WEBVTT 00:00:12.929 --> 00:00:15.056 Welcome to North America. 00:00:21.187 --> 00:00:23.732 The most diverse continent on Earth. 00:00:27.485 --> 00:00:31.865 The only place where you can find every landscape from polar ice cap... 00:00:33.867 --> 00:00:37.746 to baking desert, and everything in between. 00:00:39.914 --> 00:00:44.627 Whatever the neighborhood, there is a hero who can make it a home. 00:00:51.426 --> 00:00:56.765 Smart, tough, brave, you name it. 00:00:57.557 --> 00:01:00.018 They all have what it takes to thrive 00:01:00.435 --> 00:01:04.564 in the wildest, most beautiful continent on Earth. 00:01:40.058 --> 00:01:42.644 The southeast corner of the USA. 00:01:45.647 --> 00:01:47.774 For over a thousand miles, 00:01:47.857 --> 00:01:50.568 between Washington, D.C., the tip of Florida, 00:01:51.027 --> 00:01:52.779 and onwards to Louisiana, 00:01:53.655 --> 00:01:56.407 a coastal plain sits just above sea level. 00:01:59.869 --> 00:02:03.665 A magical place where the boundary between land and water 00:02:04.541 --> 00:02:05.625 is ever changing. 00:02:08.294 --> 00:02:11.422 And life must slip between two worlds. 00:02:27.480 --> 00:02:29.774 The steamy swamplands of Louisiana... 00:02:31.359 --> 00:02:34.279 as rich in life as a tropical rainforest. 00:02:46.499 --> 00:02:47.917 And some of that life... 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:52.213 can be found in surprising places. 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:06.644 This black bear has been holed up in her tree all winter. 00:03:08.938 --> 00:03:12.734 When she went to bed, there was dry land all around her. 00:03:15.028 --> 00:03:17.363 But it's rained way more than usual this year. 00:03:18.114 --> 00:03:20.283 Now her tree is an island. 00:03:25.914 --> 00:03:27.707 Weird thing to wake up to. 00:03:41.471 --> 00:03:44.140 Being cut off from dry land has given her a problem. 00:03:50.521 --> 00:03:53.691 Because now, this bear's got a family to feed. 00:03:59.489 --> 00:04:02.158 These little guys were born just three months ago. 00:04:03.868 --> 00:04:06.746 They're each drinking a quart of milk every day. 00:04:09.165 --> 00:04:11.751 To keep them fed, she's gotta eat. 00:04:15.838 --> 00:04:17.048 And that means... 00:04:18.174 --> 00:04:20.510 crossing gator-infested water. 00:04:26.683 --> 00:04:29.602 She's scouting the most direct path to dry land. 00:04:39.946 --> 00:04:42.865 She can swim, but her cubs can't. 00:04:45.618 --> 00:04:49.455 So now she's got to try something which nobody has ever seen before, 00:04:49.747 --> 00:04:51.416 let alone filmed. 00:05:05.096 --> 00:05:09.726 She has no other choice but to carry her cubs through the swamp. 00:05:13.855 --> 00:05:15.773 She can't grip him too tightly. 00:05:19.652 --> 00:05:21.571 But if she loses her grip... 00:05:28.536 --> 00:05:30.830 ...the stakes couldn't be higher. 00:05:47.972 --> 00:05:51.851 She must take the risk, or her cubs will starve. 00:06:03.029 --> 00:06:06.407 The swamp floor is a mass of gnarly roots. 00:06:08.409 --> 00:06:10.828 One slip, one stumble, 00:06:11.454 --> 00:06:13.247 and he's got an easy meal. 00:06:21.631 --> 00:06:23.591 She's reached the point of no return. 00:06:40.024 --> 00:06:42.026 That's one cub on dry land. 00:06:46.739 --> 00:06:48.866 Now she needs to finish the job. 00:07:01.629 --> 00:07:02.839 Cub number two 00:07:03.089 --> 00:07:05.216 doesn't want to leave the safety of the tree. 00:07:08.428 --> 00:07:10.304 It's the only home he's ever known. 00:07:35.246 --> 00:07:36.914 Mission accomplished. 00:07:41.627 --> 00:07:45.214 This mother proves herself a true Waterland hero. 00:07:48.634 --> 00:07:52.555 Around here, you gotta be able to move from land to water... 