it is a place of soaring Granite Cathedrals countless breathtaking Falls and the incomparable Valley called yosity it is one of our most accessible and popular parks but still full of exotic [Music] Secrets elusive creatures and or youngsters here the Earthbound take flight terrorize the tiny and do battle with each other they raise greedy children among a cast of marvelous characters and one of the world's largest and oldest living things in the Timeless Stone Crucible of Yos National [Music] [Music] Park in the ancient Tales the fog and the wind are both both Twins and opposites powerful Spirits embodied in two clever [Music] Hunters The elusive eagle-eyed bobcat and the clever tricky [Music] coyote it's best not to be small and delicious on this wild stage because these Spirits are hungry poised and coiled for the killer [Music] ballet for a predator in yosity it helps to know how to fly [Music] [Music] though perfect terrain for the bobcat and the coyote the Sierra Nevada mountains must have been a heart stopping sight and a daunting barrier for those first Europe Europeans headed Westward into California but from the time they breached these Stone ramparts and discovered the magical Yos Valley this place has cast a spell over artists writers scientists and Pioneers with more nerve than [Music] sense these magnificent Vistas Spark mared the very idea of national parks stunned by its beauty awed by its giant Seas a new breed of activists fought to protect yosity from development and in 1864 President Lincoln signed a bill to keep the place wild forever [Music] the last days of winter are tough on many animals in the park some of whom are literally on their last legs and starving coyotes often reap this sad Harvest sniffing out the carcasses of those who didn't make it till spring there's zero chance of eating in peace here though Ravens are bad enough but this bird is a real recipe for indigestion the golden eagle perhaps it's best to take a nice cut of meat somewhere quieter but when the eagle spots his chance the coyote won't talk tolerated and an extraordinary battle begins the eagle has a terrifying 7t wingspan and look out for those 3in Talons they can dispatch a deer or a dog but the coyote has the weight advantage and finally prevails but not for long the cing Greek chorus will eventually get their [Music] share the Snows of winter evaporate into The Mists of spring and the shadowy Bobcat emerges with an apprentice killer in toe mother is an old hand at this the kitten mirrors her every move the huntress demonstrates the finer points watch for the tiniest tremor [Music] listen for the slightest scritching and [Music] pounce that the VES sometimes get away is part of the education if at first you don't succeed try try [Music] again there you go mom's kill leads to a rousing game of keepa [Music] away this sharpens the Young her's ability to Chase and while her kitten eats perhaps mom will find her own lunch but no there's another kitten waiting in the wings and the merry-go round starts all over again [Music] kids sometimes it seems like they'll never leave home yosee sprawls across a thousand square miles of the Sierra Nevada mountain range these massive Granite formations were born in the molten depths of the earth cooling slowly to become bulletproof [Music] Stone shoved upward by immense geological forces The Rock was then sculpted and scoured by glaciers often polished to Perfection the resulting landscape and Skyline are almost surreal the treacherous Tanaya Canyon leads directly up to the most famous icon of the park the half doome this chiseled Crest Rises almost a mile above the valley floor on the other side of the valley the dizzying vertical thrust of elcapitan is equally [Music] unmistakable from a nearby slope a tentative nose emerges followed by its owner one very groggy black bear she hasn't seen the light of day in months and she's asleep on her feet there's never a coffee shop around when you need one and she's not alone in in fact she's got twins though not identical black bears actually come in a whole pallet of colors from brunette to Ginger to blonde mom looks like she could have used a snooze button but her Young born months ago in the dark clearly have cabin fever now they can wrestle in the sun surrounded by new sights smells and endless possibilities [Music] mom famished kickstarts her dormant guts with anything remotely edible never having seen a tree the Cubs Scrabble up born to climb but that's plenty high enough for a firsttimer [Music] and back on the ground there's Comfort waiting and milk as intoxicating as anything in this bright Brave New World [Music] in the spring snow melt hurdles downward everywhere in the Park yosity Falls Cascades 800 yard in three stages the tallest fall in North [Music] America Vernal fall at over 300 ft was called yopa or little Cloud by the native [Music] people bridal veil fall often wafts in the breeze as its namesake