Blaze has been on his own for a full week now.
Just waiting.
There's still no sign of his pack.
He's too young to hunt for himself.
And he's only getting weaker.
So his leg isn't healing well.
He makes a gut-wrenching decision,
to try and find his family.
But a young sea wolf isn't safe alone in these woods.
If he meets a bear or a cougar, he won't be coming out again.
The very next day, Jasper finally returns for his son.
He calls out all day for Blaze, waiting for an answer...
...but he never gets one.
Jasper has got to find him and get his pack reunited quickly.
There's only one season left
before winter closes in on Vancouver Island.
Rocky's prepping for his first winter too.
He's getting bigger and stronger...
and doing more of his own food shopping.
He's still pretty spoiled though.
Skye continues to give him one-third of her daily catch.
Rocky's life with his mom is as sweet as ever.
But there's someone who's set on destroying this special bond.
Rocky's father, Titan.
He wants to mate again with Skye...
...and push Rocky out.
Skye knows Rocky is still too young to survive on his own.
Titan isn't taking no for an answer though.
She's got to stand her ground...
and fight back.
Rocky jumps in to defend his mom.
But he's way too small.
Skye lunges at Titan.
But he overpowers her.
Finally, Rocky and Skye send him packing.
This mother and son make a strong team.
But Titan's return means their time together is almost over.
Youngsters are facing independence all across the island.
Luna is itching to spread her wings.
All she's ever known is this cramped little space in a tree.
Just one more flap...
could open a whole new world for her.
And her dad, Spiro, is her biggest cheerleader.
It's extremely windy today...
...and that's going to make flying tricky.
Though Luna's never lacked confidence.
Not bad.
Nope.
Emergency landing.
She's gone down dangerously close to the sea.
Luna has to get out of this mess on her own.
Not exactly a triumphant return, but a pretty stellar maiden flight.
Her proud father brings her a juicy participation trophy.
Daddy's food delivery service will be ending soon though,
and then, she'll be responsible for her own meals.
Leaving home is hard.
High atop Mount Washington, fall has already begun.
There's no one left at the old nest box.
Esmerelda and Bonnie have moved on to new digs.
But it's been a tough month.
The cougar has been on a killing spree.
And he's taken more than one victim.
Everyone is on high alert.
Esmerelda and Bonnie
are the only survivors from their release group.
They're learning some very hard lessons about making it in the wild.
Every day they must leave the safety of their den to forage.
It's risky, but they seem to have a plan.
Esmerelda goes first while Bonnie stands lookout.
Lupines are the best,
but can become a dangerous distraction.
Every marmot on the mountain knows this call.
Esmerelda has the farthest to go.
A marmot's best defense up here is teamwork.
This sister duo will need to stick together
as they prepare for winter on the mountaintop.
Close family ties are also key for these locals.
Killer whales live in tight-knit groups that hunt and travel together.
Today, one of them has broken away from the family...
and is swimming dangerously close to the shore.
But it's a deliberate danger.
And soon, the whole family is in on the action.
It's called beach rubbing and it's not about exfoliation.
It's about pushing limits and having fun as much as anything.
Just one big whale party.
And after their little rec stop...
comes the largest feast of all.
Every year, millions of salmon arrive,
destined for the island's rivers, where they will lay their eggs.
It's one of the largest migrations of life on the planet
and in their wake come legions of hungry predators.
More than a hundred different kinds of animals feed on them.
It's the grand fall banquet.
The salmon's arrival kicks off the new season.
September brings the full spectrum of fall color.
It's the island's call to action.
Now, the race is really on to fatten up for winter.
Two sea wolves are combing the shore for food left behind by the tide.
It's the alpha female, Dagger, and Cedar.
Co-parenting has created a special bond between them.
Jasper calls the pack together.
They come from miles up and down the coast.
For the first time in months, the whole family is together again.
And Blaze is back with them.
Jasper found him a few weeks ago.
His leg has healed nicely.
He's slightly smaller than his siblings, but he's just as lively.
Jasper has finally reunited his entire family.
It's a chance for the alphas to remind everyone who's boss...
and for a good old catch-up.
But the search for food must go on.
And this time, no one's getting left behind.
As fall marches on, temperatures start to plummet.
Esmerelda and Bonnie have had a lucky break.
The cougar has finally gone away.
Now, they can focus entirely on foraging.
These sugar-rich huckleberries
are perfect for gaining weight for hibernation.
But there's a lot more than berry picking
these captive-raised sisters need to figure out.
Marmots who grew up in the wild learn from their parents
how to find the best dens and build snug, insulated nests.
And cuddling up as a family means more warmth all round.
As first-time homeowners, this abandoned den
might not be the best investment for Esmerelda and Bonnie.
Is it deep enough?
Safe from flooding?
They have no parents to teach them the ropes...
or to warn them to be wary of strangers.
Esmerelda is going to check this older guy out.
Hmm.
She likes what she sees.
Ezekiel, like her, was raised in captivity and released here a few years ago.
He might actually want to share his den with her for hibernation.
And perhaps share some body heat too.
But that would leave Bonnie out in the cold.
Down in the valleys, lots of other animals are preparing for winter sleep as well.
A mother black bear, Willow, is foraging with her cubs.
Lucky for them, the bounty of the ocean is moving inland.
Countless salmon pour into these forest streams.
Battling their way upriver.
Overcoming every obstacle.
On a trip that none will return from.
This huge salmon run could sustain Willow and her cubs through the winter.
If they can make the most of it.
