黃石國家公園第二集:Summer

[00:00.00] [00:08.00] [00:10.00]NARRATOR: For six months Yellowstone endures an unrelenting winter. [00:14.35] [00:18.88]An ice world of hunters. [00:20.91] [00:22.60]And hunted. [00:24.11] [00:27.44]But now footsteps on the slopes of a mountain [00:30.39] [00:31.36]herald a change in the season. [00:33.59] [00:43.12]The sun regains its strength. [00:45.50] [00:49.76]Water flows again. [00:51.47] [01:01.24]The race begins to recover winter's losses. [01:04.47] [01:05.64]To play. [01:06.86] [01:08.24]Learn. [01:09.43] [01:11.24]And breed. [01:12.71] [01:18.64]But the summer ahead will be fleeting [01:21.15] [01:21.24]and far from easy [01:22.95] [01:25.00]in this unpredictable wilderness. [01:28.19] [01:58.68]It's April. [02:00.27] [02:01.44]The land lies exhausted by winter. [02:04.19] [02:06.40]Everything is waiting for the return of the sun's warmth. [02:09.43] [02:22.44]The end of winter comes late [02:24.03] [02:24.12]to the mountainous northwest of the United States. [02:27.55] [02:29.28]And in particular, it lingers in Yellowstone. [02:32.79] [02:35.84]The heart of Yellowstone is a high, cold plateau [02:39.35] [02:39.44]8,000 feet up, surrounded by the spires of the Rocky Mountains. [02:44.19] [02:50.48]After five months sleeping in those mountains, [02:53.47] [02:53.56]a powerful presence returns. [02:55.71] [03:00.88]This female grizzly bear [03:03.07] [03:03.16]has awoken early to find food for her two-year-old cubs. [03:06.78] [03:09.24]But she may have brought her family here too early. [03:12.63] [03:17.76]The Tetons, [03:19.15] [03:20.16]on the extreme southern edge of the Yellowstone plateau. [03:23.63] [03:24.36]It's where the spring thaw normally begins. [03:27.43] [03:29.04]But this year it's come late. [03:31.55] [03:37.84]Deep snow is still a novelty for her cubs. [03:40.67] [03:41.48]But she is much more focused. [03:43.71] [03:51.72]Led by her nose, she risks her 300-pound bulk [03:55.34] [03:55.44]on the thin ice of a bend in the Snake River. [03:58.51] [04:04.44]It doesn't look promising [04:06.27] [04:06.36]but her cubs follow with only a little hesitation. [04:09.43] [04:14.04]With paws that can knock down an elk, [04:16.60] [04:16.68]she feels delicately in the water. [04:19.27] [04:25.44]A fish frozen beneath the ice by this cold winter. [04:29.99] [04:39.76]One fish won't feed the family [04:42.22] [04:42.32]but she knows there are almost certainly more. [04:45.47] [04:48.12]The cubs must learn to find them. [04:50.68] [05:28.84]A little success for one of the cubs. [05:31.47] [05:40.24]This mother bear's experience [05:41.79] [05:41.88]gives her family a good chance of survival until spring arrives. [05:45.79] [05:50.80]They will return again and again as the thaw releases more fish. [05:55.19] [06:00.96]On the warmer plains and valleys that surround the plateau [06:04.58] [06:04.68]grazers are on the move. [06:06.79] [06:07.48]They left the high country to avoid the worst of the winter, [06:10.79] [06:10.88]and now begin the long journey towards the heart of Yellowstone [06:14.66] [06:14.76]in time for summer. [06:16.51] [06:18.48]These elk are led by experienced adults [06:21.59] [06:21.68]who have made this trip many times before. [06:24.55] [06:32.36]They are followed on their migration by the most ancient of American grazers. [06:36.59] [06:37.96]Pronghorn. [06:39.43] [06:41.52]Though predators may follow, none can outpace them. [06:45.35] [06:45.44]Over distance, these are the fastest animals in the world, [06:49.31] [06:49.40]taking a long migration in their stride. [06:52.31] [07:04.60]Migrating elk and pronghorn must follow the advancing thaw. [07:08.47] [07:10.92]But higher up in the valleys one animal is well ahead of them. [07:14.75] [07:17.36]Bison are adapted for cold. [07:19.59] [07:22.32]These herds need to be in Yellowstone early [07:24.95] [07:25.04]to have time to bring up their young in the short summer ahead. [07:28.95] [07:31.36]Calves born during the journey will be tested. [07:34.98] [08:01.36]Clues to why the herds are drawn to the Yellowstone plateau [08:04.71] [08:04.80]lie in its deep and unique