Big Land Animals of North America (1956)

[Music] way up near the top of the world where the winters are cold and long few people live in this farely settled region most big land animals of North America find their homes the mountain sheep and goats the deer the elk and moose the caribou and the reindeer the Buffaloes and the bear this is the region we shall visit to see some of the big land animals in the mountain and Forest Wilderness which gives them shelter far up on the rugged slopes and on the cliffs and Crags of the northern Rocky the hearty photographer may run across a champion climber the big horn sheep also known as doll sheep the big horn sheep is the only known wild white sheep it's a sheep very much like the one which gives us our wool this is a U or mother doll sheep her horns are thin and straight the ram has longer curled horns here is a young one usually one to two baby lambs are born to a mother doll sheep each Spring Mountain sheep feed on grasses and other Mountain vegetation but when the pastures dry out they can live even on the meager Mountain weeds and mosses some types of mountain sheep are different in color although these Hardy climbers have few natural enemies they have horns that may be used as Weapons they live in such Wilderness that even Hunters rarely get to see them their greatest enemies are the winter blizzards some are killed by wolves but more are apt to starve to death during Fierce Northern snowstorms almost the entire North American continent is home to members of the deer family this kind of a deer is called a mule deer because it has long ears like a mule mule deer move up the mountain slopes as the Snows melt and and the forest begins to Bud deer are very timid animals they have little protection except for Keen ears and fast legs the color of deer Blends well with the countryside and hides them from enemies as the season changes from fall to winter the mule deer's coat thickens the long winter coat protects the mule deer from the cold Northern weather larger and more impressive are their cousins the American elk the most beautiful American elk live in the state of Washington around the Olympia mountains this is why they are often called Olympic elk some of these elk have been taken to other parts of the American continent so that now the herds are spreading through the northern Wilderness elk have huge antlers which they shed in Winter new ones grow back in Spring elk live in herds often LED by an old and experienced male called a bull the largest of the deer family is the Moose the moose live in the Northern forests and swamps of Canada and Alaska on the western slopes of the Rockies and even in Maine the Alaskan moose is the largest kind of moose we know Bulls such as this one may weigh 1,400 lb Hunters like their beautiful antlers hundreds of Alaskan natives depend on The Moose for much of their meat Supply a six-year-old bull will have fully grown antlers that may spread 6 feet across this moose has a six week growth of antlers moose are big eaters this one may eat 40 lbs or more of Willow Birch Aspen leaves and grass in a day the long-legged reddish brown calves are born in May and June even before they fully weaned they begin to eat the tender Highland grasses and leaves they eat and rest and grow soon they are strong enough to follow their mothers from pasture to pasture another member of the deer family is the Caribou Caribou graay in the northern Wilderness of Alaska and throughout a large part of Canada at one time Caribou herds roamed in large numbers over the northern tundra in the spring thousands upon thousands of caribou used to migrate to Summer pastures but excessive hunting by man and wolves greatly reduced the herds even so large her herds still exist in the Yukon and Northwestern territories a close relative is the reindeer in fact it is a domesticated kind of caribou in North America reindeer are found only in Alaska originally they were brought in from Siberia to the Eskimo reindeer are what steers and cows are to the cattle rancher in this man-made Corral young reindeer are separated from the fully grown animals this slow motion scene gives us a good look at these cattle of the north which provide the Eskimo with meat milk and hides herds of these big animals once roam the open ranges of North America they are called bison or more commonly Buffalo a 100 years ago there were more than 60 million buffalos in the Prairies of North America today we find them only on protected ranges in the Western United States in Canada and in Alaska one of these animals May weigh as much as a ton Buffalo seem to roam aimlessly that's because they have poor eyesight they depend upon their hearing and smell to detect Danger a hearty animal of the north is the musox heavy fur protects it against the snow and bitter cold of the Arctic different kinds of bear live over a wide range of wilderness from one side of the American continent to the other this Alaskan black bear is a good climber carrying two or 300 lbs up a tree takes a lot of effort black bears climb trees in search of Honey or fruit a close relative is the brown bear one of the largest meat eating animals some brown bears weigh up to 1500 lb there are a number of different kinds of brown bears even on one feeding range we may find brown bears of different shades of color the largest of all the Bears is the big brown or Kodiak bear in the cold streams of Alaska Bears find an abundance of fish to eat and they are good fishermen a favorite fishing ground for Bears is this mountain stream which teams with salmon Here Comes comes a Mother with three Cubs a 2-year-old bear cub like this one is already a good fisherman as you can see baby bears dare not go into the fast stream they must wait until mother catches their dinner this mother is a Grizzly peaceful though she looks a mother Grizzly can be dangerous to men she is a fierce fighter especially when she fights for her Cubs in the American North big animals are protected by the Wilderness and by law but as the human population spreads the grazing grounds for the big animals become smaller and the number of these animals falls off so that's why some of the national parks the forests of the Rocky Mountains and Parts of Alaska and Canada Remain the last Refuge of the big land animals of North America