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00:03This is the Americas, an extraordinary journey across Earth's great supercontinent.
00:13The widest variety of life on the planet.
00:17The untold story of our home.
00:26Tonight on the Americas.
00:33The West Coast.
00:40Here, the mighty Pacific Ocean drives the rhythms and fortunes of life on land, shore, and sea.
00:57Journey from the tallest trees to the deepest waters.
01:05And witness a world first.
01:08The extraordinary new behavior of the largest animal that's ever lived.
01:18In a world that spans both land and sea, who will be the winners?
01:30Here, on the West Coast.
01:42This coastline stretches 2,000 miles from sun-baked Californian shores, past cloud-piercing forests in Oregon, to the vast
01:53wilderness of British Columbia, Canada.
01:58Here, a maze of islands clings to the coastline.
02:04And the running tides are some of the most extreme in the Americas.
02:23Now, to see what the receding waters have served up.
02:44And slipping out of the forest, a hunter that is found nowhere else on Earth.
02:55A sea wolf.
02:59Related to gray wolves, their ancestors moved to these coasts over 10,000 years ago.
03:11They've developed an unusual talent for finding seafood.
03:22A butterfish.
03:24A local delicacy.
03:38This female is a lone wolf.
03:43Once they come of age, wolves are often driven out of their parents' pack.
03:49Now, she needs to find a territory of her own.
03:56But it's all too easy to stray onto someone else's turf.
04:01And they've already picked up a scent.
04:10A confrontation could be fatal.
04:21Time to get out of here.
04:23Time to get out of here.
04:35The incoming tide will cover her tracks.
04:48A close call.
04:53But this is the life of a lone wolf.
05:01Scratching a living where you can.
05:17A powerful scent on the wind.
05:20Could change everything.
05:25But following it means entering hostile territory.
05:41The immense body of a humpback whale, washed up by the tide.
05:58It could be enough food for months.
06:05But she's not the first to find it.
06:13Being here is risky.
06:20If a pack turned up now, there would be no way out.
06:43A pack?
06:49No.
06:52Another lone wolf.
07:01A major wolf.
07:02A male?
07:13A male?
07:24A new pack starts with a pairing of two lone wolves.
07:32Perhaps they will claim part of this remarkable coast as their own.
07:46The unusual relationship sea wolves have with the ocean is what makes them so special.
07:54And it's the same intricate connection between land and sea that defines so much of life on the west coast.
08:07Like here, where cold waters from the Pacific collide with the warm air from the land, creating an ethereal fog.
08:28As it rolls in, it brings nitrogen and phosphorus from the ocean.
08:41In California, this giant redwood forest collects nearly half its water and vital nutrients from the fog.
08:51Helping these trees grow into the tallest on earth.
09:01The largest, nearly 400 feet high, may have stood here for over 2,000 years.
09:12These misty forests are also home to a daredevil.
09:20Willing to take a leap of faith, all in the name of love.
09:26It's pretty much beautiful.
09:30Among the towering redwoods of Northern California lives an animal who certainly knows how to make an entrance.
09:50A wandering salamander.
09:56Only found in these humid coastal forests, it uses the moist fog to help absorb oxygen
10:04directly through the skin.
10:10No lungs required.
10:21To find a mate, he sets out on an extraordinary journey.
10:29Wandering salamanders spend most of their lives high in the canopy.
10:35A female could be 200 feet above him, in any one of these colossal trees.
10:45His flexible body and long limbs mean he can scale this trunk with impressive speed.
10:53He'll need to.
10:56It's the human equivalent of five Empire State buildings.
11:08And the redwood's fibrous bark makes it dangerous.
11:15Even for this expert.
11:17And the redwood's fibrous barks.
11:50...made it.
11:54His goal is within reach.
11:59A fern mat.
12:08They grow on the branches of these gigantic trees.
12:16These high-rise homes have everything a salamander needs.
12:25Not only do they absorb and retain the forest's moisture...
12:31...they have food.
12:36And, yes, his perfect match.
12:47Just one problem.
12:51Another male got there first.
12:57Nothing for it, but to keep searching.
13:13Another fern mat...
13:18...and another couple.
