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AnimalsTranscript
00:01Forget everything you thought you knew about animals in America
00:05and bring bison back from the brink
00:09in an airlift effort that'll blow you away.
00:14Then come howl at the moon with an elusive predator that'll give you goosebumps.
00:20Chow down with a high-flying scavenger, if your stomach can handle it.
00:26And check out a pint-sized predator that survived an aerial onslaught.
00:32Welcome to your field guide to the most incredible wildlife in America.
00:37This is the United States of Animals.
00:44And this is Operation Bison Drop.
00:50Herds of bison, flown hundreds of miles north to the frozen tundra.
00:56This is the largest airlift ever attempted to bring a nearly extinct animal back into the Alaskan wild.
01:04They have only one shot, and you have exclusive access.
01:11But these aren't your everyday run-of-the-mill buffalo.
01:14Oh no, these are wood bison.
01:17Heavier, taller, and ornerier than the plains bison of the lower 48.
01:24They're the biggest terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere.
01:28What the elephant is to Africa, the wood bison is to North and South America.
01:34These are the real heavyweights.
01:36The biggest of the biggest bulls can tip the scales at a whopping 2,600 pounds.
01:41Hundreds of pounds heavier than their southern cousin, the plains bison.
01:46And at a height of six feet, they're tall enough to look you in the eye.
01:50And reaching speeds of 40 miles per hour, they're so fast, they'll lap you in the quarter mile.
01:57They're just huge animals.
01:58They can walk across the gravel road and leave footprints three inches in the gravel.
02:04Back in the early 1800s, wood bison numbered well over 150,000, grazing the Arctic wilderness.
02:12It didn't take long before they were wiped out by early hunters and disease.
02:17And thought to be gone forever.
02:20But then, in 1957, a hidden herd was discovered in a far-flung corner of Canada's Northwest Territory.
02:28Now, thanks to years of captive breeding and a helping hand from Alaskan Fish and Game,
02:33they're making their way back to the frozen forests of Alaska.
02:38This once-in-a-lifetime trip includes a 300-mile flight that starts in Anchorage and ends in the village
02:44of Shagaluck,
02:45deep in the heart of the Alaskan wilderness.
02:49And we're not talking flying just one or two, or even a dozen, but a hundred of these giants will
02:56take to the skies.
02:57They're screaming for a release, and it's the best thing for them.
03:01It's all hands on deck getting these behemoths ready to roll.
03:05In the last 24, 48 hours, we have been loading these animals through the chutes,
03:08giving them medication and putting a radio collar on them.
03:12This is a massive undertaking.
03:14Dozens of volunteers and hundreds of hours of planning have all led us to this day.
03:20Large metal shipping containers were cut and crafted into first-class cabins.
03:25Nobody has ever done a box like this. This was designed specifically for this project.
03:32It's women and children first in this phase of the project, flying out only adult cows and juveniles.
03:40The big bulls, fearing they'll get too stressed out, will join them later by barge.
03:46Each of these containers can hold up to seven adults.
03:50At roughly 2,000 pounds each, we're talking 14,000 pounds of snorting, hairy beasts in one 20-foot box.
04:01A final check, and they're trucked 50 miles from the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, Alaska,
04:07to the airport in Anchorage.
04:09A C-130 aircraft, nicknamed Hercules, or Kirk for short,
04:14is waiting to fly the bison boxes northwest to Shagaluck, Alaska.
04:20Hercules usually carries a heavy load, like tanks and Humvees, up to 48,000 pounds.
04:26So several tons of bison should be a breeze.
04:31Hello!
04:33We had to put together the logistics of flying bison out to Shagaluck,
04:38and the figuring out how many could fit into a Herc, and how many flights of a Herc would we
04:41need.
04:43Combine the weight of the box and add in the bison, and each of these carriers weighs roughly 20,000
04:48pounds.
04:50So judging from their weight, it'll take six flights to get all the buffs to Shagaluck.
04:55But for the folks at Alaska Fish and Game, flying any animal this big means they've got some challenges ahead.
05:02The worries were extreme. Injuries were not only likely, they were probable.
05:08It's a white-knuckle one-hour flight to Shagaluck, a destination chosen for good reason.
