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Yellowstone: Realm of the Coyote

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It's a world forged
by fire and ice...

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a wonderland with jagged edges.

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Born of a cataclysmic eruption
nearly two million years ago

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it's been exploding ever since...

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...Yellowstone.

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This is the first national park

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on earth and perhaps
still the greatest.

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A primeval landscape of water,
light - and extraordinary life.

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Over the eons,

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Yellowstone has become
an American Serengeti

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home to one of the most diverse

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communities of large mammals
on the continent...

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...home to the great Wyoming herds.

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For thousands of years

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the call of one great predator
has rung out across the wilderness.

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The call of the coyote.

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It's not the largest or fiercest
of Yellowstone's creatures.

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But it may well be
the most cunning

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According to one proverb...

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"Next to God, the coyote is
the smartest person on earth."

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If it seems almost human,
that's because like us,

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the coyote is both cowardly
and brave - a schemer...

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...and an opportunist.

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Above all, the coyote is a survivor.

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It was present at the birth
of Yellowstone.

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It has outlasted the Ice Age,

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the Stone Age, famines, floods;
and still, it's going strong.

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Nearly 1,000 coyotes live
in Yellowstone.

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This could be the story
of almost any one.

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Let's call this one Cain
short for the coyote's Latin name,

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Canis latrans the "talking dog."

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Over the next four seasons,
he will face the greatest trials.

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This is the story of that year,
a year of perils...

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...a year of struggle...

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a year through the eyes
of Yellowstone's coyote.

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Wandering across the vast horizon,

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coyotes like Cain watch over
Yellowstone.

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At three years old,
Cain weighs 35 pounds

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big for most of North America,
but average in the park.

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Like most coyotes here,
Cain is a member of a pack

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not a leader, just an underling.

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Usually, he hunts on his own.

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But every day, he is pulled back
to his home, his family

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the group that sustains him...

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...his pack.

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A family of up to a dozen coyotes

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rules a territory of
a few square miles.

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The top dogs - the leaders...

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...are a single male...

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...and his lifelong mate.

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The rest are usually their offspring
a mob of siblings.

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Packs are an uneasy blend
of competition and cooperation,

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snarling and snuggling.

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But for all the seeming affection,

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when it comes to food,
there's always tension.

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The young are the second-class
citizens of coyote society.

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They must wait to eat...

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...until after their parents
have had their fill.

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Cain should know he'll also
have to wait his turn.

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But sometimes the temptation,
the hunger is too great.

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He needs to eat now.

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It won't happen without a fight.

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There's no welcome home here.

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Bared teeth and arched back
show Cain's aggression.

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But his tucked tail and other signs
tell the true story.

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He's scared.

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Now he'll have to learn
the hard way.

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As in most coyote fights,
no blood is shed.

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But the outcome is very real:
Cain will go hungry today.

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Despite the conflict,
Cain gathers with his pack

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his siblings, his rivals.

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Life is more secure in a group
than alone.

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Coyotes have more calls than any
other wild mammal of North America.

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This group howl means
they're allstill buddies.

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As coyotes rule the land
in Yellowstone,

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another animal dominates the water.

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It's the one creature that
seems to enjoy this brutal season.

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And it's having a blast,
an Arctic blast.

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For the otter,
winter is a special playtime.

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Any riverbank is an excuse
for a slide.

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From the hills to the valleys
otters create their own highways.

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For them, it's always rush hour.

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Zipping along at about
15 miles an hour,

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it's clear they've raised
commuting to a high art.

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With their insulating fur,

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otters are as cozy beneath the ice
as on top of it.

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And since open water can always
be found, even in winter...

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otters don't face starvation like
most of Yellowstone's creatures.

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Fish are abundant and sluggish
from the cold.

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But catching the fish is
the easy part.

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To eat it,
the otters have to surface.

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And that's exactly where
the competition is waiting.

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Cain's pack is on patrol.

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Coyotes are patient hunters

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with a talent for snatching
the prey of others.

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But the feisty otters are
no pushovers.

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Coyotes are most successful working
as a team.

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The pack will stake out several holes.

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But otters can usually find
an emergency exit.

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And when menaced, they can work
as a team too.

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Ever scheming, Cain sets his sights
on a new prize.

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But there's no honor among thieves.

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Cain's pack runs him down.

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The dominant male has claimed
the meal as his own.