13:20This is not going to plan.
13:37Not again.
13:41Strike three.
13:49This search for love has reached the end of the road.
13:57But there are more fern mats in other trees.
14:05And he has a trick.
14:10One that has never been filmed before.
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15:41The influence of the Pacific is never far away.
15:48But this ocean is dangerous.
15:51But this ocean is dangerous.
15:57To succeed here, one animal needs nerves of steel.
16:13California's central coast is pounded by some of the biggest surf in the world.
16:33But these brave animals face it head on. Sea otters. To find food, they must enter the impact zone.
16:49The mussels they want grow on these wave pummeled rocks.
16:57The otters webbed feet make them powerful swimmers.
17:01But it isn't easy.
17:15They must time their dives between the 20 foot waves.
17:19...
17:37The reward is a supply of top quality protein.
18:05But for an otter mom, hunting here can be a risk too far.
18:15While she dives, she has to leave her baby on the surface.
18:23Drifting on the strong currents.
18:28Mom cries out for her pup.
18:35And he recognizes her unique call.
18:53She's found him.
19:07To provide for her growing youngster, mom needs to eat 25 pounds of seafood every day.
19:18There may be plenty of food here.
19:23But there is somewhere close by with calmer waters.
19:33Monterey Harbor.
20:01There may not be as much food here.
20:05But it seems like a safer place for a mom to leave her pup.
20:16Or maybe not.
20:23This harbor has hazards of its own.
20:32A mom can never really relax.
20:41She needs a plan.
20:51There's an idea.
21:07With pup securely anchored, mom can hunt without worrying.
21:16That's not doing the paintwork much good, but a ship's hull does make a fine mussel cracker.
21:31Sea otter pups depend on their mothers for six months.
21:38All that time, moms have to feed almost nonstop.
21:49Whether it's big surf or harbor living, sea otters have worked out how to make the most
21:58of two very different worlds on the west coast.
22:07Monterey has been a bustling harbor for more than 100 years, making the most out of the
22:14bountiful waters.
22:17Its secret lies just beyond the harbor wall.
22:27beneath the surface, in places more than two miles down, lies Monterey Canyon.
22:44At its deepest, colossal walls descend a mile further, rivaling the Grand Canyon in scale.
22:58Lurking down here, there's a truly bizarre collection of creatures, all evolved to live in near total darkness,
23:07and under crushing pressure.
23:18Like this barrel eye, gazing upwards through its own transparent head, trying to pick out the faint silhouette of any
23:30prey above.
23:35This is a new frontier of exploration, where we search for the weird and the wonderful.
23:48Some animals here almost defy imagination.
23:55This is known as a giant larvae, even though it's only three inches long.
24:03Every day, it secretes two strange structures from its head, both made of mucus.
24:11A food filtration system, powered by its tail.
24:19And a huge net, which traps thousands of particles as they drift through the darkness.
24:30And while the animals are extraordinary, so too is the canyon itself.
24:40It funnels cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface, on a vast scale.
24:51Helping reefs to flourish, and providing a home for a nine-brained behemoth that has a secretive ritual few people
25:06have ever witnessed.
25:15On the cold water reefs off the west coast, the red rock crabs have a problem.
25:25Every day, they're forced into a deadly game of hide-and-seek, with a stealthy and clever hunter, who not
25:39only has a brain in her head, but one in each arm as well.
25:51You'd better have a good hiding place.
26:01From a giant Pacific octopus.
26:10They are the world's largest, up to 16 feet across.
26:16Any crab she finds, is smothered and subdued with toxic saliva.
26:26Then, cracked open with her razor-sharp beak.
26:33Her hunting success over the last four years has been preparing for this moment.
26:42She sends out a scent to attract a suitor.
26:52And someone's homing in.
26:57A huge male, who finds her irresistible.
27:10He has a special mating arm to gently transfer a packet of sperm.
27:27A tender ritual that has never been filmed before in the wild.
27:36Their embrace can last four hours.
27:50But once it's over, they part ways.
27:59Never to meet again.
28:11Her work is just beginning.
28:16First, she creates a barricade.
28:27Until there is no way in or out.
