Wild Life with Bertie Gregory

In the first episode of wild_life with Bertie Gregory, Bertie heads to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where he prepares to spend three months in the wild filming the epic animals that call this place home. While he's hoping to come across the many awesome species that inhabit this coastline, his main goal is to catch a glimpse of the island's elusive coastal wolves. Along the way, Bertie runs into some surprising locals, from bald eagles to bears, sea lions to salmon and otters to orca. Every encounter will be a new adventure.

While looking for signs of coastal wolves, Bertie Gregory stumbles across some rather odd behavior - a male black bear flipping massive rocks along the coastline. As Bertie gets closer, he realizes that this clever bear has figured out a way to score an easy meal. Underneath every rock are tasty crabs, and the bear can smell them - all he has to do is flip over a few boulders.

Wildlife photographer Bertie Gregory encounters one of the most majestic birds of prey - the bald eagle. Bald eagles may be America's de facto mascot, but they also have a secret talent - snatching fish from the open waters. These skilled hunters have vision about five times sharper than our own and can reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour when diving for their prey. Join Bertie as he gets up close and personal with these bald eagles as they show off their lightning-fast hunting skills.

After weeks of roaming around the pristine landscape of Vancouver Island in search of the mysterious coastal wolves, wildlife photographer Bertie Gregory is trying a different method. Instead of chasing footprints through the woods, he's putting down roots and spending a week in a hide in hopes that the wolves come to him. The ghostlike wolves elude Bertie yet again, but his time is well spent as he spots everything from herons to barred owls.

Bertie Gregory has spotted mischievous sea otters playing in the kelp forests offshore. The only trick now is getting to them. During low tide, Bertie sneaks out past the tidal pools to watch the otters play in the surf. These otters are a welcome sight, as the fur trade once nearly drove them to extinction on Vancouver Island.

This week Bertie Gregory is getting wet. Steller sea lions are one of the largest predators in the waters of Vancouver Island and today, Bertie is getting up close and personal with them. On land, sea lions are big and clumsy looking, but in the water, they lengthen out and come alive. They need to be agile-the big males need to catch more than a hundred pounds of fish a day just to survive. The question is, How will these big bulls react when Bertie puts on a wet suit?

Bertie Gregory has a special surprise. He's found a mother and her three cubs. Even in the stormy weather, these playful cubs are having fun following their mother along the shoreline. While the rain presents challenges for Bertie, the bears don't seem to mind - the mother black bear only has a year to train her cubs how to survive in the wilderness, and there isn't a moment to spare.

Bertie Gregory is back with baby bears, but this time he isn't alone. Further down along the beach, Bertie spots a huge male black bear who wouldn't think twice about killing a few cubs for a chance to mate with their mother. Bertie watches the drama unfold as the big male bear makes his way towards the cubs. It's life or death for these little bears as they follow their instincts and take cover before it's too late.

Bertie Gregory is back on the hunt for wolves, and things are looking up-he's stumbled across a beach coated in wolf tracks. Now all he has to do is wait. By the next morning fog has set in, but through the mist Bertie can hear the telltale sounds of loggers. When the fog clears, we discover one of the biggest threats to this ecosystem: legal logging.

Bertie Gregory has been so focused on the large land animals of this place, he's hardly noticed what's lurking in the waters just off shore. So this week, he's on the hunt for the biggest animals in this ecosystem: whales and orcas, some of the most massive animals on Earth. Even though we can only see their tails and dorsal fins, experts can identify them on sight, and Bertie makes some pretty incredible discoveries about these giants' past.

What do salmon-and their sex lives-have to do with keeping a forest healthy? Bertie explains that salmon equal more than just meal time for coastal predators roaming the shores and tidal shelves; they're also a rich source of marine nutrients for the soil on Vancouver Island and an integral player in the island's ecosystem, all thanks to their mating cycles. The unique relationship between the land and the water is the focus of Bertie's fascination with this wild place.

While snorkeling in the river, Bertie encounters black bears along the banks. They're both looking for the same thing: salmon. Bertie's seen the bears' "table scraps," but he has yet to film the impressive predators in action. Taking the proper safety measures for both himself and the bears, Bertie goes on a mission to film them as they score their wriggling meals. (Spoiler alert: They're bear-y clumsy.)

Bertie spends time with a team of scientists on a strange but crucial mission: harvesting sperm and eggs from Chinook salmon to cultivate at a hatchery. The local Chinook population has experienced a drastic decline due to overfishing and other threats, but scientists from the Tofino Salmon Enhancement Society are working to help the fish survive and thrive.

Bertie takes us on the ultimate aerial tour of Vancouver Island's web of life. On the itinerary: sprawling views of humpbacks and steller sea lions, action shots of orcas and eagles, underwater footage of salmon, raccoon close-ups, and black bear beauty shots-but still no coastal wolves in sight. The quest continues, and so does Bertie's mission to deliver an all-encompassing look at the wildlife that thrives here.

Bertie's time on Vancouver Island is coming to an end. The pressure to find and film coastal wolves, the holy grail of his search, is on. Joined by his friend Connor, Bertie takes a four-hour boat ride to a remote location to follow up on reports of a wolf sighting. He finds a fresh set of wolf tracks and the not so fresh scent of death-and he's brimming with excitement. The wolves are close. Bertie sets up a hide and a remote camera, hoping his three-month journey has finally led him to the encounter he's been chasing.

Setting off in the darkness before sunrise, Bertie returns to the spot where he discovered promising signs of coastal wolf activity the day before. Getting into position near an animal carcass and armed with a remote camera, he waits - and waits, and waits-until he finally spies what he came for. His emotions on overload, Bertie springs into action, securing the shots he's sought for three months and experiencing the glory-and emotion-that comes with wildlife filmmaking.