would [Music] there's water water everywhere calling out that it's time to create new life now in the lower elevations of the park colorful Sierra noes begin to March resolutely toward the waters where they hatched their brilliant orange bellies serve as a warning to anything that might find them attempting mouthful their skin excretes a toxin 1,000 times as powerful as cyanide they spend most of their lives on land but now it's time to mate and to do that like most amphibians they must become water dwellers once again males outnumber females so Court ships quickly degenerate into freefor alls and they just keep [Music] coming there seems to be quite a bit of gender confusion in the [Music] melee and most spend more time mud wrestling than mating [Music] soon the nearby Twigs are funed with translucent packets of eggs little new tadpoles will emerge from these come [Music] summer yosei Crystal Clear streams and rivers provide shelter for many little beings in Spring but not always protection hungry belted King Fishers have their eyes peeled for [Music] prey gotcha but this fish is a wriggling unco operative mouthful fortunately the stocky little King Fishers have powerful [Music] necks ranging from an altitude of just 1,800 ft to over 13,000 yose's changing terrain hosts countless [Music] ecosystems in the woodlands where the Bobcat lurks Western gray squirrels need to be vigilant the rodents are not picky eaters and feed on nuts berries and tree seeds but are happy to add insects frogs and bird's eggs they in turn are Staples on the Bobcat menu the gray squirrel has that feeling of being watched the perfectly camouflaged cat picks her moment very [Music] carefully the cat is just as agile in the trees as on the ground but the squirrel is lightning fast there are plenty of squirrels in these Woods as the cat well knows and there's another A Douglas squirrel or pine squirrel true to his name he's methodically munching a pine cone as we would strip a nice bit of corn on the cob the Bobcat squeaks to herself in intense anticipation she slinks into position and they're off this time she comes up with the goods the Bobcat eats the entire squirrel head first leaving hardly anything behind she's done her good deed for today without predators like her the park would quickly be overrun with rodents [Music] [Music] the gorgeous yosity Valley awaits first cut by the mered river its Contours were then rounded by waves of enormous glaciers fog rolls along the valley as elusive as its spirit animal the Bobcat set against yosi's breathtaking Granite backdrop are hundreds of square miles of [Music] forests among them three Groves of ancient and impossibly Tall Giants Stand [Music] Out seas are among the largest and oldest living things on earth they can reach Heights of almost 300 ft that's a 30 story Skyscraper the higher up the tree the greater the cone production a single tree can generate 400,000 seeds per year but just one in a million will take Route and begin its vertical Journey the seas in Mariposa Grove are the most popular tourists can't resist the California tunnel tree dug out in 1895 before anyone knew this would damage the trees The Grove is home to roughly 500 fully grown Giants their ages defy belief these giant Roots belong to the Fallen Monarch still intact centuries after the tree toppled it's estimated that the grizzly giant was a Seedling centuries before the birth of Christ it's one of the largest trees in the world far from the tourist attractions our Bobcat boy sniffs markings left by other cats his mother and sister are enjoying a mutual sunbath like all cats they'll spend up to half their waking hours cleaning themselves and each other having caught up on the latest chemical gossip brother de besides he could use a little affection as well the family is the picture of feline contentment until something catches their attention an adolescent black bear has suddenly arrived who doesn't know quite what to make of the cats the Bob cat mother doesn't even give the bear a second thought cats and bears pretty much ignore one another and brother finally gets his bath the skinny young bear decides to look for something more edible the mered river is full of good things to eat and here's a dead trout the pride and joy of the signal crayfish the bear smells the ripening fish immediately the crayfish tugs possessively at his prize but it's hardly a fair [Music] fight the naturalist John mure founder of the Sierra Club and the leader of the fight to protect the park set of yosan it is by far the grandest of all the special temples of nature I was ever permitted to enter yose's Granite facad are heaven for rock breeding birds like these common Ravens but the chicks are dangerously exposed and there's trouble overhead a keen eyed adolescent bald eagle [Music] But Here Comes father to the rescue nose diving straight at the much bigger Eagle Fearless he harasses the Predator even plucking its