history. [08:07.36] [08:10.32]This plateau is the cratered bowl of a huge sleeping volcano [08:14.23] [08:14.76]and molten rock below the surface still pushes the land up [08:18.75] [08:18.84]to the cold of high altitude. [08:20.71] [08:27.56]But it has not been the only force to shape the land. [08:30.91] [08:33.24]Millennia ago the volcano was covered by an ice sheet [08:36.99] [08:37.08]thousands of feet deep. [08:39.11] [08:39.76]The few glaciers that border Yellowstone are an echo of a time [08:43.71] [08:43.80]when ice scoured and smoothed the entire plateau. [08:47.75] [08:52.28]When these great ice sheets retreated, [08:54.79] [08:54.88]they left pulverised rocks in their wake, [08:57.63] [08:57.72]the foundation for fertile soil [09:00.10] [09:00.20]and some of the richest natural grasslands in America. [09:04.03] [09:08.52]But in May this year, [09:11.15] [09:11.24]in the heart of Yellowstone, that grass is still beneath thick snow. [09:15.63] [09:24.32]Something this ground squirrel was clearly not expecting. [09:28.07] [09:33.60]But as the sun's strength returns, [09:35.95] [09:36.04]spring bulbs start to push through the late snow. [09:38.95] [09:40.08]At last a sign that winter is losing its grip. [09:43.27] [09:51.36]Bluebirds, too delicate to survive deep winter here, [09:55.75] [09:55.84]now return to take advantage of the first hatch of stoneflies [09:59.31] [09:59.40]from a thawing river. [10:01.31] [10:20.16]As six months of snow and ice begins to melt, [10:23.94] [10:24.04]Yellowstone starts to come back to life. [10:26.95] [10:37.72]Cascading snowmelt swells the streams and rivers. [10:41.23] [10:50.72]It's a hazard that the migrating herds must cross. [10:54.03] [10:58.56]Young are barely up to the task. [11:01.51] [11:31.28]The Yellowstone River has increased its flow tenfold. [11:35.67] [12:23.00]In less than two weeks [12:25.11] [12:25.20]the thaw has brought a remarkable change to the heart of Yellowstone. [12:29.11] [12:40.92]As the migrating herds arrive in the plateau's river valleys, [12:45.03] [12:46.20]the spring is here. [12:48.15] [13:13.32]This is why they have made the journey. [13:15.83] [13:16.76]After the famine of winter, [13:18.31] [13:20.80]food is everywhere. [13:22.35] [13:26.12]Birds have flown in from as far away as the Arctic and subtropics. [13:30.43] [13:31.20]Canada geese join flocks of white pelicans to breed here. [13:35.11] [13:52.72]A snow-covered wasteland is transformed [13:55.83] [13:55.96]to an American Serengeti. [13:58.23] [14:11.88]But it's a landscape like no other. [14:15.15] [14:16.16]Geysers made Yellowstone famous. [14:18.67] [14:33.32]Yellowstone sits above the molten core of a volcano. [14:36.99] [14:37.84]Underground water becomes superheated and erupts into the air. [14:41.83] [14:43.40]Strangely, geysers and hot springs can creep around the landscape. [14:47.91] [14:49.00]The curious shapes of Grotto Geyser are actually trees, [14:52.95] [14:53.04]entombed and petrified by minerals dissolved in the water. [14:57.19] [15:00.44]Hot water scorches and drowns the roots of trees encroaching on the valleys. [15:05.11] [15:09.52]It can keep the forests in check and the rich pastures open. [15:14.15] [15:15.48]Those pastures now produce the new grass needed to make rich milk [15:20.03] [15:20.12]and feed a bison baby boom. [15:22.87] [15:26.96]The few calves born on the migration [15:29.39] [15:29.48]are now joined by hundreds of new youngsters. [15:31.91] [15:36.00]The predators have been waiting for this. [15:38.79] [15:41.08]Coyotes have a voracious reputation here, [15:44.11] [15:44.20]but on its own this one is certainly no match for a healthy bison and her calf. [15:49.19] [15:57.92]Pronghorn give birth to twins, [16:00.27] [16:01.12]each carefully cleaned to hide their smell from predators. [16:04.79] [16:14.92]While they are with her they are relatively safe [16:18.03] [16:18.52]and for now the coyote is content with the afterbirth. [16:22.27] [16:24.44]But the mother pronghorn must leave her calves alone while she grazes [16:28.63] [16:28.72]and with legs as wobbly as stilts, [16:31.10] [16:31.20]their best defence is to lie