00:07:54.807 --> 00:07:57.059 and from water to land. 00:08:01.606 --> 00:08:04.609 The barrier islands of South Carolina. 00:08:05.985 --> 00:08:08.362 Part of a chain of sand dune islands 00:08:08.446 --> 00:08:11.532 running for 200 miles up the Atlantic coast. 00:08:22.627 --> 00:08:25.796 Behind is a maze of mud and water shaped by the tides. 00:08:29.675 --> 00:08:31.469 The setting for a southern spectacle 00:08:31.636 --> 00:08:34.013 not seen anywhere else in America. 00:08:53.741 --> 00:08:55.201 The tide is dropping, 00:08:55.701 --> 00:08:59.247 and predators are swimming into the maze from the open sea. 00:09:03.709 --> 00:09:06.045 They know these inlets are full of fish. 00:09:15.555 --> 00:09:19.600 And here, these bottlenose dolphins have figured out how to catch them... 00:09:21.727 --> 00:09:23.062 on land. 00:09:26.148 --> 00:09:29.277 They have just three hours before the tide rises 00:09:29.402 --> 00:09:31.862 and covers the exposed mud once again. 00:09:38.077 --> 00:09:40.621 A youngster joins the group to learn how it's done. 00:09:45.793 --> 00:09:48.671 They find their prey by echolocation, 00:09:49.589 --> 00:09:53.217 sound waves that help them see in muddy water. 00:10:00.433 --> 00:10:03.436 They work together to corral the fish close to the bank. 00:10:08.566 --> 00:10:10.860 Now for the smart part. 00:10:16.365 --> 00:10:19.535 They swim side by side, creating a bow wave. 00:10:22.705 --> 00:10:24.957 Which pushes the mullet up onto the mudbank. 00:10:29.503 --> 00:10:31.297 Now it's an easy meal for the dolphins. 00:10:40.097 --> 00:10:41.891 And freeloading pelicans. 00:10:56.572 --> 00:10:58.115 It's a great play... 00:10:59.992 --> 00:11:03.537 but you've got to herd the fish to just the right spot. 00:11:06.540 --> 00:11:09.377 Avoid the banks with sharp oyster shells. 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:15.800 Steep banks are no good. Most fish just bounce back into the water. 00:11:19.136 --> 00:11:20.596 Nice catch. 00:11:24.308 --> 00:11:27.895 And with flat banks, you risk getting stranded. 00:11:31.107 --> 00:11:35.236 Not many fish so far, and the tide is rising again. 00:11:38.280 --> 00:11:40.908 There's only one mudbank left uncovered. 00:11:53.796 --> 00:11:55.631 This is the perfect spot. 00:12:00.428 --> 00:12:01.762 It's showtime. 00:12:12.565 --> 00:12:16.110 And the rookie? Well, he's nearly got the hang of it. 00:12:39.341 --> 00:12:41.385 A good fishing trip after all, 00:12:42.178 --> 00:12:46.182 for these super-smart heroes that move from water to land 00:12:46.932 --> 00:12:48.100 and back again. 00:12:53.856 --> 00:12:58.152 Inland, the wetlands stretch as far as the eye can see. 00:13:01.530 --> 00:13:03.574 And their undisputed ruler... 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:10.206 is the American alligator. 00:13:15.961 --> 00:13:17.588 It's mating season. 00:13:24.011 --> 00:13:25.971 Time to get ready to rumble. 00:13:43.781 --> 00:13:46.575 This male gator is moving into the arena. 00:13:52.748 --> 00:13:54.917 Where the males will compete with each other 00:13:55.042 --> 00:13:56.627 for the hearts of the females. 00:14:00.089 --> 00:14:01.882 Not a physical contest. 00:14:04.593 --> 00:14:05.928 A sonic one. 00:14:08.430 --> 00:14:09.890 As he exhales, 00:14:09.974 --> 00:14:13.978 the gator creates a rumble so deep, it's infrasonic. 00:14:16.146 --> 00:14:17.773 Lower than we can hear. 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:23.946 So instead, we see it. 00:14:26.574 --> 00:14:29.243 The sound waves make the water dance. 