tail feathers and saving the day father Wheels above El Capitan maintaining his defensive Air Patrol mother meanwhile arrives home with a beak full of food for her insatiable brood the place is precarious enough for creatures with wings but the flightless love this rock face too elcap as they call it is Coveted by climbers the world over the 3,000 ft monolith takes four or 5 days to climb yose's sheer walls towers and spires offer climbers every imaginable degree of difficulty from hair raising to Flatout [Music] insane it's as if the waves of glaciation over time carve this place with Daredevils in mind with incomparable Vistas as their Rewards [Music] the heights of yede are not just breathtaking and intimidating they're home to a very special creature the American Pica a living stuffed animal this tiny cousin of the rabbit lives in Boulder Fields above the tree line frenetically storing Food Supplies cushioning their homes eating and just being preposterously cute sadly the Pica is engraved danger it's so heat sensitive it can die when temperatures reach just over 75° fah and as the climate gets warmer the pikas must move higher in the park or Parish they've moved 500 ft higher in the last decade and up here they're more exposed to Predators from above like the voracious golden eagle the sight of the bird of prey sets off alarms and a hasty Retreat into the P's Rocky fortresses but the golden eagle is a Minor Threat for these adorable creatures compared to global warming picas have already disappeared from much of their range [Music] High summer is approaching now and Yos is a wash in color the mule deer bucks are regrowing their antlers which they shed each [Music] winter many of the Doe's now have fonds usually twins the little bambies will stay with their mother until the next spring till then they live with a few other Doe's and their fonds in small herds they'll be weaned in a few weeks so it's best to drink up now the white patches on their backs generally disappear after their first month in June tufted poppies and other metal plants bloom [Music] profusely it's an insect's [Music] paradise and the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs are big fans of insects this incredibly rare species lives in a tiny area around yosee at an altitude of about 6,000 ft while frogs around the world are being wiped out by a fungal disease some groups of these guys are healthy hungry and athletic little Predators with quite deadly tongues [Music] it's July High summer in yosee our kittens are almost as big as our mother now at 4 months old they're looking quite well fed and self-satisfied Mom checks in on them all the time the siblings are quite affectionate with one another but one day in the future they'll go their separate ways Bobcats are extremely adaptable and flourish throughout North America some estimate that there may be a million of them in the US the fact that they're so rarely seen is a testament to their shy and solitary habits just like domestic cats they bump heads as a form of bonding more than that they're marking each other with scent glands in their faces week by week the kittens are becoming ever more independent Yos has so many ecosystems it's easy for animals to end up in unlikely places a young mule deer has wandered up into the Rocky Heights and catches the attention of yose's so-called Whistle Pigs [Music] yellow bellied marmots are inquisitive and often completely unafraid of humans one of the largest of the park rodents they're quite agile on the Rocks most of the time these High Country Critters only come out to play during the summer they spend the rest of the year underground much of it hibernating [Music] their young leave the burrow for the first time when they're around 3 weeks old under the watchful eyes of their [Music] mothers generally a male will have a Herm of two or three females and everybody's on the lookout for trouble down in the valley black bears Patrol they usually avoid one another except during the mating season but here comes a hungry youngster this black bear is actually blonde and rather shabby he's on the lookout for a nice dead rotting tree because under the bark some of his favorite things lovely yummy ants even better eggs and grubs these are little bags of protein just what a growing bear needs but it's a meal that fights back ants bite and spray nasty formic acid that burns sensitive noses finally the Swarm gets the better of the bear forest fires are frighteningly common in the high SI era but the Rimfire in the fall of 2013 was one for the history books started by a hutter's illegal campfire in a neighboring reserve it burned out of control for 10 weeks destroying 250,000 Acres [Music] [Music] it wasn't declared fully out till more than a year later some parts of the Sierra Nevada smoldered through the following Autumn the Rimfire was the third largest forest fire ever recorded in California [Music] but fire is not