Great Lakes Untamed 3×1 Documentary Miniseries

In a world short of freshwater, The Great Lakes are one of our planet’s most important ecosystems providing one fifth of the world’s fresh surface water and drinking water for over 40 million people.

Episode 1

Source to Sea

It takes two hundred years for a drop of water from Lake Superior’s shores to flow through the five Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean. Along this 4000-kilometre journey, development forces beavers and grey wolves to live together. Scientists work to contain invasive carp. Freshwater preserves shipwrecks downed by ocean-like waves. And divers explore newly-discovered underwater caves.

Synopsis

The Great Lakes of North America are a vital source of fresh water for the world, and yet there is still much to learn about them. These five lakes are vast and full of character, each with its own mood and story. A drop of water splashed into Lake Superior in 1715 would still be making its way to the Atlantic Ocean today.

In the wetlands surrounding Lake Superior, beavers build dams that create ponds and lakes, which provide habitat for wildlife and filter and purify the water. Grey wolves prey on beavers, thinning their numbers and keeping the waterways open. Together, they shape the landscape. The wetlands also provide an ideal breeding ground for common loons, who are a key indicator of the health of the Lake Superior headwaters.

South of Superior, the Sleeping Bear Dunes are huge sand dunes formed by glacial meltwater. Biologists collect eggs from Piping Plover nests on a nearby beach as part of conservation efforts to protect this small, endangered bird from human activity. In Lake Michigan, scientist Jason Deboer monitors the approach of the invasive silver carp. This fish starves out native species of fish, putting the Great Lakes' fishing industry at risk.

Lake Michigan drains into Lake Huron through the Straits of Mackinac, which are considered one of the most dangerous waterways in North America. It’s a major shipping lane with one of the greatest concentrations of shipwrecks in the world. Diver Becky Schott explores the remains of the Sandusky, perfectly preserved by the cold, fresh water. In the Great Lakes Basin, the Great Horned Owl uses its powerful vision to hunt down an aquatic rodent, the muskrat. In the forests north of Lake Huron, beavers in the area build dams which create ponds that nourish the trees and provide a food source for a large population of black bears.

The southerly Lake Erie sees huge numbers of migrating birds and insects – including millions of monarch butterflies – resting at Point Pelee before heading south to their winter homes. On Pelee Island, a red-tailed hawk preys on the endangered blue racer, a fast-moving snake native to the island.

Water from Lake Erie flows through the Niagara River, over the Niagara Falls, and crashes into the polluted Lake Ontario. In recent years, it has seen signs of a rebound in recent years due in part to Tommy Thompson Park. The park is home to many animals, including the double-crested cormorant.

Underneath the Ottawa River is an extensive underwater cave system. Diver Jill Heinerth explores these caves and collects data for Dr. Andre Martel. Freshwater mussels filter the water. On the cave floor, freshwater mussels filter and clean the water in the Ottawa River. The St. Lawrence River starts in the headwaters west of Lake Superior and flows 900 kilometres to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The river’s estuary is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including seals and whales.

The Great Lakes are a key part of the continent's water cycle, but it’s also under threat from pollution and other human activities.

Episode 2

The Big Freeze

A polar vortex paralyzes fish and ducks attracting dozens of bald eagles. Wolves hunt a deer trapped by a frozen lake. Baby black bears use snow as insulation while ruffed grouse use it as camouflage from a lynx. This is the story of how snow and ice shape life in the Great Lakes.

Synopsis

In North America’s Great Lakes, winter comes hard and fast. Animals here must deal with the most extreme, unpredictable temperature changes found anywhere on earth. From summer highs of forty degrees Celsius to winter lows of forty below, it’s a throw-back to the ice age that once gripped this region.

River otters are one of the many aquatic animals that must adapt to changing conditions as fishes retreat to the bottom in winter. A mother otter teaches her pups how to fish under the ice cover. On Lake Superior, ravens use their remarkable brain power to lure wolves and other predators to tear open carcasses so they can move in and eat their fill. Bald eagles are also seeking an easy meal. But the ravens conspire to harass, torment and goad the eagles off the carcass.

Deep in the forest of Lake Ontario, a flying squirrel searches for food under an owl’s watchful eye. Its fur absorbs and emits ultraviolet light, causing it to glow in the dark which scientists believe is a form of communication.

