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00:05This is The Americas, an extraordinary journey across Earth's great supercontinent, the widest
00:16variety of life on the planet, the untold story of our home.
00:27Tonight, on The Americas, the Gulf Coast, a dazzling water world with hidden depths set
00:53on America's most dynamic coastline.
00:59To master a world caught between water and land takes determination and courage.
01:11From America's widest river to unfathomable swamps.
01:21Here, survival is truly sink or swim.
01:39The Gulf Coast is where the American South meets the sea.
01:48Florida is home to the greatest subtropical wetland in the U.S.
01:55And the 1,200-mile coastline runs all the way to Texas.
02:02At its heart is the largest swamp in America.
02:05The Atchafalaya.
02:17More than a million acres of southern Louisiana.
02:31It's spectacular, the labyrinth of countless sloughs and bayous, where magical stories unfold.
02:51This old split oak tree hides one of the swamp's most surprising inhabitants.
02:59A Louisiana black bear.
03:06Scientists have been tracking her and know she spent winter in this den.
03:13Now, the seasonal flood means she's surrounded by water up to five feet deep.
03:25She hasn't eaten for more than three months.
03:32With all this water, finding food will mean getting wet.
03:40But that's the least of her worries.
03:55Three-month-old twins, still pretty unsteady on their feet.
04:04She wants them to stay put, while she goes to find food.
04:22And mother knows best.
04:28The closest dry land where she can find enough food may be over a mile away, through this flooded maze.
04:41Over the winter, she's lost a third of her body weight, producing fat-rich milk to feed her cubs.
04:49And they're still hungry.
04:57She will have to eat fast and hurry home.
05:05Born in the sanctuary of the treehouse, the little cubs have only ever glimpsed the outside world.
05:22Playing out on the porch by themselves is risky.
05:35They've never seen water before.
05:50Mom's out there somewhere.
05:54Mom's out there somewhere.
05:58Unfortunately, some bear cubs just don't understand the dangers of exploring on their own.
06:30That water is cold.
06:31Oh!
06:33Mom's out there somewhere.
06:33I'm so hungry.
06:35I'm hungry.
06:44I'm hungry.
06:58It's so hungry.
07:05A cub this young does not have the strength
07:08to keep swimming for more than a few minutes.
07:16Cubs do drown in these swamps.
07:29It's mom.
07:37Black bears don't always get it right.
07:49There's no sign of life.
08:01Or is there?
08:14He's cold and shaken, but very much alive.
08:30Mom's got his back.
08:37To pass Swamp Survival 101,
08:43listen to your mother.
08:50One animal not only survives here,
08:53but rules these waterways.
08:55It has a fearsome reputation,
08:59but that's only part of its story.
09:09The waterways of the Gulf Coast
09:12are mysterious places
09:15where you can get truly lost.
09:19But you'll certainly never be alone.
09:25Because here in the South,
09:28where there's fresh water,
09:30there are gators.
09:37Hunted almost to extinction,
09:40American alligators are now protected
09:44and have bounced back big time.
09:49Today, there are more than 4 million.
09:53And Southerners have learned
09:55to share the gator's world.
10:04Alligators have barely changed for millennia.
10:08So we might have thought
10:10we knew all there is to know about them.
10:14But here,
10:15in southern Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp,
10:18scientists have spotted
10:20some surprising new behavior.
10:26these hatchlings
10:28are just a few weeks old.
10:33Eight inches
10:34to mom's
10:36eight feet.
10:39At this size,
10:41they're more prey
10:42than predator.
10:53A great blue heron
10:55can swallow
10:56a baby gator whole.
11:11But not when mom's around.
11:23She's more than just a bodyguard.
11:26She's giving them a head start.
11:32The best way
11:33to stay safe from predators
11:35is to grow too big
11:37to be eaten.
11:40To do that,
11:41hatchlings need to become
11:43expert hunters and it seems mom knows just how to help
12:00stirring up the water she brings bugs and beetles to the surface
12:11so they're easier to catch
12:17this is known as facilitated foraging and was first described by scientists in 2022
12:27it's like having their own private diner
12:32where they can hone their ambush skills
12:39or at least try to
12:57alligator ancestors rubbed shoulders with dinosaurs
13:03who knows what other secrets they're keeping in the swamps
13:10of the gulf coast
13:16all these wetlands depend on one thing
13:22rain
13:30the gulf coast is home to four of the five rainiest states in the u.s.
