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Black bears.

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For the first time thermal cameras
reveal their winter den.

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Yet this is no wilderness...

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all across North America bears and skiers
are closer than you might think.

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And the trouble really starts
when they emerge in the spring.

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Whistler mountain, in western Canada

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is criss-crossed with some of the most
demanding downhill runs in the world.

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These slopes are not just a challenge
for the skiers＃

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This is the story of two mother bears.

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One has been named Marissa
每 by the people who study her＃

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and these are her two black cubs.

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Marissa will raise her cubs in a truly wild way

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near the summit of Whistler's busy mountains.

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But that's not the only way
to bring up a bear family.

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Our other mother bear is called Jess.

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She's also a black bear but,
unlike Marissa, her cubs are brown.

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Jess will turn her back on the wilderness.

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Her family will spend the year becoming
streetwise in and around Whistler town centre.

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Both mothers face the same challenges:

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they must keep their cubs out of danger
and find huge quantities of food.

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Each family will have to
stack up enough fat this summer

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to get them right through their winter sleep.

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But each mother is going about it
in very different ways.

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So which cubs will get the best start in life?

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Their story begins in January
每 the height of the ski season.

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Fifteen hundred metres
above Whistler town centre,

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the ski and snowboarding runs are packed.

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Each winter over a million visitors are attracted
to these slopes despite the sub-zero cold.

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Humans are not built for these temperatures,
as this thermal image camera reveals.

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Without exception,
skiers are glowing bright greens and oranges

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because they are much hotter
than the blue surrounding slopes.

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Despite their thick winter clothing
all this heat is escaping into the atmosphere

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每 they're losing heat fast.

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Right next to the ski slopes,

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all around North America,

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other black bears are hibernating
in dens beneath the snow,

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protected from the cold
by their thick, dense fur.

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Thermal cameras can locate a bear den,

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but to see under the snow,
we need special tiny cameras.

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And these reveal for the very first time
newborn wild cubs in their natural den.

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They weigh less than 500 grams

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and need help to find their mother's rich milk.

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She curls around them like a giant, furry anorak,

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to protect them from their greatest threat
每 the cold.

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No-one here is aware there's life under the slope.

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Yet the bears sense the action overhead.

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That's because they don't totally
shut down like hibernating marmots.

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Instead they wake up regularly
and shuffle around the den.

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From April bear mothers peer out
to see if it's getting any warmer.

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Soon they will all need to emerge
from their winter hideaway.

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Thanks to their mother's energy rich milk,

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these cubs have already tripled their birth weight.

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They spend their waking hours exploring
the den and trying out bear hugs.

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Wrestling is an important part of their development

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it stimulates muscle growth so they'll
be strong by the time they leave the den.

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Their fur is already well developed

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but it's not as efficient as their mother's.

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While she's sussing-out spring

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they are losing heat rapidly.

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Fortunately she's not gone for long.

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She's decided it's still too early
to get out of their winter bed,

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so she tucks them up again.

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The bears that fed well last summer

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are still producing enough milk for the cubs
from their well-stocked bodies.

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There's no need to venture out.

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They have the luxury of a lie-in.

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Not all bears are so lucky.

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Spring is still weeks away,

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but this one's been forced out before time.

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It didn't fatten up enough,
so now it's desperately hungry.

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Natural food is still locked away
under frozen ground,

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so a half-built ski restaurant is its only hope.

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At dawn there are no workers about,

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but neither are there any lunchboxes to raid.

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Hungry bears can be dangerous

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and when the builders do arrive
they call for help.

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They don't want this bear
to make a habit of coming here.

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The bear expert sets a trap,
and arms himself with a pepper-spray.

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A direct hit.

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The hot pepper is irritating,
but does no lasting damage.

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The bear heads back to the safety of the woods

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but unless the thaw comes soon
and exposes wild food,

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it won't survive for long.

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Even artificial snow won't
prolong the winter ski season.

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By the end of April nothing
can stop the temperature rising.

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Even the highest black runs,
near the summit, are greening up.

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Here our wilderness bear, Marissa, and
her cubs are finally emerging from the den,

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although she looks like she has
that Monday morning feeling!

