57:24all the way through Canada,
57:26all the way through these western states
57:28and back into Mexico.
57:30This doesn't mean
57:32there'd be wolves everywhere.
57:34People don't need to be fearful
57:36that their way of life
57:38is going to be taken out
57:40because of wolves.
57:42We're talking about modest numbers
57:44of wolves in habitats
57:46where they can be
57:48with low conflict to humans.
57:50Doug's vision
57:52may not be that far away.
57:54But it is in Washington.
58:08Five packs
58:10are now confirmed
58:12living in the state.
58:14The front line continues
58:16to push further down the west coast.
58:18And a wolf has now reached
58:20northern California.
58:22The return of the wolf
58:24continues.
58:54For more UN videos visit www.un.org