00:14:47.261 --> 00:14:50.306 Sound travels more efficiently in water than air. 00:14:52.850 --> 00:14:55.853 So the rumble sends out the gator's dating profile 00:14:56.312 --> 00:14:58.230 far along the waterways. 00:15:05.487 --> 00:15:08.240 The bigger the gator, the bigger the rumble, 00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:12.202 and the further his love song will travel. 00:15:30.596 --> 00:15:35.059 But in this battle of the bands, you need to beware of jealous rivals. 00:15:45.194 --> 00:15:47.905 The underside of a gator has no armor. 00:15:52.826 --> 00:15:55.037 So rumbling males are vulnerable. 00:16:07.174 --> 00:16:09.426 Male gators can lose limbs, 00:16:10.177 --> 00:16:14.390 be blinded, or even killed in breeding season battles. 00:16:33.492 --> 00:16:38.872 The biggest male is unharmed, and his deep voice has worked its charm. 00:16:43.502 --> 00:16:46.005 A female has traced his call back to him. 00:16:49.842 --> 00:16:53.929 And now these ten-foot predators reveal their tender side. 00:16:56.265 --> 00:16:58.892 Foreplay, reptile style. 00:17:01.603 --> 00:17:03.689 A few weeks after this romance, 00:17:05.357 --> 00:17:08.527 the female will have eggs to lay. 00:17:20.789 --> 00:17:24.418 Above the waterline, the ruler is more secretive. 00:17:27.212 --> 00:17:29.631 This deer is right to be nervous. 00:17:35.471 --> 00:17:39.808 A stealth hunter lives in this Florida forest. 00:17:43.437 --> 00:17:46.815 An expert at using dense cover to hide. 00:17:49.026 --> 00:17:51.570 One of the rarest mammals in the world... 00:17:54.782 --> 00:17:56.575 found nowhere but here. 00:18:00.579 --> 00:18:05.417 Only brief glimpses of this animal have ever been seen in the wild... 00:18:06.001 --> 00:18:07.377 before now. 00:18:10.631 --> 00:18:12.174 A Florida panther. 00:18:18.972 --> 00:18:23.143 Once this big cat, supremely well-adapted to these forests, 00:18:23.685 --> 00:18:24.895 thrived here. 00:18:30.192 --> 00:18:34.154 But by 1970, there were just 20 left in the wild 00:18:35.322 --> 00:18:37.783 because of a change they weren't adapted for. 00:18:39.535 --> 00:18:43.080 The clearance of their home, for ours. 00:18:53.465 --> 00:18:54.675 Since then, though, 00:18:54.842 --> 00:18:58.470 amazing conservation efforts have brought the panthers back. 00:19:01.515 --> 00:19:04.143 A green ribbon of protected wilderness, 00:19:04.268 --> 00:19:07.938 the Florida Wildlife Corridor weaves between cities 00:19:08.021 --> 00:19:11.316 and connects patches of forest the length of the state. 00:19:27.833 --> 00:19:30.127 Where highways cut through the corridor, 00:19:30.836 --> 00:19:33.922 underpasses allow cats to cross in safety. 00:19:38.177 --> 00:19:42.389 Now, there are over 200 panthers in Florida once again. 00:19:49.438 --> 00:19:53.692 Joining up forest is good for the region's biggest land animal too. 00:19:56.028 --> 00:19:58.322 There's 40,000 across the South. 00:20:00.073 --> 00:20:02.534 And they're not shy about leaving their mark. 00:20:05.829 --> 00:20:09.041 This black bear's rubbing off his thick winter coat, 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:12.544 so he can stay cool through the summer. 00:20:22.054 --> 00:20:23.722 He's 400 pounds. 00:20:26.058 --> 00:20:28.060 And eight feet tall. 00:20:29.561 --> 00:20:31.605 But there's a tree for everyone. 00:21:03.053 --> 00:21:06.306 The youngsters watch and learn from the experts. 00:21:13.730 --> 00:21:16.733 By midsummer, it will be over 100 degrees. 00:21:20.028 --> 00:21:21.947 You could say "unbearable." 00:21:29.496 --> 00:21:33.959 For females without cubs, this is more than a way to stay cool. 00:21:35.544 --> 00:21:40.632 While rubbing off their coats, they're rubbing on their scent. 