05:15We surveyed the whole state and found lots of wood bison bones washing out in rivers
05:20and realized that there was a history of wood bison in northeast Alaska.
05:25It's an area of lakes, rivers, and tundra grass.
05:29The piece of habitat we have here is about 20 miles wide and 50 miles long, so it's a real
05:35good piece of habitat.
05:35It's a good place to put in them because it's remote and there's no human interference.
05:40But as remote as Shagaluck is, believe it or not, 60 people do live here.
05:47Today, residents from far and near have arrived to welcome the bison back home.
05:52Reintroducing a species to an area is pretty big, and so we brought the kids out to experience the bison.
05:58Our journey here was 57 miles. Longest no machine trip ever for me.
06:02I think it's awesome. It's crazy, but crazy awesome.
06:13After a long day, Hercules lands under the snowy tarmac.
06:18The bison boxes are then skidded to a temporary holding pen near the airport.
06:25This temporary pen is a strategy to allow the bison to get acclimated to their new digs.
06:32But now, officials on the ground hold a collective breath. Did they survive the flight?
06:42David, I'm at the pens, and we have 100 bison that walked out of the boxes.
06:49The airlift has been a success. Each of these weary travelers has come away unscathed.
06:57They're kept in these pens for 10 days.
07:00It's a process called a soft release. It helps to reestablish the herd and ups their chances of survival.
07:08They've set up a pecking order in the pens where we have them.
07:12When they come out, they're probably trying to, you know,
07:14all right, where are the people above me and below me, and how do I fit back in?
07:17And now, the time has come. The mighty wood bison are released into the wilds of Alaska.
07:24With a sound not heard in a hundred years.
07:36Back from the brink, these bison now have over 500 square miles to roam free.
07:45Feel adventurous? Then make the trek north to remote Shagala.
07:48You can see these heavy hitters throw their weight around in the wild.
07:52They'll be here for years to come.
07:55This belongs to all of Alaska, and because it's the only wood bison range in the United States,
08:00they belong to the United States too.
08:06Leaving these wooly wonders of the north, we head southeast,
08:09all the way to the Carolina coast,
08:12where a predacious pack animal is making a hair-raising comeback.
08:24These predators come out at night.
08:27You may not ever see them,
08:31but with their large eyes and wide pupils,
08:33you can bet these stealthy canines will know your every move.
08:37And if you dare, walk into the darkness and hear them howl.
08:45Wolves are a distant relative of the dog,
08:48but they're hardly man's best friend.
08:53Wolf attacks on humans are rare,
08:55but that's little comfort hearing the chilling sounds.
09:01This is the only place in the world where you can actually participate in a red wolf howling.
09:07Do you have the guts to experience this red wolf howl-off for yourself?
09:12You could become an honorary member of the pack.
09:17Although you'll never see a wild red wolf on campus,
09:21what state university calls the animal their Pack Pride mascot?
09:25Is it A, Arkansas State, B, University of Maine, or C, Oregon State?
09:31The answer, when the United States of Animals returns.
09:37What state university is all about Pack Pride and names the red wolf their mascot?
09:43The answer is A, Arkansas State, home of the howling red wolves.
09:48The red wolf once howled all over the southeast, including its mascot state, Arkansas.
09:53But early settlers and ranchers, fearing these predators, hunted them to near extinction.
09:59Now, thanks to a wildlife reintroduction program, they're making a comeback.
10:05Wild red wolves are numbering just over 100.
10:08Most roaming a string of wildlife reserves in North Carolina.
10:12From the Albemarle Sound, south to the Pamlico River.
10:15It's about 1.7 million acres of land where the wild red wolves have their home.
10:23Standing just over two feet tall, they're roughly the size of a golden retriever.
10:28These nocturnal predators are shorter and slimmer than their infamous great cousin.
10:33And shy away from humans.
10:36A creature comfort while at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
10:41When darkness falls and the moon is full.
10:47Ryan, our red wolf caretaker, he will howl.
10:50And usually the wolves will howl back.
11:13The red wolf howling is special because the wolves are an endangered species.
11:20It's just really special to know that they're not extinct.
11:27It sounds like the red wolves are all around you.
11:30You just can't see them.
