WEBVTT 00:00:10.218 --> 00:00:12.887 Welcome to North America. 00:00:14.556 --> 00:00:17.142 The most diverse continent on Earth. 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:27.902 Home to a unique lineup of incredible animals. 00:00:30.447 --> 00:00:33.283 And some pretty amazing people too. 00:00:35.410 --> 00:00:36.453 Across the country, 00:00:37.328 --> 00:00:41.082 everyday heroes from all walks of life 00:00:41.166 --> 00:00:43.084 are stepping up to the plate... 00:00:44.669 --> 00:00:46.129 There's the blow. 00:00:48.006 --> 00:00:50.925 ...to protect our most iconic animals... 00:00:54.137 --> 00:00:56.598 Pretty amazing to see it run off into the wild. 00:00:57.515 --> 00:00:59.517 ...and our wildest spaces. 00:01:00.518 --> 00:01:04.230 This place is one of the last untouched ecosystems in the world. 00:01:04.647 --> 00:01:07.442 And we are going to fight to keep it that way. 00:01:08.485 --> 00:01:09.652 Anyone can help. 00:01:10.987 --> 00:01:13.656 You have the power within you, even if you're a little kid, 00:01:13.740 --> 00:01:15.366 to go and make a change. 00:01:16.743 --> 00:01:18.036 Inspiration is just contagious. 00:01:19.788 --> 00:01:21.873 To share our world with wildlife, 00:01:22.624 --> 00:01:24.125 it takes people with passion... 00:01:24.375 --> 00:01:25.919 Holy moly! 00:01:47.517 --> 00:01:49.269 The Northern Great Plains. 00:01:51.479 --> 00:01:54.024 One hundred and eighty million acres 00:01:54.149 --> 00:01:58.153 of open prairie, crisscrossed with roads and farms. 00:02:01.614 --> 00:02:05.577 But just a couple of centuries ago, this was all wilderness, 00:02:06.202 --> 00:02:07.746 filled with animals. 00:02:13.043 --> 00:02:16.504 There are plans to restore it to its former glory. 00:02:19.632 --> 00:02:23.678 Ecologists Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant and Dr. Danny Kinka 00:02:24.721 --> 00:02:26.473 are carrying out an aerial survey 00:02:26.765 --> 00:02:29.809 for an organization called American Prairie. 00:02:32.312 --> 00:02:37.359 Their vision is to rewild the grasslands on an epic scale. 00:02:41.821 --> 00:02:45.700 This place used to have just hundreds and hundreds of species. 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:49.120 You know, if we flash back 200 years, 00:02:49.287 --> 00:02:52.665 you could just see all of those animals all over these grasslands. 00:02:53.124 --> 00:02:57.253 And it's possible to get this place back to where it was before. 00:03:00.882 --> 00:03:03.176 The mission of American Prairie is to restore 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:05.970 one of the last remnant grasslands on the planet 00:03:06.304 --> 00:03:09.140 and to open that up to the public so that they can enjoy them, 00:03:09.224 --> 00:03:12.644 so they can experience this kind of Serengeti-type landscape 00:03:12.727 --> 00:03:14.771 but right here in North America. 00:03:16.481 --> 00:03:18.691 American Prairie is buying up land 00:03:18.817 --> 00:03:22.570 to create a three-million-acre haven for wildlife. 00:03:28.576 --> 00:03:31.579 The plan is to restore the entire ecosystem. 00:03:33.415 --> 00:03:34.874 From humble vegetarians... 00:03:36.584 --> 00:03:37.877 to A-list predators. 00:03:42.173 --> 00:03:43.633 Wolves from Yellowstone 00:03:44.050 --> 00:03:47.470 and grizzly bears are already on their way here. 00:03:51.724 --> 00:03:53.685 But this is cattle country. 00:03:57.272 --> 00:04:00.859 Cowboys have worked this land for 150 years. 00:04:03.236 --> 00:04:05.780 And predators are a threat to their livelihood. 00:04:13.455 --> 00:04:16.708 Rae and Danny are trialing some new solutions 00:04:17.792 --> 00:04:20.378 to help ranchers live alongside wildlife. 00:04:23.631 --> 00:04:28.178 Lance and Nicole are the first in their community to give it a try. 00:04:30.513 --> 00:04:32.557 - Hey. - Good morning. Good to see you guys. 00:04:32.640 --> 00:04:33.683 Hello. 00:04:33.766 --> 00:04:36.269 - Good morning. - I'm a cow guy first and foremost. 00:04:36.352 --> 00:04:38.271 I'm fourth-generation Montanan. 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:41.232 Both me and my wife's families came here and homesteaded, 00:04:41.316 --> 00:04:43.193 and we love the land, we love the cattle. 00:04:43.443 --> 00:04:46.321 But I also think there's ways to balance things 00:04:46.404 --> 00:04:48.573 and to have the wildlife here, 00:04:48.656 --> 00:04:52.494 and to have them in healthy numbers, and to enjoy them for yourself, 00:04:52.577 --> 00:04:55.246 or to even, you know, make some money. 00:05:01.127 --> 00:05:05.507 American Prairie pays ranchers for any wild animals caught on camera 00:05:05.590 --> 00:05:06.716 on their land. 00:05:09.135 --> 00:05:12.138 For something like a coyote, they might receive 25 dollars. 00:05:12.847 --> 00:05:15.225 If they were to get a wolf or a grizzly bear on that camera, 00:05:15.308 --> 00:05:17.310 it would be worth 500 dollars. 00:05:21.564 --> 00:05:25.693 It's a little contribution that may ease the pain of losing livestock, 00:05:27.529 --> 00:05:29.739 but it doesn't stop the cattle from being preyed on. 00:05:34.410 --> 00:05:38.831 To help with that, people are turning to an old profession around these parts. 00:05:40.542 --> 00:05:41.709 Range riders. 00:05:44.212 --> 00:05:46.839 They're hired by ranchers and wildlife groups 00:05:47.257 --> 00:05:49.425 to keep predators away from livestock. 