The Great Lakes are susceptible to strong winds and waves, which can create ice tsunamis and polar vortexes. In winter, the lakes can create their own weather, including lake effect snow and blizzards. On Lake Superior, ice surfer Sonia Jaafar braves icy waves that can reach as high as nine metres. On the north shore of Lake Superior, the Canada lynx is an excellent hunter in the deep snow and often preys on ruffed grouse. Instead of roosting high in a tree, the grouse buries itself in the snow which provides insulation from the lynx’s super sensitive hearing.

On the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, a mother black bear nurses her four-week-old cubs in their den as a blizzard rages outside. A sudden cold snap has attracted bald eagles in search of an easy meal. They target fish that have been paralyzed by the cold. One eagle finds a duck and attempts to drown it.

On Lake Superior, Matt Scrafford and Liam Cowan, from the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada, search for wolverines in the hopes of protecting the remaining population. They trap an angry wolverine to find out whether it’s in good condition.

At the bottom of Lake Erie, the Burbot is a freshwater codfish known for its loud singing, which is used to attract mates. The fish spawn in the coldest months of the year, when other predators are dormant, in order to give their fry a better chance of survival. The moose is an important part of the Chippewa culture in the Great Lakes Basin, and in the last decade, their population has decreased by 40 percent due to the ticks. Grand Portage band member Poe Deschampe and a team of scientists are tracking the moose population in order to find solutions.

There’s a lot of uncertainty for these animals as ice cover has dropped by 25 percent over the last fifty years.

Episode 3

Marvels and Mysteries

Spring in the Great Lakes is marked by extreme and unpredictable temperatures. Evolution’s marvels such as glowing rocks are on full display during this calamitous time. Here, the world’s largest surgeon spawning has inspired tales of ancient sea monsters. Black bears, moose and wolves prowl forests containing the only photosynthetic vertebrate in existence.

Synopsis

The Great Lakes of North America are a world of wonder, with strange rocks that glow, mighty land mammals, and powerful forces of nature. Each spring, the lakes produce amazing natural phenomena. Warmer temperatures have led rockhound Erik Rintamaki to discover strange, glowing rocks on the southern shore of Lake Superior, possibly carried here by an ancient glacier.

The largest fish in the lakes, the lake sturgeon, leaves the Lake Ontario waters to spawn in the river. Their mass spawning has inspired stories of ancient monsters, but changes to their spawning waters pose a risk to their future.

Near Lake Huron, a yellow-spotted spotted salamander – the world’s only photosynthetic vertebrate – sets out on an epic journey through the snow to reach her breeding pond and mate. When she finally arrives at the pond, she lays hundreds of eggs. Once they hatch, the larvae set out to find food on their own.

In Voyageurs National Park, scientists have discovered that wolves will fish in the creeks for food. This is the first time that wolves have been recorded fishing and it is believed that they do this to supplement their diet during certain times of the year.

The arrival of spring brings many creatures northward, including sandhill cranes, tundra swans, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers. The sapsuckers risk the wrath of wasps and hornets to drill holes into birch trees to release the sap, which attracts other nectar lovers like the ruby-throated hummingbird. The Massasauga rattlesnake finds refuge on the many islands of Lake Huron to escape encroaching development.

In the depths of Lake Michigan, Lampsilis mussels take advantage of the nutrients brought by the seasonal plankton blooms. The female mussels lay eggs and their hatched larvae attach themselves to predators like the largemouth bass.

Upstream in the headwaters of Lake Erie, the redside dace lays its eggs in the nests of other fish to trick them into caring for the young. The dace hunts for insects by propelling itself into the air, but pollution and development make it harder for the dace to find food, and the population is in decline. Habitat loss is also a problem for moose, a protected species in the Great Lakes region. A mother moose dives underwater for aquatic plants to help feed her calf the essential minerals it needs to grow.

The construction of the Welland Canal in the 1930s allowed invasive species to travel into the Great Lakes, decimating native fish populations. Biologists Anne Scott and Nick Johnson from the Great Lakes Science Station use a compound that blocks the lamprey's sense of smell in order to prevent them from reproducing as a way to control the population and protect native fish stocks.

The Great Lakes are under threat from invasive species, and humans are the most powerful invader of all. However, we also have the capacity to protect this region and its wildlife. The actions we take now will determine the future of the Great Lakes.

Contact

For more info, request screener links, set up an interviews, get GAT:

Ingrid Hamilton

416-731-3034 | ingrid@gat.ca