11:32But if seeing is believing, then the red wolf coalition in nearby Columbia, North Carolina, is the place to be.
11:39Well, we built a red wolf viewing enclosure two years ago.
11:43And the goal of that was to give people the opportunity to see a red wolf.
11:46The summer school break is when most people are here.
11:50But here's a tip.
11:51The wolves are more active in the cooler temps of spring and autumn.
11:55And get this, during the winter, the off season, it's free.
11:59You can't beat that.
12:02But any time of year, you can find the stars of the refuge, an elderly captive couple named Betty and
12:08Hank.
12:09Good morning, guys.
12:11Good morning, Betty.
12:13Good morning, Hank.
12:15Hank and Betty are retired from the coalition's breeding program.
12:19Now they while away the hours, showing off for visitors.
12:22We know this is your territory.
12:24This is your home, pretty girl.
12:28Wolves have scent glands on their paws.
12:32So in the wild, when wolves move through the territory, that's how they know that this is another wolf's home.
12:39Because those scent glands, every time she scrapes, she's leaving a smell.
12:44These red wolf reserves could be your only opportunity to see and hear these top predators in their natural habitat.
12:55Come celebrate this resilient species deep in the forests of North Carolina.
13:00And let your inner animal out for the night.
13:11After a howling good time in the Carolina backwoods, roll cross country to the cliffs of Big Sur, California.
13:18To chow down with the states, no, make that the continent's largest flying scavenger, the California condor.
13:26This is a great place to actually see condors feeding in the wild.
13:30And remember this, when you see them circling above, they have only one thing on their mind.
13:36To get beak deep in some gross grub.
13:39California condors are obligate scavengers, meaning they only eat the remains of dead animals.
13:45And condors rely on their excellent eyesight to spot those dead animals from several miles away.
13:51It's a good thing they can see it, because believe it or not, they can hardly smell a thing.
13:57Their massive nine-foot wingspan lets them swoop down fast to snag a meal.
14:04Hungry for a taste? Then take the VIP tour with Ventana Wildlife Society.
14:09It starts on a Highway 1 pull-off for some cliffside soaring.
14:13Yeah, you can see why they like it. It's steep, it's big, big mountains.
14:17Big things to feed on on the beaches.
14:21To be here in June or July when the days are long and the skies are clear,
14:25it's also when more dead stuff gets washed ashore.
14:29We saw something, but we don't know if it was a California con. It was, you know.
14:33They're just very majestic here as if almost they know how lucky they are.
14:41The tour winds up at the Society's feeding center, where you can grab a seat at a botulism buffet.
14:50It's also where you can meet Kingpin. He's never met a carcass he didn't like.
14:57Kingpin is the oldest condor in the Big Sur flock, and he's the most dominant.
15:03At the ripe age of 18, old Kingpin's lucky to be alive.
15:08Over the last century, the condor population slowly dwindled until finally, in 1982,
15:13there were only 22 individuals left in the entire world.
15:17It's taken 30 years, but captive breeding programs have slowly brought them back from the dead.
15:23Our goal is to have 150 condors free-flying in California, and then another 150 in Arizona and Utah.
15:31But now, researchers have discovered something in the condor's diet is killing them.
15:36But what?
15:39Condors have no natural predators. However, they still retain a defense mechanism.
15:44When threatened, they will A, peck your eyes out, B, throw up on you, or C, poop on you.
15:52The answer when the United States of Animals returns.
15:58Condors have no natural predators. However, they still retain a defense mechanism.
16:02When threatened, they will B, throw up on you, and take it from us.
16:07You don't want to be on the receiving end of an acid reflux attack from a condor.
16:12Not only does it smell awful, it's just about as corrosive as battery acid.
16:19But therein lies the beauty of these beasts.
16:22Condors are able to digest some of these really high bacteria content carcasses because they have an incredibly high pH
16:29acidity to their digestive system.
16:31It pretty much can dissolve any naturally occurring biotoxin. Anything from anthrax to you name it, nature has designed them
16:41well.
16:42But a condor's indiscriminating palate is both a blessing and a curse.
16:48It could threaten the future of the flock.
16:50So when condors aren't feeding on the coast, if they can't find anything along the coastline, they'll go inland.
16:56Condors can fly up to 150 miles in a day to find food.