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The cubs, on the other hand,

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are full of bounce, and eager
to explore this new world.

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This is not the start of a carefree summer.

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Marissa's first concern is
to sniff out - and avoid - male bears.

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A male will kill her cubs

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because it's the only way he
can re-trigger her breeding cycle.

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This is the biggest threat the infants face＃

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assuming they don't hurt themselves first.

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Three years ago Marissa nearly lost cubs to a male,

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so she's choosing to live very high up
where there aren't many males about.

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The family can just get on
with notching up the calories.

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The icy black runs are now carpeted
in tender shoots.

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However at this altitude the greens
are growing in poor soil

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and aren't very nutritious.

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The cubs might be safer

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but it will be much harder gaining weight
than down in the foothills.

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Down here Jess and her brown cubs
have also woken up to spring.

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The grass is greener
but they don't have it all to themselves.

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Many bears are joining them
from their own winter hideaways.

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Bears with more than just food on the brain.

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As more and more bears surface
there are face-offs

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to remind each other who controls
the best stretches of the former ski-runs.

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Back rubbing can have more to do with laying
claim to land than sorting out an itch.

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The nursery slopes aren't just
set up for inexperienced skiers.

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They've been deliberately planted
by the ski school,

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with tasty grasses and clover
to help wild bears get a good start.

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It's a great place for Jess
to fatten up her family,

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but it's not somewhere she can relax.

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The high quality food encourages a greater
density of bears, including hostile males.

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And already she's in trouble.

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A male has picked up her scent.

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The only hope for her family
is to take to the trees.

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He wants to mate with Jess,

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but can only bring her into season
by killing her cubs.

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They must stay out of his reach.

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Although he's heavy he's equipped
with claws like grappling hooks,

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and a head for heights.

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It's an easy climb.

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But the cubs are higher still

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- clinging to the thinnest branches,
which won't support the male's weight.

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And Jess is blocking the way.

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Reluctantly he retreats to find an easier conquest.

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Ten percent of cubs die in their first year.

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Jess is reunited with her cubs,

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but this is unlikely to be the last time
they're threatened.

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She needs to get away from the cub-killing males

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and the only place without this danger
is further down the slopes again

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- the uncharted streets of Whistler town itself.

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It's a pivotal decision,

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which will affect the cubs
for the rest of their lives.

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These bears are about to join life in the fast lane.

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Town life may not be so bad.

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There's the chance to scrounge
from our high-fat diets.

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Meals which certainly put clover on the side.

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Jess and her cubs won't be alone.

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Other drifters are arriving all the time.

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The arrival of bears in spring is
a timely reminder to the people of Whistler

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to make sure their rubbish is cleared away.

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Visitors must also remember to
treat these wild bears with respect.

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Bears will try anything for food.

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They're strong, have a wicked sense of smell

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and they're ingenious.

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They see our urban landscape
as a field of opportunity.

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Jess and her cubs are soon on the make.

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But will they learn enough tricks of this new trade

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to fatten up in time for winter
and survive the fresh dangers?

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Back up near the mountain summit

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Marissa's cubs are already
noticeably thinner than Jess's.

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She's successfully avoiding violent males

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but is this high-altitude strategy also high-risk?

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Food up here has a fraction of the fat and
protein which Jess's cubs are getting.

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Has Marissa scuppered her cubs' chances
of finding enough to eat?

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On the lower foothills,
from where Jess fled to town,

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big males are still keen to mate.

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But not all females are as spooked as Jess.

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Those without cubs are looking for a date.

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Bringing your own mattress
is one way to impress the girls.

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But not her.

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The male seems to get inspiration from the giant
diggers preparing next season's ski runs.

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He tries bulldozing his way into her affections.

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It does the trick -
the earth certainly moved around them.

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Her fertilized eggs will only develop if
she puts on enough weight before the winter.

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Food, as always, is the bare necessity.

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Whistler is full of tourists, even in summer.

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As the crowds spill up the slopes

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Marissa and her cubs become
one of the main attractions.

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Human contact and food could easily
steer Marissa off her wild course.

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But Whistler's visitors
have been given strict instructions:

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Do not feed the bears!