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Once again, Cain is left frustrated.

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Life in a pack can sometimes
seem unfair.

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Winter for coyotes is breeding time.

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Junior members of the pack are

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supposed to spend this season
on the sidelines.

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But tentatively, gingerly,

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Cain begins to show an interest
in the top female.

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The male leader won't put
up with it.

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This is his mate - and his alone.

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He lays down the law.

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The ruling male has a dilemma.

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Should he stay to guard his mate?

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Should he head out after food?

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Hunger wins out.

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Or does it?

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He can't make up his mind.

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Cain sees an opportunity coming.

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The leader has turned up a feast.

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But Cain has turned up something
equally enticing.

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As an underling,

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Cain is supposed to help
raise the young, not sire them.

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Cain has violated the laws
of the pack,

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and now he's caught
in a compromising position.

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The leaders head off,

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but they're not through
with Cain yet.

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The pack's sentence, when it comes...

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...will be harsh.

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The battered Cain will face
the worst penalty: Expulsion.

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The top male leads the final charge.

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Cain's companions have cast him out.

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Now exiled and vulnerable,

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Cain will be forced to wander
the wilderness alone.

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For a lone coyote,
the odds are never good.

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Cain's chances of dying
this winter have just tripled.

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All of Yellowstone's best turf

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has been claimed by one pack
or another.

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And so the outcast must now
prowl the borderlands.

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Without a territory,
without partners,

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finding food will be
a greater struggle.

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In this winter's bleak landscape...

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...even the carcasses are picked
to the bone.

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Cain will have to take greater risks

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to get meals that might have
come easily to the pack.

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He is forced to go it alone against
creatures like the golden eagle.

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With a wingspan of nearly
seven feet,

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the eagle is a formidable opponent.

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And it's not frightened of
a single coyote like Cain.

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Cain's perils are, in fact,
just beginning.

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Lone coyotes are wanderers

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sometimes traveling 20 miles
in a single night

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and Cain will have to travel far...

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...to find food in a land
where he's not part of a pack.

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His best hope is under the snow.

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Rodents like the vole are
a coyote specialty.

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Enough of these appetizers
and Cain will have a full meal.

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Not that coyotes are finicky.

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They'll eat almost anything
from grasshoppers to cows.

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It's been said,

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"a coyote's favorite food is
anything he can chew."

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When it comes to hunting voles,

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the coyote is a skilled performer.

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But another wild dog is
a real virtuoso...

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...the fox.

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With its sharp ear,
the fox pinponts its prey.

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And when it strikes,
it strikes with style.

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Foxes fight with style too.

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It's a dance of dominance when
foxes gather at an elk carcass.

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Foxes, unlike coyotes,
don't live in packs.

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And encounters are usually testy.

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In the lower valleys,

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Cain is on the lookout for animals
in trouble.

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Once the buffalo roamed the West
in the millions.

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Then they were all but eradicated.

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In the bison's most desperate hour,

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Yellowstone sheltered the only
wild herd in the United States.

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Winter has always been hard on
these great beasts.

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But even in the lethal cold,

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one thing has always made
Yellowstone a haven...

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...the geysers

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A single geyser like Old Faithful

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can erupt with enough energy
to melt tons of ice.

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Hot springs, mud pots,
steam jets, and fumaroles

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these are the vents for
the earth's great boiling energy.

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Yellowstone has more geysers
than anywhere else in the world.

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In the depth of winter,

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when the subzero winds bite,

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the bison cluster around
these oases of warmth.

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Here, grass still grows,

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covered only by a thin layer

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of snow that the bison can
plow with their heads.

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But sometimes the snow hides ice
kept thin by the hot springs.

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Buffalo can weigh up to a ton.

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But their legs are
narrow and pointy.

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On thin ice,
that's a treacherous combination.

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Every step may be
a step toward disaster.

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In Yellowstone, the things that
give life can also claim it back.

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There's nothing the herd can do...

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...no lifeline the can throw.

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It will take the buffalo nearly
four hours to drown.

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Death is a long time coming
on the high plateau.

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Deep into the month of April,

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winter lashes the park
one last time.

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Yellowstone is chilled,
frozen under a great white cloud.

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Temperatures drop to 40 below.

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This is beyond cold.

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This is an assault
on all things living.

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If a coyote knows loneliness,,
this must be the loneliest time.