00:05:51.803 --> 00:05:55.390 A range rider with the cattle is that extra level of deterrent 00:05:55.473 --> 00:05:58.059 that just says to a wolf, or a grizzly bear, or a cougar, 00:05:58.142 --> 00:06:02.647 or even a coyote, "Hey, better to stick with the deer, don't mind the cows." 00:06:06.693 --> 00:06:09.445 The range riders I'm meeting these days, like Molly, 00:06:09.862 --> 00:06:14.325 are similar yet different from range riders of the past. 00:06:14.701 --> 00:06:17.579 You know, their grandfathers or great grandfathers, 00:06:17.662 --> 00:06:21.708 if they came across a wolf, or a bear, or a mountain lion, 00:06:21.791 --> 00:06:23.626 they probably would have killed it. 00:06:24.210 --> 00:06:27.922 Whereas, today, we have these young women 00:06:28.047 --> 00:06:33.386 who are really strong and ambitious and have a solid understanding 00:06:33.511 --> 00:06:36.222 of the balance that nature needs here. 00:06:38.224 --> 00:06:40.143 You don't see a lot of women, 00:06:40.810 --> 00:06:43.229 or you don't notice them, out here making a difference. 00:06:43.313 --> 00:06:45.148 And we really are making a big difference. 00:06:45.607 --> 00:06:49.902 And I really am proud to be a part of that and inspire people. 00:06:53.323 --> 00:06:57.577 Now they've laid the groundwork, it's opened the door for the return 00:06:57.660 --> 00:07:00.163 of the prairie's most iconic animal. 00:07:03.416 --> 00:07:04.417 The bison. 00:07:06.878 --> 00:07:08.880 Symbol of the heartlands. 00:07:11.674 --> 00:07:15.845 Once their numbers were up to 60 million on the Great Plains. 00:07:18.389 --> 00:07:22.977 By the 1880s, they were hunted to less than 400. 00:07:26.022 --> 00:07:27.815 Today, they're coming back. 00:07:36.449 --> 00:07:39.285 A group of bison raised by American Prairie 00:07:39.452 --> 00:07:42.830 are set to be released onto the plains of Montana. 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:50.713 Over 500 members of the Chippewa Cree Tribe are here 00:07:50.797 --> 00:07:53.549 to welcome the bison back to their native lands. 00:07:56.886 --> 00:08:02.308 A symbolic moment for Dustin, known as Sweet Grass Old Man. 00:08:02.934 --> 00:08:06.521 At one time, you could look upon this land 00:08:06.545 --> 00:08:09.232 and see buffalo from horizon to horizon. 00:08:09.732 --> 00:08:11.651 That's how many were here. 00:08:13.194 --> 00:08:15.863 And it means so much to bring it back. 00:08:30.253 --> 00:08:34.006 Rae and Danny are here to witness history in the making. 00:08:50.690 --> 00:08:51.899 Here we go, guys. 00:08:52.024 --> 00:08:55.111 Time to release the bison into their new home. 00:08:55.236 --> 00:08:56.362 Ready? 00:08:59.782 --> 00:09:02.785 Here they come. Here they come. 00:09:07.582 --> 00:09:08.666 Yeah. 00:09:22.725 --> 00:09:24.571 you can feel the ground shake 00:09:24.854 --> 00:09:27.482 as they come thundering out of that pen. 00:09:28.233 --> 00:09:30.735 It feels like something's been put back right again. 00:09:33.071 --> 00:09:36.574 The idea is that these bison are going to reproduce and reproduce 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:39.119 and create a larger and larger population. 00:09:39.327 --> 00:09:40.954 And maybe one day 00:09:41.079 --> 00:09:45.375 they'll get back to those population sizes that we used to have historically here. 00:09:49.671 --> 00:09:54.426 American Prairie's goal is to create a herd of over 10,000. 00:09:58.763 --> 00:10:01.182 The buffalo made a promise to Creator, 00:10:01.683 --> 00:10:05.020 promise they'll never leave us, the human race. 00:10:05.729 --> 00:10:07.605 So, it means a lot today. 00:10:08.940 --> 00:10:11.318 And then to see the eagle fly above, 00:10:12.277 --> 00:10:16.364 it's like a complete ceremony, made it all whole. 00:10:20.035 --> 00:10:21.870 From the Great Plains... 00:10:26.124 --> 00:10:31.421 to the very edge of the continent, people are taking action 00:10:33.131 --> 00:10:35.216 to protect their local wildlife. 00:10:40.096 --> 00:10:43.725 And you don't have to be a scientist to make a difference. 00:10:45.852 --> 00:10:48.146 Anyone can help at any age. 00:10:50.315 --> 00:10:53.068 - Beautiful sunrise, Alex. - Yeah. 00:10:55.945 --> 00:10:58.281 At Stillwater Cove, in California, 00:10:58.823 --> 00:11:03.787 young conservationist Alex Weber and her dad, Mike, are hitting the waves. 00:11:06.790 --> 00:11:09.751 Growing up as a kid, I spent all of my free time in the ocean. 00:11:12.011 --> 00:11:14.389 The undersea forest around Monterey 00:11:15.014 --> 00:11:17.183 is home to hundreds of species. 00:11:24.482 --> 00:11:28.861 Alex's favorite... the California sea otter. 00:11:32.407 --> 00:11:34.617 They rely on the kelp for shelter, 00:11:35.993 --> 00:11:38.121 and it's also where they find their food. 00:11:42.834 --> 00:11:46.170 Sea otters really do have a magical charm to them. 00:11:48.047 --> 00:11:51.804 They're incredibly curious. and so we always get visited by one when we're out diving 00:11:52.687 --> 00:11:54.898 which is always a special experience. 00:11:59.694 --> 00:12:01.821 But all is not well here. 00:12:03.406 --> 00:12:06.660 Alex has noticed the otters chewing on garbage. 00:12:09.496 --> 00:12:11.831 And in particular, golf balls. 00:12:15.001 --> 00:12:17.879 There's a sinister secret beneath the waves, 00:12:18.046 --> 00:12:22.550 uncovered by Alex when she was just a 16-year-old high schooler. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:30.308 When we looked beneath the ocean, you couldn't see the bottom. 00:12:32.978 --> 00:12:35.865 It was this dynamic blanket of golf balls 00:12:35.889 --> 00:12:38.775 just tumbling along 00:12:38.900 --> 00:12:40.902 as the ocean swayed back and forth. 00:12:44.990 --> 00:12:46.741 The reason for all the balls? 00:12:47.242 --> 00:12:51.454 Right next door is the famous Pebble Beach Golf Club. 00:12:52.998 --> 00:12:56.543 One mistake here and your ball's in the ocean. 00:12:58.545 --> 00:13:03.717 They're rolling around, and the coating on the golf ball quickly gets worn off. 00:13:06.386 --> 00:13:08.555 And all that plastic, all the chemicals that were used, 00:13:08.638 --> 00:13:11.016 they're now in the environment in an uncontrollable way. 00:13:11.516 --> 00:13:14.477 And every one of those golf balls is like three water bottles. 00:13:14.978 --> 00:13:18.023 Now, if you saw someone come and dump a bag of water bottles in the ocean, 00:13:18.148 --> 00:13:19.441 you'd get pretty upset. 00:13:21.568 --> 00:13:24.487 Alex decided to tackle the problem herself. 00:13:25.905 --> 00:13:27.574 One golf ball at a time. 00:13:30.368 --> 00:13:34.414 I always say if golf balls floated, this wouldn't be an issue. 00:13:35.790 --> 00:13:39.753 But because these golf balls are out of sight, they are out of mind. 00:13:41.338 --> 00:13:42.922 Over the last five years, 00:13:43.256 --> 00:13:46.718 Alex and Mike have collected 50,000 golf balls 00:13:48.470 --> 00:13:51.890 but still believe there are over a million left. 00:13:56.353 --> 00:13:59.522 Alex recorded her data in a scientific paper 00:13:59.689 --> 00:14:02.192 to persuade the golf course to clean up its act. 00:14:04.569 --> 00:14:06.696 Once the research paper was published, 00:14:06.780 --> 00:14:08.406 within a matter of days, 00:14:08.656 --> 00:14:13.536 Pebble Beach went public with a commitment to take the golf balls out of the ocean. 00:14:18.208 --> 00:14:22.921 The power was not in the removal of the golf ball, 00:14:23.004 --> 00:14:28.301 but it was in the message to other people that if you're seeing a problem, 00:14:28.385 --> 00:14:29.844 you can go and make a change. 00:14:30.011 --> 00:14:32.889 And you have the power within you, even if you're a little kid, 00:14:32.972 --> 00:14:35.308 to go out there and make that change happen 00:14:35.433 --> 00:14:39.229 for yourself, for your community, and for your environment. 00:14:44.109 --> 00:14:47.028 But plastic pollution is only part of the story. 00:14:50.365 --> 00:14:53.326 The sea otters and other kelp forest residents 00:14:53.493 --> 00:14:56.329 are facing the loss of their entire habitat. 00:15:01.167 --> 00:15:04.295 Alex's dad, Mike, is working with a team of divers 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:06.798 to try to stop an invading army. 00:15:10.218 --> 00:15:11.302 Sea urchins... 00:15:13.304 --> 00:15:14.681 in their millions. 00:15:16.933 --> 00:15:21.229 Urchin numbers have exploded because of unusually warm waters. 00:15:22.730 --> 00:15:25.150 And they're eating their way through the kelp. 00:15:26.985 --> 00:15:30.280 Two-thirds of the forest is already gone. 00:15:33.825 --> 00:15:36.202 The scale of this problem is beyond belief. 00:15:36.286 --> 00:15:39.080 It's tens of thousands of acres of... of coastline 00:15:39.164 --> 00:15:41.332 that the kelp has been devastated. And as a result, 00:15:41.416 --> 00:15:45.044 the fish populations suffer, the crustaceans suffer, everything suffers 00:15:45.170 --> 00:15:49.674 because the forest that they all depended on is now gone. 00:15:54.387 --> 00:15:58.016 So, if there's no kelp forests, the sea otter is missing a habitat, 00:15:58.141 --> 00:15:59.684 it's missing some protection. 00:16:00.977 --> 00:16:02.854 And nobody wants a world without sea otters. 00:16:05.732 --> 00:16:10.945 Mike is with a group of volunteer divers, led by Keith Rootsaert. 00:16:12.739 --> 00:16:15.241 They call themselves "The Urchinators." 00:16:17.952 --> 00:16:21.831 Our role in this is to go out and be a predator of urchins 00:16:21.956 --> 00:16:26.711 and reduce the number of urchins so that the kelp can come back and thrive 00:16:26.836 --> 00:16:28.838 and restore the biodiversity to this reef. 00:16:35.470 --> 00:16:40.517 Over 400 divers have joined the Giant Kelp Restoration Project. 00:16:44.354 --> 00:16:48.358 So far, they've removed 350,000 urchins 00:16:48.382 --> 00:16:50.944 to help the kelp recover. 00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:00.212 It feels great to be out there 00:17:00.236 --> 00:17:02.413 doing something and not just watching 00:17:02.497 --> 00:17:04.457 the disaster unfold in front of us. 00:17:08.169 --> 00:17:09.295 All right. 00:17:10.213 --> 00:17:12.048 Oh, this is nice. Yeah, I think... 00:17:12.131 --> 00:17:13.299 It's a good haul. 00:17:13.383 --> 00:17:15.176 Every little bit makes a difference, you know? 00:17:15.260 --> 00:17:18.137 Yeah, yeah. Especially when they're on the kelp and you're taking them off. 00:17:19.639 --> 00:17:21.516 You know, there are so many urchins, 00:17:21.641 --> 00:17:25.979 and then you realize that it's not just me down here. It's Casey, and Chad, 00:17:26.062 --> 00:17:27.313 -and Emily, and Kevin. -Right. 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.650 And that's what inspires me, you know, to keep on going. 