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Marissa stumbles across a store
of snowboarding kit.

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The cubs are curious, as ever.

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They're not in luck this time.

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There's no food here so they stick
with their natural way of life.

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Several weeks later, as the evenings
start to get chilly again,

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Marissa's cubs are still dangerously underweight.

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They won't survive winter at this rate.

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But autumn triggers a change
to their bodies and their behaviour,

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which puts them into feeding over-drive.

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This phase, known as hyperphagia,

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means they can feed for up to 18 hours
each day and yet never feel full.

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Through the summer cubs have been ripping
into logs in search of protein-rich ants.

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and digging up tuber roots
stuffed with carbohydrates.

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But in autumn, when their bellies
are constantly rumbling,

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they go berry picking.

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It may be slow food,

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but two thousand berries an hour
- from dawn to dusk

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- will put on 16,000 calories a day.

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And even that won't dent their appetites.

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Berries are so important
in this run-up to hibernation

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that they keep picking come rain or shine.

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This year it's a good berry crop.

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At last Marissa's cubs are clocking up the kilos.

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Back downtown, Jess and her cubs have
made the most of the fast food mountain.

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Even though they're huge, their bodies
also change into pre-hibernation mode

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每 they can't stop themselves
wanting more and more.

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And berries 每 ripening up
in gardens and along trails

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- are suddenly within easier reach than burgers.

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Jess is now both street-wise
and confident around humans.

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With hunger now uppermost in a bear's mind

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it's extremely unwise to cycle around
with a sandwich in your mouth

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每 you never know what may lie around the corner.

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In autumn the tourists are thinning out.

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There's less junk food about -
at the very time bears are at their hungriest

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So everything else is up for grabs.

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Even if it doesn't taste as good as it smells.

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What's worse Whistler has had a crackdown.

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Bins have been bear-proofed,

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and even the most nimble-fingered animals
can't get their claws in.

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But Jess won't give up that easily.

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When Jess first arrived in Whistler
she tried to avoid the public.

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Now she's becoming more brazen.

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Bear attacks are virtually unheard of in Whistler,

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but this guy sensibly gives a bear some space.

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If Jess keeps this up,

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she'll be marked as a nuisance bear,

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and that could spell disaster.

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One way wise old urban bears stay out
of trouble is by becoming nocturnal.

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But destroying a Rowan tree
in the Mayor's garden

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won't help this bear stay unnoticed for long.

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It slopes off towards the town centre,

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to continue its love affair with food

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- lured by the hypnotic smells
of the restaurant district.

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Sadly he's too late for a take-away.

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Better luck round the back.

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Although the dumpsters have been bear-proofed,

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this one hasn't been shut.

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An old pro has no trouble climbing in.

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He gets a wholesome reward for persistence

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so he'll be back tomorrow night for sure.

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Dawn at the golf course

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and there's more than water hazards here.

240
00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:12,250
Jess and her cubs are breakfasting on the fairway.

241
00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:14,450
With the odd sandwich on the side,

242
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this lush lawn has become a vital food source.

243
00:22:18,300 --> 00:22:23,150
And it's also one of the few places
in Whistler without bear-proof bins.

244
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,950
Jess is getting more belligerent by the day.

245
00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,450
And her cubs are learning from her every move.

246
00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:45,750
The fatter of the two cubs attacks the golf bag.

247
00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:47,850
He can smell food inside

248
00:22:47,900 --> 00:22:51,150
and it will take more than a poorly
aimed putter to distract him.

249
00:22:52,100 --> 00:22:55,350
Smash and grab is now their way of life.

250
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,650
And at this time of year it's each cub for himself.

251
00:23:10,100 --> 00:23:12,750
Reinforcements arrive just in time.

252
00:23:28,300 --> 00:23:31,350
But the golf buggy merely moves the problem on.

253
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,050
Jess heads straight for the dumpsters

254
00:23:34,100 --> 00:23:36,750
＃and is ready to take on all-comers.

255
00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:53,150
She and her cubs are already
more than fat enough for winter.

256
00:23:53,300 --> 00:23:55,250
They don't need to eat any more

257
00:23:55,300 --> 00:23:58,150
but they're driven by their greedy instincts.