always a tragedy after a ground forest fire the burnt and blackened landscape is in fact covered in Mineral and nutrient-rich Ash some plants actually need fire to reprod produce the seeds of the giant seoa in particular require heat to [Music] germinate and older giant seoa have thick fire resistant bark they may survive hundreds of fires in their long lives the white woodpecker seems not at all dismayed that his home is a little charred mother and father take turns feeding the chicks gaping mouths and removing what comes out the other end Yos is as resilient as it is beautiful it will survive many a fleeting fire in the future it's Granite cauldron impervious and [Music] ageless by September it's time for the yellow bellied marmots to prepare for the big sleep since they'll be underground for 8 months they're diligent about making sure their Burrows will be extra comfy some are more diligent than others marmots love to sunbathe they had better make hay while the sun [Music] shines because Autumn has come to Y The Mists and the slanting light tell of leaner times to come the social and affectionate k yotes make the most of their time in the sun usually they live in tight-knit nuclear families with the adults doting on the [Music] youngsters and they're very vocal canines keeping up a con constant chatter of Yips Yelps whines and howls their Latin name actually means Barking [Music] [Music] Dog coyotes are often mistaken for wolves but wolves have long been extinct in California and never really took up residence in yosee so the coyotes are top dog [Music] here for now they hunt alone going after little rodents though they may team up to bring down bigger prey even young or injured deer the colors are starting to turn and the mule deer grow Restless the rut is on the [Music] horizon hormones make everyone a little boisterous male and female young and old [Music] sh the mother Bobcat now Strays further and further from her kittens who are becoming fairly self-sufficient though still close Pals the kittens don't know it yet but their Carefree days are numbered fall is coming and they're in for a rude surprise these bobcat kittens need to become self-sufficient little killers the cruel realities of late Autumn will soon arrive and mother is growing less attentive to their needs and more concerned with her own [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] mother will leave them more and more often to fend for themselves now the heights of Yos are capped with white and damp bone chilling Mist rolls through the valleys turning to [Music] snow though all of yosity has been shaped and Polished by glaciers the great flows of ice have long retreated to the very highest tips of the park on Mount a and mount McLure at around 13,000 [Music] ft for coyotes winter is the season when Love Is in the Air coyotes are monogamous so finding the right chemistry is vital the male patiently Trails after the female until she's ready and she's not exactly koi a twitch of the tail to one side and he's got his answer coyote pregnancies last 2 months and at the end of winter she'll give birth to six or so pups and he'll be a doting Family Man our Bobcat mother on the other hand gets to spend more time on her own and seems to be making the most of her Newfound [Music] Freedom she may wait for a few more months to mate have her way with several males and raise her kittens alone in the glories of [Music] spring in the shadow of the living Giants of the [Music] park where the Alchemy of rock and water has carved the matchless immense cradle of yosee national [Music] park with a fire at its heart Yellowstone is our first national park a primal Fortress that saved the disappearing West thanks to its Fierce wonders more than 3 million visitors a year come to Marvel but only a handful Venture past the Lookouts over that Ridge and into the next Valley is where the real drama happens old battles new life and unexpected courage if you think you know Yellowstone think again you have never experienced it like this [Music] in the shadow of the Rockies an ancient drama is about to play out one that nearly disappeared from the face of the Earth Yellowstone's top predator against the largest mle in North [Music] America once only 23 bison remained here and not a single wolf but now these Eternal enemies face off again as they did long before any human set foot here Yellowstone has turned back time it's late winter in America's first national park and the [Music] worlds Yellowstone is a Melting Pot of savage Beauty created by one of the biggest explosions ever to rock the earth and its violent heart still smolders blowing off steam through some 300 geysers more than anywhere else in the world the most famous geyser Old Faithful hurls hot water 150 ft into the air venting its rage every 60 to 90 minutes that's how long it takes to build up enough pressure to turn groundwater into explosive steam some bison take refuge in the