BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

26 SevenWorlds,OnePlanet BBCWildlifeDecember^2019

SEVEN WORLDS | ONE PLANET

Bear:

Chadden

Hunter/BBC;

ground

squ

rre

:Madd

eC

ose/BBC

Stud

os;

roadrunner:

Jo

Avery/BBC

NHU;

mu

et:

Phoebe

Ftz/BBC;

chubb:

Dan

eBeecham/BBC

1

2

1 A beachcombing

blackbearteaches

hercubtoleaveno

stoneunturned.

2 InSouthDakotaa

femaleprairiedog

watchesoverherpups.

3 A roadrunner

perchesona stump

togeta betterview

ofhisterritoryinthe

Sonoradesert.

3

amount of time you get to

spend with the animals,

especially if you get to

follow known individuals.

I had managed to find a

female bear with two small

cubs, so we spent about four

weeks following their daily

routine,” recalls Bertie.

“We filmed them mainly at

low tide each day, when they

a subspecies that is slightly larger
and darker than its mainland
relatives. The Seven Worlds North
America filming team visited the
island in search of a mother and her
cubs, and discovered that the family
regularly went beachcombing. Wildlife
cameraman and drone operator Bertie
Gregory was with the team.
“One of the best parts of filming
on these big landmark series is the

came out of the forest and began to

forage on the beach. At low water,

the sea retreats from the many

inlets along the coast, revealing vast

boulder fields.

Under the rocks is a veritable

smorgasbord ready to satisfy a hungry

bear. The mother would sniff amongst

the boulders until she smelled a crab,

then she’d flip over the rock and

grab the food before it nipped her

nose. The amazing thing was that

the boulders were very heavy, yet she

turned them over with just the deft

movement of her paw.

The cubs, which were

super cute, learned from

their mother, and while

we were there we saw how they

progressed from flipping over

pebbles to tackling quite large

stones. With all that weightlifting

from an early age, it’s no wonder

that adult bears are so strong!”

Streaming with life

Moving rocks about came to be

a bit of a theme in the North

America episode, with director

Sarah Whalley heading for the

rivers of the Southern Appalachians

to find a fish – the river chub – that