low. [16:33.76] [16:44.96]She has young of her own to worry about, a demanding litter of nine, [16:49.27] [16:49.36]whose arrival has been carefully timed to coincide with an abundance of food. [16:53.39] [17:08.12]But they are not top dog here. [17:10.47] [17:13.40]Yellowstone's top predator, the wolf, [17:16.43] [17:16.52]dominated during the winter but is far less visible in summer. [17:20.75] [17:22.68]They prefer to stay close to well-hidden dens [17:25.39] [17:25.48]to protect their pups from rival packs. [17:28.23] [17:35.56]This pack seem prepared to allow their young a brief foray [17:38.83] [17:38.92]to experience the world beyond their den. [17:41.83] [17:43.00]Even in Yellowstone [17:44.31] [17:44.40]it is extremely rare to see wolf pups like this. [17:47.75] [18:11.12]Before long they are summoned back into the forest by the pack. [18:15.03] [18:16.08]It will be winter before they are regularly seen again. [18:19.62] [18:27.04]As May turns to June, [18:29.11] [18:29.96]Yellowstone sees its nursery season. [18:32.63] [19:08.40]By early June summer is finally here. [19:11.79] [19:17.80]In the flower meadows [19:19.35] [19:19.44]plants turn sunlight into the sugar of nectar, [19:22.75] [19:22.84]and that's what Yellowstone's smallest migrating bird has been waiting for. [19:26.79] [19:30.36]The Calliope hummingbird has made the journey all the way from Mexico. [19:35.03] [19:43.64]He'll make this flower patch his own [19:46.31] [19:47.48]and he'll fight to defend it. [19:49.27] [19:50.32]He'll even take on a far larger Rufous hummingbird. [19:54.07] [20:12.40]But his high-octane lifestyle critically depends on the summer sun, [20:16.83] [20:18.16]and in Yellowstone that's never guaranteed. [20:21.31] [20:23.44]In the mountains surrounding the plateau summer has not yet arrived. [20:28.11] [20:29.28]At this altitude it is still bitterly cold. [20:32.43] [20:35.52]These mountains barricade Yellowstone in a ring of ice. [20:39.11] [20:42.44]And if the sun is swallowed by cloud, [20:45.27] [20:45.36]the cold can drive down from the mountains [20:48.39] [20:48.48]bringing with it a punishing echo of winter. [20:51.95] [20:57.56]It can snow in any month in Yellowstone. [21:01.07] [21:23.60]The warm nursery meadows of a few days before [21:26.75] [21:26.84]are now buried by a June blizzard. [21:29.40] [21:41.16]A curtain of snow dulls senses. [21:43.72] [21:44.84]This mother grizzly bear must now be especially careful. [21:48.35] [21:54.08]A male grizzly will often kill cubs if he finds them. [21:57.59] [22:02.60]And though she would rather sit out the storm, she must move. [22:06.43] [22:15.76]Panicky cubs could easily be lost in a blizzard. [22:19.07] [22:40.20]As soon as she feels it is safe, [22:42.66] [22:42.76]she settles to suckle and reassure them. [22:45.95] [23:03.44]Bison can shrug off this sudden change in the weather. [23:06.95] [23:10.00]They are, after all, built to survive a Yellowstone winter. [23:13.83] [23:17.80]But this tiny hummingbird is more vulnerable. [23:20.83] [23:24.16]Flowers damaged by snow will die [23:26.83] [23:26.92]and the nectar the hummingbird needs goes with them. [23:30.11] [23:33.60]Hummingbirds must be resourceful to survive. [23:36.47] [23:46.00]Bark wells dug by a sapsucker, a type of woodpecker, [23:50.39] [23:50.48]quickly fill with sugar-rich sap as soon as the warm weather returns. [23:54.79] [24:00.36]A little pilfering provides this hummingbird with the energy it needs [24:04.71] [24:04.80]until the new flower buds open. [24:07.07] [24:14.20]Summer moves quickly. [24:16.07] [24:16.68]By late June the blizzards of a few weeks before seem a distant memory. [24:21.43] [24:34.60]At last the summer is well-enough established [24:37.19] [24:37.28]for this hummingbird to take the plunge and raise a brood. [24:40.95] [25:04.32]The living is easy. [25:06.91] [25:13.12]But it won't last long. [25:15.07] [25:18.96]At this altitude the air is so dry [25:21.71] [25:21.80]that rain evaporates before it even hits the ground. [25:25.27] [25:25.80]The water that flows off the plateau is no longer being replaced. [25:29.87] [25:33.88]Already there is drought