stinking sulfurous heat a Last Haven for the weak and weary but elsewhere in the park they must face the brutal winter head on mothers to be struggle terribly trying to find enough food for two in the Relentless snow the calf she carries is a reminder of a miraculous comeback if she can hold on through Yellowstone's notoriously harsh winter [Music] but spring is late this year temperatures hover well below freezing and the snow pack does not give way the grazing animals must struggle mightily in search of a few Blades of grass many elk grow weak as winter drags on but someone else grows strong the wolf thrives in Winter highly intelligent and social creatures they often show deep affection for one another their intense Family Ties also make them a deadly Hunting Unit once completely exterminated from the park gry wolves were reintroduced in 1995 and have become a vital player in the park ecosystem eagerly chasing a big bow elk the wolf is in its element in Yellowstone [Music] but this bull didn't earn his rack by being anyone's fool he finds refuge in The Frigid Lamar River where the Wolves cannot follow and aims his impressive rack at [Music] them but another dinner awaits as the rest of the pack [Music] announces they've taken a weakened bison during the night and there's more than enough to go around with such a large pack to feed they need to hunt successfully nearly every day [Music] but the winter itself is far more deadly than wolves one out of 10 bison will die before the season is done for our mother to be it is a particularly hard time the scarcity of food means many are starving with weary massive heads they plow through 4-foot drifts in search of anything edible they are the last truly wild bison in the United States some 30 million of them once blanketed the American planes it could take 6 days for a single herd to pass you by but by 1900 only a heartbreaking two dozen clung to life in the center of the park the last refugees of a century of persecution protected in 1902 they've slowly rebounded to about 5,000 today but in a terrible winter their numbers could crash with the Bison carcass picked clean the Lamar Wolfpack spectacular alpha female is on the lookout for more meat and an elk calf has strayed from its herd [Music] with the power and cunning born of long experience she's like a heat seeking missile [Music] this is a slippery [Music] slope the death of the elk calf means a reprieve for our pregnant bison but for how long in Winter the Alchemy of heat below and cold above makes Yellowstone look like a different planet even at 50° below there's magic in the air [Music] extreme subzero temperatures in a cloudless sky sometimes result in a fascinating [Music] phenomenon the formation of delicate ice crystals known as diamond dust [Music] some bison have devised a special strategy Hot Springs give off heat enabling grass to grow a hassle-free spa package at -20° f but for some animals the seasons are suspended here in Winter the most common inhabitants of the hot springs are thriving these idd flies found only at Yellowstone lay bright orange eggs by the millions in this steamy Nursery winter is in slow retreat in Yellowstone's own own Grand Canyon warmer temperatures unleash the Frozen lower Falls Twice the height of Niagara and someone else is being Unleashed too just out of hibernation a young bear can't resist the aroma a fresh carrying a second Grizzly has beaten him to it the carcass of yet another bison that didn't make it through the winter after spending more than four months in their dens they're eager to find some food Bears lose up to a third of their body weight during hibernation and they're ravenous something's got to give Grizzlies would rather intimidate than fight there's just too much risk of injury in bear on bare violence standing up to your full height is meant to impress [Music] oops the owner of the carcass decides to show him how it's done but when rituals fail violence is [Music] inevitable hungry bears are violent Bears the pair is closely matched and equally desperate for a post hibernation Feast a fight like this is a rare sight in Yellowstone [Music] with a final slap the newcomer tells his rival to shove off and claims his Grizzly cries spring is finally here in [Music] Earnest in The Valleys warmer days easily shrug off late snows in the Parks Northeast lies soda but a limestone Mound created by a hot spring a muddy condo complex of sorts is under construction American Cliff swallows are busy nesting the mud at the foot of the cone makes a perfect cement bison loved the mud of soda be too because it's rich with minerals minerals that the pregnant females crave soon The Valleys of Yellowstone will be full of babies our mother grows restless and nervous with good reason down the valley a pack of wolves has found a stillborn calf but it will only feed one or two of them so the rest have turned on the mother weak from her ordeal she is tough but