00:17:30.775 --> 00:17:34.320 And, uh, it's just... Inspiration is just contagious. 00:17:37.031 --> 00:17:40.201 The dive community here isn't just removing the problems, 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.037 they're also restoring the kelp. 00:17:45.540 --> 00:17:49.752 Biologist Sara Gonzalez is collecting spores. 00:17:53.923 --> 00:17:57.093 She then nurtures them in her lab for six weeks. 00:17:59.262 --> 00:18:02.640 When the plants are just a fraction of an inch tall, 00:18:02.974 --> 00:18:04.976 Sara secures them to the seabed 00:18:05.435 --> 00:18:07.729 to help them make it through the storms. 00:18:11.983 --> 00:18:16.237 I'm so happy. It is such a joy to see them grow up. 00:18:17.739 --> 00:18:20.491 Now there's some of them are nine meters tall. 00:18:21.534 --> 00:18:24.996 Swimming around through there, it looks just like any other kelp forest. 00:18:29.167 --> 00:18:30.251 In time, 00:18:30.376 --> 00:18:33.421 this experiment could be rolled out on a bigger scale, 00:18:34.922 --> 00:18:38.593 helping to regenerate kelp forests all along the coasts. 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:44.223 What Sara is doing is brilliant. 00:18:45.516 --> 00:18:47.644 This is a story of perseverance. 00:18:48.603 --> 00:18:51.356 Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, "I'm going to save the world." 00:18:52.482 --> 00:18:56.235 But people like Alex and Keith, they get up in the morning and they say, 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:57.862 "I'm going to take a step forward. 00:18:58.946 --> 00:19:01.824 "And if I get a few balls out, if I get a few urchins out, 00:19:02.867 --> 00:19:05.662 "it's gonna make the world a little bit closer to being a better place." 00:19:13.670 --> 00:19:15.171 From coast to coast, 00:19:15.296 --> 00:19:18.800 everyday heroes are helping protect wildlife... 00:19:20.551 --> 00:19:22.679 using whatever skills they have. 00:19:26.391 --> 00:19:30.937 Sometimes huge success can be achieved with just a camera... 00:19:33.147 --> 00:19:34.816 and a lot of perseverance. 00:19:41.864 --> 00:19:43.658 The southern swamps. 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:48.454 A secret world of wildlife. 00:19:53.334 --> 00:19:54.836 Most elusive of all... 00:19:57.171 --> 00:19:58.840 the Florida panther. 00:20:00.883 --> 00:20:03.344 North America's most endangered cat. 00:20:05.138 --> 00:20:08.266 Once very common in the southeastern states, 00:20:08.975 --> 00:20:11.519 they were nearly wiped out completely. 00:20:12.603 --> 00:20:16.274 Now they only exist in Florida's wildest places... 00:20:19.277 --> 00:20:20.862 which are rapidly disappearing. 00:20:24.741 --> 00:20:28.035 You could say that Florida is a fractured paradise. 00:20:29.996 --> 00:20:34.208 We have now more than 1,000 people moving here every single day. 00:20:34.584 --> 00:20:38.963 And that leads, conservatively, to 100,000 acres of land lost 00:20:39.046 --> 00:20:40.631 to development every year. 00:20:51.934 --> 00:20:54.979 Carlton Ward is a wildlife photographer. 00:20:56.481 --> 00:20:58.274 For the last five years, 00:20:58.441 --> 00:21:02.028 he and fellow conservationist, Malia Byrtus, 00:21:02.153 --> 00:21:05.740 have been on a mission to connect 00:21:05.823 --> 00:21:09.265 the remaining wild fragments of Florida 00:21:09.289 --> 00:21:11.954 into a protected corridor for wildlife. 00:21:23.257 --> 00:21:26.344 To win public support for the corridor project, 00:21:26.636 --> 00:21:30.306 Carlton and Malia have spent many months in the swamps, 00:21:30.973 --> 00:21:33.559 trying to get pictures of the panthers. 00:21:36.437 --> 00:21:41.234 These animals are so elusive that we have to set cameras up 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:45.404 in environments like this where the actual animal triggers 00:21:45.488 --> 00:21:47.865 the camera themselves. And that's how we get images. 00:21:48.241 --> 00:21:50.827 And we're able to see their natural behavior 00:21:50.910 --> 00:21:53.287 without any impact on the animal. 00:21:55.540 --> 00:21:57.416 Gosh. I like this angle. 00:22:01.379 --> 00:22:05.466 Malia's best panther impression helps set the camera's focus, 00:22:06.551 --> 00:22:08.261 and they're ready to go. 00:22:12.265 --> 00:22:16.185 When a panther comes to this spot, it's going to have a choice to turn around 00:22:16.269 --> 00:22:17.895 and walk back or to jump over. 00:22:18.479 --> 00:22:20.940 There's a log here, it might give it a stepping-stone. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:24.861 We're hoping to get a picture of a Florida panther walking down this trail, 00:22:24.944 --> 00:22:27.780 pausing at the edge of that water, and then flying through the air 00:22:27.864 --> 00:22:28.990 to get to the other side. 00:22:35.329 --> 00:22:38.249 Carlton is an eighth-generation Floridian. 00:22:39.542 --> 00:22:42.253 He's deeply connected to these wild places. 00:22:45.548 --> 00:22:50.177 These swamps are so remote and so... harsh to many people 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.931 that they've been spared the bulldozer and spared the development. 00:22:55.808 --> 00:23:00.229 They're a last remnant and a reminder of a primordial, wild past 00:23:00.313 --> 00:23:04.525 where you can step down into this dark, tannic water, 00:23:04.609 --> 00:23:07.987 and this quiet just surrounds you. 00:23:14.243 --> 00:23:16.078 As someone working with camera traps, 00:23:16.162 --> 00:23:19.916 you get a sense of who you're sharing that space with. 00:23:25.212 --> 00:23:28.090 You'll start to recognize that same panther 00:23:28.174 --> 00:23:30.301 or that same family of black bears. 