28:36Nine months pass.
28:45She is now guarding 100,000 eggs.
28:56Every day, she has gently cleaned them.
29:00And made sure they're bathed in oxygen-rich water.
29:13All this time, she's never left her den.
29:21And by now, she has grown very weak.
29:27But at last, the eggs are ready to hatch.
29:46Just the size of a grain of rice.
29:50Each miniature octopus must now take its chances in the vast Pacific Ocean.
30:14But this is something no octopus mom survives.
30:21By starving herself, she sacrificed her own life.
30:26To give her offspring the best chance.
30:34Less than 1% will become adults.
30:38The lucky ones will descend back to the depths.
30:42And grow into giants.
30:45Just like mom.
30:50To succeed on the West Coast can take everything you've got.
30:58But when the conditions are right, the rewards can be huge.
31:20Just 100 miles from Los Angeles lies a chain of protected islands that are a magnet for marine life.
31:31Their most westerly point is a remote beach with classic California vibes.
31:37Even though there's not a surfboard in sight.
31:43San Miguel Island hosts the largest gathering of sea lions and seals on Earth.
31:51Every summer, 120,000 make the soft secluded sands their home.
32:12And while the beach is their sanctuary, the water holds the key to their survival.
32:23It's time to hit the surf.
32:30Why go around when you can go over?
32:38This is a pretty chill crowd.
32:46They may be ungainly on land, but when they reach the water, it's poetry in motion.
33:18At top speed, they can reach 25 miles per hour.
33:25And although they can easily travel 100 miles from shore in search of food,
33:31at this time of year, the food comes to them.
33:36As billions of anchovies migrate in shore.
33:47But catching one is much harder than it looks.
33:53The anchovies cluster together for safety into what's known as a bait ball.
34:04This dazzling wall of fish makes it difficult to pick one out.
34:10So the sea lions wait.
34:16Help is on the way.
34:24Skipjack tuna are an anchovy's worst nightmare.
34:33They trap the bait ball at the surface.
34:43But won't risk getting close to the sea lions.
34:49And in a surprising turn of events, the anchovies seem to swarm around the sea lions for protection.
35:01Which suits the sea lions just fine.
35:09Got one.
35:20When the fish are running in such huge numbers, it draws attention.
35:25And that means attack from all sides.
35:40Each predator uses a different strategy.
35:46But one is rather more effective than others.
36:01A pod of humpback whales brings an end to the mayhem with one gulp.
36:21In summer on the west coast, every day can bring an extraordinary feeding frenzy.
36:31But for the sea lions, it's now time to head for shore before doing it all again tomorrow.
36:47Further out in the open ocean, dolphins herald the arrival of a titan.
36:58The biggest animal to have ever lived.
37:04A blue whale.
37:07Of a pearl cloud.
37:08And in a world first, they've been filmed behaving in ways never seen before.
37:21At over a hundred feet long, only a blue whale, won't typhane.
37:28Can make this boat look like a toy?
37:35every summer blue whales migrate 900 miles from central america to make the most of the west
37:43coast's productive seas and this year they brought someone special
38:02this is the world's biggest baby at birth she's already the size of a pickup truck
38:25she still depends on mom's milk and puts on a staggering 250 pounds a day
38:55blue whales were once hunted to near extinction now they are protected
39:14today the west coast is one of their global strongholds
39:22and that brings us an extraordinary opportunity
39:29it's a once in a lifetime experience to see just one blue whale
39:38yet here are two
39:44here and in a moment of astonishing rarity two becomes four
40:02what happens next has never been filmed before
40:10the group begins racing and seem to be playing around one even throws in a barrel roll
40:24why
40:26this is so unprecedented scientists can't be sure
40:37but it appears to be three males competing to impress a female
40:45the world's largest dance-off
41:01then as a finale a blue whale weighing well over 100 tons powers itself out of the water
41:21this is so remarkable it's rewriting what we know about blue whales
41:29the world's largest dance-off
41:31I'm not sure what we know about blue whales
41:41how can we know about blue whales and a green whale doing it?
41:42what does this mean for a female-loving man?
41:44who has ever been able to use?
41:46on America's west coast
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