vulnerable she makes a break for the heard a risky [Music] decision even when she reaches the herd the Wolves don't give up Bon are most vulnerable to attack from [Music] behind finally they Round Up creating a Shaggy impenetrable fortress on the slopes above our herd is missing someone the mother has slipped off into the brush to give birth this moving and intimate moment is rarely been seen in the National Park [Music] h [Music] [Music] immediately the little one starts squirming free from the amniotic sack he's one of about 700 bison calvs that will be born this [Music] year the mother lovingly cleans her calf urging him to his feet he'll need to be able to run with the herd in a matter of hours [Music] [Music] he's up on wobbly legs in minutes adorable and oblivious to the astounding struggle that lies ahead in the higher elevations where the snow still hangs on another Predator is staging a comeback it's the notoriously shy cougar one of only about 20 in the park returning to her El kill these big cats are so elusive even Park Rangers rarely spot them at one point they were virtually eliminated from Yellowstone The Raven should be careful about complaining cougars can leap 15 ft straight up she's not alone her 3-month old old kitten is still nursing but developing a taste for meat at the tender age of 6 [Music] weeks the Ravens a noisy irritant and it could alert rival predators to the [Music] kill but someone's late to dinner [Music] kittens will be kittens no matter how [Music] big outside the park cougars are still shot by those who think they're a threat to livestock but here the little family is safe off in the Pines a little red squirrel checks his food stashes now a neighbor decides to strut his stuff the rough Grouse lives up to its nickname thunder chicken this remarkable noise called drumming can be heard half a mile away the thrum of the bird's wings beating at up to 20 flaps a second is supposed to be irresistible to the ladies sometimes it just Ruffles the feathers of competing males it's enough to drive a hardworking squirrel crazy [Music] [Music] yellow Stones part of the Rockies used to be on the seaf floor The Clash of continents has driven them 8,000 ft into the [Music] air but what the Earth lifts water slices revealing the yellow Rock Canyon that gives the park its name the Yellowstone River the lifeblood of the park pours into the valleys the herd must move in search of better grazing and our calf is ready to join them just hours after his birth this 40 lb fella can keep up with his 1,000lb mom he'll follow mom anywhere even if it might be the death of him other creatures have not been so lucky wolves no longer hunt but scavenge at their Leisure not far away the pack feasts on still another Fallen bison but someone's gotten wind of their bouty a Grizzly mother and three big Cubs raising triplets in Yellowstone is quite the accomplishment even among Grizzlies who are notoriously good Mothers she's remarkable with so many mouths to feed she has little choice but to take on the pack just when it looks as though there's enough to go around someone else is on the scent a lone male this is bad news male Grizzlies sometimes kill Cubs [Music] time for him to back off a male bear a youngster is no match for a riled up mama bear these wolves are content to wait watch and amuse themselves till the Bears have had their fill Yellowstone is the only place in the US where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times their Relentless search for better grazing grounds means crossing rivers like the [Music] Lamar Crossings are no big deal for the grown-ups but a daunting business for our 7-Day old cat rushing snow melt makes the Lamar treacherous our little guy is understandably dubious but when mother makes her move he has no choice but to fall follow and almost immediately things start to go wrong the current is just too much his mother turns back trying to keep him safely Upstream of [Music] Earth but the water is too Swift and he is too young she realizes her mistake too late he's at the mercy of the river what happens next will defy belief a calf Swept Away by the Lamar should have no chance of survival but something remarkable has happened he is washed up onto a little gravel Island he's chilled and utterly spent and mother is nowhere in sight as the cold Yellowstone night falls all seems lost [Music] Daybreak reveals a wolf on a kill in the river but it's an elk not our bison calf somehow our little one has survived the night but he's still [Music] stranded any hope of rescue seems to be moving on with his herd even his mother seems to have given up [Applause] [Music] the instinct to stay with the herd is [Music] overwhelming and that's for a good reason predators are never far away such as [Music] coyotes and a lone black wolf [Music] but without his pack he gets no respect three gray coyotes have got his number and they tag team the Dark Wolf mercilessly even