00:23:31.844 --> 00:23:35.640 And so, it's a window into this truly wild world. 00:23:45.358 --> 00:23:48.903 But the wild animals don't have this corridor to themselves. 00:23:50.112 --> 00:23:54.742 They share it with cattle where it passes through Florida's ranch land. 00:23:58.663 --> 00:24:00.665 On this ranch in Immokalee, 00:24:00.748 --> 00:24:05.169 they often run into black bears moving between different patches of forest. 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:12.593 They need the wildlife corridor as much as the panthers. 00:24:20.393 --> 00:24:25.147 Because it's such a hot spot for bears, this ranch is a great place to catch one. 00:24:26.273 --> 00:24:28.025 Yeah. All right. 00:24:29.860 --> 00:24:33.072 Carlton and Malia are working with government scientists 00:24:33.155 --> 00:24:35.658 to study the bears' health and movements. 00:24:39.078 --> 00:24:41.539 The best way to lure in a hungry bear? 00:24:42.206 --> 00:24:44.083 They can tell you're trying to attract something. 00:24:44.166 --> 00:24:46.293 Donuts. Every time. 00:24:47.336 --> 00:24:50.965 Glazed, jelly-filled, powdered. 00:24:56.345 --> 00:25:01.267 Now all the team has to do is sit tight... and wait. 00:25:07.815 --> 00:25:10.735 One of the biggest obstacles for the wildlife corridor... 00:25:12.903 --> 00:25:14.530 are human highways. 00:25:18.534 --> 00:25:23.080 Around 20 panthers are killed each year on Florida's roads. 00:25:28.002 --> 00:25:30.796 So, when they built the highway I-75, 00:25:31.005 --> 00:25:35.301 the Department of Transportation worked with conservationists 00:25:35.426 --> 00:25:38.220 to find a way to keep the animals safe. 00:25:42.475 --> 00:25:44.894 When the planners developed that stretch of interstate, 00:25:44.977 --> 00:25:48.856 the entire length of it has eight-foot-tall cross fence. 00:25:50.441 --> 00:25:52.943 And there's more than 30 underpass structures 00:25:53.069 --> 00:25:54.487 going beneath that road. 00:25:55.112 --> 00:25:57.615 As a result, you never have panthers 00:25:57.698 --> 00:26:00.117 and bears killed on that stretch of highway. 00:26:02.078 --> 00:26:03.370 Which side do you think? 00:26:03.621 --> 00:26:04.955 That looks good to me. 00:26:08.125 --> 00:26:10.252 Our cameras show that they really work. 00:26:14.715 --> 00:26:18.010 We see bears, bobcats, coyotes... 00:26:20.012 --> 00:26:21.180 deer. 00:26:21.931 --> 00:26:24.517 All these animals are using these places. 00:26:27.228 --> 00:26:30.189 The team captures a very special moment... 00:26:32.858 --> 00:26:35.528 a mother panther and her one-year-old cub. 00:26:38.906 --> 00:26:42.201 It's a great sign. Crystal clear evidence 00:26:42.284 --> 00:26:45.329 that the wildlife corridor is starting to work, 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:49.291 and panthers are traveling more freely. 00:26:53.379 --> 00:26:57.133 It's just amazing to sit back and watch the hundreds of cars 00:26:57.216 --> 00:26:59.009 and tractor-trailers whizzing by 00:26:59.093 --> 00:27:02.346 and wonder how many people know that, like, at certain moments, 00:27:02.429 --> 00:27:04.849 there's a Florida panther standing beneath them. 00:27:06.267 --> 00:27:08.519 Or a Florida black bear and its cubs traveling 00:27:08.602 --> 00:27:10.271 from one patch of forest to the next. 00:27:23.826 --> 00:27:26.704 Back at the ranch, the donuts have delivered. 00:27:28.581 --> 00:27:31.208 There's a large bear in the trap. 00:27:33.711 --> 00:27:34.837 This is a big bear. 00:27:34.962 --> 00:27:39.049 Yeah. Probably around 350 pounds. Maybe bigger. 00:27:39.175 --> 00:27:40.217 He's adult. 00:27:40.384 --> 00:27:42.469 Yeah, definitely an adult male. 00:27:43.512 --> 00:27:46.098 First job for Shelby and her team is 00:27:46.182 --> 00:27:47.975 to send him off for a snooze. 00:28:03.991 --> 00:28:05.784 - All right, Ashley. - Yep. 00:28:07.703 --> 00:28:10.164 - All right, he's coming down. - I got his head. 00:28:16.378 --> 00:28:18.505 All right, he's 355. 00:28:18.589 --> 00:28:20.341 - Three fifty-five. - Yeah. 00:28:24.386 --> 00:28:27.932 So, he is an adult male. He's very healthy-looking. 00:28:28.349 --> 00:28:32.436 I would guess he's probably maybe around six or seven years old. 00:28:32.978 --> 00:28:35.564 And overall, he's a great-looking bear. 00:28:35.648 --> 00:28:37.942 And hopefully, he'll live a long life out here. 00:28:39.568 --> 00:28:43.405 To be able to see the bear, and hear the bear, and smell the bear, 00:28:43.489 --> 00:28:46.784 and feel the strength of the bear makes you respect them 00:28:46.909 --> 00:28:48.160 even that much more. 00:28:50.621 --> 00:28:54.917 The bear is given an ear tag so they can identify him in the future. 00:28:57.670 --> 00:28:58.963 Ear tag code. 00:28:59.171 --> 00:29:02.174 The code is short black, short black, medium black. 00:29:06.971 --> 00:29:09.682 There's a chance that this bear will show up again 00:29:09.807 --> 00:29:12.559 on camera 25, 50, 100 miles away, 00:29:12.685 --> 00:29:15.479 and that'll give information about their territory 00:29:15.938 --> 00:29:17.773 and how they travel through the corridor. 00:29:19.441 --> 00:29:23.946 It's time to wake up. This dozy bear won't remember a thing. 