Realm of the wild

[Music] across the united states spreads the nation's system of national forests the rum of the wild the national forests grow wood for countless uses they protect watersheds help prevent floods constant stream flow they provide water for irrigation and many domestic uses they supply grazing live forage containing some of the wildest rougher most scenic lands in america the national forests are also cherished vacation lands [Music] furnishing all types of outdoor recreation they are havens of escape rest and solitude [Music] and here as nowhere else the hearts of sportsmen and nature lovers quicken with anticipation for the national forests are great wilderness homes for america's wildlife one third of all our big game animals and myriad smaller animals and birds claim the national forests as their home here millions of four-footed and feathered folk of the wild large and small must find food and shelter for themselves and their young [Music] many of us think of the birds and animals in our forests as creatures separate and depart independent of the lands on which they live it is commonly believed that if they are protected from the guns of hunters and the snares of trappers this is sufficient to keep them healthy and happy in their wilderness homes it is true that a certain amount of protection is provided by state and federal game laws is essential but even more vital than game laws to our wild birds and animals is an assured year-round supply of the grass weeds shrubs and trees which provide them with food and cover without food no man beast nor bird can survive this thistle for example to most of us is simply a weed but to the hummingbird it's a magic distillery whose destruction would deprive him of liquid nourishment in nature's garden grow roses sedges bluebells and composites decorative and delightful to look upon but also food food for the elk the mountain goat the ptarmigan here too grow beard tongue yarrow balsam root buckwheat daisies painted cup aster bear grass lady slipper past flower buttercup and the wild geranium all are food for residents of the wild [Music] mushrooms are especially relished by deer and this brilliant autumn foliage should be viewed not alone as a bounty of nature to reward the human eye but as a source of food for our four-footed vegetarians these quivering painted leaves are the consummation of captured sunbeams combined with raindrops and minerals of the soil vitamins for the folk of the forest migratory waterfowl feed on plants which grow in swamps and along the margins of lakes and ponds the mallard duck canada geese [Music] and the dapper wood duck with his less colorful mate follow the food supply from south to north in the fall when the young have been reared and northern food supplies are frozen they return again to southern climes [Music] smaller feathered folk also dwell in the forest and must find food the canada jay comes boldly in the camp for crumbs and scraps tit mouse and the chickadee prefer insects [Music] the cardinal and the junko are mainly seed eaters for the smaller forest animals and birds mother nature is covered unlike that of mother hubbard is seldom bear [Music] the eastern gray squirrel a familiar game animal gathers nuts and stores them away for winter use the white plumed kaibab squirrel of arizona feeds on seeds and shoots of the ponderosa pine the rock squirrel on the coronado national forest makes a meal on the flowers and fruits of the milk peavine cottontail supplies more meat to american tables than any other game animal here's his cold country cousin the snowshoe rabbit [Music] old man porcupine's appetite for bark sometimes causes extensive damage by girdling and killing valuable forest trees if allowed to become too numerous the lesser forest animals like the larger vegetarians would eat themselves out of house and home so nature provides checks such as the golden eagle this prairie dog lunches on the roots and stems of the french sage a moment later he in turn makes lunch for these eaglets the furbearing coyote is another meat eater snakes devour rodents lizards and birds eggs [Music] the bobcat is an active nocturnal hunter [Music] the mountain lion is also a carnivorous but while nature intended some animals and birds to be prey for others she safeguards the preyed upon with some remarkable protective markings and coloration forest visitors pass thousands of animals whose presence is never suspected this hillside is literally alive with bighorn sheep and yet they can hardly be distinguished until they move the tarmigan is a classic example of nature's camouflage [Music] though clearly in the open his protective coloration blends so perfectly with the lichen-covered rocks in the background he is nearly invisible even at close range this little fellow is so sure of his protection he thinks he can even creep away without being seen [Music] a resident of the timberline country the white-tailed farmigan summers in flowering alpine meadows here its young are safely reared and trained in what to eat what to drink and how to bathe themselves with dust [Music] when fall comes the tarmigan exchanges its summer coat for one matching the hues of the frosted vegetation in winter its raiment is spotless as white as the snow even his sharp-eyed enemies must look twice to pick out the tarmigan from his winter environment only the fact that he must sometimes dig to eat mars his camouflage here his earth-soiled face betrays it the tarmigan's winter diet consists of willow bark and buds had this thicket been destroyed last summer by an over large elk herd the tarmigan's winter larder would now be empty and before spring he would die of starvation well fed shielded from the cold with a thickness of his coat and from his enemies by his protective color he rests secure and even doubts that he's been seen by the cameraman counterpart to the tarmigan and nature's protective coloration is the sage grouse the largest member of the grouse family sharp eyes are needed to find the bird in this picture time after time the sage grouse flushes from the exact spot you've been watching seldom as it's seen until it's