00:21:47.973 --> 00:21:50.392 Inviting males from miles around... 00:21:51.768 --> 00:21:54.980 to a private rendezvous. 00:22:13.582 --> 00:22:14.833 In the Waterland, 00:22:15.125 --> 00:22:17.878 the summer can be the most challenging time of the year. 00:22:24.634 --> 00:22:26.928 Even for the most resourceful inhabitants. 00:22:32.434 --> 00:22:35.228 This raccoon is a single mom. 00:22:42.944 --> 00:22:46.239 She and her kits are up early to avoid the midday heat. 00:22:51.953 --> 00:22:54.706 Though sleepyhead here didn't get the memo. 00:23:02.130 --> 00:23:04.925 The mud is full of juicy invertebrates. 00:23:09.137 --> 00:23:10.305 Tasty. 00:23:11.515 --> 00:23:15.685 Raccoon paws are four times more sensitive than most mammals'. 00:23:15.936 --> 00:23:18.230 They can virtually see with their hands. 00:23:23.777 --> 00:23:26.905 So Mom's eyes are free to scout for their next meal. 00:23:28.615 --> 00:23:31.993 An alligator nest mound packed with eggs. 00:23:34.663 --> 00:23:36.706 Just one problem. 00:23:37.374 --> 00:23:39.418 The owner's still home. 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:43.338 She mated with her rumbling male three weeks back 00:23:43.713 --> 00:23:46.174 and has fifty eggs in the mound. 00:23:51.179 --> 00:23:53.807 She could finish a raccoon in one bite. 00:23:58.395 --> 00:24:02.274 But she hasn't spotted the thieves, and she heads off to hunt. 00:24:08.613 --> 00:24:10.532 The raccoons grab their chance. 00:24:15.954 --> 00:24:19.207 No surprise that it's sleepyhead bringing up the rear. 00:24:42.814 --> 00:24:44.900 Gator eggs are full of protein. 00:24:45.692 --> 00:24:47.486 Perfect for a growing family. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:55.785 This has to be a smash-and-grab raid, though. 00:24:59.706 --> 00:25:01.082 They need to finish their breakfast 00:25:01.166 --> 00:25:03.126 before the gator returns from hers. 00:25:21.853 --> 00:25:25.607 Bellies full, the bandits leave the scene of the crime. 00:25:29.694 --> 00:25:31.613 All except sleepyhead. 00:25:41.373 --> 00:25:43.875 This is no time for sleeping on the job. 00:26:00.684 --> 00:26:02.352 The security's heading home. 00:26:27.043 --> 00:26:28.503 Last-minute getaway. 00:26:32.007 --> 00:26:35.302 It'll be another year before the gator mom can breed again. 00:26:38.888 --> 00:26:41.474 It's hard slipping between two worlds. 00:26:42.267 --> 00:26:45.270 Sometimes, it's better to live in just one. 00:26:49.983 --> 00:26:52.402 The ancestors of one southern giant 00:26:52.861 --> 00:26:56.114 switched from land to water a few million years back. 00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:04.247 A manatee, cousin of the elephant. 00:27:06.458 --> 00:27:11.713 These thousand-pound vegetarians are relaxing in a Florida spa. 00:27:16.217 --> 00:27:18.386 Warm water springs bubble up 00:27:18.470 --> 00:27:22.098 and keep these hot tubs at a balmy 72 degrees. 00:27:25.352 --> 00:27:27.354 The warmth can be a lifesaver. 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:31.024 Especially for a nursing calf. 00:27:33.818 --> 00:27:37.572 This little guy wouldn't have survived the winter in the cool ocean. 00:27:37.989 --> 00:27:40.200 So Mom brought him to the pool party. 00:27:45.664 --> 00:27:49.501 Nearly half the world's manatees come to Florida springs each year. 00:27:52.045 --> 00:27:55.256 Some swimming over 500 miles to get here. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:00.978 This pool hosts the largest gathering 00:28:01.002 --> 00:28:03.556 of all. Over 800 manatees. 00:28:08.228 --> 00:28:10.021 Now, the party's over. 00:28:11.106 --> 00:28:13.149 They've eaten all the food around here, 00:28:14.067 --> 00:28:16.069 and the ocean's warming up again. 