Nature: Cloud: Challenge Of The Stallions

Airs Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV

Cloud and his son, Bolder, spar atop the Arrowhead Mountains.

Credit: Living Images by Carol Walker

Above: Cloud and his son, Bolder, spar atop the Arrowhead Mountains.

Friday, October 23, 2009

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The continuing saga of Cloud, the wild, white stallion, returns viewers to the Arrowhead Mountains of Montana. Cloud is now a confident band stallion in his prime. As he rules the mountains, gathering mares and expanding his reign, the story turns to his two sons.

Flint, the colt Cloud raised, was sired by another stallion.

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Credit: Courtesy of Living Images by Carol Walker

Above: Flint, the colt Cloud raised, was sired by another stallion.

Meet Cloud's Extended Family

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Bolder is his by birth — beautiful and golden, the success of his father and grandfather flowing in his veins. Flint, sired by another stallion, is the colt Cloud raised. Now, Bolder has gathered some mares of his own, while Flint has joined a group of bachelor stallions, young guns roaming the mountains. Who will rise to challenge the mighty Cloud? Will nature or nurture produce the next great stallion of the Arrowheads?

This poignant and engrossing chronicle explores the challenges presented not only by ambitious sons, but also by the harsh mountain weather, deadly mountain lion attacks, and the changing relationships within and between bands of wild horses in the mountains.

The film also touches upon the effect of the on-going efforts of the Bureau of Land Management (the BLM) to administer a program of population control, including infertility drugs and bait trapping, to remove animals from the mountains. It is yet another hurdle that Cloud and his family and the rest of the horses in the Arrowheads must overcome in the day-to-day efforts to survive in the wilderness.

If you missed the two previous episodes, you can watch them online now:

"Cloud: Wild Stallion Of The Rockies"

"Cloud's Legacy: The Wild Stallion Returns"

Video

Video Excerpt: Nature: Cloud: Challenge Of The Stallions

Above: In this video excerpt from "Nature: Cloud: Challenge Of The Stallions," the Bureau of Land Management lures horses into a corral baited with protein blocks. While Cloud's band lingers dangerously close to the trap, an entirely separate peril claims its victim.

Video

Video Excerpt: Cloud: Challenge Of The Stallions

Above: In this video excerpt from "Cloud: Challenge Of The Stallions," it's springtime, and competition among band stallions is fierce. When a group of bachelors challenges Prince for his mares, at first Cloud only watches, standing by his lead mare Sitka. But when Cloud decides to join the fray, he gets more than he bargained for. Who will emerge victorious?

Video

Video Excerpt: Cloud's Legacy: Flint

Above: Emmy-winning wildlife filmmaker Ginger Kathrens continues her chronicle of Cloud, the iconic white stallion whose life she has recorded since his birth in the wild. Kathrens' sequel offers intimate glimpses into the complex social structures of wild horses and illustrates the perils these animals confront. Cloud's first foal is named for the rocks common in the Arrowheads.

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