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00:26:42,567 --> 00:26:46,128
But a new season is on its way.

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With every passing day,

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huge cracks rend the ice and
shatter the crust of winter.

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Cain has made it through
a trying season.

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But now he must do more than
simply endure.

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He needs a mate, a pack,
a territory to call his own.

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00:27:32,584 --> 00:27:37,920
Sooner or later he must find these,
for without them,

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his life will be desolate and brief.

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With the coming of spring,
food is emerging everywhere.

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And Cain is on the prowl.

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As the snow retreats,
carcasses are revealed.

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Among them, the bison that drowned
in the winter.

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Freezing waters have preserved
the carcass, and with the thaw,

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it's reappeared just in time
to catch Cain's eye.

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The new season feeds
on the remains of the old.

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A bear emerges from hibernation.

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It's time for breakfast.

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Only this fast has been
four months long.

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And a solo coyote can figure
the odds.

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The grizzly settles down
to enjoy Cain's meal.

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As the thaw continues,

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white turns to gold,
and then to green...

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00:29:24,829 --> 00:29:28,890
...and the dance of spring goes on.

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With great urgent leaps,

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the cutthroat trout migrate up
the Yellowstone River.

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Many will end up as food
for predators along the banks.

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00:29:51,356 --> 00:29:55,690
Like the osprey
the magnificent fish hawk.

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In a land of hunters,

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00:30:06,304 --> 00:30:08,568
the osprey is one of the greatest

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with feet that grasp like pincers...

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the perfect tool for holding on
to a slippery fish.

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Every morning, the river

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brings a new feast to
the osprey's door.

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00:30:49,380 --> 00:30:53,373
And for Cain, for all those that
dwell in Yellowstone...

247
00:30:53,618 --> 00:30:55,176
...the first murmur of spring

248
00:30:55,420 --> 00:30:59,322
has now turned into
a full-throated roar.

249
00:31:23,114 --> 00:31:27,949
With so much food in abundance,
life is flourishing everywhere.

250
00:32:30,682 --> 00:32:34,174
Newborns have also appeared
at Cain's old pack.

251
00:32:37,755 --> 00:32:40,849
Two months of gestation
have led to this:

252
00:32:41,092 --> 00:32:43,925
Five new members of the pack,

253
00:32:44,162 --> 00:32:49,464
five potential partners,
five potential rivals.

254
00:33:06,484 --> 00:33:09,282
All around Cain,
families are springing up.

255
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:15,982
But he has no pack, no mate,
no young...

256
00:33:18,229 --> 00:33:22,689
His only companion: A badger.

257
00:33:23,534 --> 00:33:28,403
In fact, the partnership of
coyote and badger is legendary.

258
00:33:28,639 --> 00:33:31,608
Native Americans spoke of
an ancient bond between the two;

259
00:33:31,843 --> 00:33:34,539
they called them "cousins."

260
00:33:34,779 --> 00:33:39,216
What they are is something
like hunting partners.

261
00:33:39,450 --> 00:33:42,783
Cain's keen senses locate the prey.

262
00:33:43,721 --> 00:33:48,590
The badger - a master digger
flushes it from the earth.

263
00:33:57,368 --> 00:34:01,361
Above ground, the coyote keeps
watch for fleeing prey.

264
00:34:13,084 --> 00:34:16,576
Cain gets the meal this time.

265
00:34:22,260 --> 00:34:25,229
But his deeper hunger endures.

266
00:34:25,463 --> 00:34:28,091
He needs a mate.

267
00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:38,541
At Cain's old pack,
the two leaders raise their pups.

268
00:34:38,776 --> 00:34:40,334
But they have help:

269
00:34:40,578 --> 00:34:41,875
Other pack members pitch in

270
00:34:42,346 --> 00:34:45,042
to watch over the pups

271
00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:50,482
to teach them

272
00:34:57,728 --> 00:35:00,458
to protect them from threats...

273
00:35:05,736 --> 00:35:07,966
...like the grizzly.

274
00:35:12,810 --> 00:35:17,713
A half-ton beast with five-inch
claws is an unwelcome visitor.

275
00:35:26,924 --> 00:35:30,553
Led by the mother,
the pack uproots,

276
00:35:30,795 --> 00:35:32,695
moving the pups to a standby den

277
00:35:32,930 --> 00:35:35,956
they've prepared for just such
emergencies.