But the salmon attract other bears too.
Like this big male.
Willow is not taking any chances with her cubs.
It's his fishing spot now.
For Willow and her family,
it's back to the safety of the dense forest...
and back to hunger.
By mid-September, the nice fall weather is coming to an end
and the rain is here to stay for the next seven months.
And that's just fine with Rocky.
Water is his home.
And he's nearly full-grown, so he can feed himself now too.
Though, for some reason, mom's dinner always looks tastier.
Skye is exhausted from six months of constantly catering to Rocky.
But now Rocky's father, Titan, is returning.
And Skye's reaction is completely different this time.
She's ready to move forward with Titan.
And just like that, Rocky is on his own.
Skye and Titan will spend several days together,
renewing their bond.
Then she'll need time to build up her energy reserves again
before she has her next pup.
Rocky's no longer welcome in his father's territory.
It's an abrupt shove out the door...
into a new life of uncertainty.
September brings the first in a series of massive storms
that smash records across the island.
A month's worth of rain in just two days.
It's thought climate change
is making these extreme weather events twice as common.
River levels swell by more than six feet.
The creeks are transformed.
But the salmon are unstoppable.
To overcome a force this strong...
shows the incredible drive they have to reach their spawning grounds.
The big male bear has come to try his luck at the falls.
It's risky fishing so close to the raging current...
but he's got an old bear trick up his sleeve.
In this white water, the fish are jumping blind.
He doesn't even have to get wet.
Things are not going so well for Willow and her cubs.
She still hasn't caught any salmon, so she's trying her luck further upstream.
But the water is still dangerously high.
And the salmon can easily escape.
The cubs aren't safe here, and the risk is not worth the reward.
Back to eating berries... again.
Some islanders are enjoying a more comfortable fall, though.
Rocky has been living on his own for a while now.
Thanks to his mom's excellent schooling, he's finding plenty of food.
But he still needs a safe place he can call home.
And he's lonely.
Today, Rocky discovers something he's never seen before.
A community of sea otters. All males.
And they seem friendly.
The place is part seniors' home...
and part frat house.
Maybe they'll welcome him in.
Almost instantly, he is challenged.
Maybe this is how they initiate newcomers.
Rocky passes the test.
And he's made a friend.
Joining up with these guys is a perfect start to adult life.
He might spend several years here
before he'll be ready to strike out and establish his own territory.
Rocky may have found a community,
but some young ones... have to go it alone.
Luna's fled the nest.
And is realizing how hard it is getting by without Spiro and Misty.
On the upside, she has learned to fly.
Finding food has been tough though.
Finally, she tracks down a sea lion carcass.
But a feast like this...
...is an open invitation.
And the adult isn't willing to share.
Luna's too scared to challenge him.
If she doesn't learn to stand up for herself,
she won't make it out here in the big wide world.
A bold attitude is paying off for some.
Assertive, young Esmerelda and her handsome Ezekiel
are now officially an item and are moving in together.
Ezekiel's hard at work getting things ready for hibernation.
Looks like Esmerelda is all set up...
...to share her first winter in the wild with her new man.
And to share with her bestie sister.
Bonnie is hooking up with Ezekiel too.
It's a pretty unusual setup.
But sometimes, in the marmot world, three's company.
Next spring, they might both mate with him and have pups of their own.
Excellent news for one of the most endangered mammals on the planet.
These sisters are crushing it.
They survived the cougar by having each other's backs.
And by sharing Ezekiel,
they should both make it through the winter just fine.
It's October, and the cold weather is chasing the birds south.
Things that have died are transformed into things of beauty.
Earthstar fungi unfurl in the humid air.
And falling raindrops unleash their spores.
Roosevelt elk are just finishing their fall rut.
And the salmon have finally arrived at their spawning grounds.
They will use their last reserves of energy
for one final life-giving ritual.
The females dig nests.
And as they lay their eggs,
the males jockey for position to fertilize them.
Across the island, millions of new lives are set into the gravel.
With the salmon run in its final weeks, Willow has got to make the most of it.
She instructs her cubs to stay put.
This will need to be a solo venture.
It's not as easy as it looks.
But she'll never give up on her family.
And that is a family-sized fish.
If she keeps this up for the next few weeks,
they'll all be bulked up enough to make it through till spring.
Just like Willow, thousands of other black bears
are carrying tens of thousands of salmon deep into the forest.
And here, the salmon give their ultimate gift to the island.
Up to 80% of the nitrogen in these trees comes from the sea,
carried here in the bodies of the salmon.
It's the ocean reaching far inland to feed the forest.
Not every salmon's journey ends in the interior, though.
Thousands of carcasses wash back down to the sea.
Setting the scene for the last big eagle feast of the year.
And if you want a seat at the table...
...you have to fight for it.
Luna is here too, but on the edge of the fray.
At last, it's her turn.
Breaking a wing would be a death sentence for Luna.
But there's more where that came from.
Unless Luna learns to stand up for herself,
she's always going to lose out.
In the eagle world, it pays to be bold.
By early November, the sea wolf pack is leaving the coast and heading inland.
And Cedar is leading the way.
The pups are close to full-grown and can keep up on long journeys.
But back on the beach, two wolves have slipped away.
It's up to Cedar to keep an eye on the rest of the group.
She's had an unbelievable journey.
From outcast...
...to trusted lieutenant.
For all the island's residents,
it's been a year of unprecedented events and enormous challenges.
And those who've made it through...
are now ready to take on whatever the next year has in store for them...
...on the island of the sea wolves.