Sat, Apr 17, 2010
Ray's team observes wild leopards in a nature reserve in Namibia's Kalahari-bordering highlands. Hunting and keeping their prey is hard enough in the wild, but surrounding farmlands and poaching are added dangers. Large males control huge territories, inside which several females raise cubs. Whenever one reaches adulthood, mother cedes part of her territory and moves her own up, which may reach outside the reserve.
Sat, Apr 24, 2010
Ray's team is in Canada's Pacific province British Columbia to observe wild bears, notably near fishing village Klemtu, where the prize fish salmon comes every year in great numbers to spurn and die where it was born. In the larger valleys where sedge grows, the huge grizzly bears rule supreme, even a brown bear would be chased or killed, so they stay in smaller valleys. Bear cubs of one year are rare, apparently because over-fishing caused near-starvation the season when they should have been conceived. Finally Ray hopes to spot the rare withe 'spirit bears', a genetic variety of black bears.
Sat, May 1, 2010
Ray and his team observe a pack of wolves in rural Idaho. The species has been on the endangered species list after excessive hunting and poisoning, although they never attack people, and protection has restored their population, and alas also hostility among many farmers. Hunting is about to be legalizes again, so Ray is in a hurry to film them before they're either slaughtered or made extremely shy again. Life in the wild, mainly hunting elk, deer and moose, is hard enough on them. Ray admires their near-human solidarity, especially with cubs and wounded pack members. Even now, before endangered status is lifted, Ray and a ranger find a wolf died in suspicious circumstances, probably poisoned.