Brown Bears of Asia | Full Documentary

It's a paradise for horses and for bears. Mother bear and her two cubs roam the mountains of heaven in the south of Kazakhstan, in the heart of Asia. The landscape is shaped by step and under protection for the last 80 years. Here the brown bear is still the master of the wilderness. Tien Shan, Celestial Mountains, end of April. Mother bear and her two three-month-old sons left the den some days ago. For the brothers, their first summer begins. It will be full of adventures and play. The young bears were born the size of guinea pigs and have grown fast from the milk, while their mother spent six months in the den without eating. The lonely wolf knows he has to keep out of mother bear's way. The mother is restless, always searching for food, and the young must follow her, no matter how exhausting the climbing is. others stay in their small world. Men's bear's marmots always keep close to their protective den. The young from last year are full of energy. Their games become more serious. They are now fighting for hierarchy within the group. The rattling of teeth is a unique behavior never filmed before. It means, I'm the boss, so get out of my territory. Although for now, it's only a game among siblings. After seven months of sleeping underground, everybody is hungry. Fresh grass is still scarce. Father, mother and the four young share the little food within their reach. One youngster has stayed behind at the den, alone. An unfamiliar male approaches. The kid knows how to intimidate. The stranger threatens back. It is an uneven fight, but the youngster is brave. The stranger doesn't stop. Father takes action. The fight is over. Father chases the opponent away. Father returns a hero and his kids give him a warm welcome. Only if he defends the territory will the family have enough to eat and survive the next winter. The stranger returns with a bleeding paw. This time the father has backup and hopefully the stranger will give up for now. Today, the adolescent marmots have learned always keep a close eye on the surroundings. It's a real wonder of the steppe. The blooming of the tulips. From Kazakhstan, these flowers conquered the gardens of the world with their beauty. Cold wind over the high summits. But the sun shines hot in May and melt waters feed a wild river. In the plain, the river calms down and is lined with fertile pastures. When the hawthorn blooms, here is a garden of Eden. The water has dug into the soil and created steep banks. A bird of most spectacular colors. The roller. The male has big plans. He has to dig a breeding burrow into the sandy bank. She has taken command but doesn't help him. Why has he chosen this spot? It's full of obstacles. She is encouraging him so he does not give up yet. But the roots are too dense. Mission failed. For now, the couple does not have a place to breed. The jackdaw neighbors are fighting for a roller burrow from the last year. The siege by another couple is a declaration of war. Good burrows are rare, so the rightful owners are fighting with full conviction. And the strangers are defeated. The rollers fight too against each other and against the jackdaws. Everybody is irritably defending their territory. New joy of life. The horses have spent a long winter in the shelter of the village. Now the herd is reunited, roams the steppe freely and enjoys the fresh grass at the foot of the mountains. The foals have been well fed by their mothers and are bursting with energy. With four feet drive, they are born to run. But it's not always fail-proof. In the mountains at 2,000 meters, spring slowly begins. The bear family finally finds fresh green. The long winter and the rearing of the offspring have taken their toll on their mother. The bear's diet consists almost exclusively of plants. Calories and protein are in short supply, so feeding is a full-time job. The young learn quickly what is tasty and what is not. Tasty. The power of the sun is driving the bears onto the snow and has bleached the mother's fur. How nice to have a brother. Play fights are never boring. The siblings will stay together after their mum has driven them away, so they will master a dangerous life together. But with puberty at the age of about six, they will separate. Adult bears only have contact with their kind to mate or to raise young. The mother smells danger. A male approaches. Attacks from male bears are the main reason that every third young bear dies in its first year. He is only an adolescent, but he attacks. Although the mother is stronger than the attacker, she leaves the field, avoiding any risk to her young. And the stranger suddenly loses his crazy courage. The situation is under control. The family can calm down. At the marmot's den, the parents are nervous because their new young want to get out. The father has driven away last year's offspring. Now there is room for the new kids. Four men's bears marmots, the smallest and rarest marmots in the world. Their habitat only comprises 400 square kilometers in the Tianshan Mountains. The marmots feed for their lives. At the end of August, they will already go into hibernation, and only if they are fat enough will the family survive until the next spring. After feeding, there is spare time for a game. And it's wrestling. The marmot's way. Father screams alarm. For him, the horses have come too close to the den. And the young already manage the marmot alarm too. The horses have wandered from the valley to an altitude of around 2,200 meters. Here, there is plenty of fresh grass. Mutual nibbling strengthens the bonds between the horses and makes community life more peaceful. The foals are strong now and can't be held back. will become rivals and fight to the death for access to females. The horses love to be on the snow. Here, temperatures are comfortable. And horseflies, which in the valley make life for the herd a living hell, are absent. Father marmot keeps an eye on his territory. He has already lost one finger in a fight. The pasture of his big family is small and must be defended at any cost. The enemy is back. Rattling of teeth and shadow boxing is the ritual before the fight. Father licks his new wounds. He has defeated the opponent and remains the master of the land around the den. When spring reaches the summits, anemones and globeflowers blossom at the edge of the snowfields. The globeflowers are poisonous, but the bears find plenty of food amongst them. They don't appreciate the blaze of colors. They can only see in black and white and choose by sense of