00:28:17.487 --> 00:28:20.240 Time for the annual migration back to the coast. 00:28:23.535 --> 00:28:24.953 Just a quick kiss goodbye. 00:28:34.379 --> 00:28:37.173 Mom needs to keep her calf close to her side. 00:28:39.843 --> 00:28:42.595 The ancient migration routes are much more dangerous 00:28:42.679 --> 00:28:43.805 than they used to be. 00:28:45.265 --> 00:28:47.350 Because of a man-made killer. 00:28:58.153 --> 00:28:59.571 Slow-moving manatees 00:28:59.696 --> 00:29:02.657 are vulnerable to boats that break the speed limit. 00:29:12.834 --> 00:29:14.586 The propellers of speeding vessels 00:29:14.669 --> 00:29:16.504 kill many manatees every year. 00:29:22.093 --> 00:29:23.511 When a mom is killed, 00:29:25.054 --> 00:29:26.806 it's big trouble for the calf. 00:29:32.520 --> 00:29:36.274 Orphaned, he'll only survive a few days alone. 00:29:42.322 --> 00:29:46.284 But manatees do something that only a handful of other animals 00:29:46.367 --> 00:29:47.952 in the whole world do. 00:30:00.089 --> 00:30:03.301 Mothers adopt orphaned calves. 00:30:14.145 --> 00:30:16.856 This mom produces enough milk for two, 00:30:17.690 --> 00:30:21.069 and can lead both calves on the rest of their migration. 00:30:28.243 --> 00:30:33.414 The favorite destination for many is the coast of Everglades National Park. 00:30:41.381 --> 00:30:44.008 In between the mangrove-fringed islands, 00:30:44.217 --> 00:30:48.346 the warm shallow seas nourish huge beds of seagrass. 00:30:52.183 --> 00:30:54.310 The manatees' favorite food. 00:31:00.191 --> 00:31:04.988 Each manatee can eat up to 15 percent of its body weight every day. 00:31:11.870 --> 00:31:15.707 Here in the Waterland, the biggest meadows are down on the seabed. 00:31:29.679 --> 00:31:31.097 And after sunset, 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:35.643 the most beautiful light displays are not in the sky... 00:31:39.188 --> 00:31:40.690 but under the water. 00:31:54.078 --> 00:31:57.290 These lights are created by microscopic life-forms 00:31:58.750 --> 00:32:00.919 that thrive in their millions... 00:32:02.086 --> 00:32:03.671 ...in the warm summer seas. 00:32:07.884 --> 00:32:10.219 These tiny creatures flash with light, 00:32:10.386 --> 00:32:12.221 known as bioluminescence, 00:32:12.764 --> 00:32:14.724 when fish try to feed on them. 00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:21.272 It doesn't seem to put off the mullet that are out feeding tonight. 00:32:46.965 --> 00:32:49.425 Though the fish aren't the only predator in town. 00:32:52.595 --> 00:32:58.184 The dolphin, lighting up the lagoon in search of a mullet midnight feast. 00:33:15.743 --> 00:33:19.539 In the summer, night brings relief from the heat. 00:33:23.626 --> 00:33:27.380 On the coastal dunes, the hardest working hero in the South 00:33:28.965 --> 00:33:30.341 is starting her shift. 00:33:37.348 --> 00:33:41.352 This beach mouse has lots of food to collect before sunup. 00:33:43.938 --> 00:33:46.482 Luckily, she's got a great partner. 00:33:49.027 --> 00:33:53.531 Beach mice are one of very few mammals that mate for life. 00:33:55.116 --> 00:33:58.953 They work together to gather energy-rich seeds of sea oats. 00:34:07.962 --> 00:34:10.006 But the mice have a deadly foe. 00:34:19.265 --> 00:34:20.808 A red rat snake. 00:34:24.896 --> 00:34:28.441 Roaming the dunes, trying to pick up the mouse's scent trail. 00:34:56.135 --> 00:34:57.678 He's just inches away. 00:35:12.276 --> 00:35:16.989 How the mouse avoids detection was a mystery until recently. 00:35:23.746 --> 00:35:27.792 Even in near darkness, the snake has super senses. 