running or winging away hidden under sagebrush nests are seldom molested by grazing animals yet they're handy to roving predators [Music] young and old blend exactly with their surroundings sagebrush is the staple diet but fresh grass is relished the sage grouse makes an excellent game bird furnishing much sport and palatable meat to see one of nature's hottest performances travel some night to the strutting grounds of the sage grouse during the mating season sage-grouse [ __ ] like buck deer bull elk and big horn rams strive for supremacy before the females the [ __ ] like to fight a few rounds then they compete in a unique strutting exhibition [Music] with tail spread and air sacs inflated the solo dance is repeated again and again they return to the same strutting grounds year after year and each [ __ ] preempts his own certain spot [Music] the hens emerging from the seclusion of surrounding sagebrush clumps casually view the performance and choose their champions here is the dance in slow motion strutting goes on until the sun breaks over the horizon and then the lovemakers spread their wings and disappear into the surrounding cover the wild turkey king of all american game birds finds safety in his awareness and keen eyesight these western or merriam turkeys are feeding in the apache national forest in arizona living on grass seeds acorns and similar foods these fine birds are also found in the forests of the southeast here's the franklin grouse having no fear of men this bird can be approached near enough to kill with a stick and since it trusts men is commonly called foolhead the richardson or bluegrass is a native of the high open ridges of the northwest most pressing of all wildlife management problems in the national forests is that of maintaining adequate food supplies for the large and increasing numbers of big game animals [Music] here on the kaibab national forest roams a herd of bison prior to the arrival of white settlers these magnificent animals numbered in the millions with fabulous herds freely migrating north and south over vast areas of the united states from canada to mexico [Music] today practically all the lands over which the bison once roamed are highly industrialized ranches and farms producing many varieties of food to nourish human millions at home and abroad that the bison remains a part of the modern american scene is due not to protection against hunters alone but because his numbers are adjusted in parks and other public areas against his own hunger the amount of plant food that can be grown on his present restricted range has been carefully reckoned each year surplus animals are removed from the herd to keep the numbers in balance with the supply of food this is good management the only kind under which the bison could survive as with the bison the welfare of every american big game animal is dependent on adequate food here the proud antlered elk appears in the winter fastest of the teton national forest [Music] his native winter home was on the foothills where snows are less deep and food is more easily available [Music] today his original winter heating grounds are ranch lands from which the elk is excluded during the summer months elk find good forage on high grassy slopes and ridges and in upstream valleys and meadows [Music] protected by state game laws elk and the national forests have doubled and traveled in number until now they tally nearly 200 thousand [Music] in a few places a year-round food supply is available to feed more elf than are now present [Music] but in many places where winter food supplies are insufficient overgrown herds are annually dying from starvation the death far more agonizing than that from the sportsman's bullet [Music] like the bison elks stay together in herds or bunches both in summer and winter the great spreading antlers of the bulls are shed each winter [Music] during the summer they produce new ones velvety and tender at first but later hardened and polished for the battles of the mating season when the bulls fight to win and hold their harems [Music] elk hunting except when indulged in along migration routes is strenuous and requires skill and stalking but if healthy animals ought to be preserved adequate hunting to keep their number and balance with the available winter food supply is required as an essential part of good management [Music] food is also the crooks of modern existence for the deer most widely distributed most popular and most important of all our big game animals deer of various species in the national forest total well over 2 million [Music] wildlife estimates made annually show that from a few to 5 000 deer feed on each of 61 national forests 5 000 to 20 000 deer feed on each of 77 national forests [Music] and from 20 000 to 70 thousand deer each of 28 national forests there are browsing animals feeding mainly on the leaves and twigs of shrubs and young trees usually during the spring and summer months deer are found alone are in small bands seldom is a whole family buck doe and fawn found together this is a rare scene [Music] fawns usually stay close to their mothers [Music] when they're hungry warm milk is always on tap [Music] the fawn's spotted coat protects him by harmonizing with the color of the vegetation and concealing him from the eyes of his enemies rarely can he be caught against the sky [Music] the buck deer like the bull elk and the moose sheds his antlers each winter a new set of antlers is grown each summer [Music] by fall the velvet is polished off and the bucks are again ready for the battles of the mating season [Music] winter is the critical time in heavy snow deer commonly bunch or yard up and move to lower elevations when they're too numerous food scarcities become acute [Music] everything within reach is eaten and the herd starves this spawn now too weak to stand or run is starving because too many mouths reached the forage ahead of him famine breeds weakness making the animals easy prey to both predators and disease each year thousands of deer which should have been harvested by hunters are lost by winter starvation inside this enclosure deer have been excluded plants