smell. The fresh green attracts other gourmets too. The female wild boars and their offspring are on the way. And they are all hungry all the time. Sometimes the mother can't take any more with eight piglets around her all day. But the young are persistent. Two strangers are approaching with ruffled up hair. A threat. The families retreat quickly and as orderly as piglets can. Sometimes very special fields of snow can be found in the mountains of heaven. The old bear can feel young again here. In the midday sun he is looking to cool off. And so he dug a hole into the snow some time ago. A bear refrigerator. Here is also a bear news station. A node of the bear's tracks where passers-by leave feces behind. The smell tells other bears a lot about their neighbors. About age, sex, health and receptiveness. And it seems to be a smell one prefers to enjoy a little longer. Summer comes to the mountains with the blossoming of roses. Elsewhere in Central Asia cattle have destroyed most of the natural vegetation. In this steppe only wild animals are grazing. That is why flowers and butterflies are still abundant here. Dragonfly wings combined with a furry body. An owl fly. It has to heat up in the In the midday heat cicadas take the lead in the concert of the steppe. Inside their bodies muscles make an airbag vibrate as a soundbox. Bugs get down to business quickly. Most insects mate without a big ceremony. The owl fly too has found a mate. A lizard without legs. Up to one and a half meters long. The shelter Puzik. It's on the hunt but the owl flies in the upper level of the steppe they have found a place for their burrow. The male must dig half a meter into the sandy bank and that is at least a week's work. The female is carried away with building fever but she still is no help for him. The burrow is already half finished and he must take care of other things too. Dung beetles are the way to a girl's heart. The feeding knits a tight bond between them but he seems to regret giving that delicious beetle away. The neighbors are also busy with romance. Rollers depend on dry summers. In long wet periods they cannot find enough food and their young starve. He's getting dressed up but she just ignores him. The supervision of the building work has totally exhausted her. One cannot start a family in deep sleep. The female has to become active too. The mating on a wobbly branch is a balancing act but the courtship is unsuccessful. Summer in the valley and it's 45 degrees celsius in the shade. The horses now often visit the river and not only to drink. In the water they find juicy plants, a nice change from their diet of tough grass. But something else has also attracted them from the mountains back to the valley. At the slope of the rollers they feed on loess. This rock flower yields minerals, of snow magically attract the bears. Here they find not only cool air but soft young vegetarian food. The mother looks strong and healthy. She has to take in 20 000 kilocalories each day to be able to lactate her young properly. While the mother rarely takes a rest from eating for three the young bears know very little about the serious side of life. No young bear can play peacefully with a stick if a jealous sibling doesn't allow it. A relentless son and no shade but mother bear has to endure it to take a rest and suckle her kids. After five months of maternity she is often exhausted. The young must never go hungry. They can choose from six teats. In the third spring the mother has to drive them away and the brothers will have to cope without her. Slowly the family moves on. Bears don't have sweat glands and easily overheat because of their good insulation through fur and fat. On summer days the mother tries to take it easy but for the cubs the walk across the ice These siblings in their second year seem to have no mother. Where is she? Was she shot by a poacher? Without their mother the young have little chance of survival. Hectically they search for food. Something is in the air. The bear can smell his kind even one kilometer away and he knows a mother who wants to protect her young can always become dangerous. The two-year-olds therefore avoid any encounter with other bears. Secretively they sneak through the mountains into an uncertain future. Under stones mother bear is searching for spiders and insects, a good source of protein for her. Only rarely can she feed as much as she wants on dead animals. In the high mountains the flowers of willow herbs mark the climax of summer. The land at the foot of Tien Shan dries up in the heat but where there is water life still have fed them almost without a break about every four minutes from morning to sunset. So insects are transformed into colorful feathers. But this morning everything is about to change for the young rollers. The parents stop feeding them and the chicks cannot believe it. It hesitates but it must dare to jump before hunger takes away the last of its energy. For the marmots a short summer ends. Father now has got a gorgeous winter coat and the young have grown big and strong. Soon the family will have to retreat to their den. A pink flower for dessert. All the marmots have finally got fat enough. Father now prefers to nibble at mother. The parents have made it. Their young are fit for their first hibernation. Father's bitten off finger has healed well. His commitment to the family has been worthwhile. The mountains of heaven are still one million square kilometers of mostly wild country. Juniper trees are a favorite bear playground. Even when they are only one meter tall. No branch is safe from the young bear's teeth. Mother bear can be happy. Her sons have learned a lot from her and have developed well in their first summer. The brothers are skillful and have self-confidence. So they will be able to conquer a huge territory which can comprise 20 to several hundred square kilometers. They will always return to their favorite places. For two more months the family will roam the mountains until mother bear starts to hibernate with her young before the first snow falls. Here in the nature reserve in the south of Kazakhstan is one of the last refuges for central Asian brown bears. Almost everywhere else poachers try to kill them. There is another bear on the opposite slope and mother bear does not want to meet him. Slowly she retreats and the young follow her. If everything goes well they will roam the Tien Shan together next year. And what would the mountains of heaven be without these bears? What would the steppe be without the freedom of the horses?