you
the idea the value of this place we
always have to ask that question like
why save a place for the future what
will be valuable about this in future
generations in wilderness sometimes man
is not the top of the food chain here
the great brown bear roams from
mountaintop to estuary and every day can
be a fight for survival okay dude
seriously needs to stop butting in here
so anyways this is the Koontz new
wilderness and bears are the reason I’m
so pumped to be here aside from all the
conceptual stuff wild animals are
something I absolutely love and bears
are one of the main reasons why I chose
the Tongass as a place to travel to for
me there’s nothing quite like watching a
bear get his breakfast do a little
boxing
or even a belly flop and this wilderness
is one of the best places in the world
to see them do it
it’s always good to have a guide with
you when you’re with wild animals and
when it comes to these bears no one’s
better than Don mcdougal he’s been a
seasonal wilderness Ranger here on the
island for years even though some of
them by name we’re here at pack Creek
it’s evening sun starting to go down
over the horizon we get a couple of
hours out Sal with two cubs two young
spring Cubs in the sow was one spring
cub a small adolescent male just passed
those guys and another older adult
female that just went up the creek I
really usually just meet there it’s one
of the highest densities bears anywhere
in the world 1,600 square mile island
somewhere between one and one point two
bears per square mile so anywhere
between probably 1500 and 1700 bears
probably a lot of it has to do with the
fact that there’s a little bit of
development and this has been preserved
over the years nobody’s messed with the
abbot at so they can thrive here as a
wildlife cameraman whenever I’m out on
an assignment
I’m always given a shot list a series of
behaviors I need to capture in the
amount of time I’m given but here I’m
capturing moments I never even think to
look for and it’s a great feeling
there’s something to be said for being
in a place like this without
expectations or just something to look
for I’m just letting the Bears do what
they do and getting to observe I
mentioned this to Don and he comes up
with an idea for where we’ll go next the
only issue is this time I don’t know
where he’s taking me the next morning we
rise early and take off in the boat the
bear action has been unbelievable and
leaving that goes against everything I
know as a wildlife filmmaker I’m not
sure what Don has planned but I hope
it’s worth it
hey bear hey hey bear
so we got a heavy thimble berry thicket
and then we get heavy alder cover so if
you’re looking at this from the beach it
looks pretty foreboding and then when
you step inside the canopy you see a
whole different world one of the reasons
I took you here was because of this tree
that we see right in front of us it’s
just an amazing specimen and it’s so
different from everything else and it’s
just huge in ancient and everything
trees well they’re probably pretty
ancient old-growth forests I would say
you know several hundred to maybe a
thousand years old I’m up yeah every
time I look at it I just in awe and awed
by just the structure of it in the size
and you know it’s almost leaves you
speechless the first time you see it
you know sometimes we get focused on on
the really big things you know the the
really cool big guys the Bears you know
because you know they’re really neat
animals and it’s great to see them fish
and play and all that stuff but there’s
a whole lot more life going on around
there too
there’s sort of a relationship that goes
back and forth the Bears eat the fish
they drag the carcasses into the
surrounding area around the around the
creeks the nutrients from the fish go
back into the soil that feeds the trees
the trees get bigger I think is just
really important to have places like
this where we can we can always have
that preserved forever for Don
wilderness is more than an iconic photo
it’s a beautifully connected ecosystem
and really a place of discovery I can
sometimes think of a day out here as
another day at the office but this is
such an amazing reminder that if we keep
our eyes and ears open wilderness has so
much to show us and teach us
the idea the value of this place we
always have to ask that question like
why save a place for the future what
will be valuable about this in future
generations in wilderness sometimes man
is not the top of the food chain here
the great brown bear roams from
mountaintop to estuary and every day can
be a fight for survival okay dude
seriously needs to stop butting in here
so anyways this is the Koontz new
wilderness and bears are the reason I’m
so pumped to be here aside from all the
conceptual stuff wild animals are
something I absolutely love and bears
are one of the main reasons why I chose
the Tongass as a place to travel to for
me there’s nothing quite like watching a
bear get his breakfast do a little
boxing
or even a belly flop and this wilderness
is one of the best places in the world
to see them do it
it’s always good to have a guide with
you when you’re with wild animals and
when it comes to these bears no one’s
better than Don mcdougal he’s been a
seasonal wilderness Ranger here on the
island for years even though some of
them by name we’re here at pack Creek
it’s evening sun starting to go down
over the horizon we get a couple of
hours out Sal with two cubs two young
spring Cubs in the sow was one spring
cub a small adolescent male just passed
those guys and another older adult
female that just went up the creek I
really usually just meet there it’s one
of the highest densities bears anywhere
in the world 1,600 square mile island
somewhere between one and one point two
bears per square mile so anywhere
between probably 1500 and 1700 bears
probably a lot of it has to do with the
fact that there’s a little bit of
development and this has been preserved
over the years nobody’s messed with the
abbot at so they can thrive here as a
wildlife cameraman whenever I’m out on
an assignment
I’m always given a shot list a series of
behaviors I need to capture in the
amount of time I’m given but here I’m
capturing moments I never even think to
look for and it’s a great feeling
there’s something to be said for being
in a place like this without
expectations or just something to look
for I’m just letting the Bears do what
they do and getting to observe I
mentioned this to Don and he comes up
with an idea for where we’ll go next the
only issue is this time I don’t know
where he’s taking me the next morning we
rise early and take off in the boat the
bear action has been unbelievable and
leaving that goes against everything I
know as a wildlife filmmaker I’m not
sure what Don has planned but I hope
it’s worth it
hey bear hey hey bear
so we got a heavy thimble berry thicket
and then we get heavy alder cover so if
you’re looking at this from the beach it
looks pretty foreboding and then when
you step inside the canopy you see a
whole different world one of the reasons
I took you here was because of this tree
that we see right in front of us it’s
just an amazing specimen and it’s so
different from everything else and it’s
just huge in ancient and everything
trees well they’re probably pretty
ancient old-growth forests I would say
you know several hundred to maybe a
thousand years old I’m up yeah every
time I look at it I just in awe and awed
by just the structure of it in the size
and you know it’s almost leaves you
speechless the first time you see it
you know sometimes we get focused on on
the really big things you know the the
really cool big guys the Bears you know
because you know they’re really neat
animals and it’s great to see them fish
and play and all that stuff but there’s
a whole lot more life going on around
there too
there’s sort of a relationship that goes
back and forth the Bears eat the fish
they drag the carcasses into the
surrounding area around the around the
creeks the nutrients from the fish go
back into the soil that feeds the trees
the trees get bigger I think is just
really important to have places like
this where we can we can always have
that preserved forever for Don
wilderness is more than an iconic photo
it’s a beautifully connected ecosystem
and really a place of discovery I can
sometimes think of a day out here as
another day at the office but this is
such an amazing reminder that if we keep
our eyes and ears open wilderness has so
much to show us and teach us
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