00:29:25.364 --> 00:29:28.409 But the information he provides will be crucial 00:29:28.867 --> 00:29:31.608 to understanding how people and wildlife 00:29:31.632 --> 00:29:34.790 can coexist along the corridor. 00:29:52.141 --> 00:29:54.893 Pretty amazing to see it run off into the wild. 00:29:56.020 --> 00:30:00.733 Sitting in that cage quiet... and then bam! 00:30:01.525 --> 00:30:02.901 There you go. 00:30:03.152 --> 00:30:06.655 So fast. Jumps out of the cage, and then gone, back into the forest. 00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:12.619 This does give me an extreme amount of hope. 00:30:13.871 --> 00:30:15.247 I'm seeing with my own eyes 00:30:15.372 --> 00:30:17.916 that this bear is using the Florida Wildlife Corridor, 00:30:18.083 --> 00:30:19.668 and that means the world. 00:30:19.752 --> 00:30:22.004 That means that all of our work that we're doing 00:30:22.087 --> 00:30:25.424 in collaboration with so many other folks is, it's working. 00:30:30.387 --> 00:30:32.848 Covering nearly 18 million acres, 00:30:33.474 --> 00:30:35.225 the Florida Wildlife Corridor 00:30:35.309 --> 00:30:39.605 was officially recognized in state law in 2021. 00:30:42.441 --> 00:30:47.112 Carlton, Malia, and their team have achieved their dream. 00:30:48.489 --> 00:30:52.701 Their pictures have shown people the amazing animals on their doorstep 00:30:54.286 --> 00:30:57.790 and won the support needed to secure their future. 00:31:00.334 --> 00:31:05.339 Seeing the images of the panther in its natural and wild environment, 00:31:05.422 --> 00:31:06.590 it... it's incredible. 00:31:08.425 --> 00:31:10.844 That is wild. That is wild. 00:31:12.971 --> 00:31:15.265 You can see the eyes of this Florida panther 00:31:15.349 --> 00:31:20.896 coming into the frame, stop at the edge of this swamp creek, and then leap, 00:31:20.979 --> 00:31:25.109 with all this strength and grace, right past the camera. 00:31:30.197 --> 00:31:31.281 Wow! 00:31:34.201 --> 00:31:37.871 And that panther is gonna carry with it the story and the hopes 00:31:37.955 --> 00:31:40.749 of these wild places where it still makes its home. 00:31:47.506 --> 00:31:51.009 Wildlife heroes come from every corner of the continent. 00:31:51.427 --> 00:31:53.387 And from every walk of life. 00:31:57.141 --> 00:31:59.059 All along the West Coast, 00:31:59.184 --> 00:32:01.812 individuals are helping to make a difference... 00:32:03.397 --> 00:32:05.899 even in the smallest of ways. 00:32:08.986 --> 00:32:12.030 Every year, people gather on Oregon's shoreline 00:32:12.781 --> 00:32:15.742 for one of the world's greatest wildlife events... 00:32:15.826 --> 00:32:17.911 - Do you see it, Mom? - Yeah, I see it. 00:32:20.622 --> 00:32:22.416 ...the gray whale migration. 00:32:27.796 --> 00:32:30.090 It's a 12,000-mile journey... 00:32:32.342 --> 00:32:35.387 from Mexico to the Alaskan Arctic. 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:46.482 The whales are a welcome sight 00:32:53.726 --> 00:32:58.147 Retired firefighter Ara has found a new purpose in life. 00:32:58.731 --> 00:33:01.066 He's now a volunteer whale observer 00:33:01.942 --> 00:33:04.528 and helps educate people who come to see them. 00:33:05.362 --> 00:33:06.488 How big are they? 00:33:06.572 --> 00:33:10.618 Uh, the gray whales, they're about as big as a school bus. The ones we're seeing. 00:33:11.452 --> 00:33:13.579 - You see the orange thing? Okay. - Yeah. 00:33:13.704 --> 00:33:16.248 When I was in the fire service, I generally dealt with people 00:33:16.332 --> 00:33:17.750 having the worst day of their life. 00:33:17.958 --> 00:33:20.878 And now what I'm doing is totally different. 00:33:20.961 --> 00:33:23.047 And when people see a whale, and they get excited, 00:33:23.172 --> 00:33:26.258 I just realize they're having one of the best days of their life. 00:33:26.342 --> 00:33:28.677 And that's pretty exciting. 00:33:31.555 --> 00:33:32.932 Like hundreds of others, 00:33:33.390 --> 00:33:37.144 Ara uses an app on his phone to record sightings, 00:33:37.645 --> 00:33:40.397 including a note of any whales in trouble. 00:33:45.861 --> 00:33:49.615 Thanks, in part, to this information, scientists have discovered 00:33:49.782 --> 00:33:51.116 a serious problem. 00:33:53.077 --> 00:33:55.371 Following a recent peak in population, 00:33:57.331 --> 00:34:02.169 gray whale numbers have suddenly dropped by 25 percent. 00:34:04.672 --> 00:34:07.424 It's a mystery that needs to be solved. 00:34:19.728 --> 00:34:21.355 Professor Leigh Torres, 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:24.191 one of the world's top experts on gray whales, 00:34:24.858 --> 00:34:26.068 is on the case. 00:34:27.820 --> 00:34:29.279 Ready for takeoff. 00:34:35.285 --> 00:34:37.621 With a bit of help from the U.S. Coast Guard, 00:34:38.288 --> 00:34:40.666 Leigh is heading out to track the whale's progress 00:34:41.125 --> 00:34:42.668 along the Oregon coastline. 00:34:45.254 --> 00:34:48.549 There's a blow at three o'clock, about 200 meters. 00:34:48.674 --> 00:34:51.051 Two blows, if we can bank around. 00:34:54.555 --> 00:34:57.641 Another blow, so there's two whales right next to each other. 00:35:01.020 --> 00:35:03.055 We do these flights four times a month, 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:05.357 and we collect some great data 00:35:05.524 --> 00:35:08.193 about their distribution across these coastal oceans. 