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:32.255 His forked tongue tastes the air to sniff out prey. 00:35:36.843 --> 00:35:39.137 But he can't get a fix on his target. 00:35:56.112 --> 00:35:57.989 The mouse escapes again. 00:36:07.665 --> 00:36:09.876 With a storm looming, she heads home. 00:36:14.839 --> 00:36:17.300 And reveals the answer to the mystery. 00:36:19.886 --> 00:36:22.930 She's a collector of old snake skins. 00:36:24.640 --> 00:36:28.227 As she walks through, the snake scent rubs off on her... 00:36:32.064 --> 00:36:34.066 disguising her own scent. 00:36:40.489 --> 00:36:43.034 But the beach mice aren't safe just yet. 00:36:48.289 --> 00:36:50.499 The snake has found the mouse hole. 00:37:03.804 --> 00:37:07.433 In the burrow, there's no evading the hunter. 00:37:15.858 --> 00:37:17.485 Unless you've planned ahead. 00:37:23.282 --> 00:37:26.869 Every beach mouse burrow has a secret back door. 00:37:36.712 --> 00:37:38.589 The snake is foiled again. 00:37:41.217 --> 00:37:44.929 While the mouse rejoins her faithful partner in a backup burrow, 00:37:45.638 --> 00:37:47.974 dug for exactly these occasions. 00:37:56.649 --> 00:37:58.609 They'll sleep through the day ahead, 00:37:59.402 --> 00:38:03.656 their burrow sheltering them from something far deadlier than a snake. 00:38:10.288 --> 00:38:13.499 Morning reveals an apocalyptic force of nature 00:38:14.292 --> 00:38:16.544 building far out in the Atlantic Ocean. 00:38:20.381 --> 00:38:22.550 Under the searing summer sun, 00:38:22.842 --> 00:38:26.971 water is evaporating faster and faster from the sea's surface. 00:38:29.348 --> 00:38:32.268 Winds blow the rapidly growing storm clouds 00:38:32.351 --> 00:38:33.394 towards land. 00:38:43.487 --> 00:38:46.949 The warmer the water, the more powerful the weather system. 00:38:49.952 --> 00:38:52.997 The biggest grow from tropical storm... 00:38:54.165 --> 00:38:55.458 to hurricane. 00:38:59.587 --> 00:39:01.589 The leading edge of the hurricane 00:39:02.173 --> 00:39:05.301 pushes rain clouds in front of it towards the coast. 00:39:09.221 --> 00:39:12.683 A year's worth of rain can fall in a single day. 00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:21.984 Good time to move inland, if you can. 00:39:30.785 --> 00:39:34.455 The system begins to rotate counterclockwise around its eye... 00:39:37.249 --> 00:39:40.544 ...forming a storm cell hundreds of miles across. 00:39:45.966 --> 00:39:50.012 The winds drive the sea water in the storm's path forwards, 00:39:50.346 --> 00:39:53.140 creating a surge up to 20 feet high. 00:39:59.939 --> 00:40:01.232 When the eye wall, 00:40:01.399 --> 00:40:04.944 the most dangerous part of the hurricane, makes landfall, 00:40:05.694 --> 00:40:08.906 winds hit over 160 miles per hour. 00:40:27.425 --> 00:40:30.344 Hurricanes cause billions of dollars of destruction 00:40:30.469 --> 00:40:31.637 and untold heartbreak 00:40:32.096 --> 00:40:34.265 across the southeast of our continent. 00:40:38.853 --> 00:40:43.023 As ocean temperatures rise, these storms are becoming more frequent 00:40:44.066 --> 00:40:45.317 and more ferocious. 00:40:50.656 --> 00:40:52.783 Our best hope for the future may lie 00:40:52.867 --> 00:40:55.578 with the coastal defenses that nature provides. 00:40:59.540 --> 00:41:01.125 Beneath the sand dunes, 00:41:01.792 --> 00:41:05.129 some of our heroes are unknowingly doing great work 00:41:05.212 --> 00:41:07.131 to keep storm damage at bay. 00:41:11.093 --> 00:41:14.388 Every time our beach mice move to a new burrow, 00:41:14.972 --> 00:41:17.641 they leave their store of seeds behind. 00:41:20.394 --> 00:41:25.357 So these guys are super efficient at spreading sea oats all along the beach. 