258
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,450
Although these aren't even food bins
每 they're full of cardboard

259
00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:03,750
- Jess can't resist climbing in.

260
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,350
They're all programmed to keep piling on the kilos.

261
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:18,250
Even when the dump truck arrives
Jess is reluctant to leave.

262
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,850
Greedy bears have been known to be
picked up and dropped into the trailer.

263
00:24:28,100 --> 00:24:32,950
Whistler has its own force of bear police
to deal with troublemakers.

264
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,550
But by the time they turn up,
Jess has vanished.

265
00:24:43,500 --> 00:24:46,750
Jess and the cubs are next sighted
in a nearby garden.

266
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,350
They may be on the run,

267
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:49,950
but they're still eating.

268
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,850
The police have lost her trail

269
00:24:58,900 --> 00:25:02,150
and can only fire warning shots into the air

270
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,550
in the hope that she'll be scared
back into the hills.

271
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:15,550
But flimsy fireworks aren't enough
to deter this hardened gang.

272
00:25:18,100 --> 00:25:20,150
Patience is wearing a little thin

273
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,550
and the police decide to set a trap.

274
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,050
Problem bears are tempted into a cage.

275
00:25:31,100 --> 00:25:35,650
But this year Jess is far from
the only nuisance bear in town.

276
00:25:35,700 --> 00:25:39,750
A fat male, possibly the one making
the most of Whistler's nightlife,

277
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,050
can't resist the smell of sticky molasses.

278
00:25:45,100 --> 00:25:47,750
He'll be released in a remote wilderness.

279
00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:49,850
It's the short, sharp shock treatment.

280
00:25:49,900 --> 00:25:53,850
But being dumped in a strange location
in the territory of other bears,

281
00:25:53,900 --> 00:25:58,550
when the race for food is at its most crucial,
is a traumatic experience.

282
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,550
Suddenly the bear police get an emergency call.

283
00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,950
They race to a half-built hotel complex

284
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:15,250
where a bear has somehow climbed up
to the seventh floor and got stuck.

285
00:26:15,300 --> 00:26:17,450
The builders think they've seen a cub, too.

286
00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:21,750
This is not something covered
in the health and safety manual

287
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:23,250
- no-one knows what to do.

288
00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:26,450
The hotel lies in Jess' territory.

289
00:26:26,500 --> 00:26:27,850
But is it her?

290
00:26:27,900 --> 00:26:31,850
Has she taken her cubs on an adventure too far?

291
00:26:35,300 --> 00:26:38,150
The bear police do carry live ammunition,

292
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,250
but it takes a desperate situation to use it.

293
00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:59,350
This was that rare event:
a cornered bear in a tight spot.

294
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,250
The police had no option but to shoot.

295
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,950
It turns out not to be Jess.

296
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,750
She and her cubs were scoffing berries
through the drama.

297
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,950
The cubs are so fat
they'll easily make it through the winter.

298
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,050
Their street urchin existence has paid off.

299
00:27:32,700 --> 00:27:36,650
However they now show no fear of humans.

300
00:27:36,700 --> 00:27:40,350
They've learned habits from their mum
which are now deeply ingrained

301
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,150
and which might get them into big trouble.

302
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:46,950
With winter approaching,

303
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,450
Jess is taking her cubs out of Whistler,
back up the slopes.

304
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,850
But will the smell of the streets
draw them back next year?

305
00:27:58,300 --> 00:28:02,150
High up in the mountains,
Marissa has also pulled it off.

306
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,150
These cubs aren't as obese as the urban bears

307
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:06,650
but they're fat enough.

308
00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:10,550
They've survived AND with
their wild instincts intact.

309
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,450
They tolerate humans but do not rely on them.

310
00:28:14,100 --> 00:28:16,950
Will this be better long-term?

311
00:28:19,300 --> 00:28:23,950
The town bear and the country bear
- both successful mothers.

312
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,550
But next summer, when the cubs are alone,

313
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,550
will the urban bears stay
on the right side of the law

314
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,350
after they emerge from beneath the black run?

315
00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:56,950
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