in forests beyond the meadows. [25:37.58] [25:42.68]Yellowstone has vast ancient lava fields. [25:45.59] [25:46.20]This porous volcanic rock holds onto very little water. [25:50.03] [25:54.72]It is dominated by lodgepole pine, [25:57.31] [25:57.40]a tree that can cope with the arid conditions. [26:00.23] [26:06.60]The forest may be parched, [26:08.67] [26:08.76]but there is still water here in lakes formed by ancient glaciers. [26:13.07] [26:25.40]A visiting male otter woos a female on the lake's shore. [26:30.11] [26:37.52]But she seems a little distracted. [26:39.98] [26:46.12]Her two pups are nearby. [26:48.35] [26:49.84]They're about 10 weeks old [26:51.55] [26:51.64]and the time is right to lead them from the holt. [26:54.83] [27:01.88]Males are not above stealing food from cubs, [27:05.23] [27:05.32]so she makes it very clear that he is not going to be joining them. [27:09.55] [27:29.80]This female grew up on the lake, [27:32.47] [27:32.56]so she knows where to take the cubs for a very special trip. [27:36.39] [27:47.52]Yellowstone cutthroat trout, [27:49.59] [27:49.68]amassing in the mouth of a stream that feeds the lake. [27:53.38] [27:53.48]They're preparing for their annual spawning. [27:56.51] [28:02.80]But the trout must wait. [28:04.59] [28:04.68]The stream is still running fast, [28:07.06] [28:07.16]too turbulent to lay their eggs. [28:09.62] [28:13.76]It's a nervous time for them, and for good reason. [28:17.30] [28:28.52]This osprey has a brood to feed and will be back. [28:32.03] [28:49.40]Now the otters are here, too. [28:51.75] [28:55.24]She chooses her moment to lead the pups upstream. [28:58.43] [29:05.00]Then leaves them to watch [29:06.99] [29:07.08]and gives them a lesson in hunting. [29:09.64] [29:35.56]A large trout like this full of eggs is a trophy catch. [29:39.55] [29:57.24]She chews its tail first to make sure the fish can't get away. [30:01.11] [30:05.76]While the pups are still demanding milk, [30:08.32] [30:08.40]the mother otter will often keep the whole fish for herself. [30:12.47] [30:12.56]Her pups are happy enough with caviar. [30:15.87] [30:29.76]As the flow becomes slow enough for the trout to lay eggs, [30:32.87] [30:32.96]there is a brief window of opportunity to spawn [30:35.83] [30:35.92]before the river gets too shallow to swim upstream. [30:39.27] [30:45.08]The female digs a trough with sinuous flicks of her body [30:48.95] [30:49.32]and the attending male fertilises the eggs as they are laid. [30:53.23] [31:01.40]Millions of new lives. [31:03.67] [31:14.16]It's now early July, [31:16.03] [31:17.16]and what looks like more snow [31:19.07] [31:19.16]is actually a blizzard of seeds and insects. [31:22.39] [31:23.56]There is more life in the park now than at any other time of the year. [31:27.83] [31:30.40]It's a turning point in the summer. [31:32.96] [31:36.60]Through the coming month the days will get hotter and drier. [31:41.07] [31:41.16]The plants will grow less vigorously [31:43.99] [31:44.08]and the pace of summer will slow. [31:47.15] [32:18.44]The meadows are not so welcoming now. [32:21.59] [32:21.68]The grass becomes less nourishing [32:23.31] [32:23.40]as it puts its energy into seeds and roots. [32:26.27] [32:27.80]Bison lose the last of their winter coats. [32:31.07] [32:31.92]In the heat, tempers fray. [32:35.15] [32:41.88]To escape soaring ground temperatures, [32:44.63] [32:44.72]cowbirds choose a bison's back as a cool place to feed [32:48.03] [32:48.12]and catch the breeze. [32:49.91] [32:57.40]Biting insects now become a draining nuisance. [33:01.47] [33:07.88]A grizzly bear escapes the heat and bugs [33:10.71] [33:10.80]in the cool waters of a lake. [33:13.07] [33:40.92]As the ground dries, [33:42.63] [33:42.72]bears find little food to eat out on the Yellowstone plateau. [33:46.63] [33:55.00]There is less to graze and digging roots is hard work, [33:58.59] [33:59.96]so they start to head to the cooler mountains beyond. [34:03.39] [34:28.44]In the mountains, [34:30.11] [34:30.20]glacier lilies that finished flowering a month before on the plateau [34:34.19] [34:34.28]are only just coming into bloom. [34:36.71] [34:42.08]Up