278
00:35:37,768 --> 00:35:41,204
But nature holds other threats
for the coyotes.

279
00:35:43,608 --> 00:35:48,875
Each year the park must face
a trial by fire.

280
00:35:51,582 --> 00:35:54,449
The great inferno of 1988 was
the most ferocious

281
00:35:54,685 --> 00:35:57,245
to scar the region in two centuries.

282
00:35:57,488 --> 00:36:02,687
But almost every year,
lightning sets Yellowstone aflame.

283
00:36:23,948 --> 00:36:28,317
In the aftermath,
Cain walks the smoldering earth.

284
00:36:41,365 --> 00:36:44,994
His quest for a mate has
led him far.

285
00:36:45,469 --> 00:36:49,132
But he still has many
difficult miles to go.

286
00:36:54,545 --> 00:36:57,105
Fire is not only
a destructive force.

287
00:36:57,348 --> 00:36:59,748
It also kindles new life.

288
00:36:59,917 --> 00:37:03,580
After a blaze,
the grasslands send up new shoots.

289
00:37:03,821 --> 00:37:06,051
As if in response to
the killing flames,

290
00:37:06,290 --> 00:37:08,850
everything comes to life again.

291
00:37:10,962 --> 00:37:14,454
Fire brings a second spring...

292
00:38:01,812 --> 00:38:04,440
It is a time of beginning for
the pups too.

293
00:38:04,682 --> 00:38:09,016
They have survived the blaze,
and are growing rapidly.

294
00:38:09,954 --> 00:38:13,685
Weaned in their second month,
they're too big for the den now.

295
00:38:13,924 --> 00:38:18,224
They've moved into a kind of
fort tucked away under a tree.

296
00:38:27,505 --> 00:38:29,905
This tug-of-war is just practice.

297
00:38:30,141 --> 00:38:35,374
Today, it's a feather
one day soon - it will be a bone.

298
00:38:37,882 --> 00:38:42,910
In the early hours of a new day,
a young pup sets out after a vole.

299
00:38:47,358 --> 00:38:49,758
But he can barely handle a bee!

300
00:38:57,301 --> 00:38:58,666
Success.

301
00:38:58,903 --> 00:39:04,967
It's the pup's first catch,
a first taste of his new life.

302
00:39:09,947 --> 00:39:13,474
The pups are becoming more assured.

303
00:39:19,957 --> 00:39:21,948
But it's one thing to hunt
on your own,

304
00:39:22,193 --> 00:39:23,990
another to work as a team.

305
00:39:24,228 --> 00:39:26,788
And that's what they're
setting out to do.

306
00:39:27,031 --> 00:39:30,489
Their target - a badger.

307
00:39:31,469 --> 00:39:35,872
The pups aren't old enough to know
they're supposed to be partners.

308
00:40:04,135 --> 00:40:06,501
They've still got a lot to learn.

309
00:40:06,737 --> 00:40:11,674
But the pups seem to feel pretty
good about themselves all the same.

310
00:40:27,491 --> 00:40:28,856
Year after year,

311
00:40:29,093 --> 00:40:34,326
the drama of Yellowstone's seasons
play out on a grand scale.

312
00:40:34,565 --> 00:40:36,795
For this park spans the decades.

313
00:40:37,034 --> 00:40:39,400
It spans the continental divide.

314
00:40:39,637 --> 00:40:44,472
It spans 2.2 million acres.

315
00:40:53,551 --> 00:40:57,351
Yet for all the enduring panoramic
beauty of Yellowstone,

316
00:40:57,588 --> 00:40:59,749
there is another face to this park

317
00:40:59,924 --> 00:41:07,092
rougher, more unformed,
almost otherworldly.

318
00:41:30,054 --> 00:41:34,821
Yellowstone has been a national
park for well over 100 years.

319
00:41:35,226 --> 00:41:36,625
And yet in a sense...

320
00:41:36,861 --> 00:41:39,489
...it is built anew every day...

321
00:41:39,730 --> 00:41:43,894
...boiling up in great basins
of sulfur and mud.

322
00:41:57,615 --> 00:41:59,606
Those that roam Yellowstone
day after day

323
00:41:59,850 --> 00:42:04,412
find that each day takes them
over slightly different terrain.

324
00:42:04,655 --> 00:42:08,648
Each day,
they find the horizon is new again.