00:35:11.613 --> 00:35:14.408 It's really important because a lot of them are washing up dead 00:35:14.491 --> 00:35:15.701 and skinny on the beach. 00:35:20.205 --> 00:35:21.707 Since 2019, 00:35:22.124 --> 00:35:27.212 more than 500 dead whales have been discovered along the coast. 00:35:32.009 --> 00:35:35.763 At the same time, the number of ship strikes has gone up. 00:35:37.848 --> 00:35:41.477 The whales seem to be more and more vulnerable to collisions. 00:35:47.858 --> 00:35:51.028 Another danger is getting tangled in fishing gear. 00:35:57.659 --> 00:36:00.871 Leigh and her team are studying their local whale population, 00:36:00.954 --> 00:36:03.540 to discover why they're running into trouble. 00:36:10.589 --> 00:36:14.259 Every now and then, we shut down the engine and have a look and a listen. 00:36:17.012 --> 00:36:22.309 It's just a little puff on the horizon, a difference in the smell of the air, 00:36:22.726 --> 00:36:27.064 a sound of the blow. And then we're on our game. 00:36:32.653 --> 00:36:34.780 - Oh, blow right here. Yeah. - Yeah. 00:36:34.905 --> 00:36:36.031 - I've got it. - Cool. 00:36:36.115 --> 00:36:37.991 Right over there. By that other one. 00:36:39.618 --> 00:36:42.121 - Oh. It's Pac-Man. - Yeah! 00:36:42.204 --> 00:36:43.747 So, this is a whale we know. 00:36:44.081 --> 00:36:48.669 It's got this really distinctive Pac-Man-looking mark on its left side. 00:36:51.130 --> 00:36:54.383 Oh, it's wonderful. It's like seeing an old friend on the street, you know? 00:36:54.466 --> 00:36:56.635 Just, uh, knowing, "Oh, you're here, you're feeding. 00:36:56.718 --> 00:36:59.179 "So, yeah, let's hang out for a little bit." 00:37:00.139 --> 00:37:03.142 - Oh, right here. - Holy moly! Hi, Pac-Man. 00:37:07.938 --> 00:37:09.565 And that's a whale. 00:37:13.861 --> 00:37:15.887 So, now we'll just... hang around and wait 00:37:15.911 --> 00:37:18.365 for poop. See if we can get lucky. 00:37:19.575 --> 00:37:25.247 The team is trying to sniff out any possible clues in the whale's poop. 00:37:29.501 --> 00:37:30.919 All clean, no poop? 00:37:31.044 --> 00:37:32.296 All clean. No poop. 00:37:32.754 --> 00:37:35.340 Oh, whale, give us a poop. 00:37:36.592 --> 00:37:37.759 - Oh. - Whoa! 00:37:37.843 --> 00:37:39.970 - That's a big arch. - Come on. 00:37:40.053 --> 00:37:41.972 - Oh, poop! - Poop! Poop! 00:37:43.974 --> 00:37:45.726 Get the net in, net in. 00:37:47.769 --> 00:37:49.438 Nice swooshing. 00:37:51.899 --> 00:37:53.692 Even just a little bit will do. 00:37:54.151 --> 00:37:55.319 I have some. 00:37:56.570 --> 00:37:59.907 Oh, nice. Oh, that's a good sample. Sweet! 00:38:00.407 --> 00:38:02.367 Good job, Clara! 00:38:03.619 --> 00:38:06.455 Nice, Pac-Man. Nice work, dude! 00:38:10.751 --> 00:38:12.711 By analyzing their poop, 00:38:12.961 --> 00:38:15.881 Leigh can tell if her study group are stressed. 00:38:22.387 --> 00:38:23.430 What we found is 00:38:23.513 --> 00:38:26.225 that skinny whales have higher stress levels. 00:38:26.350 --> 00:38:29.853 And so, like us, maybe they get hangry, right? 00:38:29.937 --> 00:38:33.523 So, when you just don't get enough food, everything seems to bother us more 00:38:33.690 --> 00:38:35.025 and stress us out more. 00:38:35.108 --> 00:38:37.027 And it might be similar for whales. 00:38:40.989 --> 00:38:45.494 The million-dollar question really is why these whales aren't getting enough food? 00:38:50.916 --> 00:38:54.461 Part of the answer lies 2,000 miles north, 00:38:55.504 --> 00:39:00.092 in the whales' arctic feeding grounds at the end of their journey. 00:39:03.887 --> 00:39:08.016 With climate change, prey is becoming less abundant, 00:39:08.100 --> 00:39:09.977 less predictable to the whales. 00:39:11.478 --> 00:39:14.398 Many of them are suffering. They're malnourished and skinny, 00:39:14.731 --> 00:39:17.651 which is impacting their ability to survive. 00:39:24.074 --> 00:39:28.412 The whales are stressed out, starving, and exhausted. 00:39:29.955 --> 00:39:34.209 So they find it harder to move out of the way of the ships and fishing nets. 00:39:36.503 --> 00:39:39.923 But people can help simply by watching them. 00:39:42.009 --> 00:39:45.679 Beautiful. Beautiful. Magnificent animal. 00:39:48.390 --> 00:39:51.935 Ara's app sends alerts to fishing boats and other ships 00:39:52.019 --> 00:39:55.731 so they know where the whales are feeding and can avoid them. 00:39:58.525 --> 00:40:01.069 I believe the average citizen who comes out 00:40:01.153 --> 00:40:06.074 on a regular basis and observes, they can see changes that are occurring. 00:40:06.450 --> 00:40:09.619 And when they notice those changes, they can alert somebody. 00:40:09.828 --> 00:40:13.081 And you're making a difference... even in your own little way. 00:40:22.341 --> 00:40:26.928 There are times when being a wildlife hero takes real bravery. 00:40:29.556 --> 00:40:32.142 In the battle to protect our wildest places, 00:40:32.517 --> 00:40:35.979 often the most powerful weapon is your voice. 00:40:39.691 --> 00:40:40.734 Alaska. 00:40:42.235 --> 00:40:44.780 Up here are some of the last areas 00:40:44.863 --> 00:40:47.574 of untouched wilderness left on the planet. 00:40:52.037 --> 00:40:54.206 At nearly 20 million acres, 00:40:54.289 --> 00:40:58.335 the Arctic Refuge is the largest wildlife reserve in the U.S. 00:40:59.586 --> 00:41:04.174 Home to a vast herd of 150,000 caribou. 