- yesterday
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00This is The Americas.
00:03An extraordinary journey across Earth's great supercontinent.
00:09The widest variety of life on the planet.
00:16The untold story of unique wonderland.
00:22This time on The Americas.
00:31The Wild West.
00:36The stage for a thousand legendary stories.
00:44Where mountains shape the lives of all who live here.
00:49In some of the planet's most iconic landscapes.
00:56Yellowstone.
01:00The Sonoran Desert.
01:05And the spectacular Great Plains.
01:12This isn't a place for the faint hearted.
01:16To call this home takes ingenuity.
01:21Resilience.
01:23Even true grit.
01:34The Wild West forms the vast heart of North America.
01:39Home to fertile prairies and sun scorched deserts.
01:43All of this is shaped by a spine of mountains.
01:55The Rockies.
02:04Towering over 14,000 feet.
02:07Some of the highest mountains in North America.
02:20Hidden in the peaks of Wyoming.
02:24Lies a place of spellbinding beauty.
02:27Yellowstone.
02:28In winter, temperatures can plummet to minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
02:41Rivers a hundred feet wide freeze.
02:44Leaving just a trickle.
02:45And a blanket of snow lies four feet deep.
02:56Survival in this magical world is tough.
03:01Even for the most wily of animals.
03:08A coyote.
03:11In this snowbound world.
03:16He can still pick up a scent.
03:18His nose is many times more sensitive than ours.
03:38After an hour of searching.
03:42A frozen bison bone.
03:45Better than nothing.
03:46Coyotes are always on the lookout for an opportunity.
03:56Now is his arch rival.
03:59A red fox.
04:01Onto something.
04:02Voles hide in a network of tunnels beneath the snow.
04:20Time to try this out.
04:29Okay.
04:32The fox made it look easy.
04:50Ah, what a show off.
05:07There are other places worth a look.
05:12Not everywhere is covered in snow.
05:17Yellowstone sits above a super-volcano, creating its world-famous hot springs.
05:29This is one of the largest on Earth, known as Grand Prismatic.
05:41The Crow tribe called this place the land of the burning ground, where steaming geysers erupt
05:54a hundred and fifty feet into the air.
06:06All this heat is just enough to thaw the river, an ice-free haven for cutthroat trout.
06:20Maybe stealing dinner would be easier, if he can get close enough.
06:37But river otters work as a family.
06:50Combined, that's more than a hundred pounds of angry otter.
06:56It was worth a go.
07:15Now, these aren't thin ice.
07:36Perhaps it's time to show that wild west never-say-die spirit.
08:03And try fishing for himself.
08:10And try fishing for himself.
08:18Not bad.
08:42Not bad at all.
08:45Not bad at all.
08:52Here, there's always somewhere to warm up.
08:57But every day is tough in these mountains.
09:02And not just for a coyote.
09:07In the peaks of Colorado, winter weather lasts eight long months.
09:14It's May before spring finally arrives.
09:21And the villain from many a western makes its entrance.
09:27A prairie rattlesnake.
09:39This female has spent the winter deep underground, sheltering from the cold.
09:44And she's not alone.
09:51As the sun warms their bodies, hundreds are coming back to life.
09:59They may not have eaten for eight months, so they immediately head down to the plains to feed.
10:14But even though there's almost no food or water up here, this female stays behind.
10:33Because she's pregnant.
10:38With a growing belly, she's becoming slow and vulnerable to predators.
10:46So she remains up here, where she can easily escape into the rocks.
10:53Already dehydrated and starving, there's a strategy that could kill her.
11:07For two months, she'll barely move, conserving all her energy.
11:18But for her babies to continue to grow inside her, she does need water.
11:37Droplets cling to microscopic grooves in her scales.
11:48So she can suck moisture from the surface of her three-foot-long body.
11:54It's just enough to keep mom and babies alive.
11:59Three months into her pregnancy, and a year since her last meal, her due date is finally here.
12:17Her contractions begin.
12:36She doesn't lay eggs.
12:53She gives birth to live young.
12:57Each is a perfect rattlesnake in miniature.
13:03Coiled inside a thin membrane.
13:31She gives birth to death.
13:34Although its tiny fangs are already loaded with venom,
13:38a baby's rattle is too small to make its trademark sound.
13:43By the end of the night, mom delivers six more babies.
13:56They'll all spend the winter in the den.
14:03By next spring, mom will have starved herself for 20 months.
14:11She's a real-life Western heroine.
14:18On lower mountain slopes, time has softened the jagged peaks into gently rolling hills.
14:26In the Sierra Nevadas of California, ancient oak trees are scattered across the landscape.