00:41:28.110 --> 00:41:31.322 Over time, the abandoned oats germinate. 00:41:33.616 --> 00:41:37.203 As they grow, they bind the sand grains together... 00:41:41.040 --> 00:41:44.293 making the dunes bigger and stronger. 00:41:58.349 --> 00:42:01.602 These dunes absorb the impact of wind and waves 00:42:01.727 --> 00:42:04.063 and protect coastal towns and cities 00:42:04.146 --> 00:42:08.025 from the devastating force of storms and hurricanes. 00:42:13.072 --> 00:42:14.949 Where there are no dunes, 00:42:15.991 --> 00:42:20.079 mangrove forests line hundreds of miles of southern coastline. 00:42:22.081 --> 00:42:25.417 Their network of twisted roots is incredibly strong. 00:42:28.587 --> 00:42:33.050 A barrier sheltering manatees and other residents from extreme weather. 00:42:41.183 --> 00:42:43.894 Where the mangrove forests are left to flourish, 00:42:44.228 --> 00:42:47.314 just like the sand dunes, they protect our homes, 00:42:48.857 --> 00:42:51.443 including the city of Miami. 00:42:58.784 --> 00:43:02.454 The Waterland is more than just a barrier against danger. 00:43:03.664 --> 00:43:07.543 It's the perfect home, if you can go with the flow. 00:43:13.048 --> 00:43:16.719 Every year, the great swamps soak up the floodwaters. 00:43:20.431 --> 00:43:23.434 This year, those waters are deep, 00:43:25.060 --> 00:43:28.439 but the gator mom built her nest above the high waterline. 00:43:30.190 --> 00:43:34.320 And this time, she kept it safe from raiding raccoons. 00:43:46.040 --> 00:43:48.459 Now, two months after the eggs were laid, 00:43:50.336 --> 00:43:52.838 the youngsters are calling from inside... 00:43:55.424 --> 00:43:57.343 ...telling Mom they're ready to hatch. 00:44:05.643 --> 00:44:07.311 They break through the leathery shell 00:44:07.519 --> 00:44:09.396 using a tiny egg tooth 00:44:09.772 --> 00:44:11.440 on the tip of their snout. 00:44:14.401 --> 00:44:18.238 The emergence of the first encourages the rest to get going. 00:44:29.416 --> 00:44:32.878 All 50 eggs can hatch within a day or two. 00:44:49.186 --> 00:44:52.564 At just seven inches long, they're gonna need protection. 00:44:59.988 --> 00:45:03.367 Luckily for them, alligator babies have bodyguards. 00:45:05.536 --> 00:45:08.622 Their mothers are the most caring in the reptile world. 00:45:16.505 --> 00:45:21.301 She'll guard them for months, possibly up to a year. 00:45:23.846 --> 00:45:25.677 Great parenting is one of the reasons 00:45:25.701 --> 00:45:28.058 gators can thrive in this Waterland. 00:45:31.478 --> 00:45:35.065 A place they've called home since the time of the dinosaurs. 00:45:43.031 --> 00:45:46.577 Some things remain much the same as they were back then. 00:45:51.874 --> 00:45:53.542 On late summer mornings, 00:45:54.251 --> 00:45:57.379 hatchlings still use dragonflies for target practice. 00:46:05.304 --> 00:46:07.306 With mixed success. 00:46:23.697 --> 00:46:26.450 And they still kick back when the day gets too hot 00:46:26.533 --> 00:46:28.619 to do too much of anything at all. 00:46:32.831 --> 00:46:34.625 These days, there are millions of gators 00:46:34.750 --> 00:46:36.543 across the southern U.S. 00:46:40.339 --> 00:46:44.218 But last century, they were hunted to near extinction. 00:46:47.429 --> 00:46:50.474 So it's down to us humans to make sure that this 00:46:50.599 --> 00:46:53.811 will be a scene that continues to play out into the future. 00:47:04.029 --> 00:47:07.157 These giant reptiles with a sensitive side 00:47:08.116 --> 00:47:09.993 are true emblems of the South. 00:47:24.716 --> 00:47:29.054 A place for heroes of both water and land, 00:47:29.972 --> 00:47:33.183 where nothing is quite what you expect.