here, where spring has only just arrived, [34:45.47] [34:45.56]bears can find food again. [34:47.94] [35:01.04]As the thaw reaches up into the mountains, [35:03.79] [35:03.88]a part of Yellowstone that few ever see is briefly revealed. [35:07.83] [35:25.36]From its first day above the snow, [35:27.55] [35:28.20]this pika is obsessed by food. [35:30.76] [35:34.84]It's in a frantic race to restock its winter larder [35:38.07] [35:38.16]before the snow closes in again. [35:40.62] [35:46.84]They're a part of a community of small mammals [35:49.11] [35:49.20]which live life on the edge up here. [35:51.58] [36:01.36]Carefully chosen plants are harvested and dried in haystacks [36:05.95] [36:06.04]before being stored below ground. [36:08.60] [36:11.68]This larder must be over 50 times the pika's bodyweight [36:15.15] [36:15.24]to get it through winter. [36:17.39] [36:22.24]The summer is so short up here [36:24.19] [36:24.28]that few animals can permanently live any higher. [36:27.51] [36:30.80]But higher is exactly where the bears are heading, [36:34.42] [36:34.52]above the tree line [36:36.07] [36:36.16]towards the barren rocks of the peaks beyond. [36:39.15] [36:42.76]It seems an unlikely journey for an animal led by its stomach. [36:46.67] [36:52.28]Why they do this will only become apparent [36:54.63] [36:54.72]as the summer draws to its close. [36:57.23] [37:03.64]Meanwhile, 2,000 feet below them on the Yellowstone plateau [37:08.39] [37:08.48]the grasslands are facing drought. [37:11.99] [37:26.72]Bison calves are more independent of their mothers. [37:30.11] [37:34.40]The adults' focus is now set on a ruthless competition to mate. [37:39.34] [37:42.08]A male bids to enter a herd with females in season. [37:46.03] [37:49.92]He uses dust to accentuate all his size and power. [37:54.07] [38:02.28]Another male already established in the herd [38:05.43] [38:05.52]answers the display. [38:07.39] [38:08.64](GRUNTING) [38:10.71] [38:10.80]And waits. [38:12.23] [38:19.44]The newcomer responds by scent marking and moving even closer. [38:24.03] [38:39.12]This challenge cannot be tolerated. [38:41.68] [39:20.12]The resident male has won. [39:22.42] [39:23.20]Having seen off his rival, [39:25.15] [39:25.24]next summer's calves will likely be his. [39:28.03] [39:34.16]Victory in the dust of high summer. [39:37.03] [39:38.72]But now there is a larger challenge to the whole of Yellowstone. [39:43.11] [39:48.56]These clouds don't signal rain. [39:51.47] [39:55.72]They are vast smoke plumes. [39:57.99] [39:58.48]Yellowstone is burning. [40:00.67] [40:04.12]Throughout the summer, [40:05.15] [40:05.24]the dry lodgepole pines have become like a tinder box [40:08.63] [40:08.72]and lightning has struck the match. [40:11.51] [40:40.08]The worst wild fires will burn for weeks. [40:43.03] [40:52.76]In 1988, a third of Yellowstone burnt in a single summer. [40:57.59] [41:05.48]Devastation. [41:06.91] [41:16.60]Animals that depend on these forests will starve this winter. [41:20.59] [41:27.84]But Yellowstone itself has a longer perspective. [41:31.11] [41:33.48]Ashes fertilise the soil and fire opens it up to sunlight. [41:38.47] [41:52.68]As the forests regenerate, [41:54.79] [41:54.88]new life finds opportunity. [41:57.15] [42:08.76]In August, fledgling hummingbirds gorge in fields of fireweed [42:13.27] [42:13.36]that have risen from the forest's ashes. [42:16.27] [42:23.68]For them the summer is already nearly over. [42:26.67] [42:29.76]They must chase the sun south before winter returns. [42:33.51] [42:38.20]But just as the first of Yellowstone's new generation are preparing to leave, [42:42.67] [42:44.32]its last visitors are arriving. [42:46.78] [42:51.12]Night after night, [42:53.19] [42:53.28]army cutworm moths have been escaping the heat of a distant prairie. [42:57.75] [42:59.16]They have been flying in on favourable winds, [43:02.27] [43:03.00]hiding away in rock crevices in the mountains. [43:06.15] [43:16.44]This is why the grizzly bears climb to the barren peaks. [43:19.98] [43:21.12]Two miles up they begin to search for the moths. [43:24.82] [43:41.68]It's the end of summer [43:43.35] [43:43.44]and