13:35louisiana mississippi alabama and perhaps
13:43surprisingly florida a state where an average of 150
13:49billion gallons of rain falls every day
13:57almost a third of that seeps into the ground
14:04beginning a journey that's been made for millions
14:08millions of years
14:12rainwater is naturally acidic
14:15and drop by drop
14:17century by century
14:19it eats through limestone bedrock
14:24tiny cracks eventually widen
14:31into caves
14:39this
14:40this is the floridan aquifer
14:47one of the least explored places in america
14:55divers
14:56divers risk their lives
14:58to uncover its secrets
15:05it's like a giant swiss cheese
15:07the flooded passageways
15:11the flooded passageways
15:12stretching for 100 000 square miles
15:17it channels fresh water
15:19it channels fresh water underneath the whole of florida
15:22and as far as mississippi
15:24and south carolina
15:28yet on the surface
15:32you'd never know it was there
15:37almost all the water that people use in the sunshine state
15:41comes from this precious reservoir
15:45right beneath their feet
15:52some caves may be a thousand feet deep
16:01without our lights there's absolute darkness
16:15but life
16:17but life
16:17finds a way
16:36a georgia blind salamander
16:39a georgia blind salamander
16:50in a world that never sees sun
16:53skin
16:53needs no protective pigment
16:57there's no point
16:59in having eyes
17:05instead sensory pits on its snout
17:08detect the slightest movement
17:20the worm will be safe
17:23only if
17:24it stays
17:26it stays still
17:38oh well
17:47what a life
17:56where the aquifer caves are close to the surface
18:02water flows
18:03into more than a thousand crystal clear springs
18:17at a temperature close to 72 degrees
18:20at a temperature close to 72 degrees
18:45florida is home to the greatest concentration of springs on earth
18:52these in crystal river
18:54are winter refuges for animals
18:57those who share an ancestor
19:00with elephants
19:07manatees
19:12they're huge
19:13they can be the size of your couch
19:16but they barely have an ounce of insulating fat
19:21so the warmth of florida springs is a lifeline
19:37season
19:38seasonal get-togethers
19:39are a welcome chance
19:41to socialize
19:44a game of touch tag
19:47is simply too good to miss
19:55scientists
19:56scientists called this behavior
19:58cavorting
20:01rarely filmed
20:03these males are in fact
20:05honing their social skills
20:08and practicing courtship moves
20:15there's still a lot to understand
20:17about manatee friendships
20:23but perhaps these
20:25are bonds that will last a lifetime
20:33manatees can live more than half a century
20:36and return to the same springs year after year
20:40safe harbors
20:42crucial for their survival
20:49as water flows southwards in florida
20:52the line between land and water continues to blur
20:58creating in these flat lowlands
21:01one of america's great natural wonders
21:08the everglades
21:12a shallow sheet of water
21:14that is in fact
21:16a slow-moving river
21:18the widest in america
21:27there's little to break the horizon
21:29but sawgrass
21:31which gives it the rather more romantic name
21:35the river of grass
21:40home to over a thousand types of animals
21:43the river of grass
21:54in places water creeps along at just two feet an hour
22:03you could say life moves at a snail's pace
22:12but this is no ordinary snail
22:21the florida apple snail
22:24is the largest native freshwater snail in america
22:31the size of a golf ball
22:43she's expecting a brood of babies
22:46but there's one obstacle
22:50apple snails must lay their eggs out of water
22:54so they'll be out of reach of hungry fish
22:58and that means going up
23:06but climbing to the surface puts her life at risk
23:25and that means going up
23:26patrolling the skies
23:28is an apple snail's nemesis
23:46many have already fallen victim
23:50this carnage is the signature of a remarkable and deadly bird of prey
24:03the skies above florida's everglades are patrolled by a predator
24:09with a lethal speciality
24:17an everglade snail kite
24:24these endangered birds rely on one thing as prey
24:32apple snails
24:47each bird can eat more than a dozen snails a day
24:58the curve of the kite's bill perfectly matches the spiral of the shell
25:06a tool evolved for shucking snails
25:16and that's bad news if you're an apple snail that needs to lay eggs
25:25a kite a kite can spot a snail just under the water's surface from 30 feet up
25:31a kite can spot a snail just under the water's surface from 30 feet up
25:53the water's surface from 30 feet up
25:54apple snails do have an escape plan
26:08back to square one
26:17but kites don't hunt after dark
26:22so nightfall gives an opportunity
26:41she's climbing a blade of sawgrass
26:44the tiny barbs will help protect her brood
26:51she's in position
26:54it's now or never
26:58before sunrise she must lay dozens of eggs
27:03time-lapse photography reveals this wonder of nature
27:19dawn
27:21and just a few more to go
27:39the last one
27:49mission accomplished
27:57in a couple of weeks the eggs are ready to hatch
28:03independent from the get-go
28:06so a new generation of apple snails
28:09will grow up in the mighty everglades
28:13until it is their turn
28:16to face the kites
28:22the vast river of grass
28:25eventually makes its way towards florida's gulf coast
28:33where seawater mixes with the river's freshwater mangrove trees thrive