are healthy and deer food abundance [Music] outside the fence the contrast is striking like a locust plague an oversized deer herd has stripped the brows as high as the ravenous animals can reach plants which are food factories for wildlife can produce only so much nourishment when overtaxed they die nothing to eat here and no chance for this dead shrub to reproduce itself [Music] this overgrazed range is ruined and will support very few deer until nature rebuilds it over a period of years the solution lies in maintaining a balance between the game animals and their food supply through a systematic harvesting of the annual game crop artificial feeding of over large herds of deer and elk produces weakened and diseased animals and favors epidemics elk and deer seldom move voluntarily from congested areas driving trapping and forceful transfer of the animals has proved either impossible impractical or hopelessly inadequate the moose frightening in appearance with his great palmate antlers long legs and ungainly body and head is the largest living member of the deer family at home in the northern swamp and lake country the moose has increased his numbers in the national forests until in spots his food supply is in jeopardy the moose subsists largely on willows aspen leaves and water plants [Music] this young bull is feeding on sedge [Music] during the mating season the bull moose becomes a dangerous animal in the woods striking with antlers and front feet he can cut a cornered opponent to ribbons though hunted mainly as a trophy the moose is a good meat animal the flesh is firm palatable and nutritious frontier settlers like those on the chugach national forest in alaska depend on the moose to fill out their wetter larder though awkward appearing the moose propels his giant antlers and big body through heavy brush across water and even through marshlands with astonishing ease and speed neither mud nor deep snow seriously hampers his travels the pronghorn america's sweetest animal best known as the antelope is at home on dry sagebrush flats [Music] curious often to the point of their own undoing they're almost as intrigued with the cameraman as he is with them both bucks and does have horns the outer shells of which are shed each year note the odd camouflage markings more pronounced than in any other large american game animal [Music] a native of the plains the pronghorn has in certain places been forced to move up into forested areas subsisting mainly on sagebrush and weeds they often destroy the pros on which they depend and leave the grass untouched this resident of rocky crags and pinnacles is known as the mountain goat although he looks and acts like a goat he's actually an antelope related to the eurasian chamois and the great game antelopes of africa getting within camera or gun range of these nimble footed peak dwellers entails much hard work patience and stocking ability [Music] sharing the high mountain ridges and inaccessible peaks with the mountain goat live the bighorn or mountain sheep frontiersmen looked upon the meat of the big horn as the choicest of all game animals and in early days prior to the enactment of game laws they were heavily hunted reduced by poaching predators in a virulent epidemic the big horn was once thought doomed to extinction today he is coming back here on the pike national forest in colorado roams a herd of over 600 [Music] the magnificent heads of these rams the alert healthy ewes and the large number of lambs are characteristic of a well-fed growing herd the bighorn feeds on almost all kinds of vegetation from dried weeds and grass to herbs and brass thus far food shortages have rarely occurred but as the herds get larger increasing attention must be given to holding numbers in balance with the range the ewes also have horns but unlike the rams they're light and small lambs are born of high elevation in inaccessible rocky places and are adept at mountain climbing almost from birth during the mating season there is militant rivalry between the rams frequent jousts are staged to decide which is the fittest ram to lead the herd champion and challenger square off from 10 to 40 feet apart then charge and crash with terrific impact a wave of compression passes through their bodies often their hind feet leave the ground after colliding they rest briefly waiting for the stars to clear from their heads and then wham they ram each other again and again until one or the other is admitted to be the picture [Music] contestants also strike upward blows with stiff front legs here's the charge in slow motion note the slightly turned head and the power of the final onslaught the clash of horns from an impact like this can be heard a half a mile from the scene of battle [Music] here two young contenders gang up to depose an old warrior but all they can do is push him around winner and losers leave the field together with apparently no hard feelings but the champion always takes the lead since the old boy here is leading the two young brands evidently he can still take it and give it back with interest hunting is encouraged in the national forests as a fulfillment of nature's laws to maintain a balanced life hunting seasons and bag limits are not determined by the forest service but by the states in which the national forest stand in addition to the priceless recreation and aesthetic values of national forest wildlife the harvest of forest game animals and birds provides nearly 40 million pounds of meat for american tables each year a full harvest of this annual crop would supply nearly twice as much meat and the value of the national forest fir crop which can be greatly increased amounts to approximately 10 million dollars each year [Music] fundamental to the preservation of every species of bird and animal is food food of the right kind ample and always available the area of land and its capacity to produce food for wildlife are both limited for this reason wildlife populations must also be limited kept in proportion to the land's productive capacity [Music] protection of plant cover and of the soil from which it grows is the first law of the land [Music] you