14:43And come the fall, they're laden with treasure, acorns.
14:58And this is an acorn woodpecker.
15:04He relies on these nuts to survive the coming winter.
15:10But he'll need to store away thousands.
15:19Every acorn must be wedged into its very own storage hole.
15:28Each takes a full 20 minutes of chiseling.
15:32And that could be a real headache.
15:40Fortunately, their brains can tolerate forces thousands of times greater than ours can.
15:47He and his family work as a team.
16:01One of the only birds in the world to do so.
16:08Teamwork is also handy to keep an eye out for thieves.
16:15They might not share food, but they have shared these fertile hills with people for 10,000 years.
16:31Ranchers brought change, along with new opportunities for the birds.
16:44The side of a barn might offer a labor-saving shortcut.
16:51And another woodpecker family is taking advantage.
17:00Redwood cladding is softer than an oak tree.
17:05So, they can work twice as fast.
17:18But it's not all going to plan.
17:32The cladding may be soft.
17:35But it's also thin.
17:39Not so clever now, huh?
17:41How frustrating.
17:46All those acorns piled up behind the boards.
17:49Until...
17:53At least now they've got another chance to do it right.
18:05Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways.
18:18For the oak tree family, their work has paid off.
18:24Time to sit back and take inventory.
18:36They've safely stored more than 4,000 acorns.
18:43And since they prefer dead branches, the trees are unharmed.
18:50Known as a granary, this is unlike anything else in nature.
18:56It will see this top team through the Wild West winter.
19:11The peaks of the Sierra Nevadas block rain clouds sweeping in from the coast.
19:19The result, vast deserts that set a very different challenge to life in the Wild West.
19:31Monument Valley, the breathtaking landscape in which a thousand movies are set.
19:47This has been home to the Navajo Nation for 800 years.
20:15These western deserts are the hottest and driest in all of North America.
20:36Here in the Sonoran, the temperature often hits 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
20:44And to cope, one animal has a survival strategy that seems straight out of science fiction.
20:53An all-female team of ants.
21:03They know that lean times lie ahead.
21:09So these worker ants are rushed off their feet, collecting nectar and water to store away deep underground.
21:22The ants build a nest nine feet beneath the surface, packed with bizarre looking storage pots.
21:32But here's the plot twist.
21:35The pots are alive.
21:36They start life as ordinary worker ants, but then are constantly fed nectar and water.
21:48As they swell, the black bands of their abdomens are forced apart until they end up the size of a grape.
22:01Now they're destined to spend the rest of their lives hanging from the ceiling as a living pantry.
22:20And that's why this species is called the honeypot ant.
22:35Every ant plays their part.
22:40This giant is the queen.
22:47Three times the size of the workers.
22:54All she does is lay eggs.
22:57Millions during her reign.
23:03For the last five years, she produced worker eggs.
23:07But now she's making something new.
23:16Princes and princesses with wings.
23:22Flying ants.
23:27Their sole mission is to leave and start fresh colonies.
23:35However, they can only dig a new nest in earth that's been softened by rain.
23:42And in this desert, that could mean a long wait.
23:52As the sun beats down, the colony's food supply dries up.
24:04Now, the honeypot's sacrifice pays off.
24:13Each begins to regurgitate the nectar stored within its body.
24:21Shared around by the workers, it's just enough to keep the whole colony alive.
24:27For now.
24:28But in the Sonoran, not everyone has a team to back them up.
24:42Especially this single mom.
24:49A bobcat.
24:54With double trouble.
24:56Twins.
24:57Her kittens are just a few weeks old and totally dependent on her milk.
25:13Mom needs to feed them four times a day.
25:16And to do that, she urgently needs water.
25:28Unlike the ant colony, she doesn't have a store to fall back on.
25:35So, she must leave her family.
25:40And venture out alone.
25:48This land hasn't received a drop of rain in two long months.
25:54She's got her work cut out.
25:59The survival of her kittens depends on her.
26:09Despite their stores, even the honeypot ants are getting desperate.
26:14With so many extra mouths to feed, if the drought continues, their supply will run dry.
26:30And they'll all starve.
26:37In the Sonoran Desert, everyone is waiting for one thing.
26:44Rain.
27:03The storm doesn't last long.
27:08But it's enough.
27:15A bobcat will gulp water for five minutes straight.
27:25The tiny kittens are anxiously waiting for mom's return.
27:30About time, too.
27:47Now, they can get a drink at last.
27:49Fully revived, they're back to what they do best.
28:10What little they know of the dangers of the desert.
28:31For the ants, the rain-soaked ground is exactly what they've been waiting for.