28:44forming the biggest mangrove forest in north america
28:49larger than new york city
28:54it straddles land and water
28:58a network of exquisite tiny islands
29:04most are uninhabited
29:08but not all
29:16when there's an opportunity to live in paradise
29:19who wouldn't jump at the chance
29:25in just 60 years
29:27marco island has gone from near wilderness
29:31to a city of almost 20 000
29:43here yards are irrigated all year round
29:52so grass is green and luscious
30:00and everyone has the perfect lawn
30:05or almost perfect
30:10holes are appearing everywhere
30:13a sign that someone surprising has moved into the neighborhood
30:25on florida's gulf coast the immaculate lawns of marco island have been invaded
30:34by something people have fallen in love with burrowing owls
30:45this little guy lives right in the middle of suburbia
30:54only the size of a soda bottle
30:59he needs short grass so he has a clear view of his surroundings
31:07these little owls originally lived on prairies where bison kept the grass close-cropped
31:15here we do that job
31:21making it the ideal place
31:25to build a home
31:32he's putting the finishing touches on an eight-foot burrow
31:47but this is the easy bit
31:52finding a mate to share it with him is going to be tricky
31:59he seems to be late to the party
32:04there are 250 pairs here so there are couples everywhere
32:12some even have chicks
32:18he needs to find a date
32:25hooting
32:27and bobbing
32:30mark his territory
32:35and signal his relationship status
32:39single owl
32:41not too tall
32:43would like to meet female for eggs
32:46chicks and a lifetime of happiness
32:52but the course of true love never did run smooth
33:13it's not too long
33:15day and night
33:16he puts himself out there
33:20sleepless in suburbia
33:48but try as he might
33:50he's not got a hoot
33:52he's not got a hoot in return
33:56his chances of raising a family this year
34:01are not looking good
34:10he's just too late
34:28he's just too late
34:35she's definitely looking at him
34:42don't blow it now
34:50well that seems promising
34:54time to introduce himself properly
35:04the next three months
35:06will be all about getting to know one another
35:08as they raise their brood
35:11with luck
35:12the first of the many they'll have
35:14in this neighborhood
35:21but as anyone living along this coastline knows
35:25paradise comes at a cost
35:3210 hurricanes have hit the gulf coast in just five years
35:38and they're becoming increasingly ferocious
35:43and they're becoming ferocious
35:44protecting the mainland from storm surges
35:46are dozens of barrier islands
35:50natural offshore shock absorbers
35:57but as the climate heats the gulf coast
36:00is facing the highest predicted sea level rise
36:03in the united states
36:07many of our barrier islands could vanish
36:10in as little as a human lifetime
36:15nowhere else in north america is the balance
36:18between land and water so uncertain
36:28padre island stretches for more than 100 miles
36:32from corpus christi in texas almost to the rio grande
36:38the longest barrier island in the world
36:43it protects the south texas mainland
36:46and with it one of the most endangered mammals
36:49in the whole united states
36:59at the very southern tip of texas
37:02a few miles inland from the gulf coast
37:06lives an animal so rare
37:09that just one big hurricane
37:11could wipe it out here
37:17few of us will ever catch a glimpse of it
37:26but it's a real american beauty
37:38an ocelot
37:46usually found in south america
37:51here in the united states
37:53fewer than a hundred of these secretive cats survive
38:04after decades of hunting and habitat loss
38:08these pockets of thorn scrub
38:11are their last u.s outpost
38:25hidden cameras give us a rare opportunity to step into their little known world
38:34at night this mom brings her kittens out of their hiding place in the brush
38:44a chance for them to play
38:47and burn off energy
38:52they're small and agile enough to move easily through the thorn scrub
38:58even fully grown ocelots are only twice the size of a house cat
39:09mom's busy trying to find food
39:14while the kittens are more interested in jumping on each other
39:20but it's good practice for pouncing on prey
39:27they're curious about everything
39:37just as with domestic cats
39:39scent glands in their cheeks leave a unique tag as they nuzzle
39:46a messaging service that will help them carve out their own territories
40:01mom's hunt has been successful she's caught a wood rat
40:08but her kittens will have to work for dinner
40:13it's a tad underdone
40:19handing over live prey is an essential way to train her young how to hunt
40:27a skill they'll need to make it on their own
40:40this little family is crucial to the future of american ocelots
40:53their world is a fragile one their space precious
41:01but these cats have some unexpected guardians
41:09they live on a working ranch
41:14where they're granted the space they need by ranchers who value wildlife
41:20as much as turning a profit
41:26the future of all our wild neighbors depends on a willingness to protect their homes
41:39and in the dynamic environment of the gulf coast
41:43that means preserving the delicate balance between land and water
41:49the future so life can continue to thrive
41:53in this the most wonderful water world in the americas
42:20they just Yeah
42:36great
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