325
00:42:13,030 --> 00:42:15,089
After six months alone,

326
00:42:15,332 --> 00:42:17,926
Cain catches sight of
a potential mate.

327
00:42:21,205 --> 00:42:22,467
She was cast out from her pack

328
00:42:22,706 --> 00:42:25,903
during the food shortage
last winter.

329
00:42:32,650 --> 00:42:37,883
The lone female has been
wandering the park like Cain.

330
00:42:47,531 --> 00:42:50,466
The two coyotes offer something
precious to each other

331
00:42:50,701 --> 00:42:55,502
a partnership
the promise of a family.

332
00:42:55,739 --> 00:42:59,869
Once paired,
most coyotes will mate for life.

333
00:43:00,110 --> 00:43:05,047
And this first date
has gone very well.

334
00:43:05,516 --> 00:43:09,179
Together they will hunt
through the grasslands.

335
00:43:09,420 --> 00:43:13,550
Together they will search
for a home.

336
00:43:16,226 --> 00:43:18,194
Finding one won't be easy.

337
00:43:18,429 --> 00:43:22,695
In fact, it will be the challenge
of their lives.

338
00:43:22,933 --> 00:43:26,164
All the surrounding territories
are held by large packs.

339
00:43:26,403 --> 00:43:32,103
And turf won't be taken
without a fight.

340
00:43:32,810 --> 00:43:34,471
In Cain's former pack,

341
00:43:34,712 --> 00:43:38,113
the pups are six months old
almost fully grown.

342
00:43:38,349 --> 00:43:39,543
Working with the adults,

343
00:43:39,783 --> 00:43:43,116
they are now a well-coordinated
killing team.

344
00:43:43,354 --> 00:43:47,620
And their target is
a sickly elk calf.

345
00:43:47,891 --> 00:43:50,883
The mother does her best to
defend her young one.

346
00:43:55,366 --> 00:43:56,924
But it's no use.

347
00:43:57,167 --> 00:43:59,658
The coyotes claim their prey.

348
00:44:01,739 --> 00:44:05,937
Long after her battle is lost,
the mother continues to fight.

349
00:44:15,185 --> 00:44:19,383
But the coyotes won't be
denied their meal.

350
00:44:33,704 --> 00:44:36,332
In the cruel equation
of Yellowstone,

351
00:44:36,573 --> 00:44:41,875
the death of the elk calf means
life for the young coyotes.

352
00:44:54,358 --> 00:44:57,987
The final days of summer turn cool.

353
00:44:58,762 --> 00:45:00,821
As Cain and his mate wander,

354
00:45:01,065 --> 00:45:02,498
the buffalo go head-to-head

355
00:45:02,733 --> 00:45:06,601
in a violent mating contest
the rut.

356
00:45:44,141 --> 00:45:47,702
The males are well-dressed for
battle -their heads and shoulders

357
00:45:47,945 --> 00:45:51,073
padded with extra wool to
absorb the pounding.

358
00:45:53,817 --> 00:45:58,083
And when it comes,
the pounding is ferocious.

359
00:46:20,310 --> 00:46:24,713
For the losers,
the cost is sometimes death.

360
00:46:24,948 --> 00:46:30,716
And there is no dignity to death
in a land of scavengers.

361
00:46:36,827 --> 00:46:41,560
The colors of fall herald the
return of freezing temperatures.

362
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:47,359
For Cain and his mate,
now comes a critical test.

363
00:46:47,604 --> 00:46:54,100
They've hunted side by side,
but now they must hunt as a team.

364
00:46:56,446 --> 00:47:00,280
An injured mule deer seems
an easy target.

365
00:47:12,462 --> 00:47:14,726
But the coyotes are cautious.

366
00:47:14,965 --> 00:47:18,526
A mule deer's hoof can slash
like a knife.

367
00:47:38,522 --> 00:47:41,423
The pair just can't get
the job done.

368
00:47:41,658 --> 00:47:45,651
Two coyotes can't surround
their prey the way a pack can.

369
00:47:45,896 --> 00:47:48,456
Their failure is a dangerous omen.

370
00:47:48,699 --> 00:47:50,667
For a pair that can't make a kill,

371
00:47:50,901 --> 00:47:55,338
winter will be an ordeal
a deadly ordeal.

372
00:48:02,512 --> 00:48:05,379
With the first snows,
begin the battles of winter.