28:44The workers complete last-minute flight checks.
28:47And they are cleared for takeoff.
29:01Within minutes, the air is filled with hundreds of fluttering wings.
29:05They can do what they were born to do.
29:20Set up new colonies across the desert.
29:23A thousand miles to the east, lie the Great Plains, covering 500 million acres and ten different states.
29:40They're flanked by the Rockies, which funnel air north and south, creating the windiest place in the U.S.
29:52When warm winds from the south collide with cold northerlies, monsters are born.
30:13Thunderstorms.
30:36Some of the most powerful in the world.
30:38They can contain the same energy as a hundred nuclear bombs.
31:08Dry grass is ignited in a flash.
31:24Fire in the Midwest can ravage over a million acres every year.
31:32And in its wake, life here is transformed.
31:43Wildfires may seem like a disaster, but in fact, they make the Great Plains what they
31:50are.
31:54Fire prevents trees from taking over and sparks off a natural cycle of rebirth.
32:07The grasses may appear to be dead, but by extending more than 15 feet below the surface, their roots
32:18live on.
32:23Now they absorb nutrients from the ash.
32:30And within weeks, fresh new growth attracts eager herds of bison.
32:45The largest of America's land mammals, weighing in at a ton and standing six feet tall at the
32:54shoulder.
33:00The vast herds cover a thousand miles a year in search of the best grazing.
33:21These beefcakes demand a lot of calories.
33:28Here in South Dakota, this old male has no time to dine.
33:41He's too focused on fighting for the chance to mate.
33:48He's lost almost 200 pounds trying and still no success with the ladies.
33:58Confirming a female is in heat isn't subtle.
34:05She could be his last chance in this year's rut, so he'll stay by her side.
34:14But he has competition from a rival, and a younger one at that.
34:25This old bull needs to stand his ground.
34:30If neither backs down, a brawl is inevitable.
34:34This old bull is inevitable.
34:35This old bull is inevitable.
34:36This old bull is inevitable.
34:41They are closely matched, but the old bull uses the terrain.
35:11To his advantage.
35:12Victory.
35:13And with it, he does get the girl.
35:31200 years ago, there were around 60 million bison.
35:35After just 30 years of intensive hunting, there were fewer than 1,000 left.
35:55Now, they're protected, and with their numbers recovering, people flock to watch the rut.
36:02But we've had an even greater impact all across the prairie.
36:17The flat, open land is perfect for agriculture on an industrial scale.
36:30It's America's bread basket.
36:34More than 80% of all North American prairie is now farmland.
36:39It's a difficult place for most wildlife.
36:43But there are exceptions.
36:44Descendants of dinosaurs.
36:58Here in the fields of Nebraska, Sandhill cranes make a pit stop on their migration North.
37:10They've been coming to this part of the Great Plains every year since the end of the last Ice Age.
37:23Their ancient feeding grounds are long gone, but they've now taken advantage of a new opportunity.
37:30Corn kernels left over from the harvest.
37:46As dusk falls, the cranes head off to roost.
37:53On the Platte River, a tributary of the mighty Mississippi.
38:08It's unusually wide and shallow.
38:13Perfect for cranes.
38:16They can wade right out into midwater.
38:23So coyotes can't sneak up on them.
38:25They make do with the odd one that succumbed to the elements.
38:43While they're here, the courting season begins.
38:49This young male is hoping to make an impression.
38:54And the females are checking him out.
39:00For cranes, the language of love is dance.
39:06My love must be a kind of my love.
39:15I can't see anyone but you.
39:18He's caught one particular female's eye.
39:21If his moves impress her, she'll copy them.
39:37Come on, come on.
39:38Come on, come on.
39:39Are the stars out tonight?
39:44Come on, come on.
39:46I don't know if there's cloudy or dry.
39:52I'll only have eyes.
39:58Come on, come on, come on.
40:06The routine builds to its balletic finale.
40:13For better or worse, they'll be together now for the rest of their lives.
40:31And that can be over 30 years.
40:36As the light fades, more and more birds arrive to join the chorus.
40:5780% of the world's sandhill cranes roost on the Platte River.
41:04That's over half a million cranes.
41:13One of the greatest wildlife spectacles on the planet.
41:18But just another day in the extraordinary world of the Wild West.
41:25To be continued...
41:32To be continued...
41:36To be continued...
41:50Transcription by CastingWords
Recommended
43:42
|
Up next
52:36
0:17
7:10
43:11
1:16
29:54
1:12
1:24
1:55
2:24
1:53
51:22
0:57
58:38
43:35
40:54