the last snow of winter holds on only here. [43:47.03] [43:48.08]It offers a few refreshing mouthfuls for travel-weary cubs. [43:51.86] [44:05.36]Many of these bears learnt about this site from their mothers [44:08.63] [44:08.72]as a part of local bear tradition. [44:11.18] [44:12.40]The family sets to work finding moths, digging into the loose rock. [44:16.79] [44:30.48]Though each moth is very small, [44:32.91] [44:33.04]a bear that makes a successful strike [44:35.34] [44:35.44]can harvest up to 40,000 in a single day. [44:38.71] [44:38.80]That's 20,000 calories and vital weight gained for winter. [44:43.43] [44:51.20]Having spent all summer avoiding males, [44:54.39] [44:54.48]the mother now finds one much too close for comfort. [44:57.99] [44:59.68]Perhaps he's seeking a mate, but he is unwelcome. [45:03.35] [45:06.12]Leaving her cubs she confronts the male head on. [45:09.39] [45:39.56]As she approaches to see him off again [45:42.12] [45:42.20]she realises she has been injured. [45:44.63] [46:05.08]A damaged jaw would be a disaster for her and her family. [46:09.71] [46:12.36]Clearly in pain, [46:14.43] [46:14.52]she leads the anxious cubs to high ground away from the male. [46:18.51] [46:24.76]She nurses to calm and reassure them. [46:27.71] [46:47.12]The injury does not seem serious, [46:49.39] [46:49.48]but she decides to lead her family back down from the mountain. [46:53.43] [46:56.20]This will be the last time these cubs feed here as a family. [47:00.07] [47:00.16]By next year they will be independent, [47:02.83] [47:03.36]ready to face their world alone. [47:05.79] [47:13.20]Sun has briefly brought warmth to Yellowstone, [47:16.79] [47:16.88]long enough to fuel the raising of new generations. [47:20.58] [47:38.76]But just as summer reveals the full extent of Yellowstone's diversity, [47:43.07] [47:44.16]a curtain of winter ice is set to descend again. [47:47.51] [47:51.84]The days are getting shorter, [47:54.07] [47:54.44]the sun losing its power. [47:57.11] [47:57.96]Now there are just a few short weeks to prepare for winter. [48:02.31] [48:03.36]One final flourish of life [48:05.74] [48:05.84]in Yellowstone's briefest but most glorious season. [48:09.91] [48:13.16]Autumn. [48:14.51] [48:24.68]Bringing Yellowstone's unique natural beauty to the screen [48:28.27] [48:28.36]would have been impossible without the tireless help of the local experts [48:32.35] [48:32.44]that know it like the back of their hand. [48:35.19] [48:35.28]Each has their own story to tell. [48:37.66] [48:50.88]Dancing on the surface of Yellowstone's super volcano [48:53.63] [48:53.72]are more than two thirds of the world's geysers. [48:56.91] [48:58.56]They are what made Yellowstone famous in the first place, [49:02.15] [49:02.24]so for the Yellowstone series they had to be filmed. [49:05.67] [49:07.56]But the problem is they can be fickle, [49:10.15] [49:10.24]erupting in their own time. [49:12.43] [49:14.84]Luckily there is a group of dedicated people who spend their time [49:18.11] [49:18.20]trying to predict the unpredictable. [49:20.79] [49:22.48]They are the geyser gazers. [49:24.59] [49:24.68]WOMAN ON RADIO: The radio's on, [49:26.87] [49:26.96]we're about nine minutes into the Beehive Indicator. [49:29.19] [49:29.28]MAN ON RADIO: Rocket major 943. [49:31.35] [49:31.44]My name is Mary Beth Schwarz and I'm a geyser gazer. [49:34.55] [49:34.64]I've been watching geysers for about 4 7 years. [49:37.67] [49:37.96]It's a whole bunch of different people. [49:40.71] [49:40.80]I don't want to use the word ''weird'' but it might fit. [49:44.23] [49:44.32]I spend a lot of my time hiking out to some place that's not too crowded [49:48.31] [49:48.84]and sit down and wait for water to boil. [49:51.67] [49:52.20]MAN: I wasn't really aware of the geyser gazers till about eight years ago. [49:56.83] [49:56.92]What my brother said is I fell into bad company! [49:59.71] [50:00.36]I consider it really, very, really good company [50:03.55] [50:04.08]and I discovered that there were levels of understanding of geysers [50:08.67] [50:08.76]that I had never appreciated at all. [50:11.75] [50:11.92]WOMAN: Each geyser