ORPHAN BEARS IN THE LAND OF THE TIGERS

Two scientists are raising young orphan bears in the Siberian wilderness. Their mothers were killed by hunters. Will the scientists bring the cubs safely through their first summer?

For 25 years, Swiss-Canadian bear researcher Reno For 25 years, Swiss-Canadian bear researcher Reno Sommerhalder has been living among bears. In 2013, he set off into the Ussuriysk wilderness, in the far eastern corner of Siberia, to carry out a particularly ambitious project. Together with Russian biologist Sergey Kolchin, he is trying to bring young orphan bears safely through their first summer. The young cubs' mothers were killed by hunters. The two men stand in as mother bears! And they have to do what a mother bear would also do: protect their young from hungry adult male bears and Amur tigers, the undisputed rulers of the Ussuriysk taiga. But humans as substitute mother bears bring along their own problems. Bear cubs soon become accustomed to humans, and this can make them vulnerable and easy prey. We accompany Sommerhalder and Kolchin as they care for four young black bears but also deal with the trials and tribulations of life in the taiga. They will stay with the cubs until the end of autumn, before the animals go into hibernation for the winter. Will they survive the winter? Tracks show that the bears' camp has been discovered by a tiger…