00:41:07.469 --> 00:41:10.597 They have a special connection with the people who live here. 00:41:16.603 --> 00:41:21.441 Known as the "Caribou People," the Gwich'in have roamed this land 00:41:21.566 --> 00:41:24.027 for over 40,000 years. 00:41:28.448 --> 00:41:32.369 Bernadette Demientieff is one of the lead voices in the tribe. 00:41:35.122 --> 00:41:38.458 She and her family have come to their ancestral hunting lands. 00:41:53.765 --> 00:41:55.725 This place is sacred to us. 00:41:57.227 --> 00:42:00.772 Just like how some people consider a church. 00:42:05.777 --> 00:42:11.074 Our ancestors respected, honored these lands and these waters, 00:42:11.366 --> 00:42:14.161 our animals, and we have to carry that on. 00:42:17.122 --> 00:42:20.625 But Bernadette hasn't always felt such a strong connection 00:42:20.750 --> 00:42:21.751 to her roots. 00:42:26.798 --> 00:42:31.928 After high school, I lost myself. I started drinking... 00:42:32.679 --> 00:42:35.682 and I walked away from my family. 00:42:36.475 --> 00:42:40.645 I really went down a path that I am not proud of. 00:42:42.731 --> 00:42:46.985 But I see now today that it made me who I am. 00:42:49.029 --> 00:42:52.782 And I'm here now to share my responsibility as a Gwich'in. 00:42:56.286 --> 00:43:00.665 Bernadette and her people have a major fight on their hands. 00:43:06.087 --> 00:43:09.341 Their most sacred site is the coastal plain 00:43:09.549 --> 00:43:12.886 where the caribou come each year to give birth. 00:43:14.221 --> 00:43:19.184 But beneath the surface lies over four billion barrels of oil. 00:43:22.521 --> 00:43:25.637 The oil companies in nearby Prudhoe Bay 00:43:25.661 --> 00:43:28.777 want to drill into the birthing grounds. 00:43:32.072 --> 00:43:35.575 That could put the very survival of the caribou in jeopardy. 00:43:41.623 --> 00:43:45.043 There was a time when we were able to communicate with the animals. 00:43:45.877 --> 00:43:49.005 We communicated with the caribou. 00:43:49.548 --> 00:43:52.342 And we made a vow to take care of each other. 00:43:55.387 --> 00:43:58.531 Now it's our turn to take care of them 00:43:58.555 --> 00:44:01.017 and to protect their calving grounds. 00:44:05.564 --> 00:44:07.607 As spokesperson for the Gwich'in, 00:44:07.691 --> 00:44:09.734 Bernadette has spent eight years 00:44:09.859 --> 00:44:15.031 battling to get a bill to protect the Refuge passed through Washington. 00:44:17.450 --> 00:44:20.620 Protecting the coastal plain is protecting our identity 00:44:20.745 --> 00:44:22.330 and our human rights. 00:44:22.622 --> 00:44:27.002 For us, this is a matter of physical, spiritual, and cultural survival. 00:44:28.169 --> 00:44:30.630 I believe that one of the most powerful tools 00:44:30.755 --> 00:44:32.674 that you have is your voice. 00:44:33.258 --> 00:44:36.428 I just got a big mouth. I just... 00:44:36.511 --> 00:44:40.307 I absolutely refuse to allow somebody 00:44:40.390 --> 00:44:44.603 to push their way into our homelands, and do whatever they want, 00:44:44.728 --> 00:44:49.149 and, um, sit idly by. I won't allow it... that to happen. 00:44:57.907 --> 00:45:02.579 Creator, we thank you for this day. We thank you for bringing us together. 00:45:03.038 --> 00:45:07.459 We thank you for this land, for the water, for the animals. 00:45:08.877 --> 00:45:11.087 We vow to protect it. 00:45:11.546 --> 00:45:13.798 Today and always. 00:45:18.887 --> 00:45:22.641 And then a phone call from Washington. 00:45:26.728 --> 00:45:31.691 - Oh my gosh. You guys, I've just... - Oh my gosh. 00:45:33.610 --> 00:45:37.113 The bill just passed the House and it's going to the Senate. 00:45:37.656 --> 00:45:40.367 And, um, they did a count. 00:45:42.285 --> 00:45:46.331 Um, and we got enough in the Senate to... to restore protection 00:45:46.414 --> 00:45:51.086 for the Arctic Refuge. A lot of hard work paid off. 00:45:52.462 --> 00:45:56.174 Just never give up for what you believe in. 00:45:56.966 --> 00:45:59.552 I just can't believe it. This was just, like, impossible. 00:45:59.636 --> 00:46:02.639 One year ago, this was totally impossible. 00:46:03.098 --> 00:46:07.769 And now it's happening. And it's just... it's just really in my heart. 00:46:07.852 --> 00:46:11.356 Just really... Just feeling it. 00:46:16.027 --> 00:46:20.031 I am proud of you. 00:46:26.830 --> 00:46:28.957 We win this fight together. 00:46:31.376 --> 00:46:35.046 Standing as one, not just Gwich'in people, 00:46:35.130 --> 00:46:36.631 but all of us. 00:46:41.761 --> 00:46:43.471 From the southern swamps... 00:46:46.850 --> 00:46:48.393 to the northern plains... 00:46:50.186 --> 00:46:53.261 people are finding new ways 00:46:53.285 --> 00:46:56.359 to enable us to live alongside nature. 00:46:56.735 --> 00:47:01.656 I love that we're moving back in the direction of sharing lands 00:47:01.740 --> 00:47:03.283 with wild animals 00:47:04.451 --> 00:47:07.912 because that's how we as people on this continent started, 00:47:08.955 --> 00:47:11.332 and that's what our future is gonna be too. 00:47:13.418 --> 00:47:15.628 America is a land of heroes... 00:47:17.797 --> 00:47:19.466 with one thing in common... 00:47:20.341 --> 00:47:25.221 the courage to protect our most precious wild treasures. 00:47:27.766 --> 00:47:31.019 As long as you're passionate about what you're fighting for, 00:47:31.102 --> 00:47:36.441 there's no question whether you'll succeed or not because when your heart's involved, 00:47:36.858 --> 00:47:38.818 nothing else can stop you.