has its own personality. [50:14.11] [50:14.24]Some of them are playful, some of them are forceful, some of them thump. [50:18.59] [50:18.68]You get good splashing noises out of others. [50:21.67] [50:21.76]NARRATOR: For the geyser gazers, these are much more than just [50:24.11] [50:24.20]plumes of hot water squirting from the ground. [50:27.03] [50:27.84]Each geyser not only has its own personality but even its own name. [50:32.03] [50:32.20]MAN: I like to see Beehive, I like to see Grand, maybe a Riverside. [50:37.95] [50:38.16]Lion erupts to 60, 70 feet [50:41.75] [50:41.84]and you get a roar before it erupts. [50:46.19] [50:46.28](MAKING ROARING SOUND) [50:49.15] [50:54.08]NARRATOR: Geyser gazing is not just an obsession with geysers. [50:57.59] [50:57.68]It does have a practical purpose. [50:59.71] [50:59.80]WOMAN: Two-nine. [51:01.19] [51:02.08](VOICE ON RADIO RESPONDING) [51:04.46] [51:04.56]NARRATOR: The geyser gazers have a network [51:06.23] [51:06.32]all over Yellowstone connected by radio [51:08.99] [51:09.08]and they send all of the eruption times straight to the park's visitor centre. [51:13.79] [51:14.16]This way there is a permanent record of geyser activity [51:17.39] [51:17.48]and thousands of people can also [51:18.99] [51:19.08]experience the thrill of watching geysers. [51:21.35] [51:21.44]I'll be right with you. [51:23.15] [51:25.76]NARRATOR: The geyser gazers recognise [51:27.51] [51:27.60]that each geyser has its own idiosyncratic behaviour, [51:31.03] [51:31.36]and that helps them predict when it will erupt. [51:34.39] [51:40.64]The Castle has not erupted yet, no Castle yet. [51:44.31] [51:46.00]-MAN ON RADIO: Thank you very much! -We're watching it. [51:49.15] [51:49.24]Intently. [51:50.83] [51:50.92]It's not even teasing us right now. [51:52.95] [51:53.04]Well, that's good though, you want it to be very quiet [51:55.39] [51:55.48]and it'll maybe do a few practice splashes and then it's gonna erupt. [51:59.59] [52:08.24](ChEERING) [52:09.59] [52:13.56](LAUGhING) [52:15.27] [52:15.92]-Castle! -Castle at 0955. [52:19.11] [52:20.68]Well, you were right, Mary Beth. [52:22.11] [52:22.20]-Yes, yes. -Quiet just before. [52:24.35] [52:24.44]Supposed to be very quiet then it went. [52:26.95] [52:27.04]It's how it's supposed to do. [52:28.39] [52:30.68]Now let's hope it's a major, that's the next landmark here. [52:35.54] [52:39.36]NARRATOR: But with geysers, nothing is certain. [52:42.75] [52:44.76](ALL EXCLAIMING) [52:46.87] [52:49.56]No, this is very bad. [52:51.47] [52:53.88]Come on, come on. [52:55.27] [52:55.36]-It looks like it has ended. -I think it's been too long. [52:58.87] [52:58.96]-It's only a couple of minutes. -Visitor centre, [53:01.95] [53:02.04]unless Castle can restart, it appears to be a minor. [53:06.07] [53:06.16]MAN ON RADIO: The visitor centre. We copy. A minor. [53:09.75] [53:09.84]Very minor. [53:11.06] [53:12.44]I will post the sign as unpredictable. [53:16.03] [53:20.40]That's the way it goes sometimes, it... Just can't count on geysers. [53:25.47] [53:26.60]NARRATOR: The water that fuels the geysers [53:28.31] [53:28.40]has to travel from up to five miles beneath the surface of the earth, [53:32.07] [53:32.16]so it's hardly surprising that sometimes eruptions are late, or never make it. [53:36.91] [53:38.80]All Mary Beth can do for now is predict that this geyser is unpredictable. [53:43.47] [53:44.32]The Castle is unpredictable [53:46.23] [53:46.32]because it's just had a minor eruption and we have to wait for a major. [53:50.79] [53:52.88]NARRATOR: The art of predicting geysers [53:54.67] [53:54.76]is about witnessing as many eruptions as you can. [53:57.99] [53:58.12]And the key to that is spending as much time around geysers as possible. [54:02.27] [54:02.36]Well, then there's the right one. [54:04.39] [54:04.48]NARRATOR: Dick Powell is a geyser gazer and retired geologist [54:07.95] [54:08.04]who has even found a whole way of life that allows him to spend [54:11.31] [54:11.40]all of his time near the geysers he loves. [54:14.19] [54:14.48]I'm one of three people trained to do thermal cleaning [54:17.59] [54:17.68]in Yellowstone National