Yukon’s Wild Grizzlies (Wednesday, December 23rd at 8pm) takes an unforgettable journey to northern Canada, in a remote part of the country that is untouched by humans. The filmmakers gained exclusive access to restricted sites on the Fishing Branch River and Bear Cave Mountain.
Filmed over two years, Yukon’s Wild Grizzlies features sweeping vistas of open plains on the Arctic Circle and frigid rivers in vast mountain ranges. This is the story of a young female grizzly as she grows into adulthood. Against the backdrop of the vast Yukon tundra the lifecycle of Arctic changes from frigid Winter to Spring thaw with a brief sunny season in between. The cast of characters features hulking male grizzlies, mothers and cubs, and small groups of sub-adults socializing until they reach adulthood – when suddenly the salmon runs begins and it’s every bear for itself. Female bears must consume enough salmon during this brief time in order to sustain the cubs that will be born during the winter. Failure to do so can mean the death of the hibernating bears, the stakes are high and conflict common among salmon feeding bears.