17:01And that's where they often find trouble.
17:04They're going to be exposed to carcasses, say, like, varmints that have been shot by a hunter.
17:09It's the bullet-ridden carcass that can easily become the last supper for the condor.
17:16When they find a carcass that's been shot with lead, it just is a recipe for disaster for these guys.
17:23Any form of lead in the condor diet is not good.
17:27So that same gut juice that allows condors to digest the most ungamely of game?
17:32It turns lead into a super toxin.
17:35That's all it takes.
17:36A piece of lead no bigger than a chia seed is enough to kill.
17:41But now, thanks to this new program, condors can belly up to a lead-free meal.
17:46We provide a clean food source for the birds, where lead from spent ammunition is of a concern.
17:53And to keep them unleaded? The society is taking it one step further.
17:58We're actually buying and providing non-lead ammunition to hunters and ranchers.
18:04Non-lead ammo, like rounds made from copper, are less toxic.
18:09Keeping these flying zombies flying high.
18:12If we can work well together with hunters and ranchers, condors can survive out there, too.
18:20For more fun in the California sun, leave those ravenous raptors of Big Sur for a chain of islands just
18:26an hour boat ride from the California coast, and discover the Channel Islands fox.
18:31It's a story of predator to prey and back to predator with the help of an airborne ally.
18:38Confused? Stick with us.
18:41The Channel Islands are our Galapagos.
18:45Over 150 plants and animals are found nowhere else.
18:50Including the Channel Islands fox.
18:53After a quick ferry ride to the island, the fox are easy to find.
18:58In fact, they'll probably find you first.
19:00They were so close, it's almost, it gets you all excited.
19:04I actually sort of walked up to someone and almost opened their backpack.
19:09Here's a tip.
19:10Pitch a tent at the center of the action, Scorpion Campground on Santa Cruz Island.
19:14And soon you'll have a new best friend.
19:17They come up and sniff shoes and sniff food, sniff packs and just checking everything out.
19:24These curious critters are one of the smallest canids in the world.
19:28But oddly, the largest native land mammal on the islands.
19:32At a mere four pounds and only a foot off the ground, they're about the size of a house cat.
19:38But don't let its size fool you.
19:40This fox is an apex predator with super sensitive hearing and an uncanny ability to climb trees.
19:48They once shared top predator status with the bald eagle.
19:52The fox ruled the land and the eagle the skies.
19:58And since bald eagles prefer seafood to red meat, the two species got along just fine.
20:04But in the 60s, those eagles that weren't killed by a hunter's gun were finished off by the pesticide DDT.
20:12By the 1990s, with the bald eagles gone, a new bird came to town.
20:17This one had an appetite for small furry animals.
20:21The golden eagle quickly set its sights on the Channel Islands fox.
20:26Golden eagles are hunters. They're strict hunters.
20:29And they picked the foxes off really quickly.
20:33Soon, the Channel Islands fox was on the verge of extinction.
20:37More than 90% of the population was wiped out.
20:41And since these foxes are found nowhere else on the planet, scientists knew they had to act fast.
20:47And finding a new home for the golden eagles was job one.
20:51A lot of effort went into trapping and relocating the golden eagles that were out here, banning DDT, reestablishing the
20:59bald eagle population, and then finally releasing foxes back into the wild.
21:04With the bald eagles flying cover, the Channel Islands fox numbers quickly rebounded.
21:10It's just remarkable to have a species recover in such a quick amount of time.
21:18Ready to cruise out and see these persistent predators yourself?
21:22The weather's great any time of year, but April and May are awesome.
21:26It's also when most pups are born.
21:28And who doesn't love a puppy?
21:31But be sure to keep a careful eye on your belongings.
21:34There's no telling what these four-legged foragers will swipe when you're not looking.
21:39It's probably underwear stolen by the foxes from a campsite.
21:44Kind of wishing I had my gloves on when I picked that up.
21:49Who knew a pair of briefs could turn into such a creature commodity?
21:59Who knew a pair of briefs could turn into such a creature malls.
22:00The clock is in a place to hold a few eyes there, but in the different中 of a tree.
22:00What are your sights on now?
22:01What do you think is that a夫 would be as simple as a brainchild,
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