Park. [54:19.39] [54:19.72]Most of the stuff that we pick up with is what's called a grabber. [54:23.63] [54:25.04]We also have some more specialised equipment [54:27.47] [54:27.56]like extension poles with slotted ladles or spoons on them. [54:32.71] [54:44.36]NARRATOR: The ground around the geysers is not only very fragile [54:47.51] [54:47.60]but also very dangerous. [54:49.27] [54:49.40]That's why in most cases he can't step on it. [54:51.86] [54:52.92]Usually we pick up some hats at various features [54:56.91] [54:57.00]on windy days because people don't understand how windy it can be out here, [55:01.91] [55:02.00]and they don't have them secured. [55:03.83] [55:03.92]Obviously, this one didn't use his chin strap to save his hat. [55:08.43] [55:10.16]NARRATOR: Occasionally, he does go off the edge of the boardwalks [55:13.07] [55:13.16]to the boiling pools because rocks get thrown in. [55:16.27] [55:16.36]And that's a problem [55:17.58] [55:17.68]because rocks can block up the throats of the geysers and hot springs. [55:21.11] [55:22.20]There's some incidences known [55:24.35] [55:24.44]where rocks may have been a reason a geyser quit erupting. [55:28.19] [55:32.16]NARRATOR: As water in underground chambers [55:34.27] [55:34.36]is heated to over 500 degrees Fahrenheit, [55:37.07] [55:37.16]it explodes in a violent eruption of water and steam. [55:40.59] [55:40.84]As soon as the chamber is emptied, it is recharged [55:43.79] [55:43.88]and the process begins again. [55:46.18] [55:48.08]These cycles can be once an hour or once a decade, [55:51.51] [55:51.60]so you need to put in a lot of time to work them out. [55:54.83] [55:57.16]I have been out here sometimes for six hours or seven hours. [56:01.51] [56:02.40]Early in the summer when I started watching Sawmill, [56:05.11] [56:05.20]I was out for 10 hours in the sun. [56:08.63] [56:08.72]But it was doing interesting things and I hadn't studied it before so [56:12.50] [56:12.60]I just stayed out and kept drinking water and enjoying it. [56:17.11] [56:17.80]There's Turban. I'll write that down. [56:20.67] [56:21.32]When Grand goes off there are actually three geysers that erupt, [56:25.15] [56:25.28]Grand, Turban and Vent. [56:27.87] [56:28.40]Sometimes you get just one huge series of bursts out of Grand [56:33.55] [56:33.64]but just a couple days ago we got four bursts [56:38.39] [56:38.48]and people were standing up, jumping up and down cheering it was so exciting. [56:43.19] [56:44.28](PEOPLE ChEERING) [56:45.99] [56:50.88]MARY BETh: It's like watching fireworks all day long, every day. [56:54.19] [56:54.28]It's just that it's hot water going up in the air [56:56.43] [56:56.52]and sparkling in the sunlight. [56:58.27] [56:58.40](PEOPLE ChEERING) [56:59.79] [56:59.88]It's like handfuls of diamonds just flying through the sky. [57:03.79] [57:11.84]After a long wait this is really worthwhile. [57:15.11] [57:16.92]What's going off in the background is Grand Geyser. [57:20.07] [57:20.16]It's predictable with a four-hour window, [57:23.55] [57:23.64]that is two hours either side of the calculated time. [57:27.15] [57:29.64]MAN: Before I even knew about geyser gazers I'd go out and, [57:33.51] [57:33.60]''Four hours to wait for this? No, I'm not gonna do that. '' [57:36.75] [57:36.92]And then I fell in with the geyser gazers [57:40.70] [57:40.80]and people would say, ''You know, you really want to stay for this [57:43.31] [57:43.40]''because it's a really spectacular display.'' [57:46.71] [57:46.80]And I discovered, ''hey, yeah, they're right.'' [57:49.83] [57:50.88]MARY BETh: It's nice for humans to be able to go to a more natural area [57:55.35] [57:55.44]than where they live and work and get to see something extraordinary, [57:59.43] [57:59.52]something very different from their everyday life. [58:02.87] [58:05.28]I would like to see Grand erupt [58:08.23] [58:08.32]an infinite number of times. [58:10.95] [58:12.12]When I am gone, [58:14.68] [58:14.76]I will be back. [58:17.06] [58:17.16]If there is a beyond, I'll be back to watch the geysers. [58:21.67] [58:23.67]The End [59:09.67]

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