373
00:48:05,616 --> 00:48:09,609
The bighorn sheep are fighting
for a chance to mate.

374
00:48:35,212 --> 00:48:41,845
Now all of Yellowstone's creatures
must once more fend off starvation.

375
00:49:02,406 --> 00:49:05,204
The thermal springs offer
respite for some...

376
00:49:05,442 --> 00:49:09,276
...but the season will still
take its awful toll.

377
00:49:12,516 --> 00:49:16,247
The odds against Cain and his
partner grow with each passing week.

378
00:49:16,486 --> 00:49:19,284
Without a pack,
hunting is difficult,

379
00:49:19,523 --> 00:49:22,424
holding a territory even more so.

380
00:49:22,659 --> 00:49:23,853
Without a pack,

381
00:49:24,094 --> 00:49:29,191
they stand less chance of surviving,
or of raising young.

382
00:49:30,267 --> 00:49:32,861
Rivers are natural turf boundaries.

383
00:49:33,103 --> 00:49:33,967
And to cross the line into

384
00:49:34,204 --> 00:49:38,641
another pack's domain is to
risk confrontation.

385
00:49:38,875 --> 00:49:42,311
But for the hungry pair,
now is the time for risk.

386
00:49:42,546 --> 00:49:46,141
They can't resist the lure of
a bison carcass.

387
00:49:50,587 --> 00:49:53,613
The resident pack can't afford to

388
00:49:53,857 --> 00:49:56,417
share their food with trespassers.

389
00:50:00,330 --> 00:50:03,959
A clash is coming...

390
00:50:05,402 --> 00:50:09,236
And for Cain, it will have
a special significance.

391
00:50:09,473 --> 00:50:11,566
This is his old pack.

392
00:50:11,808 --> 00:50:13,241
These are his kin.

393
00:50:13,477 --> 00:50:17,641
And Cain is still coyote non grata.

394
00:50:54,384 --> 00:50:58,115
Vicious as it is,
this battle won't go to the limit.

395
00:50:58,355 --> 00:51:01,950
It will stop
when one coyote proves strongest.

396
00:51:02,192 --> 00:51:04,422
And one has.

397
00:51:07,264 --> 00:51:08,731
It's Cain.

398
00:51:08,965 --> 00:51:12,298
This is now his turf.

399
00:51:14,171 --> 00:51:19,973
Defeated, the former leaders
wander off into exile.

400
00:51:20,377 --> 00:51:24,473
Old and tired,
their prospects are poor.

401
00:51:25,348 --> 00:51:28,215
Cain and his mate claim
one of their rewards

402
00:51:28,452 --> 00:51:31,421
the right to eat first.

403
00:51:38,328 --> 00:51:41,126
Confrontation becomes cooperation
as Cain's brothers

404
00:51:41,364 --> 00:51:43,958
and sisters accept the takeover.

405
00:51:48,672 --> 00:51:51,436
They all settle in for a banquet.

406
00:51:52,676 --> 00:51:54,940
Cain will in time become a father.

407
00:51:55,178 --> 00:51:56,611
And by helping raise his pups,

408
00:51:56,847 --> 00:52:01,216
his siblings will make sure
the family line lives on.

409
00:52:07,724 --> 00:52:10,784
Sibling rivalry turns to
revelry of a sort.

410
00:52:11,027 --> 00:52:16,226
And Cain's pack begins life anew.

411
00:52:27,744 --> 00:52:32,738
More adversity will lie ahead
this winter - lethal temperatures.

412
00:52:32,983 --> 00:52:38,080
Punishing winds and
the never ending struggle for food.

413
00:52:38,321 --> 00:52:40,755
But the coyotes will survive.

414
00:52:40,991 --> 00:52:43,653
They have survived fire and ice,

415
00:52:43,894 --> 00:52:47,125
survived the attacks of
man and beast.

416
00:52:47,364 --> 00:52:50,959
This too they will outlast.

417
00:52:53,703 --> 00:52:55,933
There is an Indian tale that states

418
00:52:56,173 --> 00:52:59,040
the coyote will be
the last animal on earth.

419
00:52:59,276 --> 00:53:01,642
After the buffalo are gone,

420
00:53:01,878 --> 00:53:08,408
after man has disappeared,
all that will be left is darkness.

421
00:53:08,652 --> 00:53:15,649
And in the darkness will echo
the call of the coyote.