«Im Zauber der Wildnis» (“Wild Enchantment”) on ZDF
It takes every onlooker's breath away. Visible from far and wide, Denali, at almost 6,200 meters (20,300 ft), rises out of the Alaska Range. North America's highest mountain gives its name to one of the most spectacular national parks in the world.
But climate change can be felt here too – what are the challenges facing this special park today? In Alaska, the ZDF series asks about the future of the great national parks. A ZDF team spent a year traveling in spectacular Denali National Park. “Behind the scenes,” they accompanied rangers, researchers and young people seeking adventure.
The national park idea was born in America's West more than 100 years ago. Back then, one billion people lived on Earth, and the parks invited them to enjoy the beauty of creation. Today, with more than seven billion people on the planet, the role of protected areas is changing too.
On the trail of the "Big Five" – the grizzly bear is number one of the park's “Big Five.” Bears, wolves, moose, caribou and Dall sheep abound in the area, which at around 25,000 square kilometers (9,650 sq mi) is larger than the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The high density of wildlife and the mix of forests, tundra and glaciers draw almost 400,000 visitors to the park every year. Among them is Frank Stelges from Essen, who spends several months here on the trail of the “Big Five.”
Denali, Alaska's majesty, still holds an enormous attraction, especially for young adventurers. Many are also fascinated by the story of millionaire's son Christopher McCandless, who sought out the wilderness in 1992 and died tragically in the middle of the park, and whose fate was immortalized in the Hollywood film “Into the Wild.”
Today, many people seek peace, physical challenge or themselves in Alaska's wilderness. Far from any civilization, exposed to the weather and the inhospitable landscape, hikers time and again put their lives at risk and have to be rescued. In Alaska's vast expanses, the line between happy adventure and disaster is extremely thin.
Air date: Mittwoch 23. Dezember um 22:15 Uhr auf ZDF
Source: www.zdf.de