the Bison sense weakness in their mortal enemy his dignity in tatters the wolf slinks off and the coyotes joyfully rub his nose in it back down River Against All Odds the Bison calf is holding on but he seems out of options and just when things couldn't get any worse they do a strapping young wolf has spotted him this tiny Island offers No Escape but apparently our calf is no ordinary calf hopelessly outmatched with the courage of Innocence he's not going down without a fight and the inexperienced wolf flails [Music] and then a noise an impossible wonderful noise here comes the Cavalry but is it in time with an adult bison charging to the rescue our calf now turns on the wolf the calf seems to wonder could this really be his mother it sure is and and the Wolf can't believe his eyes famished the Plucky little fighter loses no time filling up on his mother's Rich milk and this wolf has been thoroughly buffaloed in Yellowstone Second Chances are hard to come [Music] by and it's good to be alive [Music] [Music] spring rushes Into Summer and the park shows off its colors summer is a truly glorious time in Yellowstone and a great time to be a riber otter or even better a pair of otter Brothers to see these guys in summer is a rare treat right now yummy Yellowstone cutthroat trout are fighting their way Upstream from Lakes to [Music] spawn otter love fish brother has his lunch the other can't quite reel his in this should be like fish in a barrel finally success back at the soda but condos insistent mouths gape at every door the cliff swallow parents frantically feed their insatiable Offspring who will fly the nest in just 3 weeks but sometimes mom and dad are so enthusiastic even these chicks can get a little ungrateful the days of summer pass all too quickly [Music] here yellow Stone's magnificent Landscapes are a study in contrasts this part of the Rockies is ancient about 75 million years [Music] old but the steaming Plains are constantly being reborn thanks to the super volcano simmering below here the guts of the planet are perilously close to the surface gurgling mud pots and ferals like the red spouter in the fountain paint pot give the beest hints of the power beneath but 640,000 years ago it blew up with a force of a thousand atomic bombs and the geysers remind us that it fully intends to blow up again some say it's overdue it's late summer our Cal's packing on pounds his red coat is turning brown there's even the tiniest hint of a hump growing on his back it's a Bittersweet time for [Music] some our three Grizzly Cubs have been driven off by their once attentive mother so she can M again she did her job well though they're fat and strong the lake provides relief from the Heat and adds some much needed greens to their diets they fill up on tasty aquatic plants [Music] water fights are good fun and gentle practice for settling scores later [Music] on the triplets will soon go their separate ways to face their first winter alone at the largest thermal feature in the park things are heating up the grand prismatic spring gets its Vivid colors from a rainbow of heat loving bacteria and the planes nearby are about to host a spectacle the Bulls are gathering soon the flats will reverberate with the Thunder of hooves and the crack of Mighty skulls the rut is about to begin the Bison rut is sheer pandemonium snorting and snuffling bellowing and belching means the air is thick with testosterone there's a good deal of competitive wallowing bathing in dust and rolling in their own urine to intimidate Rivals now for the dogged pursuit of the [Music] females each day brings more Bulls to the valley lured by the sents and sounds of procreation mating is a quick and unromantic business if it takes she'll carry the baby for 9 months through the merciless winter ahead Tangy hormones drift on the breeze the bull is already checking the next female he Savers her Readiness with a lip curl but there's trouble on the horizon a one ton living mountain of muscle and skull [Music] and he's ready to [Music] rumble the challenge must be [Music] answered hi noon in the Yellowstone [Music] Corral their massive heads and necks are biologically engineered to absorb enormous impacts [Music] [Music] now there's a new sheriff in town our calf a tough little Survivor is bound to take his place amongst the Bulls one day he's already shown enough courage to last a lifetime [Music] the Bison rut draws to its end in Early [Music] Autumn by late September the fall sun sets the Tetons blazing [Music] while the Moose fatten up for the winter the elk announced their own rut has [Music] [Applause] come then the place Falls silent the Bison enjoy a last few moments of Peace before the onslaught of [Music] winter now only the volcano below makes itself [Music] Hur a reminder of the engine that powers and protects this place [Music] and the Magnificent creatures we almost lost in America's oldest National Park Yellowstone [Music]